I have debated posting this because I see so many threads dedicated to Glucose Tolerance and Gestational Diabetes that I'm not sure if this specific topic has already been covered, but I hope it can help at least one person. This is just my personal story and I am only offering it as a potentially new idea to the board on the topic of managing diabetes.
Through my 20's I struggled with type 2 diabetes. I tried many things to deal with it and thought I was maintaining a healthy lifestyle (I ate well, was a healthy weight, exercised, kept food journals, etc.) . I never understood the glucose tolerance test because it manufactured a situation that was not real to my life. When would I fast, follow by drinking a huge glass of orange sugar water, and then sit still for hours? Never, but despite my lifestyle, I would always fail the test. Given this past I logically thought that when I got pregnant I would have gestational diabetes especially if I couldn't get it under control before.
I started to research information outside of the realm of standard GI diets and exercises and found that in my case stress was playing the largest role in my high blood sugar. I can not overstate how huge the change was for me when I dramatically cut stress in my life. I know it is easier said than done since there are some things in life that are givens, but when I began to meditate every day, practice yoga, do visualization exercises, stop negative and harmful interactions in my life and approach the negative interaction that I couldn't remove from my life with love and compassion my numbers began to fall and never climbed again.
I am heavier than I was then, exercising less because of pregnancy, and I have changed to a highly plant based diet, (which is high carb) and my blood sugar is still good. I wont lie, I was curious when approaching the gestational diabetes question what would happen, but I have gone for my glucose tolerance test and passed by a large margin and continue to monitor my blood sugar at home for me. Through this I still credit stress reduction with this change as does my gp.
Re: My Diabetes Experience.