GD fear

Burberry0421 · January 2014

I have a huge fear of getting gestational diabetes. Like it's bugging the crap out of me. I am eating a very balanced diet with lots of protein, fruits & veggies, and grains. I allow myself a meal or 2 a week that is a real treat. I have been so focused on calorie counting for the last 2 years that that's what I think of when I am planning meals & snacks. I wasn't paying much attention to sugar content. I was going crazy on sweets, but those have lots of calories so they aren't around much anyway.

Anyway, it was brought up with my dr yesterday & he laughed when I told him I ate Cheerios for breakfast. He said I need to eat 3 eggs & a piece of toast, which I gagged down today. I guess I'm acting like I have it or am going to get it, so now I think I need to eliminate sugar completely. To be honest, if I'm limiting sugar that much, I find it hard to eat much. Fruits have tons of sugar, so does that mean I cut out fruit mostly? I'm just in a pissy mood about all of this. I am a healthy girl, I started at a healthy weight, I eat a very balanced diet, I have only gained 14 lbs at 18 weeks, & I still may get GD because I'm having twins?! Ugh.

Any thoughts? Am I being overly stupid or cautious? I should mention that the first thing my mom told me when I told her it was twins was that I was probably going to get GD because it's really common in twin pregnancy, so we started it out on a super positive note.

SWA80 · January 2014

I suggest not worrying about it until it happens if you are eating healthy. Most twin pregnancies don't get it but it is not that big of a deal if you do. I did and honestly don't think there is anything I could have done to prevent it. I stayed fairly active, even ran a half marathon while pregnant. I was at a healthy weight and had a sweet aversion while pregnant and ate really healthy. It wasn't that big of a deal and felt like one of the few thing I could control about a stressful ;pregnancy.

24karat · January 2014

I wouldn't worry about it yet. GD can't really be prevented as it's a reaction to the hormones of pregnancy. If you do end up with GD its's not because you did something wrong. I had it both pregnancies and it really wasn't a big deal. The problems that come with GD also mostly happen when it goes untreated or unmonitored.

Diet wise, you shouldn't completely eliminate sugar/carbs. The whole GD diet is about moderation and balance, not elimination, and not all carbs are equal. Try to not let it get to you, especially since you haven't been given the DX.

legaleagles · January 2014

Gestational diabetes, as I understand it is based on how your placenta(s) respond to the hormones while you're pregnant, it is not like type II diabetes that is often caused/seen in overweight people who have a bad diet. So eliminating carbs/sugars are not going to prevent you from getting GD. Eat healthy to stay healthy and not gain too much weight while you're pregnant, but don't eliminate anything entirely from your diet.

Even if you have GD you wont eliminate all sugars/carbs from your diet - it's a pretty fine science to see how your body will react to different foods and what works well for stabalizing your blood sugar and doesn't and that includes eating some carbs/sugars.

Wait until you do the test before freaking out about it - if in the slim chance you do have it, you will meet with a nutritionist to learn how to change your diet as needed and see how your body reacts to certain foods as it varies from person to person.

Burberry0421 · January 2014

legaleagles Thank you for explaining that so well! I didn't realize how it worked. I just figured if I ate poorly, I would get it - even so much as eating something I want once a week. I want to eat healthy because that's how I choose to live now - I lost 60+ lbs after my daughter, so eating well & maintaining a balanced diet is important to me anyway. Thanks again, seriously. Your explanation made me feel so much better.

karah4816 · January 2014

Yep, I agree with what PPs said but I also wanted to add that I had GD when I was pregnant and when I went on the diet I actually found that I was eating more carbs than I had been before. So it really is a science what you can eat with GD, it's not just about cutting things out.

ckred27 · January 2014

It's carbs you have to limit if you have it, not sugars. If you have it, it's not that big a deal. I have had it w every pregnancy. Changing diet to low carb usually fixes it for most, if you need insulin like me, you get used to it fast and it's only a couple months. Really not a big deal

legaleagles · January 2014

Burberry0421 said:

legaleagles Thank you for explaining that so well! I didn't realize how it worked. I just figured if I ate poorly, I would get it - even so much as eating something I want once a week. I want to eat healthy because that's how I choose to live now - I lost 60+ lbs after my daughter, so eating well & maintaining a balanced diet is important to me anyway. Thanks again, seriously. Your explanation made me feel so much better.

No problem. A friend of mine who just had a baby on 1/3 had it and another friend of ours who is an OB has it now. I see them both a lot and they've talked a lot about it. I remember asking my friend early on in my pregnancy after eating a massive bag of peanut m&m's if I was going to get it and she explained it to me. And after our friend was diagnosed (before she was) she spent a lot of time talking to her about it.

Having lost and gained weight (and was overweight PP) I totally get the fear of gaining too much weight while pregnant and having to work so hard to lose it. Stay healthy, but indulge when you want - whether it's cheerios or ice cream with pickles on top

But do we need it every day? Of course not...moderation and balance..you know how to be healthy and it's okay to sprluge every now and again (even if you have GD it's okay, too, my friends did for very special occasions, like a mini cupcake at her baby shower). Don't add the stress/worry right now - you've got a lot going on already and growing 2 babies is hard hard work.

xoexpat · January 2014

I wouldn't worry too much about it either yet, although I completely relate! However, I don't think much can be done before hand to prevent it. I wouldn't worry about cutting out fruit just now. When I had GD the main thing was not to drink juice.

When I was first diagnosed, we took a careful monitoring approach to see how my current diet affected my sugar levels. I was almost always very low in the Ams, and dinner always got it high regardless of what I ate. So for the last couple of weeks I had to give myself insulin

I remember I cried in the office when the nurse showed me how to inject myself.

Looking back on it now, though, it was such a short period of time and not that bad. I felt so guilty about it, but I had all the risk factors (age, hispanic, family history, twins).

badbridey · January 2014

I had GD with my first pregnancy, but not this time around with the twins. As pps mentioned, GD can be easily treated either with diet and excersize or medication. From what my doctor discussed with me, it's more detrimental to not get proper nutrition/calories than to have slightly elevated sugars.

Momof8inSC · January 2014

I eat VERY well. 90% clean whole food. Low carb also bc I have a grain sensitivity. When I saw my MFM for te first time and he saw I have PCOS, he said, forget the GTT, you will have GT with twins. I was like, yeah right not w what I eat. Two weeks later I had been getting so sick so I checked blood sugar often (DH is a juvenile diabetic). I couldn't keep it down even w low carb. Went back to MFM and he put me on insulin (I am already on Metformin bc of PCOS). It doesn't matter if I eat only eggs and veggies, my BS goes sky high. He said bw having PCOS and mostly bc of the twins and my pancreas working for two placentas, it's hard on my body. He was right. The insulin has saved me. So if you end up on it bc you need it (or meds only), you'll be so relieved that you won't care.

eandk18 · January 2014

As pp GD is caused by hormones. I ate a good diet, am thin and didn't gain too much weight and I still got GD. If you get it, you get it. You are slightly more likely to get GD with twins but it seems like most of the people I know in real life and on this board didn't get it. If you get it, it's not the end of the world and you'll deal with it.

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