GD Moms

kyrwyn

@jlemons-2 That sounds so frustrating, and scary.  I think this is definitely the right place to complain/vent about those sorts of issues -- I mean, we're all going through something related and can definitely sympathize with the ups and downs.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the things get easier a little before the mythical 36 week "leveling off" of hormones (which may or may not actually happen for everyone).  

@Marley629 I think my LO had a growth spurt, too. He was super ridiculous OMG-stahp-already active all day Monday (430am to 11pm), and then active Tuesday, and he's been a bit more of his usual chill self today, but my hips feel like they're under so much more pressure than pre-activity-fest and sitting for more than an hour at a time has started to hurt.

I'll let you know tomorrow how things go! I have some stuff lined up to talk to my CDE about, like my steadily (slowly) lowering fasting numbers... which have me a little curious (if not actually concerned). 

jlemons-2

@elvenchick92686  I just hate that I have to eat when  I am not even hungry and it is always sugar because I am bottomed out.  I am overweight to begin with so I have been trying really hard this pregnancy to make responsible choices.

@Marley629 I actually still take the Metformin as well.  Three pills a day plus the Glyburide.  I hope your sugars go back down!  I was having a week or so of high lunch numbers but I have no clue what caused it.

kyrwyn

Status update: My CDE is really happy with my numbers, meals and the amount of exercise I'm getting, and considers my GD "very well controlled" for now. She also told me to plan on ramping exercise down as my body tells me to, because it will get more and more uncomfortable as the kid gets bigger and bigger.  She's not worried about my numbers trending down slowly over time, or my weight doing the same -- as long as baby's growth measurements are fine.  TL;DR: All good news; stay the course.

I explicitly asked about delivery policies for moms on insulin-managed GD because I cannot get anything close to a straight answer out of my OB and she said "you should plan on a November baby."  Most pre-existing DM or GD pregnancies in our medical group are delivered at 38-39 weeks, even without complications, and almost none of the OBs let you go past your due date even if everything looks healthy.  Add me to the list of moms likely to screw up Thanksgiving (hah, and my brother is coming back from China in early Nov. specifically so that his wife can have her first big, authentic, American Thanksgiving this year).

beary67

@kyrwyn that's great news about your numbers!  I'm hoping your delivery won't mess up Thanksgiving.  Right now, mine is scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, but I know that can change.  

As for me, I eat the same exact thing for breakfast every morning and over the past 2 days my after breakfast numbers have gone up (125 yesterday and 156 today--my cut off is 120 after 1 hour).  They increased my morning Log insulin and also increased my nighttime NPH because my morning fasting numbers were in the upper 80's and were trending up.  I know it's all out of my control right now, because I follow the diet to a T and literally eat the same thing for just about every meal and every snack.  It's just frustrating to know I'm doing everything right, but my body still is not working how it should.  I will say that my other numbers throughout the day have been perfect!  So that's a plus! 

elvenchick92686

@jlemons-2 i hate snacking when im not hungry too. I went awhile where i only ate one or two times a day cause i just got tired of doing it all but i got yelled at, so trying to get back on the wagon but i feel like i spend more time shoveling food in my face than anything else :-/

Marley629

When do most of you check your sugars?  I hope I'm not doing it wrong. I thought it was 2 hours after a meal that it had to be less than 120. 

elvenchick92686

@Marley629 i am on the two hour check and less than 120 but every doctor is different. 

beary67

@Marley629 everyone is different based on their doctor. I check mine 7 times a day and I have to check mine 1 hour after meals and it has to be below 120 at that time. It has to be below 90 before meals. 

kyrwyn

@Marley629 +1 what @elvenchick92686 and @beary67 have said. We all have our own targets, depending on the standard of care of our doctors/practices.  I test 1hr after meals, but my cutoff is 130 where @beary67's is 120.  My fasting has to be < 90. I got put on insulin after 3 fastings at or above 90, which happened in less than a week of testing for me.

@beary67 Congrats on your perfect numbers and sympathy for your rising insulin doses.  Your body's just having to work so hard to keep up with two placentas! It's not a reflection on you, or how well you're following the plan, mama.  Believe me, I too hate that you can do everything perfectly and still end up on meds (or on more meds). I'm cheering for you though! You're getting so close to meeting your twins!  

jlemons-2

@kyrwyn  I had GD with my first and was induced in the 38 week time frame.  I also had borderline high bp

@Marley629   I check my fasting and it is supposed to be under 95.  Then two hours after every meal and it is supposed to be under 120

kersey0208

@kyrwyn I didn't even think about the OB not letting a GD mom go full term if there were no complications. Now I'm curious to what my practice has to say about this. That's a good question I'm going to ask on Tuesday. I hope your Thanksgiving plans work out. My husband keeps trying to plan things with my mom and I keep telling them I'm not planning anything at 38 weeks pregnant. If I'm not in the hospital y'all can cook but I'll be relaxing "cooking" a baby lol

KathrynJ088

@kyrwyn My 38 weeks is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I'm asking my OB to schedule my induction at the end of the week before (if I make it that long). After all the GD stuff, I really want to be out of the hospital, and settled at home for a few days before the holiday. My only plans are to eat pie!!!

kyrwyn

@KathrynJ088 You raise excellent points.  The thought of being home with baby before the family holiday hits sounds really nice... as does pie.  Fingers crossed we all get cleared to eat "normally" again after delivery!

kyrwyn

Hi, ladies. DH and I have dinner side that we like enough to retain in our arsenal once the GD is over, so I thought I'd share the thought with you all. We're currently mixing 1/2 c. cooked spaghetti with 1 c. zucchini noodles and then a generous helping of home-made pesto & a tiny pat of butter to have with a protein main like stuffed chicken (usually stuffed with tomato or spinach and mozzarella).  You can vary the proportions to hit the carb count you need.  I've tried zoodles before with red sauces, etc, and they were sort of "meh", but we are really enjoying them with the garlicky, herby pesto+butter mix. (Mixing them in with some spaghetti also helps with the texture issue where cooked zucchini has a mouthfeel nothing at all like actual pasta.)

I put our zucchini noodles in a bowl and salt them to pull out the excess water while the spaghetti cooks, then we pull the spaghetti out of the boiling water and drop the zoodles in for 2-4 min (depending on how long it takes to come back up to a boil). I find that cooking them briefly takes the "green" taste DH hates away. 

If we have protein leftovers and the pesto in the fridge, dinner comes together in <20 minutes. I've even convinced DH that making the "zoodles" out of the zucchini is "fun." 

Marley629

That sounds delicious @kyrwyn. I really need to expand on my cooking skills. They seriously lack 

anewadventure

@kyrwyn i do a lot of similar dishes with zoodles. i do like mixing in some regular noodles (actually, they're usually some kind of fancy new noodle made from chickpeas and other weird, higher-protein flours). instead of boiling my zoodles i tend to flash "fry" / saute them in a pan and burn off some of the additional water that comes out. otherwise your sauce can get really watered down. salting them and letting some of the water come out in advance is a key step for sure! 

kyrwyn

@anewadventure Your fancy noodles sound really cool.  I've been lazily trying to work my way through some of our pantry stock, hence the plain old spaghetti. It's not even whole wheat or minimally healthy. Feel free to give me all the GD-mom side eye on that one.  I also like the idea of flash frying the zoodles! When we have a frying pan already dirty from another dinner-making step, I'll try the same! (Laziness extends to number of dishes I have to get out/clean up.)

Maybe the watering down is why I didn't enjoy them as much with red sauce.  (Or maybe I'm just not a zucchini + tomato person.)

@Marley629 My step-mom says you can buy pre-zoodled zucchini in the grocery store. It might be an easy way to try them out without investing in a new kitchen gadget.  Using @anewadventure's flash fry method + some store-bought pesto, you could have a new dinner idea together in a snap!

breezybee

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE. I’m really really pissed. I just got a call from a nurse at kaiser telling me that I failed my 3 hour glucose test by 1 FUCKING POINT!!  My fasting level was at 95, which I read was fine, but she says it’s actually not supposed to be higher than 94. And my next number was high, but my last 2 were totally well below the highest allowable level. WTF?  Seriously?!  Should I just accept this and start treatment or should I talk to my doctor and take the freaking test again?  I really feel like this is bullshit!
Sorry for the rant, I was just totally expecting to pass after comparing my results with the ones I’ve seen on the Mayo Clinic, etc. 

elvenchick92686

@breezybee i would talk to your doctor to see what he says. My fast number was off by one point but i still had two failing numbers and had to start treatment. Maybe your doctor will let the one point slide. Just be prepared if he says to start treatment then go ahead and start it :-)

jlemons-2

@breezybee I would talk to the dr but they are so close to normal that after checking your sugars a few days at home, they might change their minds. Two babies can be a lot of pressure on your insulin production!

kyrwyn

@breezybee I would definitely talk to your doctor, but with your numbers so close to in range they'll probably start you with medical nutritional treatment (MNT, diet + exercise) first and just monitoring your sugars.  If they stay in range, then you may just need to test your sugars and be marginally mindful of what you eat.  I, personally, wouldn't take the test again. You'll learn more about what works for you from a week of monitoring your sugars than from a 3hr OGTT.

FWIW, My fasting was 96, not much higher than yours, but within a week of testing it became clear that it's the one of the 4 daily measurements I haven't been able to control through MNT.  

breezybee

Thanks you guys.  That advice and support really helps talk me off the ledge lol.  I’m going to pick up my glucometer and stuff and get started on this new way of life today. Couldn’t hurt anything, right?  And I should finally have a working kitchen by Sunday, so that will make this much easier. 
Thanks again!

kyrwyn

Hi GD moms! I just wanted to check in and see how everyone's doing. I hope you had a week of good numbers!  

Quick update from me: My fastings started dropping into the low 60's and high 50's -- worrisome because I had zero hypo symptoms and had no idea until I tested -- so at 34+4 they reduced my overnight insulin by 10%.  We're trying this new dose for awhile to see if my fastings get reliably back up into the mid-high 60's and low 70's.  My pp numbers have been a little on the low side, too, so my OB thinks I'm past the big hormone ramps that make the insulin resistance worse as pregnancy progresses.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is good news overall, and not just a new thing to worry/obsess about. 

Funny thing: The nurse at my NST yesterday told us that we're "just 2 weeks from full term" and the look on DH's face was priceless. Someone is suddenly motivated to pack the hospital bags. 

Marley629

I'm doing ok. A bit frustrated in that I don't really feel like I have anyone really watching over my numbers and giving me guidance. I email them to the nurse at my MFM's office and she responds with less than a sentence twice a week. And it's usually "take a walk" which I'm already doing after each meal and I've Told her that. I feel pretty awful after I eat and she just kinda ignores that fact. I feel like I should revert to my old diet prior to diagnosis where I was having very few carbs at all Bc they made me sick.  I've had a few higher fasting numbers this week (96, three times) and I haven't changed anything. She didn't say anything aboit those though and that's the ones I was concerned most with. I did have an appt with my endocrinologist for my thyroid yesterday and I showed her my numbers and she said they looked great so I'm trying not to stress about it. 41 more days!! 

@kyrwyn I hope the lower dosage helps! 

kersey0208

@kyrwyn I hope the lower numbers are good news and the adjustments work! I think things are finally starting to sink in with my husband too. 

My week had been pretty rough! My fasting numbers have been high about half the week for the past few weeks but my doctor doesn't seem too concerned about them. What she is concerned about is my high blood pressure bc its back in the 140s/80s and I've had some new symptoms that seem to align with preeclampsia, shoulder pain, swelling, and I gained 5 lbs in a week when I was losing/maintaining before. Tuesday my doc ordered some bloodwork and today I'm finishing a 24 hour urine collection to check the protein. 

I'm super worried those are going to come back early next week and I'm going to be put on bedrest or even worse in the hospital. I'll be 35 weeks Monday so we're getting close to 37 and I just keep telling myself and my husband we need to be prepared because she might make an early arrival. I'm just thankful that we've made it this far and she is still testing well in weekly ultrasounds and NSTs. Trying my best to help my body keep it together and keep her in there a few more weeks!

kyrwyn

@Marley629 If your endocrinologist and your MFM's nurse both say they look okay, then you're probably within the guidelines for your medical practice.  41 more days isn't that long -- you can do it!  It has to be really frustrating to feel like you don't have enough support.  Is there a diabetes educator or a triage nurse you can talk to about how you're feeling post meals?  I have a separate line I call to talk to the diabetes educators, nurses and nutritionist about how to manage my meds, meals, etc.  Then they confer with my OB separately about titrating my insulin, etc.  (They also don't always agree!)  

@kersey0208 I hope your labwork comes back clean and you don't have to worry about pre-e too. I'll keep my FX crossed for you and your little one.  If you're close to 35 weeks, you may be in the middle of that last hormone spike (I have read it's around 34-36 weeks for most women). Maybe it's the last big GD hurdle before baby time?

elvenchick92686

I have been okay. My doctor says my numbers have been fine though they have dropped quite alot. When i met with a new doctor she tried to yell at me over the few, like 3 highs over a two week span, high numbers i had and said to go for a walk. I talked to my regular doctor about it and he said apologized for what she said but they werent worried at all about my numbers and didnt change my dosage on my meds. I cant exactly go for walks anymore cause of my pelvic pain. Its getting way worse and my usual doc wrote it off as everything stretching and to take it easy

kyrwyn

Thinking of you, ladies! I hope everyone's doing well with healthy LOs and good numbers.  

We had our growth scan yesterday and another NST today.  LO is estimated at 5lb 14oz (at 36w 5d), which is totally normal for his growth curve!  I am so relieved.  Unfortunately, he's so normal that there's no update on when they want him delivered and we're still in "wait and see" territory.  Our NSTs this week were okay but not great -- the kid's heart rate is "non responsive" because it doesn't pick up enough when he moves around, but he moves around and his heart rate is strong so they let us go home both times instead of to triage.  My BP is also not great, but not bad enough for them to send me to triage -- I'm supposed to be monitoring at home, but I'm so tapped out on monitoring stuff from GD that I haven't bought a cuff yet. (Bad, me, I know.)

That's all from my side! I hope some of you get 3-day weekends for Veteran's day and can do something fun with the family before d-day.  And CONGRATS to @KathrynJ088 on your beautiful twins. We're keeping baby Luke in our thoughts, and hope you're all recovering well.  

elvenchick92686

@kyrwyn my numbers have been great. Rest of me not so much. My bp is starting to climb and NST bounce around as well. She has never liked to be monitored though. I am on twice weekly NSTs/bp checks, weekly doc appointments and we have our next growth ultrasound next week. I was informed that if my bp climbs or she doesnt do well on NSt then they are inducing me and not waiting till 38 weeks. Naturally this caused drama with my sister and i ended up hanging up on her yesterday cause i apparently "i wasnt any help on when mom should come". Just perfect for my bp spikes right. Mom and her finally agreed to send her next Thursday so i feel a little better that ill have some time to still have her get stuff done cause my body is just done. 

+1 on congratulations and sending good healing vibes to @Kathrynj088 on her recovery and baby Luke 

Marley629

@kyrwyn I'm glad your scan went well! I hope your BP stays in check too!

AFM, I have a growth scan tomorrow morning. He was 5lbs, 1oz at my 32 week scan 3 weeks ago so I'm expecting him to be close to 6.5lbs. I feel like he has gotten so much bigger.  I had A NST on Monday for decreased movements and he looked good but it confirmed I was contracting every 5 mins.  I knew I was contracting but didn't realize they were that close - my sugars have been ok. I have
little appetite so eating has continued to be a struggle and I can't walk much without my heart racing and feeling like I'm going to pass out so exercise hasn't be been happening unfortunately. 

Marley629

Growth scan went ok.  He's weighing in at 6lbs, 4oz at 35 weeks which is big enough where they are putting me on long-acting insulin after breakfast even though my sugars have been ok.  A little bummed but gotta do what I gotta do! 

kyrwyn

@Marley629 I'm sorry to hear about the after breakfast insulin. *sympathy hugs* Hang in there! You're getting so close!  

weaver15

I'm a little late in the game. I joined last week and don't post a whole late. I tried going back and reading some of your guys updates. Sounds like the last few weeks are tough.

I have GD my 4th and last pregnancy and I never had GD before. Mine isn't bad and I'm able to control mine with diet. My OB isn't putting me through NST or anything. Which I'm thankful for I don't like NST at all. Next week I go in for a sono to see how big he is getting. 2 weeks ago he was measuring about a week and half further. I'm 36 weeks and 2 days. I'm nervous to see how big he next week. My OB is stripping my membrane next week also. If I don't go into labor by 12/3 they are inducing me on the 4th. I'm due on 12/06. 

Enough about me I really hope everything stays stable for everyone and our little ones stay in closer to our due dates. 

kersey0208

Has anyone talked to their providers about what post delivery might look like? I scheduled my c-section for Nov 28 (since she's still breech) and I started thinking about what all is going to happen once she's out. I know I've read with GD that they will routinely montior baby blood sugar from 24 to 72 hrs after birth. Also if low sugar she may need to go to NICU. I know so many things can happen for them to take her for testing and monitoring right away but Im hoping if nothing major happens it's not protocol to take her right away. I would like to be able to at least see her of course. Going to talk to my doc Tuesday just curious if anyone has had these convos or experience delivering with GD. 

jlemons-2

@kersey0208 They just do a heel prick to check blood.  If it is okay, you just continue taking care of your baby like normal.  If it is low, they may need to take her to the NICU for a little help.  But that can even be short term. 

kyrwyn

@weaver15 Welcome to the thread! Sorry to hear you're dealing with GD too, but it's great that yours is diet controlled.  Sending happy, healthy, middle-of-the-growth-curve thoughts for your LO for your sono. I've found the hardest part of the last couple weeks to be balancing all the appointments/monitoring and the perpetual feeling of not knowing what's going on/going to happen.  My type-A self is not loving the "we'll see" limbo paired with "any of these appointments could be go time." 

@kersey0208 I've talked with my OB and CDE about delivery and post-delivery care for both the baby and me.  Huge summary follows:

As long as neither of us (baby or me) is in distress, they'll treat it a lot like a "normal" delivery.  Since I'm on insulin (though only N at night) they'll monitor my blood sugars during delivery (1-2 hr intervals) and it's possible, but not very likely, I'll need an insulin and/or glucose drip in my IV to keep them stable.  (My hospital still doesn't let you eat in labor, so it's harder to keep your sugars stable.)  Baby will be tested post-delivery and monitored until his blood sugars stabilize, and if we're having trouble with the first feeding they'll help me pump and feed him colostrum by syringe or spoon or some sort of non-bottle solution to avoid nipple confusion. (They're really militantly pro-breastfeeding at our hospital.)  They'll do everything the can to get him to BF before moving to supplementation, unless he's very dangerously hypo.  If he goes to NICU, DH goes with him at first until he's established -- but again, they don't anticipate it being necessary just because of the GD.  They'll monitor my fasting and post-meal numbers while I'm in hospital and once I show normal control my self-monitoring reverts to 2 fasting tests / week and 2 post meal / week (2hr post meal instead of 1hr) with new targets based on type 2 guidelines rather than GD guidelines.  They want me to test after carb heavy meals, where possible, to see how my body is handling the increased load.  For these meals, I'll keep a food journal but otherwise they don't need me to. At my 6-12 week followup, I'll have to do the glucose test again to screen for diabetes.  If normal, they'll screen 1x year and I'm basically good to go.

If I don't show normal control in the hospital, or if I fail the followup OGTT, they'll change my meds from insulin to an oral med and give me new instructions (diet, appropriate exercise post-recovery, testing, etc).  

kersey0208

@jlemons-2 thank you for sharing! @kyrwyn wow you're so prepared girl! Thanks for sharing! 

Hoping all the #s for everyone look great when the time comes

Marley629

Is anyone else having a scheduled c-section? They scheduled mine for 2:30 in the afternoon and it just occurred to me that I won't be able to eat for a long time beforehand - won't my sugar drop too low? I have an appt Monday so I'll bring it up then too. 

beary67

@Marley629 mine was supposed to be at 1pm and they decided in the last week or so that 1pm is too long for me to wait so they got it moved to 8am. They are worried about my insulin control with having to wait. Definitely something to bring up! 

kersey0208

I am scheduled Monday for 130 pm so nothing to eat/drink after midnight. Mine just got moved up because of high BP so I know they were trying to squeeze me in. I'm not on any medication for GD so I don't think they're worried about it.