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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Support and help with Gestational Diabetes?

521 replies

Crapweasel · 26/03/2010 19:31

Failed the "Lucozade test" last week, I've now been told that my GTT has also come back high and have therefore been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.

Having failed the Lucozade test but passed GTT during my last pregancy I was really hoping to dodge that particular bullet again. Oh well....

Did some searching in the archives and found this fab old thread with lots of support and tips on diet etc. Any current sufferers (or experienced old timers) fancy joining a similar thread for 2010?

I have a diabetic clinic appt on Tues (where I understand I'll get a finger prick testing kit and see a dietician) so I'll report back then.

I'm 29 weeks by the way.

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Debs75 · 16/06/2010 20:38

Chocolate My fundal height is 24 as well but I am about the side of a lop-sided house.
Sorry you had a scary scan and I hope the scan with a consultant is better. Sometimes anomallies can be the baby laid funny or an inexoerienced sonographer. Fingers crossed.

Checked my sugar before and after spag bol for tea(small amount of spag and two small pieces of garlic bread) and it only went up 1.5. It was nice to eat something normal instead of salads or veggies. If I keep my portions down I can eat some of our usual things.

Ordered a couple of Low GI books off Amazon today so should find an alternative to cereals and my usual carb heavy foods

burmesegrumbler · 17/06/2010 07:51

Hi Choc,

Fingers crossed for your next scan, really hope they can put your mind at rest. I measured small on fundal height right up to 36 weeks and all scans (I had 6 scans over the course of my gestation) said just on or below 50th percentile, but in the end she was 9.5 lb and four cm longer than the average baby, I think they struggle with accuracy on scans if the baby is in an odd position or if mum s very slim or very large.

Ruby, hope you are ripening up!

RubyReins · 17/06/2010 08:26

Thanks for the ripening vibes! Not sure how things are going but last night was pretty miserable in terms of cramping pains and strange burrowing baby movements so hopefully the sprog is getting ready!

In the meantime though, I have my space hopper thing, some ripeish pineapples, my 6 daily cups of RLT, the clary sage oil and DH home tonight does happy dance and I'm walking for two hours a day to do my utmost to get things going! I have nine days to squeeze the kid out before they start seriously threatening the pig spunk so no pressure!

In terms of sprog size, they don't even try and measure here owing to a history of inaccurate readings leading to a spate of unnecessary sections. I've been told that the bun "isn't a michelin man" (that's in my notes btw ) but that's all we know.

It's really interesting to see how care varies between us all!

I've had my mum here for a few days which has been great. I've been sitting on my arse whilst she's been cleaning the fridge etc!

Oh and thanks for the cous cous recommendation! Had a bit of a struggle finding it but got hold of a box and it really helped my levels. Doesn't taste remotely different either.

Hope you're well and wee Constance is thriving!

burmesegrumbler · 18/06/2010 11:41

All sounds very, very positive Ruby, I had grumblings and burrowings from 38 weeks, and at 40 weeks could easily have had ARM only as already 2cm dilated at that point, fingers crossed you too can avoid the prostaglandins.

Glad you like the barley cous cous, I think it has more favour than wheat, my fav meal during pregnancy was cous cous with chick peas, pine nuts, mint and coriander topped with grilled courgettes, peppers, tomatoes and halloumi cheese, very tasty with a good squeeze of lemon juice and if you like it some chopped fresh chilli mixed in.

Connie has put on half a kilo since her last weigh in....I worried I wasn't feeding her enough as I have nothing left to express and she is always hungry, turns out she is getting plenty!

negrilbaby · 19/06/2010 09:52

Chocolate - hope all goes well with the scan.

Had a meeting with the consultant on Thursday and have been given the go ahead for an elective cs. Feeling a bit of a wimp but the last scan panicked me quite a bit looking at what seemed to be a very fat baby! At least this way I can get everything sorted out in advance - including getting DS looked after. 12 days to go.

Was very naughty last night - had a strawberry cream tart!! My sister had visited and left it sitting in the fridge!! I'd ignored it for the whole day but when DH went out for bit in the evening I gave in. I've got to say that it didn't live up to expectations.

Ruby - hope all starts moving soon for you.

RubyReins · 19/06/2010 20:31

Well I've been having pains for two days but not so much that I think anything will be happening too soon. However, I have sent DH to fill up the car and move it to a closer parking space just in case! He's in the kitchen making gingerbread right now having clipped the hedges and planted hanging baskets - displacement-activity-tastic . He does hate football...

I've been throwing everything at it! Bizarrely (and happily) pineapple isn't affecting my sugar levels at all. I ate a whole one on Thursday and peeked at my blood levels through my fingers but they were only 4.7. Bouncing on the birthing ball right now and hopefully things will kick off soon. I always wanted a Midsummer baby so fingers crossed!!

Ozziegirly · 21/06/2010 00:22

Hello again

I went to see the diabetic educator last week which was great, she was very nice.

I have now been doing the low GI diet as prescribed very strictly for 9 days - and my question is, is it normal to lose a bit of weight at first?

I've lost 3lbs this week and am now back to the weight I was at 26 weeks (I'm 31 weeks).

I can't see how I wouldn't lose weight to be honest as I was only putting on 1 lb a week before and have cut out all cake, chocolate, biscuits, plus obviously my portion sizes have decreased in terms of carbs - all the things I would do if I wanted to drop a couple of lbs pre pregnancy.

But did anyone else have this and then just level out?

My bloods have been fine though. Couple of highish readings of 7 after a roast lunch and when trying to get breakfast quantities right, but all in the 5s apart from that.

RubyReins · 21/06/2010 17:16

Urgh. Induction booked for 28 June. Send me your labour vibes ladies, I really really want to avoid being induced!

I am in an absolutely foul mood about the whole thing. I even expressed my disquiet by correcting the appalling grammar and spelling on the signage in the labour ward . Passive aggressive but it made me feel better. I've wanted to do it for weeks now.

Still getting twinges and grublings but nothing more than that.

Wish me luck.

ChocolateCalculator · 21/06/2010 19:38

Ruby, a week is ages in labour terms so don't give up hope yet, it does sound like things are starting to move for you.

Ozziegirl- I'm sure if you've read the thread you'll know about my continuing battles to keep weight on (now 9st 5lbs at 29 weeks, 3 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant) so I'm probably not the best person to give advice! Having said that I think you'll probably find that most on here have had minimal weight gain or even weight loss. I try to make sure I eat plenty of calories from nuts, cheese, olives, 90% cocoa chocolate and cream, not the healthiest long term diet, but you're not looking at the long term. I also make sure I write down everything I eat during the day and eat something extra after dinner if I haven't had 2,200 calories that day, as it is very easy not to eat enough on a GD diet.

Mention your weight loss at your next check up, but now my growth scan has come back ok, my midwife isn't concerned about mine.

Debs75 · 21/06/2010 21:03

Am having trouble keeping my blood levels down. I have changed what I am eating, less carbs, smaller portions and more protein. Still my morning levels are always above 6 and sometimes 7 and the rest of the day is between 5 and 7.
The consultant was happy last week but is there more I could do to keep my levels low?
I don't want to end up on insulin which I am assuming is the next step if the readings stay high.

I lost a huge amount of weight last time, about 40+lbs so am really hoping this time to be roughly the same at the end as I was at the begining.
I am pretty big to start with so I can easily afford to lose 40lbs this time.

ChocolateCalculator · 21/06/2010 21:37

Debs, what sort of things are you eating in a typical day?

I think we all would like to avoid insulin if possible, but everyone who has had to go there doesn't seem to have found it too bad.

Ozziegirly · 22/06/2010 00:13

Chocolate I think the problem I have is that the "rules" I have been given about what to eat seem to be based on someone who can afford to lose quite a bit of weight, or who possibly wasn't eating quite healthily before. I feel like in terms of serves I am eating less than before I was pregnant!

I think I need to up my protein though to make up for the lost calories.

It's good to know that the weight loss is normal though.

Ruby good luck with going into labour naturally. 6 days seems like a long time though especially if you're already having grumblings....

ChocolateCalculator · 22/06/2010 08:20

That may be the difference ozziegirl, the guidance I got was minimal to say the least. Basically no refined sugar, carbs will give you high readings, but it's pretty much inevitable you'll end up on insulin at some stage so eat themif you want. I have figured out my diet by trial and error over two pregnancies.

My dietician was also very focussed on weight control, she said that losing weight would help control sugars, but I really haven't needed to lose weight in either pregnancy (well there's bits I wouldn't mind losing off the edges, but not to the extent of dieting in pregnancy!).

burmesegrumbler · 22/06/2010 13:59

Hey ruby,
sending labour vibes in abundance! Have you had an examination to check if you have dilated or effaced at all yet? It could be you are favourable for a sweep, I had one, it only hurts if you aren't ready so worth asking, though having said that I had mine at 40 weeks and still needed arm two weeks later.....but if you know you are 1-2cm dilated you can argue for arm only, no prostaglandins and drip, it worked for me and madcatzass on the overdue link! I managed to avoid several induction dates by agreeing to one hour of fetal monitoring daily, might be worth asking about.

Ozzie, I didn't lose weight but certainly didn't gain the 15kg it was suggested I should. I only gained 11kg over the course of my pregnancy, 4.2 of which were all baby. A week after giving birth I was back in my skinny jeans. It's important to eat enough calories, protein and fat to keep you and baby healthy during your pregnancy, cutting out sugars/carbs is like going on an atkins diet unless you are careful about your food choices. Try to include more pulses in hour diet, which can fill you up in the same way pasta or bread would have but without such an enormous carb hit and waymore weight for weight nutrition. There is a whole school of thought in the nutrition world that suggests our bodies are unable to deal with processed carbs like bread, pasta, White rice, and all biscuits/cakes/crisps etc and we should all return to a more nutritous primal diet, rich in protein and fat which our bodies are more adept at dealing with. Think hunter gatherer diet not modern industrialised farming and food manufacturing diets.

Debs, try a bit of yoga or pilates, just 5-10 mins every night before bedtime and every morning, before you take your Reading, the activity should help to reduce your levels.

Sorry for typos etc, on the iPod again!

Choc, so glad your scan was positive.

RubyReins · 22/06/2010 16:29

Hiya.

The consultant offered to try and do a sweep but I refused - I absolutely hate being pawed and just didn't really want to go there. Probably very stupid of me but I have issues in that respect and given that there was an audience (I know I could have told them to get out - bloody teaching hospital) I just didn't want to try. The trade off for allowing me to go as late as 28 June is more monitoring this week. In on Friday for that and I may think about a sweep then depending on how I feel.

I am having twinges but I am not convinced that they are not just wind or general aches. In the meantime I'm bouncing on the ball and eating chillies - we'll see.

burmesegrumbler · 23/06/2010 09:29

That sounds like a good plan. Fingers crossed all the twinges mean something is happening Ruby!

Debs75 · 23/06/2010 10:41

Chocolate I have a cereal for breakfast, managed to get the amount down to 'the reccommended portion' with a cup of tea and some fruit, strawberries or melon.
Take 2 tabs
A small orange as a snack mid morning
Dinner is either a salad with tuna or cheese or Oatcakes with cottage cheese. fruit and yogurt if still hungry
Fruit and yogurt for afernoon snack if not had it at dinner or small bag of hula hoops.
Tea last night was chicken curry, 1 tablespoon of rice and broccoli and grean beans. Is usually fish or meat with veggies
Snack before bed is almost always branflakes with strawberries
During the day i drink water or cups of tea.
I try to exercise, walk the dog in the morning or afternoon.

And my stupid drs have refused to up my tablet dosage as they say the notes are only for 1g per day not per dose. Am without tabs for the next 2 days as I had to get the diabetes clinic to fax over new instructions and have to wait for the drs to write a new prescription

Ruby When I was being induced my MW sent me for a walk around the hospital. She told me to walk down the stairs sideways as that would help me dilate more. I did 3 flights of stairs 5 times,(came back up in the lift) and then was so shattered I went back to the bouncy ball. Not sure if it helped me but it might be worth a try.

RubyReins · 23/06/2010 11:17

Thanks ladies.

Last night was awful. Reminded me of the wrenching pains I had aged 13 that led to my dad bringing me a hot water bottle! Poor DH has been burning midnight oil to get a project finished before D Day and when he tried to come to bed at 4am he couldn't as I had monopolised the bed and was groaning so much he was better off on the sofa with the demented cats

Hopefully it's "positive pain"!

I've been told to try walking up and down stairs sideways but unless I go round the corner to John Lewis I'm stairless! I'd probably get flung out. I'll be on the look out for stairs later today to have an opportunistic go on!

I had the same problem with my medication - took ages and the GP wanted me to arrange appointments with him before prescribing. The hospital only gave me three days worth. DH went to the GP on my behalf, had a word and the problem vanished and I got a month's worth in one go later that day . No idea what he said, if anything, but he can be a right scary bugger so I have no doubt the receptionist felt intimidated by his presence if not his words!

Off for a lovely lunch with friends and I might buy some expensive knickers to try and invoke sod's law!

Hope everyone's well!

Debs75 · 23/06/2010 14:01

ruby They really are useless aren't they. I know when I next ask for strips they will only send me 1 box even tho it is on the form from hospital 5xboxes.
Hope the pains are positive and that you had a nice lunch. I scoffed a huge chocolate fudge cake the day before i went in with dc3. It was lovely having forbidden food

ChocolateCalculator · 23/06/2010 20:26

Ruby, that sounds very positive to me, hopefully by the time you read this you'll have your baby.

Debs, that sounds a pretty good diet to me, only thing I'm wondering about is the branflakes before bed seeing as it's your early readings which are troublesome. Branflakes actually have quite a lot of sugar and are obviously very carby. Would some nuts or something at that time fill the hole?

RubyReins · 23/06/2010 21:13

Nah still waiting!

Debs75 · 23/06/2010 23:28

I saw in the LOW Gi book that bran flakes were quite high so I am finishing the half empty box and not buying another. I need an alternative as don't want to get constipated again. Grapes used to work a treat but they are quite sugary.

OnEdge · 23/06/2010 23:36

I did a random BM at mums because i was thirsty one day and it was 9.

I was due the GTT the next week so prepared for the worse.

Sure enough a couple of days later my GP phoned me and said that he was referring me to the Diabetic medical team

My appointment was for 7 th of July so I left a message with MW for advice in the meantime.

She rang back and said to cancel appointment because me results were within normal limits

Fasting = 5.6

2 hours after Lucozade = 5.4.

GP was going by old guidelines that have changed.

Dont know what to think now

Im 29 weeks.

ChocolateCalculator · 24/06/2010 06:48

OnEdge, the fasting one was right on the boarderline, but the 2 hour one ws well below. Could be a random low reading or the one you did at your mums could be a random high. GD is very influenced by hormones, I think we've all complained about random blood sugars.

My advice would be if you're worried to try and follow a low GI diet, would probably benefit any pregnant woman, see earlier in the thread for great diet advice, particularly from Burmese, and if you feel poorly again maybe test again

burmesegrumbler · 25/06/2010 11:29

Hi Debs,

Try golden linseeds for constipation, they really work very well. You can buy them in most supermarkets and if not any health food shop. Soak a teaspoon full overnight in a little glass of water. In the morning, down in one and follow with two more glasses of water - it's the most effective regulator I know of and linseeds are full of essential fatty acids, so really good for your baby too. Do this daily and your constipation won't trouble you again. I used to put a teaspoon into my porridge as I heated it too, but it's not really porridge weather! Fresh apricots are fairly low sugar fruits and they also work well to relieve constipation (avoid dried fruits - they are far too sugar loaded, even i very effective!).

Wheat products generally don't help constipation, try eating more whole fruit and veg - raw carrots, chunks of cucumber etc, more lentils, chick peas and beans (not baked beans they are full of sugar) and make sure you drink PLENTY of water, especially in this hot whether, dehydration can cause constipation.

Hope this helps!

Ruby, any news????

Does anyone have any top tips for easing wind in a baby?