May 2017 Moms

GD check-in

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Re: GD check-in

  • @SparkySunDevil did you have it with another pregnancy? If so, I'd definitely push for it. And it's the testing strips that get you. They can be very expensive. 

    I had my first appointment with a Nurse Practitioner/nutritionalist today. I have ketones in my urine, which means I'm not eating enough carbs, and she didn't love my numbers. She said only 20% of my numbers can be high or she'll put me on meds. She also made me do another A1C. And she basically told me that I'm headed towards diabetes later in life. 

    Last time, I was easily diet/exercise controlled so this threw me for a loop. I do need to up my activity levels, but it's so much harder with a kid to take care of. And then I had a high reading tonight post-dinner. Sigh. Im wallowing. 
    @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot yes, I had it with my first pregnancy. I didn't have it with my second. 

    With my first pregnancy, I had a chorioangioma on my placenta, and they thought that might be the cause for the diabetes. (I am overweight, so that certainly doesn't help.) 
  • So although I have yet to take my 3 hour, I am trying to get myself in the mindset of having GD so that if/when I get the phone call it is less of a shock/struggle.
    I AM 100% ignorant as to what the GD diet looks like.  Am I correct in that I would need to be limiting sugar (both good [fruit] and bad [candy]) and white carbs?  I would be focused on eating veggies, protein and whole grain foods?
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  • @Jens_Hoes Yes, you are super limited on carbs in general regardless of their source.  The only thing that doesn't count in the carb category is dietary fiber.  Once you get the diagnosis, you should get some sort of training that will give you the specific amounts.  My dietitian allows 30g of carbs for breakfast, 30-45g for lunch and dinner, and 15-20g for snacks which should occur between meals.  When you start looking at carb content, this is very few carbs.  For example, one cup of pasta typically has 40-45g of carbs (that isn't a lot of pasta and that doesn't even include the marinara sauce).  Hopefully, you will pass the 3 hour test, but if not, please know we are here to support you.  I'm not saying that I am a master at GD, but I had it for 12 weeks with my first pregnancy and am going on week 18 this pregnancy and I have managed to control my sugar completely through diet both times.  It's not fun, but you do what you have to in order to have a healthy baby.
  • I haven't met with a dietician yet so I haven't been given many guidelines. What is the ideal range for your blood sugars with GD? I've been ranging between 78 and 119. I'm thinking I need to have just a little bit more carbs. 
  • @Jens_Hoes It's a balancing game. You have to limit carbs to avoid spiking your blood sugar. But you also have to eat carbs to avoid going ketotonic. Through some trial and error, you can figure out what works for you and what doesn't. For instance, I can't have milk in the morning but I can have a snickers ice cream bar as my bedtime snack. 

    @lrwardrop Are you testing 1 or 2 hours after a meal? 1 hour you should be 140 or less. 2 hours is 120 or less. Fasting should be 95 or less. 

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  • This is in our regular recipe rotation. I made tonight, switched out the basmati rice for brown rice, and a side of roasted cauliflower. After a walk around the block, my number was 137 1 hour after. 

    https://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/butter-chicken-2/

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  • @Jens_Hoes It's a balancing game. You have to limit carbs to avoid spiking your blood sugar. But you also have to eat carbs to avoid going ketotonic. Through some trial and error, you can figure out what works for you and what doesn't. For instance, I can't have milk in the morning but I can have a snickers ice cream bar as my bedtime snack. 

    Ugh, I wish my mom got this. She goes to this crazy keto doctor who believes that eating an apple caused her to gain 3 pounds. Keto is fine for my mom but she has to stay under 30 carbs a DAY. I told her that would be dangerous with my GD and that I HAVE to have carbs to keep my numbers in check. It's all about balancing fat and protein with carbs. I can eat an apple with cheese or peanut butter and do just fine. 
  • @fbmandy55
     
    My mother is driving me nuts.  She was pre-diabetic for years and went on/off the diet/exercise plan.  Now she's diabetic controlled with meds and isn't doing much better on the diet game.  Yet she has so much "advice" for me.  She eats a banana every morning because "she needs the potassium" in addition to the potassium supplements she already takes.  A banana has some of the most sugar of any fruit! She keeps preaching to me about how I need to eat more bananas.  No thanks, mom.  I'm concerned for my kid's safety. And they're gross. She also told me I should just go walk around Target every night after dinner.  Right, because I don't have a toddler to take care of? And that would get expensive.

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  • @lrwardrop those are good guidelines from @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot, but your clinic may vary. Mine dictates <130 after 1 hour, <90 fasting :neutral:
  • @cato99 If I went to your clinic, I'd never pass that! Do they give you more leeway for "higher' numbers? Right now, only 20% of my numbers can be above 95 or 140 and if I exceed that, I'm headed to meds.  Those are the guidelines my perinatal clinic set.  My OB agreed with the levels but she seemed more lenient than the 20% and told me to be most cautious about the fasting numbers.  

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  • @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot I'm in the waiting room for my first monitoring appointment, after about 2 weeks, so I'm about to find out! FAST PACED LIVE BROADCAST GD ACTION right here! 

    (My fasting numbers are right around 90--sometimes mid to high 80s, sometimes 90 or a tad over. My post prandials are always lower than 130 but I may get yelled at for not eating enough carbs because paranoia. I have NO idea what to expect from this appointment. Back pats? Scolding? Cake? I hope it's cake but I know it's never cake.)
  • edited March 2017
    @cato99 Good luck! I always leave feeling good about the appointment and then later feel like the nutritionalist was judging me and I didn't realize it. 

    ETA: FFTC: I had 2 bites of a super rich dark chocolate cheesecake dessert today.  My post-meal number was 95 an hour after.  At this point, I don't think I have any control over it.

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  • @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot idk that dessert sounds super protein-y to me I mean it's practically diet food ;) The body, and GD, is very weird. 

    So I definitely found out that my clinic is strict all-round. They were cool with my food-related numbers all being under 130 and told me I could chill out and only monitor one meal per day, alternating meals, but I still need to keep a close eye on fasting levels every day and there was a lot of frowny faces and eyebrow scrunching and "not perfect" and "borderline" and "iffy" and "not medicine YET but MAYBE" at my mainly 85-91 fasting numbers, boo. 
  • edited March 2017

    yesterday I wanted to do a little test so I ate a medium sized baked potato with sour cream and cheese sauce.. followed it up with a cupcake with lots of frosting and 3 girl scout tagalongs.... 2 hours later my blood sugar was 109... my highest number this week.  I sent a message to my provider so we will see what they say.


    Today I met with a nutritionist and she said that post meal numbers should be less than 140 at 2 hours. She said they used to say 130 but new guidelines say 140 is ok.

  • Hello all, I'm sorry if my post upsets anyone but this is my story......In my first pregnancy I failed my 1 hour glucose test at 26 1/2 weeks and then failed the 3 hour test at 28 1/2 weeks.
    I was referred for diabetic counseling at 29 1/2 weeks.  It was at that appointment that we discovered my daughters heart had stopped beating.  I am now 29 weeks pregnant (super nervous!) with my second and have been testing my sugars since 15 weeks.  I never went for a glucose test but its obvious I have GD again since I have to be really strict or my numbers are too high.  I walk on my treadmill for 30 mins every night before bed and eat 2 hard boiled eggs every night as a snack.  I live on cheese sticks, nuts, plain greek yogurt, special k protein cereal, nature valley protein bars, and lots of lean meat/fish and veggies.  I see the MFM specialist every other week and my regular GYN every other week and my sugars are monitored carefully...so far no medication.  I am being induced at 37 weeks this time. Good luck to all!  Its really not that bad, once you get used to the diet.  I have to say I feel great, hardly any heart burn, and barely gained any weight.  15 pounds so far and most were prior to 15 weeks :blush:  
  • Looking at everyone's diet restrictions/recommended numbers is crazy to me.  It's interesting to see what each of our doctors has said is appropriate numbers and inappropriate numbers.  Who knows what is really the right number?! @cato99 I can't believe they don't like your fasting numbers.  I would be screwed.  I usually have one or two fasting numbers a week that are between 95-100 which is the magic number they gave me.  They are monitoring those fasting numbers closely so that I may have to go on medication just to help with those morning levels.
    @AliG1217 how much of the special K protein cereal can you consumer and do you eat it with milk?  Cereal is one of the foods that I have been missing and haven't found a compromise except plain cheerios.
  • Also joining the club after I flunked my test this weekend. Now the fun of scheduling specialist visits and ultrasounds begins. :) Glad to have you ladies and this thread to help manage the weeks until Baby is here. 
  • Failed 1 hour and 3 hour. I'm with a midwife birth center for my care, and they are referring me to a gestational diabetes program through a hospital. I'm told if I have too many levels above 200 I can't give birth at the birth center. I'm beyond devastated and an emotional wreck. I've looked at your diets and read almost all of the posts, and I'm dumbfounded. I eat well, and don't know how I can really improve my diet enough if my numbers were so bad with the GTTs. Feeling hopeless.
  • Failed 1 hour and 3 hour. I'm with a midwife birth center for my care, and they are referring me to a gestational diabetes program through a hospital. I'm told if I have too many levels above 200 I can't give birth at the birth center. I'm beyond devastated and an emotional wreck. I've looked at your diets and read almost all of the posts, and I'm dumbfounded. I eat well, and don't know how I can really improve my diet enough if my numbers were so bad with the GTTs. Feeling hopeless.
    Sorry you had to join the club. At first I was so upset and in denial about GD. I too felt like I ate pretty well and was pretty active. After checking my blood sugar 4x a day for a week it's honestly not as difficult as I thought. My numbers have been great and I don't find it that difficult to stay away from excess carbs or sugar. I still eat the things I enjoy but just in smaller quanities. Most women can just alter their diet and exercise to control the diabetes. Don't feel hopeless, you can do it! 
  • edited March 2017
    Failed 1 hour and 3 hour. I'm with a midwife birth center for my care, and they are referring me to a gestational diabetes program through a hospital. I'm told if I have too many levels above 200 I can't give birth at the birth center. I'm beyond devastated and an emotional wreck. I've looked at your diets and read almost all of the posts, and I'm dumbfounded. I eat well, and don't know how I can really improve my diet enough if my numbers were so bad with the GTTs. Feeling hopeless.
    A number above 200 would be incredibly high.  The diet is mostly about figuring out what does and what doesn't raise your blood sugar.  For instance, I can't eat any potatoes (sweet or regular) or white rice.  I do great with brown rice.  You still have to eat carbs and can't avoid them completely.  But once you start testing, you'll figure out what works for you.  Hang in there.  It's an emotional rollercoaster ride.  We're here to vent.

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  • I have a hard time incorporating carbs into meals and finding whole grains that don't spike me.  We made this tonight as a side with chicken breasts and asparagus.   After my regular 20-min post meal walk, my 1hr number was only 121.  It was pretty good too.

    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/farro-salad-with-tomatoes-and-herbs-recipe


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  • Popping in uninvited (GTT test tomorrow, hoping not to join you ladies - no offense) just to offer a tidbit I've learned working with an endocrinologist. In regards to exercise, a 10 minute walk after each meal is more effective at lowering A1C (average bg) than a 30 minute walk once a day. Another relatively small adjustment that can have a big impact.

    sorry if that's been mentioned, I only skimmed PP. Good luck ladies - I don't envy you but it'll be over soon and you can do it :)
  • @jayandaplus you are absolutely not alone--it can really be a devastating diagnosis, whether it's borderline and unexpected or spectacularly over the line. And it's hard to communicate to other ppl (partners, family, other pregnant ppl) how badly it can impact the pregnancy experience. I got some great words of encouragement on this thread and it was surprising to me how quickly I adjusted to the new schedule and eating habits. If you're already eating healthfully you're halfway there--you probably just need to tweak some timing and proportions. It IS admittedly different from regular "healthy" eating so you'll have to incorporate some new guidelines but it becomes weirdly automatic and instinctive after a couple of weeks. Same goes for little behavioral tweaks--walks after meals is a big one, as well as drinking a gazillion gallons of water. 

    @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot I've been aaalllll over farro this week! 
  • Finally got my appointments scheduled and going between being excited to see the diabetic educator and nutritionist tomorrow and feeling like I have "the Scarlett letter" on my jacket. Even scheduling the appointments was super stressful for me. I am hopeful having a plan will make it easier to manage, but also terrified of having to take insulin. It's so helpful to have this thread and see how many are able to control their levels with diet and exercise alone. 

    Any suggestions for what to expect at this appointment? Apparently it will be almost 2 hours long. 
  • @PghMom412  It seems like the diabetic counseling varies.  Last pregnancy, I went to a prenatal clinic once where I met with a nutritionalist.  She gave me the run-down of what to do and some info in the form of paperwork.  I never had to go back there again. My OB reviewed my logs at my regular appts and ordered an extra U/S towards the end to check growth.

    This time, I went to a different prenatal clinic because the old one wasn't covered by my insurance.  My first visit there included an almost AS level of U/S and a very quick "consult" with the MFM.  He gave me a script for my testing supplies and I had to go back to meet with a NP for the counseling a week later.  She has me submitting my logs weekly and visiting her bi-weekly.  She even had her assistant call me after I submitted last week's log to tell me I need to walk for 20mins after dinner (thanks, I already am  :s). She keeps threatening meds and I feel like she's a bit judgey about my diet, which I am following. I could be reading into it as I'm very insecure about this whole thing.  The prenatal clinic also has me going back for monthly growth scans.  My OB seemed to think this might be a bit of overkill but wants to see what my numbers look like next week before telling me I can dial it back with the prenatal clinic.

    Because I'm obsessed with food, I have another recommendation.  I've really missed my mochas lately and the decaf plain lattes are just not cutting it. I tried Fairlife Chocolate milk with a decaf espresso shot this morning for my morning snack.  It was pretty awesome. I checked my number after and it was only 103.

    For anyone who is already testing, have they given you a "cut-off" for putting you on meds? The nutritionalist says the MFM wants to see no more than 20% of all numbers be high.  I'm averaging 1 high number a day, but my fasting has never been high.  I think a lot of it is trial and error as I'm only on my 3rd week of testing and I'm trying to figure out what I can and can't have.  My OB, on the other hand, said she's most concerned about fasting numbers and isn't so worried if I can explain the reason for the other spikes.  I'm hoping to avoid meds because my OB will want to induce by 39 wks if I go on meds.  DD was stubborn and had to be induced at almost 41 wks, so I'm worried an earlier induction won't be successful.

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  • PghMom412 said:
    Finally got my appointments scheduled and going between being excited to see the diabetic educator and nutritionist tomorrow and feeling like I have "the Scarlett letter" on my jacket. Even scheduling the appointments was super stressful for me. I am hopeful having a plan will make it easier to manage, but also terrified of having to take insulin. It's so helpful to have this thread and see how many are able to control their levels with diet and exercise alone. 

    Any suggestions for what to expect at this appointment? Apparently it will be almost 2 hours long. 

    I had my appointment with the diabetic educator/nutritionist last week. Honestly, it was a waste of my time. The meeting started out with a bunch of personal questions and trying to ask about feelings. I understand why they wanted to discuss it because some people can really struggle with depression after the diagnosis but I was upset for a day or two and I just realized its not the end of the world, its temporary and the changes in my diet are for my health and health of my baby so I just need to deal with it. I did plenty of research online about what to eat/not to eat so I felt pretty educated going into the meeting. The meeting I had was pretty basic and stuff I already learned on google or in this thread! Obviously everyone's class is going to be different based on the instructor and the group so you may find the class very helpful. I think most of the learning happens when you start testing and start to figure out what foods you should avoid because everyone is different.
  • (Lurker from June)

    @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot, this is my third pregnancy with GD. In my past pregnancies, my doctor followed the 20% rule, and was pretty lenient with me if I could explain away my high numbers. In those pregnancies, all of my fasting numbers were normal, but I had a few high post-meal numbers. I was never put on meds.

    However, this pregnancy, my fasting numbers are all over 95, but post-meals are still normal. I was just put on insulin because of my fasting numbers. However, insulin isn't helping that number at all either. 

    I would also assume the growth scans will be telling, as far as, whether or not they'll induce based on LO's measurements. 

    Sorry about the NP, she sounds...fun. I hope your OB is good with your numbers and lets you scale back prenatal visits. 

    Sounds like you're still finding your diet groove, I would hope they'd give you more time before starting meds. GL!
  • @PghMom412 I'm with ya! So nervous about my upcoming appointment. I hope yours goes well. Keep us posted.

    I hear you @lrwardrop, but I'm one of those people who have gotten pretty depressed from this diagnosis. I'm sure it's hard for them to know what we need at the first appointment.
  • @jayandaplus thanks! Hope yours goes well too! 

  • @Stankonia2014
    Thank you for your input! It's great to hear others' experiences.  I have a Perinatal appt on Mon and an OB appt on Tues next week.  So if they try to put me on meds on Mon, I'm going to verify with my OB on Tuesday first.

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  • So I was diagnosed a few weeks ago but I've been MIA due to a lack of internet :(. I was sent to a high risk specialist a week after doing the counseling with my hospital. The specialist did an US and also did counseling (which was annoying). What sucked was the first dietitian told me to do 60 grams of carbs at each meal and two snacks between 15 and 30. The second told me 30 for breakfast, 45 for lunch and 60 for dinner with three snacks of 15 only. I test 2 hours after meals. The want my fasting blood sugar under 90, after meals between 60 and 120. My fasting has never been under 90, but the rest of my numbers were good. So high risk doc put me on glyburide at night. Still didn't work after three nights, so they upped the dose and have me testing eat 3am to see if I'm dropping too much and rebounding. So now I'm hoping for some answers that don't involve more/different medication. I hate this. 

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  • @PghMom412, I just had my two and a half hour appointment today broken into three parts. The first was with the nutritionist, who went through the amount of carbs I could have per meal and for snacks.  It was pretty basic stuff but helpful.  Then I met with an RN who showed me how to do the finger pricks, and we had a bit of extra time, so we went through the insulin shots too - just in case.  And then I met with the endocrinologist for a quick physical and medical overview.  I have to meet with the nutritionists and RN again in a week (to go through food logs and levels) and then one more time again in three weeks.  Good luck tomorrow!  
  • I haven't been really active but it looks like I'll be joining you ladies. I just got a call that I failed my 3 hour test. I have to pick up my testing supplies today, see the OB tomorrow or Monday and see the nutritionist next week. I am 29 weeks tomorrow. The OB wants to see if diet with work before he tries medication. I'm so nervous because I'm already high risk due to age and lupus. I also have uterine growth restriction and a history of preeclampsia. How far along is everyone? 
    Carly
    (Former UN: iloveshanej)

    Birdie born 05/01/2007
    Rainbow Surprise Baby due 05/26/2017                                          


    Potato Launcher


  • Well the dietician was super friendly and had a lot of great resources. She said that my fasting numbers should be below 95 and checking 1 hr after meal should be 140. 

    @CeCe8579 I'm 28 weeks along so max 12 more weeks of monitoring. 
  • How many "high" numbers does everyone have? I keep having 1 high number a day, always post-meal (not fasting) and never the same meal.  I'm trying to hard to find appropriate carbs during meals and it's getting so frustrating. So far, I can only have black beans, farro, brown rice, or some grain mix.  Those things aren't too easy to come by in restaurants or as a breakfast option.

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  • How many "high" numbers does everyone have? I keep having 1 high number a day, always post-meal (not fasting) and never the same meal.  I'm trying to hard to find appropriate carbs during meals and it's getting so frustrating. So far, I can only have black beans, farro, brown rice, or some grain mix.  Those things aren't too easy to come by in restaurants or as a breakfast option.

    in 8 days I had 2 "high numbers" last night at my appointment they said once the numbers are high 1/3 of the time they will start medication. They want the fasting less than 95 and post meals under 120.
  • @CeCe8579 I'm sorry that you are having to join us.  Hopefully you can keep your levels regulated through diet.  I am 32w 2d.
    @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot I have 5 or 6 high numbers a week with the majority of them being my fasting numbers.  I met a new dr in the practice today who said that half of my numbers needed to be under, but the dr I had been meeting with my last few appointments also said 1/3 of the numbers should be under.
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