Gestational Diabetes Check in

SoulTermination

Holy... given my moods lately, I'm pretty sure I'd have complained about that nurse/doctor lady.  If what I'm doing is working, leave me the fuck alone to do it! x.x

Jesster11

Thanks ladies - and thanks for letting me vent. DH is on the same page as me, and I'm just going to do what's been working. 

@SoulTermination - I would complain, but I'm not sure who to complain to. The office is split between the ob/gyn side and the perinatal side (who I only see for GD and ultrasounds). However, whichever ob I see usually quickly asks about how my blood sugars are, and they are going to receive a mouthful next week. 

And I really want to walk into my 4 week GD follow up eating a donut.

Rrrrrachel

Yay!!!!

I'm getting thin crust pizza tonight. Two slices plus a walk and if I'm over so be it.

spalumb9

Question....
When can we officially eat normal again???? When does this go away?

Rrrrrachel

Shortly after birth. My sister has gone back to a normal diet immediately both times. It might take a few weeks for your insulin resistance to go away completely, but the threshold for concern among non pregnant people and blood sugar is much much higher than for pregnant.

SoulTermination

What Rach said.  My OB told me to go straight back to eating as I used to once baby is delivered, and in 6 weeks to 3 months they'd retest me again to see if my body has gone back to normal.

Angie&Junichi

I guess I wqill join the GD train.  I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago.  I test my sugars 2 hours after meals.  I get 30 carbs breakfast/ 15 morning snack/ 60 lunch/30 mid day snack/ 60 dinner and 15 evening snack.  My first week, my numbers were really good.  out of 24 times testing, 4 numbers were over.  Lunch, dinner and 2 fasting.  And when I say over, I mean less than 7 over.  The dr is concerned about my fasting numbers so she is being proactive and put me on glyburide starting this week.  I am only on 1.25 mg so far to see if it helps.  I don't know that I totally agree with it, but my numbers do come close to 90 which is high for them.  I know it will only get worse as pregnancy gets further along.  So now that I am on meds, I am high risk and have NST's 2 times a week, as well as dr. appts every 2 weeks and u/s every month.  I will most likely deliver around april 17. 

Rrrrrachel

I'm sure it depends on the doctor. I'm with you is rather do an a1c all day long

Rrrrrachel

Fwiw my fasting numbers are by far the lowest they've been, so it's not necessarily true that it will only get worse without meds. Your doctor sounds pretty conservative (which is an observation, not a criticism )

Angie&Junichi

yes, she has always been conservative.  In a way, it's not a bad thing to get extra attention for little one.

newter135

My doctor is not retesting me after birth he said. Also I plan to eat off the diet when I'm in early labor because frankly once those contractions start and baby is in her way all bets are off

Rrrrrachel

Idk what to do about labor. I'm supposed to have "something to drink other than water," which last time was weak Gatorade, but I'm worried the sugar will get my sugar all jacked up, which will jack the babies sugar/insulin up, and cause them to have low blood sugar after delivery. I guess I just need to ask.

christinanoelle

That's a good point Rachel! I was planning on bringing Gatorade too and hadn't thought about the sugar content.. But I am also thinking we won't be eating either so that would also affect our sugar levels..definitely something to ask our doctors about

christinanoelle

Also, I get tested 6-8 weeks after delivery and they do make me drink the glucose drink again - yay!

Laroo0220

Question for u ladies. Is anyone considering declining the heel prick for baby? My #s have been very good (usually I have 1 after meal number that is 1-5 PTs over each wk) and I talked to my doula about it and she said a lot of her clients decline it. I would really prefer to hold my baby and have skin to skin and bond right away rather than have him or her poked and then possibly given formula. I need to read up on it more but just curious if this is silly to even consider or if someone else feels the same.

Rrrrrachel

To me the heel stick is important. I'm delivering at a birth center so I'm confident they'll do it while I'm doing skin to skin and if there's an issue address it with bf first.

From what I've read there's NO reason to use formula over colostrum, and if for some reason colostrum isn't working glucose in an iv is better than formula.

Laroo0220

That's encouraging that they will let u try to address it with breast feeding first. That is my major issue with it so I will see if that is an option then. Thanks ladies.

haziedaze

I don't know whether they will want to do heel sticks or not. Technically my diagnosis is still "impaired fasting glucose" but I am seriously planning on taking my meter and lancets. The hospital lancets make a deep gouge as do the tender foots for the baby. If they want to just check a glucose on me or the baby I think I'll ask the do the prick and then they can use their meter. The tenderfoots are important if they need a blood sample but it's crazy overkill just for a drop for the meter.

boxerbabylove

Rrrrrachel said:

I'll bet if we made it at home we would be ok, but one slice of papa johns is like 37 carbs!

hubby and I tried making our own pizza with my homemade wheat pizza dough, sauce and fresh mozzarella. It's one of our cheap and easy meals we both enjoy...well used to enjoy. My sugars which have been in the 70s and 80s even after meals jumped up into 140s 2 hours after eating the pizza maybe you'll have better luck.

boxerbabylove

the heel stick is important for a lot of reasons. I have an autoimmune thyroid thyroid condition so I worry about the baby's thyroid function which is one of the things tested for with the heel stick. I'll be able to have skin to skin immediately after even with the heel stick (as long as everything goes smoothly). I've also made it clear that my baby isn't to receive formula or a bottle. I'm giving birth in a family birthplace which is kind of cross between a birthing center and a hospital since I have some serious chances of postpartum bleeding and can't give birth in a regular birthing center due to that risk. I think it is important to make sure you choose the place you birth carefully so you don't end up getting pushed into things you don't want or with doctors who don't agree with your principles and force you to veer from you plan unnecessarily. It sounds to me like this isn't about the heel stick and is about what you feel will happen once your baby leaves your body. Be your own advocate and ASK what will happen instead of assuming, it will make you much less stressed about the situation. 

the heel stick is pretty painless, its kind of like us pricking our fingers for our sugar checking. baby usually doesn't even notice. 

boxerbabylove

haziedaze said:

I don't know whether they will want to do heel sticks or not. Technically my diagnosis is still "impaired fasting glucose" but I am seriously planning on taking my meter and lancets. The hospital lancets make a deep gouge as do the tender foots for the baby. If they want to just check a glucose on me or the baby I think I'll ask the do the prick and then they can use their meter. The tenderfoots are important if they need a blood sample but it's crazy overkill just for a drop for the meter.

there seems to be some confusion her about what the heel stick is used for. they are not doing a heel stick just to get your baby's sugar levels. it is used to rule our/test for a significant amount of disorders and deficiencies that are not readily apparent or visible. it is important and can save the life of your child if they have a disorder that needs immediate treatment. If i've misunderstood and you've been told your child will have separate testing from the standard screening heel stick I apologize. 

https://www.cdc.gov/nbslabbulletin/bulletin.html

SoulTermination

Rrrrrachel said:

Idk what to do about labor. I'm supposed to have "something to drink other than water," which last time was weak Gatorade, but I'm worried the sugar will get my sugar all jacked up, which will jack the babies sugar/insulin up, and cause them to have low blood sugar after delivery. I guess I just need to ask.

If you can find it around you, G2 Gatorade has a LOT less sugar and overall carbs than regular Gatorade.  I've been on a Gatorade>water kick for a while, so I sip a 12oz bottle during the day just to give me something else to taste besides all the water I'm sucking down.  Maybe that, diluted with water, would be an option for labor?

Rrrrrachel

There are two different heel sticks. The ones my baby gets immediately after birth WILL be just for blood sugar. The ones for the other stuff (like PKU) will come later.

SoulTermination

mamrotu73 said: re:Gatorade. I can't drink that stuff. It was all we drank during basic training (that and water) and that is the only time I've ever had it. So when I try a sip now, it tastes like yelling and push-ups.

Well, the quote box failed spectacularly, but I just wanted to say that I love you for this description.  I needed a morning giggle, lol.

boxerbabylove

really? my OB/MW haven't said anything to me about a second (non genetic screening heel stick). I'll ask on tuesday when I see my MW. thanks.

newter135

FYI new favorite alternative to chips...baked pepperoni. It's crunchy and salty and works great for dips but also tasty on its own

snappyK

Huh. That's a great idea.

I've just been resorting to eating condiments/toppings with a spoon. Guacamole, peanut butter, cream cheese, dip, etc. Who needs crackers?!

Laroo0220

playingonadream said:

the heel stick is important for a lot of reasons. I have an autoimmune thyroid thyroid condition so I worry about the baby's thyroid function which is one of the things tested for with the heel stick. I'll be able to have skin to skin immediately after even with the heel stick (as long as everything goes smoothly). I've also made it clear that my baby isn't to receive formula or a bottle. I'm giving birth in a family birthplace which is kind of cross between a birthing center and a hospital since I have some serious chances of postpartum bleeding and can't give birth in a regular birthing center due to that risk. I think it is important to make sure you choose the place you birth carefully so you don't end up getting pushed into things you don't want or with doctors who don't agree with your principles and force you to veer from you plan unnecessarily. It sounds to me like this isn't about the heel stick and is about what you feel will happen once your baby leaves your body. Be your own advocate and ASK what will happen instead of assuming, it will make you much less stressed about the situation. 

the heel stick is pretty painless, its kind of like us pricking our fingers for our sugar checking. baby usually doesn't even notice. 

Yeah I was just talking about the blood sugar check heel stick that's done immediately after birth. I def need to ask my dr about options more and am just basing my thoughts on what 1 dr told me with the formula thing. I def advocate for what I want and have no problems with that but I was just curious how u ladies felt about it. I am trying to be much more diligent this time about deciding on interventions and not just doing every one the dr offers and suggests.

Rrrrrachel

I think it's so important to think about that stuff ahead of time! Right after birth you're so vulnerable for a lot of reasons.

haziedaze

playingonadream said:

really? my OB/MW haven't said anything to me about a second (non genetic screening heel stick). I'll ask on tuesday when I see my MW. thanks.

Actually for babies born to moms with gestational diabetes there can be a lot of testing. There are usually sugar checks every 1-2 hours for the first 6-8 hours then they space out but continue until 48 hours. There is also usually a hematocrit done at 4 hours of life for blood counts (babies of diabetic are at risk for having too many red blood cells circulating). Finally some hospitals will routinely draw bilirubin levels before discharge (ours uses a transcutaneous meter). The every baby has state screening done at 24 hours.

As others have said for me it's about trying to use as few sticks as possible, making sure I understand the need for each one, grouping draws together whenever possible and I think I will offer to use my lancets for the sugar only draws because the heel pricks are somewhat deep and a slash and are meant for filling a tube with a few mls of blood so a sample can be sent to the lab, which isn't needed for sugar checks only. So yeah, lots of pricks for our poor babies although still doesn't compare to the beating my son's heels took in the NICU. He is still weird about his feet!

SoulTermination

DH was sitting here in bed next to me scarfing down cookie dough ice cream. Meanie. (

Abcollins57

SoulTermination said:

DH was sitting here in bed next to me scarfing down cookie dough ice cream. Meanie. (

Have you had any luck with frozen yogurt? I have had it three times as a bedtime snack and those are the only three days I passed my fasting number the next day!

rainy369

Question about NSTs. Are they pretty standard for GD? I'm 32 weeks and dr hasn't mentioned them yet. I had a growth scan last week and things were looking good.

Rrrrrachel

I won't have any until towards the end.

bootsiebabe

I think it depends. Mine started when I had to start meds.

boxerbabylove

I have NST and AFI every week starting this week (week 34) and am going to the OB/MW 2 times a week. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

Jesster11

Have any of you seen stress affect your numbers?

I've cut back to testing twice a day, including my fasting number every day.  I passed my fasting number on the GTT and it has never been an issue.  I need to keep it between 65-95, and it has always been between 75-85.  Today it was a 92.  Still know that's within range, but it was still making me a little nervous.

Last night I was up till 1 a.m. b/c DH said he would put the one pair of pajama bottoms I fit into in the dryer - and then didn't.  MIL is also staying by herself at a local timeshare, so we are having dinner with her for the next week+ and I have been stressing to keep the house clean.  Just wondering if that could be related - and if I will see my numbers skyrocket in the next few days if this keeps up.

Rrrrrachel

Oh yes. My numbers are very sensitive both to stress and changes in sleeping schedule.

Jesster11

Oh great... DH and MIL may end up causing me to go on medication.

rockstarlaw

I'm pretty convinced stress may be the whole reason I'm in this boat in the first place. I might be the most Type-A personality most people will ever meet. Relaxing is not my strong suit. I can definitely tell a difference with work day vs. weekend readings.