Gestational diabetes

cb123391

Hello all! I am 14 weeks pregnant and have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes again (second pregnancy so got tested early) I am really struggling as this time my blood sugar seems to be high no matter what I eat. Does anyone have any advice? 

mamanbebe

@cb123391 I'm sorry you're dealing with that, but I'm glad you were able to figure it out early on. I think @nopegoat has a fair amount of insight on GD. 

cb123391

@mamanbebe thank you! Any info will help  

nopegoat

@cb123391 do you happen to keep a food log? That really helped me track what my triggers were. 

Also when my numbers started creeping up I tried to up my protein intake and that really seemed to help. 

cb123391

@nopegoat I have been keeping a food log and it just seems my body cannot handle any kind of carb. My blood has been high all evening but I haven't even ate dinner yet. After lunch my levels tested fine and I had one breath mint from a co-worker. I'm aware there's sugar but 1) my levels were good and 2) after a salad from Chipotle I needed something so my onion breath went away. My levels have been crazy since. It's the littlest things that have a huge impact. My last pregnancy I was able to control very easily. I am pregnant with twins this time though. I will have to try the protein trick. I appreciate your input 

nopegoat

Oh man that's rough. It's all hormones so especially with a twin pregnancy your body may need more help with meds unfortunately.

Definitely try the extra protein. Are you doing snacks between meals? An added protein snack in between may be just what you need. 

Please keep me updated and I'll add anything else I can think of later too. I barely passed the early 3hr this time around so they have me limiting carbs already and I fully expect to have GD again this go around. It's no fun but I think I gained the least amount of weight with my GD pregnancy so I'll take it. 

ketomommy

Look at the carb manager app.  It has a bunch of low carb yummy recipes.  I am eating lower carb this pregnancy and it is really helping.

cb123391

@nopegoat @ketomommy thank you guys for the advice. I will give anything a try. 

hope8119

What has your doctor recommended? I am concerned about GB as well but I don't think my blood sugars were tested. Did you have to ask them to test you or is it routine testing?

nopegoat

@hope8119 unless you have a family history, have had GD before, or the Dr's consider your BMI too high its routine to wait until the beginning of 3rd trimester (25-27wks) to wait to do the test. Because some of us have had a few of the above our OB wanted us to test early. 

Happyin14

Can I hijack the thread? When I eat too many carbs (or any carbs some days) and sugar, I feel sort of nauseous and gross. Which is fine - better not to eat it. But is that a symptom of GD? 

Ashers423

I second keeping a good log... although sometimes there seems to be no rhyme or reason and as much as you follow the diet it doesn’t help. I had gd with my first, not my second and so far so good with my 3rd I feel your struggle, it is so hard

try and get some exercise or walking in after each meal also.... red raspberry leaf tea (with a meal) always helped lower my blood sugars too. I’ve heard it’s helped others as well... I don’t think there’s any reasoning behind it but may be worth a shot 

nopegoat

@Happyin14 the signs of GD are pretty much the same as pregnancy. Frequent urination, higher chance of yeast infection, and fatigue. I never noticed much of a difference between my GD pregnancy and my non GD pregnancies. I also feel crummy when I eat too much sugar or carbs and I passed my 3hr this go around.

If you are worried about it, bring it up to your Dr and they might want to play it safe and test you early but I'm guessing it's normal. 

mamanbebe

@Happyin14 Do you normally consume much sugar/carbs? I find that when I ween myself off for a while and then try to eat soft serve or something similarly sugary it makes me feel really nauseated, gross and jittery for the rest of the day, and I was like that before I was KU.  

Happyin14

Thanks, guys! This all makes sense and I will bring it up. I’m inclined to think it’s not GD but two people have said it to me recently. “Oh, you don’t like sweets? Maybe that’s your body saying don’t get GD.” And I want to just punch them in the boob... but then they get in your head.

elhj83

Are you by chance sick? My husband is a type I diabetic and if he's sick at all, he has the hardest time keeping his levels in check.

cb123391

My levels were good for about a week and a half and now they're all over the place again. I have appointments with my OB and the diabetic specialist tomorrow so we will see what they say! 

hope8119

I have a family history of diabetes which is why I have been concerned because I haven't been tested. I will bring this up at my next apt to get tested. I hope everything goes well with you at the doctor's. Keep us updated.

cb123391

@hope8119 I will let you know what they say! With my first pregnancy they said that genetics does play a part but gestational diabetes is more hormone based than anything (as long as you live a healthy lifestyle to start) it was easy to manage my levels when I waa pregnant with my son. This time I'm having twins and cannot seem to find a rhyme or reason as to why my levels never seem to be where they should be. I'm always too high or too low. I would see if your doctor will test you early! They say that you typically don't develop it until mid pregnancy which is why they wait so long to test, I would assume at least. 

hope8119

Thank you for informing me. Congrats on the twins! I've always wanted twins. I hope your levels balance out. It most likely has something to do with having twins. Sorry, I can't be of much help. I'm not very familiar with this topic but I would say write down all your questions and concerns and bring them up at your doctor's visit. Hopefully they can provide you with something that will help.

cb123391

My appointment with the specialist went well. She told me to test as normal and report my levels next Monday at which point I'll likely start insulin. 

hope8119

Good to hear. Hopefully your levels change for the better.

cb123391

@hellmanpartyof5 this is the thread I was referring to. 😀

tsa208

Not sure if this helps anyone but I found it interesting. My doc said the placenta *can* excrete a hormone that interferes with glucose uptake, which is the cause of GD. So that's why you generally aren't tested until later in pregnancy, because the placenta isn't large enough to be excreting enough of that hormone to have any effect before then. Anyways, helped me understand a bit better the difference between GD and regular diabetes so thought I'd share!

mamanbebe

@cb123391 How has your progress been with trying to keep numbers down through diet? I'm only a few days in on my monitoring and it's obvious that I have GD. I'm struggling a bit with the triggers though, mine seem to be  starches  (potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, etc) and I'm at a loss of how to get enough calories in a day without spiking my glucose levels. Even pairing with proteins I end up with elevated postprandial and fasting numbers. 

cb123391

@mamanbebe as soon as week 24 hit my levels got even worse. I have no management of them at this point. I start insulin at my appointment next week. At least that's what they said when I turned my numbers in on Thursday. I get premier protein shakes and drink 1 with breakfast and I am able to eat more carbs and maintain my levels with that for the most part .My advice would be don't deprive yourself but just limit your triggers. Healthy fats like avocado has also helped me! I hope it gets easier for you. It's all hormone based so hopefully you start to level out