Gestational diabetes thread

cato99

Hi all!

I've seen a couple of scattered mentions of GD on one thread or another so I thought I'd create a space in this board for people with a gestational diabetes diagnosis to ask questions or share tips or vent! I've found the one in my BMB to be very useful: there may not be as many of us here at the same time and this thread may not be very active, but I figure we may have more in common after the IF journey, e.g., "oh great ANOTHER sharps container on my table THANKS A LOT FATE."

I'm currently 35 weeks and was diagnosed after a borderline 2-hour test at 27 weeks. After years of IF, IUIs, and IVF I had been having a comfortable and healthy pregnancy and was finally feeling optimistic, so this diagnosis blindsided me and put me back in a very upset mental space. I want to encourage others that it's not ultimately super hard to adapt to the GD routine and I'm now pretty used to it! We all want healthy babies in the end so eating that thousandth boiled egg is worth it!

I look forward to hearing from people and hopefully sharing some useful tips.

Steff_99

Thanks for making this thread @cato99 Im now 36 weeks and was feeling pretty defeated when I found out I had GD. While I was able to keep my numbers in check on my own my fasting number in the morning was always over 100. As pregnancy progressed my breakfast numbers started to climb so I've opted for insulin to allow me to eat a lil more since I actually wasnt gaining weight. Here if anyone has any questions. ❤

emgem819

Hi! I'm sorry to see there aren't more ladies like us out here! Maybe they will join eventually! I had type 2 diabetes before I was pregnant but never needed to take insulin as my levels were always ok without it.  Now that I'm pregnant it's a different story!  My MFM Dr started me doing prick tests 4x a day for the next two weeks and then I guess they'll asses the numbers.  I'm pretty sure I already have GD as my numbers haven't been very "normal" at all.  So I'm joining the club! It's really one more thing that I have to worry about and is annoying but I guess it will get easier over time right? Sorry you ladies have to be here but I'm glad to have your support!

cato99

@emgem819 I'm sorry you're in the club but it sounds like you'll start managing it super early, which will ensure a healthy and happy baby! And it SO gets easier over time. I've gotten so used to the routine I barely notice it anymore. 

Hopefully after your two week trial period you'll be meeting with a dietician--the GD diet is its own special beast (though it may be similar to what you already know from type 2? It's not super low-carb though) and it's very helpful to talk the guidelines through if you haven't already. Good luck and looking forward to hearing what the dr says--hopefully your numbers will indicate minimal complications since you're already doing a good job managing type 2!

emgem819

Thanks @cato99 I'm kind of scared of the diet just because I'm still experiencing MS so I can't exactly stomach everything .  I read something that says you might want to limit juice and fruits to almost none? Is that right? If so, I'm definetly scared! 

rmarble23

@emgem819 i was only told to stay away from juice but i have fruit for morning snack and lunch....i would hate to have to deal with MS while  trying to stick by GD guidelines too

emgem819

Thanks @rmarble23 yep it's going to be tough but I guess it's worth it to keep the babies healthy! 

cato99

@emgem819 the diet guidelines will depend on what your program suggests but more importantly on how your body processes things--there's no guarantee that fruit will be prohibited for you! But unfortunately my program did nix juice, and I was told never to have dairy and fruit in the same meal (like, yogurt with berries), and my rules say to have neither of them in the morning at all (pregnancy hormone surges make you especially sensitive in the morning), so I wound up just cutting fruit out entirely to avoid the hassle. I think my program was especially strict though. 

Once I got into the swing of things and stabilized my numbers though I was able to reincorporate the occasional morning dairy-milk latte a couple of times a week, so even if you get these difficult-sounding guidelines keep in mind that you can experiment to see what works ok for you! 

rmarble23

@cato99 yours is pretty strict, my plan has 1 glass of milk in it but yes no fruit at breakfast at all.  i went in with always having carnation breakfast made with milk and i was told as long as my numbers are good i can keep that up so thats what i do.  i also tend to have more dairy in the evening for a snack as either an ice cream or yogurt.  like you said its all how your body handles everything

emgem819

Just had my appointment to follow up on taking my blood sugar levels for two weeks and doctor basically said I need to start doing insulin shots 4x/day starting next week because my levels are so high. Ugh. So not what I was hoping and I thought levels would be ok with just diet and exercise. But apparently not! Are any of you on insulin too and how did you cope? Does it get easier? 

cato99

@emgem819 I am SO sorry to hear that your treatment is going to be more involved than you hoped! I'm not on meds but for what it's worth I've heard from lots of people that going on insulin was a relief: that it removed so much of the anxiety of the BG readings and was comforting to have that extra support in protecting the baby! I bet it will get easier, and that the insulin treatment will become part of your routine along with the other GD guidelines. 

I'd compare all of this to IF treatments in that after that shock of diagnosis or decision for intervention, we all just kind of marched forward with our new routines--and look at how far we've come!