Question mainly for ladies who had GD

NatesLady1309

A good friend of mine learned within the past couple of weeks that she has GD. Surprising since she is TINY, healthy, no family history, etc. She has also only gained 14 lbs over her pre-preg weight (she lost a little due to sickness in the 1st tri). Anyway, the practice she is with (same practice that I was at, and it's OBs, not midwives just FYI) wants her to start checking her blood sugar 4 times a day and they are all but requiring that she attend a class on GD. I find this odd, primarily because she is 34 weeks pregnant. 34. And they are just finding this out and telling her this now? If it is that big of a deal, especially as far as monitoring her sugar levels goes, why bring it up and test for it this late in the game versus much sooner? She does NOT want to stick herself 4 times a day and she does NOT want to attend this class. Is this normal? I did not have GD so I have no idea. I'm just really annoyed FOR her and I feel like they are making a bigger deal out of it than it is. She's eating healthy enough and being a responsible mama to the baby inside of her, so why put her through all this when there's really nothing you can do for GD besides eat healthy (as far as I know)?School me if I am wrong. I know they may monitor the baby's size more closely and things like that as well. But I don't see why the sugar testing or the class would be necessary. I just find this whole thing odd and frustrating. If I am just completely ignorant here, I'm sorry, no "you're stupid" flames please. 

shortsweet&sassy

I had to check my levels before each meal and before each snack. It's important to see what your numbers are doing because if you're numbers are too high or too low controlling it only with diet you may need to start medication to keep the levels normal.
They also check the baby when its born for something with the sugars, I think to see if the baby is diabetic. I could be wrong I was a little out of it when they were telling me about DDs testing, she was fine. but it can affect the baby in ways other than size.
ETA: I also had to see a diabetic counselor and I dietician a couple of times to learn how to keep my numbers in check with diet.

shortsweet&sassy

Also, 34 weeks is late in the game but there is a possibility that her body developed it later in pregnancy. Hope this all makes sense!

karleegirl

Thank you rnmama for saying it has nothing to do with being overweight. I hate that misconception. Not just picking on you nateslady a lot of people think that.
That being said a coworker was dx with gd until 38 weeks. The baby was measuring very large. So for her second pregnancy she was tested several times.

jmccall79

I had GD and it sucked! I was tested for it early because of other factors. It was a pain in my rear end but I followed orders because it was my sons life at stake! Yes, 34 wks is a late diagnosis but still a diagnosis. With some, it can be controlled with diet alone but you don't know that unless you're testing your blood sugar. There are a lot of other things that can happen, besides a "big" baby with GD...I'm on my phone so I won't name them all...but high weight and under developed babies is one, later term losses are another big issue. My doctor would not let me go past 39wks because of the risk. For the health of her child, why would she not just suck it up and prick her finger? It's really not that bad, honestly! I'm a wuss and handled it, religiously like I was supposed to, from 16wks on.
ETA: I had to go to a high risk group that monitored my GD, on top of seeing my OB. I hated it! Starting at 32 weeks I was in the dr's office twice a week for monitoring...NST and growth ultrasounds. They managed my mess too. I tried 2 weeks of controlling with diet alone and it didn't work and I got out on meds. Luckily I didn't end up on insulin. I thought it was a lot of overkill but I followed their orders because it was my sons health on the line. If its not controlled, babies can be born with blood sugar issues.

NatesLady1309

I appreciate the honest and respectful feedback, ladies!

hizah05

This sounds like me exactly. I had zero risk factors, hardly gained weight, etc... And yes, I had to stick myself 4 times a day. I found out at about 31 weeks. The best part was that my levels were never over the limit when I tested. My OB was even confused and after a few weeks had me only testing 2x a day every other day because I was always fine or even too low.

Just tell her to record the numbers and talk about them with her OB if they are normal. The fasting one first thing in the am is the most important. If it is too high there is a need to keep testing and watch what you eat.

They did monitor Logan a lot after that and oddly enough he stopped growing, he had IUGR, and was born at 5 pounds 5 ounces. Kind of the opposite of what you expect.

sapphirebride06

I didn't read previous replies so here's my info:

I gained 16 pounds total with DS #2 and was diagnosed as GD at about 28 weeks.  I had to test 7 times per day and was able to control it with diet but had to go to a MFM weekly to do BPP and have them read my numbers and make sure I was eating balanced, etc.  

And if she cannot control her numbers by just eating healthy they will put her on insulin - but without her testing, they can't know what her numbers are.  And that's why they have you do it over a period of a few days to a week to see if it's a one time occurrence or if there is a definite increase regardless of what she eats. 

And the sugar testing class will cover diet as well as how to work her machine and what they want.  Mine went over what to eat and what to substitute and what to look for so my numbers stayed where I needed them.  Until that class I had NO idea what diabetes was about so it was very informative and was required.  

And I had no family history, I exercised and ate right - so it isn't something she did or didn't do to get diagnosed.  Having too high sugars can be harmful to her and the baby so since she has 6 weeks left I think it is very beneficial to do what her doctor suggests.  I had to test even on my way into the hospital the night I was in labor so they knew what to expect since that was the last time I would be able to eat.