Gestational Diabetes check in and support 3/27

zande2016 · March 2018

Thank you @Sarafuss for the ideas on questions. Anyone can feel free to add anything or tweak the format for future checks ins. Also, let me know if people prefer weekly vs monthly check ins, and whether this should be a general Diabetes thread (T1, T2, and GD) or just GD - I am fine with whatever.

How far along are you?

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication):

Upcoming appointments:

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves?

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:

zande2016 · March 2018

How far along are you?
24 + 4

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication):
Diet and exercise for now. I try to walk after lunch every day, and after dinner if my husband is home since my son is in bed by then. I also got an elliptical but it's still in our garage until we find someone to help move it into the basement. I also take 2,000 mg metformin (2 pills twice a day) but I was already on it for years for PCOS so my dosage was just increased a little to help my numbers. Hoping to avoid insulin!

Upcoming appointments:
April 10th for a growth scan, I also send my MFM my glucose log weekly and he's been happy with it. I think I'll have growth scans with the MFM every few weeks in addition to regular midwife appointments.

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves?
Just annoyed my numbers are going up but I'm hoping it's just because I'm getting a cold. I haven't changed anything diet wise, but haven't been exercising as much because I've been so tired.

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:
i cant eat potatoes anymore

but I have an ice cream bar before bed every night and that's working out well, so at least there's that!

moguippy · March 2018

How far along are you?
23+6

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication):
I was on 1000mg metformin pre pregnancy but the endocrinologist recently dropped it to 500mg. I'm not on the diet but I am trying to avoid eating like an unsupervised child at a birthday party. I also test fasting numbers every morning and after meals 3x a week.

Upcoming appointments:
Growth scan next Tuesday since I am apparently growing a giant. Regular OB on April 9th. Kinda mad my endocrinologist doesn't have me scheduled until May/June

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves?
So my fasting numbers are good, my lunch numbers are good to decent, but my dinner numbers are always borderline or just over. Drs want me under 120 by 2 hours after I start my meal. Lately dinner numbers have been slightly over, but I don't eat that different for dinner than for lunch. Anyone know what could cause this? I'm wondering if it is because my dose just got cut in half. The endo said to go back to 1000mg if my numbers went up... but it's only the dinner number

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:
I haven't figured out what is working and what isn't yet

@zande2016 Thanks for starting this! I think it should definitely be an all diabetes thread. I feel like I could really learn something from those that have had more experience. I also think a bi-monthly check in would be good (twice a month). But that's just me. I would be fine with whatever

busymommy23 · March 2018

How far along are you? 21 +5

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication): insulin injections 4x a day, 6u before each meal and 30u before bed. My morning numbers have always been the worst to control.

Upcoming appointments: April 17th for fetal echo and consult, April 19th with Obgyn

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves? The shots hurt sometimes. Im bruised pretry nicely on my side from a few of them. I kind of feel like they arent helping, even though my numbers are good but just because i wonder if baby girls problems were caused by the uncontrolled sugar numbers early on. Dr said no but my mom guilt says otherwise.

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid: i crave fruit, which has been hard. Go to snacks are Dannon light and fit greek yogurt. Toasted marshmallow is by far my favorite. Ive found that our 1 pot meal of chicken and lots of veggies (onion, musbroom, green beans, corn, and a few potatoes) is super yummy and filling and also works well with numbers.

purplepelican · March 2018

@zande2016 Thanks for starting this!!

How far along are you? 23+1

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication): 2000 mg Metformin (they'll probably reduce my dose); some exercise although not enough; not on the diet yet but that might change after today. I'm also testing my fasting blood sugar every morning and 2 hours after every meal. @moguippy I love your comment about "trying not to eat like an unsupervised child at a birthday party." That's basically been my strategy so far.

Upcoming appointments: I have my diabetes education class today, so we will see how it goes. I don't actually have gestational diabetes yet, but I have anovulatory PCOS that I was already on the 2000mg of Metformin for. If you didn't see my saga on the GD testing thread: my OB and MFM bizarrely wanted to take me off of the Metformin to test me for GD. The Metformin helps with a ton of my PCOS symptoms, so I fought them on it and didn't see why I should have to go off the Metformin to test for GD. They finally agreed to let me stay on the Metformin if I go ahead and start being treated as if I already have GD. I'm not even sure if they're actually going to test me for it now. So who knows what the guidelines I'll get at my appointment today will be.

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves? I was a hot mess yesterday and didn't test my blood sugar either after waking or after dinner. I need to work on remembering to do it even when I'm frantically running around trying to do other stuff.

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:
Potatoes are not my friend. I've been enjoying mozzarella string cheese sticks as an afternoon snack instead of my usual crackers. It's just enough to keep me full until dinner, and I like that the snack lasts a while since I'm peeling off little strips of the cheese.

zande2016 · March 2018

@moguippy could the after dinner spike be an issue with timing of your metformin? I'd try upping your dosage, and trying one pill with breakfast and one with dinner, and see if that helps. The past couple days my after breakfast number has been high despite only eating 15 carbs and not changing anything about what I eat, I have no explanation for that either, except to think it could be hormonal. My lunch and dinner numbers have been perfect and even low. I am going to just cut out carbs altogether at breakfast and see if that helps.

@busymommy23 I just caught up in the other thread about the heart issues, please don't blame yourself! I know it's hard, but I haven't seen anything to suggest blood sugar being related to heart defects. I'm sorry the shots are hurting, I've found the finger pricks started hurting a lot in certain fingers randomly and I can't figure out why. Very frustrating.

@beanship I also have been eating a lot of string cheese, and while I like it, I feel like every time I need more protein in a snack or meal, the only thing I can think to add easily/quickly without adding any carbs is a string cheese. I guess there are worse things I could be overeating lol

TalesOfASocialIntrovert · March 2018

@busymommy23 Do you warm your insulin before injecting? Cold insulin (straight from the fridge) can burn like crazy and cause more bruising. Try rolling it in your hands for a minute first if you don't already. Also, if you slap the skiin where you plan to inject, I've found it kind of dulls the nerves and makes it less painful. Also, you should be able to use very short, small gauge needles (if you're not already). Longer ones can contribute to bruising.

@zande2016 For finger pokes, try to stick to the middle finger and ring fingers, and favor your non-dominent hand. Aim for the sides of the finger tips (the blue circles). These areas have less contact while using your hands so you tend to not be as bothered in those spots. Also, use the lowest Lancet setting that allows for an adequate blood sample. Deeper pokes hurt a lot more!

How far along are you?
26+2

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication):
Insulin pump and Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). I've been Type 1 for approx. 22 years.

Upcoming appointments:
None this week. Endo and MFM for fetal echo were last week.

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves?
Rant: None related to diabetes. Just feeling lonely lately - left my job late last year and take care of DD everyday. Pregnancy in general is hard and for obvious reasons, mostly my own job to handle so it contributes to the loneliness.
Rave: A1c (test that reflects average BS) at last weeks appt was still good. I'd prefer perfection

but still pleased with the number.

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:
I've known for a while that I need to stop having cereal for breakfast but it's just so damn good. Makes my BS spike way too high!
My go-to "free foods" are pickles, cheese, and Le Croix.

purplepelican · March 2018

@zande2016 Yeah I know what you mean. The convenience factor is huge for me. Right now I'm eating peanut butter out of a spoon as my protein with a snack, and it's definitely not as convenient.

My diabetes education class went well. I liked the dietitian a lot, and she just totally rolled with my "I haven't tested positive for GD but I'm being treated like I have it" situation and without prompting said that we can be a little less strict with my carb counts for the present since most of the time I'm already eating at or close to the high end of what they want for each meal, I'm having good numbers, and I'm already on Metformin. I am a little grumpy that I have to start checking my urine for ketones. A few weeks ago, I finally felt good enough about the pregnancy that I threw out all of the disposable pee cups that I'd been using for OPKs, HPTs, testing out my trigger shot, etc. So now I have to buy more pee cups.

zande2016 · March 2018

@TalesOfASocialIntrovert thanks for the tip!

@beanship I've never heard of testing for ketones...what does that involve? Is that to make sure you're eating enough carbs? It hasn't been mentioned to me at all.

zande2016 · March 2018

@TalesOfASocialIntrovert I'm sorry you're feeling lonely. I can imagine leaving your job to stay home while also going through pregnancy must feel isolating at times. Have you looked into a playgroup or anything for your baby? Maybe you could meet other SAHMs. I have a tough time meeting other mom's because none of my friends have kids and I don't have time to make it to any activities where I might meet some - I definitely get lonely sometimes not having anyone I can talk to who knows what it's like to be a mom.

purplepelican · March 2018

@zande2016 Basically I was told that you get ketones in your urine if you aren't eating enough carbs or if your body isn't making enough insulin. So they said that if you have ketones but normal blood sugar numbers it indicates that you may need to increase carbs, but if you have ketones plus 3 elevated blood sugar numbers (not sure if it's 3 in a day or 3 in a week) it might indicate that you need insulin.

purplepelican · March 2018

So this morning I had trace ketones plus a 71 blood sugar (my doctor doesn't want me below 70). I had to call my nutritionist, and apparently I didn't have enough protein with dinner because I ate a vegetarian Indian food dish (and also exercised). Ugh. This is hard.

Sarafuss · March 2018

@beanship in my first pregnancy I had issues spilling ketones because I was so focused on meeting the number of carbs at each meal/snack but wasn't paying attention to pairing protein at each meal/snack. It is hard to figure it all out! Your body burns carbs faster than protein so it's especially important to have enough protein at dinner and bedtime so you don't drop too low overnight.

zande2016 · March 2018

Should I be concerned that my doctors/midwives have never mentioned Ketones or had me test for it? Ugh there is just so much to juggle with this. Am I eating too many carbs, not enough carbs, are my numbers too high, too low, it's very overwhelming.

Sarafuss · March 2018

@zande2016 I never checked my ketones at home. They check them when you go in for your regular prenatal visits. The dietician should give you a certain number of carbs to eat at each meal or snack. It varies from person to person but I was always supposed to have 30g for breakfast, 45g for lunch, 60g for dinner and 15g for each snack. Although I think my bedtime snack was 15-30g. And you just try to get a decent amount of protein with those carbs. In my first pregnancy, I would just eat an apple for a snack or popcorn and not have any protein which was causing problems with ketones. I'm not that big on eating meat in general either so it was a struggle to get enough protein. I don't know if they didn't explain it to me correctly or I just didn't hear them say it. But I did much better in my second pregnancy and didn't have any issues with ketones.

zande2016 · March 2018

@Sarafuss I'm with you on the meat...I was actually a vegetarian when I was diagnosed, and was so overwhelmed with trying to find non-meat sources of protein (plus soy and beans were making me nauseous) that I went back to eating meat, and sometimes it's a struggle. I do always try to pair my carbs with some protein, and I do not feel that was explained to me at all - I learned it from my own research. I was given a range of carbs to eat at each meal, and personally I think they are way too high. like I was told 45-60 with lunch and dinner, but I know I can't got much over 30. With breakfast I was told I can do 30, but I've found 15 is my limit before my sugars spike. So I get into this battle with myself of whether i should eat the higher amounts and accept that that means I will be put on insulin, or eat the lower amounts that work for my numbers. My Endo told me to eat lower amounts and not worry about getting enough carbs, and I do trust him, but I have lost some weight and worry about my baby being too small...but if I eat too many carbs, he'll be too big...so that's been my dilemma I guess. Too many medical professionals telling me different things! I have a growth scan in a couple weeks so I'll see what they say then.

zehcnasella · March 2018

Hi everyone. I just got the call that I failed my GTT on Tuesday. So I made an appointment for yesterday with the dietician to make sure I get it under control ASAP. I had a small mental breakdown and felt guilty but I am somewhat over it now. Looking for support here I’m glad there is a board all about it :-)

How far along are you?
26+2

Management method (diet/exercise, insulin/other medication):
diet and exercise.
I am on day two. I do a boot camp on Tuesday’s and walk every other day. Thinking about adding some dance cardio back in bathe mix while I’m not too huge :-)

Upcoming appointments:
I had my first appointment yesterday. And I am tracking my food and sugars 4x a day and then I see her again in two weeks. Hopefully all goes well.

Any questions, things you are struggling with and need support on, or rants/raves?
I hates feeling like this was all my fault because I was overweight when I got pregnant. But have been reassured by some moms and even my dietician that it’s not. Which has calmed me down.

Feel free to share some meals/foods/recipes that are working for you, or foods you found you have to avoid:
Ive only done a day and a half of readings but noticed a high reading after potatoes. So looking like many others. This may be my kryptonite. Avoiding in the future.

as much as this is not fun I am trying to make the best of it and enjoy the internal competition and challenging myself to get good reads.

Thanks girls. I hope this all goes well for us :-)

Sarafuss · March 2018

@zande2016 I would think eating fewer carbs would be better rather than eating more just to be put on insulin. My dietician/MFM would adjust my carb counts here and there as time went on before suggesting meds. And I've lost some weight (that I could stand to lose) during pregnancy and my babies have been on the smaller end but that's likely because I'm a small person (5'0") and they were born around 37 weeks (due to pre-e). It's always been explained to me that baby will take what he/she needs and it's fine as long as you're not losing too much weight.

zande2016 · March 2018

Thanks for the reassurance @Sarafuss. I am going to continue what I'm doing for now and not worry until the growth scan. I'm not too concerned about losing weight since I have extra weight to lose, but I want to make sure I'm getting enough calories. I'll see what the doctor says in a couple weeks.

@zehcnasella I'm glad you're feeling a little better about the diagnosis, I know it's a tough thing to accept but it sounds like you're being really proactive so that's great.

purplepelican · March 2018

@zande2016 I'm with you on it being super confusing and overwhelming.

@sarafuss Yeah I feel like way more emphasis was placed on the carb courting than on the importance of pairing the carbs with adequate protein. They gave us a meal plan saying how many carbs and how many servings of protein to have at each meal and snack, but I definitely don't remember being told that not enough protein could cause problems.

I just ran ran to the grocery store to stock up on eggs and turkey bacon, because I can't eat cheese as my protein with EVERY snack. I'm also worried because we go out to a family property in the country every Easter, and the food consists of fried fish, hush puppies, French fries, chips, and sweets. So basically I will be eating only the fish and bringing a lunchbox with acceptable carbs and some snacks.

@zehcnasella YES! Potatoes ARE kryptonite!! Well said. Glad you are feeling reassured about this not being your fault. Actually the video they showed at my nutrition class yesterday spent like the first 3 minutes saying that it's not your fault and you shouldn't feel guilty.

zande2016 · March 2018

@beanship I'm worried about Easter too. I know there will be lots of candy hanging around at my moms, in addition to potato chips and snacks of all kinds. Dinner itself should be okay, I think there will be ham (not my fave) and chicken, and lots of sides. Then we were in charge of bringing dessert and my H ordered a chocolate tres leches cake from this Mexican bakery and I'm drooling just think of it. I think just a tiny piece should be fine, maybe I can pair it with some ham for protein

zande2016 · March 2018

Ugh I'm frustrated with my fasting numbers. I was around 100 one hour post every meal yesterday, so I'm not having any issues there. But for the past few weeks I was getting between 77-92 for fasting and was really happy. Suddenly this week it's been 106, 95, 92, and 95. I'm thinking this is my hormones increasing. My doctor wants me under 95, and it really frustrates me to think he might put me on insulin for being AT 95 and not under. I was so hopeful I could avoid insulin and now suddenly I'm back to these high fasting numbers. Ughhh.

busymommy23 · March 2018

@zande2016 my fasting numbers have ALWAYS been my downfall. Each of my other pregnancies, it was the only number i couldnt control so was on bedtime insulin. It definitely sounds like it could be your hormones increasing. Have you changed anything up at night? Maybe try a different bedtime snack or eating it earlier?

zande2016 · March 2018

@busymommy23 I haven't really changed anything, I just went from a 77 one night, to suddenly a 106, followed by 95's. At first I thought it was because I was fighting a cold, but I am fine now so I'm thinking hormones. I'll try messing around with the snack and maybe testing earlier. I've been sticking strictly to 8 hours fasting, as more was causing spikes, but maybe I need to try 7.5 hours. I know I might not be able to do anything about it, which is what makes it frustrating. I hate not being able to control things.

zande2016 · March 2018

What meter brands does everyone use? I have the One Touch Ultra because that is the only brand my insurance covers. I read some reports that it has failed accuracy testing. I just ordered a Contour from Amazon, I didn't want to spend the money but if there's a chance I'll be put on insulin due to an inaccurate meter, I'd rather spend the money and at least have the peace of mind. Man, diabetes is expensive.

purplepelican · April 2018

@zande2016 I have the OneTouch Ultra 2. Insurance covered it, so that's what I got. I'm a little disturbed hearing that the model has shown inaccuracies. I wonder if changing the protein/carb ratio with your dinner and bedtime snack would help with the fasting numbers? That seemed to work for me when my fasting numbers were too low. The carb/protein ratio seems to be more important for my blood sugar numbers than the actual amount of carbs - my numbers look better if I keep the ratio 1:1.

I ended up bringing beef beef jerky with me to Easter lunch so that I'd have enough protein in a very carb-centric meal. Beef jerky is my new go-to snack protein, especially when I'm full but have to eat enough protein at my bedtime snack.

zehcnasella · April 2018

@zande2016 I have the Contour. So far it’s been good. I did use a few strips one time because I thought it may be wrong. And different fingers gave me different numbers. Which I thought was weird. But I’ve onky had two slightly elevated readings.
Ive lost three pounds in 5 days which is odd. I wonder what my doc will say. But other than that I have been eating higher carb meals because of Easter and all my numbers are way under normal. I feel I have a wrong diagnosis. Or I don’t know. I’m sticking with it and we will see what the dietician says on the 11th.

Good luck to all you mommas :-)

zande2016 · April 2018

My endochronologist gave me the one touch verio monitor a few weeks ago, he said it's more "modern" than the one touch ultra. I decided to try testing with that along with the one touch ultra (ordered some test strips on Amazon) and so far it's been giving me lower readings. One time the verio was 30 points lower than the ultra, using the exact same drop of blood! The contour should be arriving today so I will see what happens comparing the verio and contour. But since I started using the verio, my fasting numbers have been 90 and below.

I've questioned my numbers a couple times too @zehcnasella yesterday I ate a huge Easter dinner and even had some jelly beans, and an hour later I was at 107. But I've definitely had plenty of high numbers that I'm not questioning my diagnosis. I think if you're consistently under 100 an hour after eating carb heavy food, maybe talk to your doctor about re doing the 3 hour.

purplepelican · April 2018

Ugh my numbers have been a disaster today. They went from 123 after breakfast to 76 after lunch. Granted I took my post-lunch reading 30 minutes late, and I didn't eat enough for lunch. But still. I just feel like I still have no clue what I'm doing or what's normal. I feel like this is taking over my life.

zande2016 · April 2018

@beanship have things gotten any better? As for me, I have the flu and basically stopped testing. I know I'm probably supposed to still test but I'm barely functioning I can't bring myself to get out of bed and test. The couple times I tested fasting they were way up, like 108-110, and after meals (chicken noodle soup type meals) have been 150ish, but I haven't really been good about taking my metformin, and definitely not eating like usual. I see the MFM for a growth scan on Tuesday and I'm really hoping I can explain the situation and get a free pass for this week. It would be pretty shitty if he put me on insulin when my numbers were clearly affected by the flu, but at the same time of course I'm worried about what this is doing to baby in there. A few days of elevated numbers isn't going to cause too much harm if they bounce back when I'm better...right? All of that said, my throat is absolutely killing me and I'm so sick of soup and tea, I feel like a chocolate milkshake would be a really good dinner tonight. Trying to resist for baby's sack though. I wouldn't even be able to taste it, it would just feel so good on my throat.

zehcnasella · April 2018

Hey mommas. I had an appointment with the dietician. And she seemed pleased with how my sugars were. The few high ones I did have in a two week period she knew that I knew what did it. I now just have to follow up with my regular doctor. But I am diet controlled :-)

Gestational Diabetes check in and support 3/27

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