Gestational Diabetes Thread

[maddisonrose]

yay good job marygracerich, and tiffrobot,!!

[aprilz81]

My OB was mostly happy with my numbers today, but she wants my fasting numbers at/below 90. That seems insanely low to me, but whatever. She thinks adding a small protein snack before bed will help so I'll be adding that in.

I was also happy that I have not gained any weight the last 2 weeks since my last appointment, my current weight gain is sitting at 15 pounds (I was overweight to start with) unless something goes super crazy in the last 11 weeks I should be on the low-average end of the weight gain spectrum.

[Deleted]

I have my 3 hour tomorrow and am very stressed about it. I’m freaking out to get sick or pass out during it. I also hate needles so all these blood draws is giving me anxiety.

[aprilz81]

Nov 16, 2017 16:59:39 GMT -6 kbw said:

I have my 3 hour tomorrow and am very stressed about it. I’m freaking out to get sick or pass out during it. I also hate needles so all these blood draws is giving me anxiety.

Hang in there, I also hate needles but pregnancy makes you used them (or at least it did for me).

[marygracerich]

Nov 16, 2017 16:59:39 GMT -6 kbw said:

I have my 3 hour tomorrow and am very stressed about it. I’m freaking out to get sick or pass out during it. I also hate needles so all these blood draws is giving me anxiety.

You will be ok! I was afraid of the same things and it wasn’t too bad. I don’t like getting my blood drawn so I usually don’t watch.

[sweetsurprise]

kbw hang in there. At least you'll get answers soon. We know it's not a fun process!

[sweetsurprise]

I want a hamburger and cake. That is all.

[marygracerich]

Nov 16, 2017 19:21:53 GMT -6 sweetsurprise said:

I want a hamburger and cake. That is all.

I understand. The only thing I want that I can’t have is ice cream. Other than that, sweets are not my go to. I am sure in a week or two it’s things like chips and pretzels that will get to me I am sure.
According to the dietician I can have a small amount of pretzels if I pair them with cheese or peanut butter.

[marygracerich]

I had a good amount of dinner.
My two hour later reading was 94.
Then I had a salad. The ingredients of the salad were all foods that are on my “free foods” list which means I can have a couple of servings of it during the day (not all at once lol) I am pretty full and I still have to have another snack of protein and a carb. This diet is not so bad.

[marygracerich]

What’s for lunch ladies?
I had tuna with a little mayo, some mixed greens and steamed sweet potatoes.

[sweetsurprise]

So I had an OB appointment today and I lost 6 pounds in the past 2 weeks due to my diet change. My doctor wasn't worried but it was pretty crazy!

[Deleted]

I officially failed my 3 hour which I expected. They said they were surprised to see how great my fasting number was, it’s hour one and two I struggled with. THheyll refer me to a diabetes team at the hospital but it could be two weeks before I see them and get my meter.

I won’t be allowed to my due date and there’s lot of extra ultrasounds and Nst’s starting at 32 weeks for checking size. They mentioned that it’s not anything I ate to do it, it’s hormonally related for me from what they can tell. The only thing I’m bummed about is that she mentioned only about 1/4 of people can manage it through diet alone.

[aprilz81]

Nov 18, 2017 15:38:24 GMT -6 kbw said:

I officially failed my 3 hour which I expected. They said they were surprised to see how great my fasting number was, it’s hour one and two I struggled with. THheyll refer me to a diabetes team at the hospital but it could be two weeks before I see them and get my meter.

I won’t be allowed to my due date and there’s lot of extra ultrasounds and Nst’s starting at 32 weeks for checking size. They mentioned that it’s not anything I ate to do it, it’s hormonally related for me from what they can tell. The only thing I’m bummed about is that she mentioned only about 1/4 of people can manage it through diet alone.

If your numbers are good and the baby's size is on track there is NO NEED for an early delivery.  

[marygracerich]

Nov 18, 2017 15:38:24 GMT -6 kbw said:

I officially failed my 3 hour which I expected. They said they were surprised to see how great my fasting number was, it’s hour one and two I struggled with. THheyll refer me to a diabetes team at the hospital but it could be two weeks before I see them and get my meter.

I won’t be allowed to my due date and there’s lot of extra ultrasounds and Nst’s starting at 32 weeks for checking size. They mentioned that it’s not anything I ate to do it, it’s hormonally related for me from what they can tell. The only thing I’m bummed about is that she mentioned only about 1/4 of people can manage it through diet alone.

I can’t speak for early delivery because I have no choice on early delivery due to other reasons. However I have been managing my glucose with awesome numbers for a week now without medication. I hope that you can too.
Truthfully I am actually starting to eat more than I usually do, I just switched what I am eating and I have been doing specific food pairings and I haven’t had a number over 100 in like three days.

[tiffrobot]

kbw I think I'm much the same as marygracerich, I'm managing fine on diet alone and also finding myself eating more and more as they still want me gaining weight.
Obviously everything is person to person, but just don't feel counted out yet! (Or feel that it's a bad thing if you need medication, everything is there to help!)
Good luck with everything, you'll do great!

[aprilz81]

I'm actually glad to be on meds because it allows me SOME freedom in my food choices. Before starting metformin I could not eat pizza, now I can have 2 or 2 1/2 pieces of thin crust pizza and my numbers still be on track. I love carbs too much to avoid them for the next 11 weeks.

Yes, Faith's health (and mine) are important, but at the same time if medications help me not be miserable then give me all the meds.

[sweetsurprise]

kbw sorry you failed the 3 hour. I go to my specialist and get my meter next week so the other ladies have better insight. But fingers crossed diet will do the job! In any case this is a short term issue. Hugs and we are here for you!

[marygracerich]

Nov 18, 2017 19:55:19 GMT -6 aprilz81 said:

I'm actually glad to be on meds because it allows me SOME freedom in my food choices. Before starting metformin I could not eat pizza, now I can have 2 or 2 1/2 pieces of thin crust pizza and my numbers still be on track. I love carbs too much to avoid them for the next 11 weeks.

Yes, Faith's health (and mine) are important, but at the same time if medications help me not be miserable then give me all the meds.

FWIW I don’t think there is anything wrong with meds. I just don’t want to have to remember to take medicine.

[aprilz81]

Nov 18, 2017 21:08:52 GMT -6 marygracerich said:

Nov 18, 2017 19:55:19 GMT -6 aprilz81 said:

I'm actually glad to be on meds because it allows me SOME freedom in my food choices. Before starting metformin I could not eat pizza, now I can have 2 or 2 1/2 pieces of thin crust pizza and my numbers still be on track. I love carbs too much to avoid them for the next 11 weeks.

Yes, Faith's health (and mine) are important, but at the same time if medications help me not be miserable then give me all the meds.

FWIW I don’t think there is anything wrong with meds. I just don’t want to have to remember to take medicine.

I take mine at night with my PNV and Iron pill, I just keep everything on my nightstand so I see it when I plug in my phone.  

I'm sorry you failed, but as long as you keep your numbers in check GD is more of an annoyance than anything else.  That being said it is important to follow your doctor's instructions and keep your numbers in line. I just had a high school acquaintance give birth to a 10 pound 7 ounce baby who has been in the NICU for 3 days because the baby's sugar levels wouldn't stabilize.  I only know the Mom had GD because my mom knows her mom and she got the full scoop.  It certainly gave me a reality check that I need to stay on my toes even with the meds to make sure I don't have to leave my baby in the hospital when I'm discharged.

[marygracerich]

Nov 18, 2017 21:15:57 GMT -6 aprilz81 said:

Nov 18, 2017 21:08:52 GMT -6 marygracerich said:

FWIW I don’t think there is anything wrong with meds. I just don’t want to have to remember to take medicine.

I take mine at night with my PNV and Iron pill, I just keep everything on my nightstand so I see it when I plug in my phone.  

I'm sorry you failed, but as long as you keep your numbers in check GD is more of an annoyance than anything else.  That being said it is important to follow your doctor's instructions and keep your numbers in line. I just had a high school acquaintance give birth to a 10 pound 7 ounce baby who has been in the NICU for 3 days because the baby's sugar levels wouldn't stabilize.  I only know the Mom had GD because my mom knows her mom and she got the full scoop.  It certainly gave me a reality check that I need to stay on my toes even with the meds to make sure I don't have to leave my baby in the hospital when I'm discharged.

I didn’t have it last time. G was nearly 9lbs. She had trouble with her blood sugar levels and was in the NICU for 4 days. I had to leave the hospital without her. That’s why I am following my drs orders big time.
Trust me. I take this seriously. If I had to take medicine, I would.

[aprilz81]

Nov 18, 2017 21:18:44 GMT -6 marygracerich said:

Nov 18, 2017 21:15:57 GMT -6 aprilz81 said:

I take mine at night with my PNV and Iron pill, I just keep everything on my nightstand so I see it when I plug in my phone.  

I'm sorry you failed, but as long as you keep your numbers in check GD is more of an annoyance than anything else.  That being said it is important to follow your doctor's instructions and keep your numbers in line. I just had a high school acquaintance give birth to a 10 pound 7 ounce baby who has been in the NICU for 3 days because the baby's sugar levels wouldn't stabilize.  I only know the Mom had GD because my mom knows her mom and she got the full scoop.  It certainly gave me a reality check that I need to stay on my toes even with the meds to make sure I don't have to leave my baby in the hospital when I'm discharged.

I didn’t have it last time. G was nearly 9lbs. She had trouble with her blood sugar levels and was in the NICU for 4 days. I had to leave the hospital without her. That’s why I am following my drs orders big time.
Trust me. I take this seriously. If I had to take medicine, I would.

Sorry, I got you mixed up with kbw, I know everyone here is taking it seriously and I never meant to imply you or anyone else wasn't.  My acquaintance's experience just drove it home how serious this CAN be if we don't control our blood sugar levels.

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone. I had a bit of a meltdown last night after googling that I wouldn’t be allowed to have absolutely any treats/carbs etc. H reminded me that the Dr’s even said no one is perfect and will have tears here and there they can’t be all the time though and that I need carbs to sustain myself. I just wish I had left with a plan instead of having to be in limbo about what my targets should be.

[marygracerich]

Nov 19, 2017 13:32:55 GMT -6 kbw said:

Thanks everyone. I had a bit of a meltdown last night after googling that I wouldn’t be allowed to have absolutely any treats/carbs etc. H reminded me that the Dr’s even said no one is perfect and will have tears here and there they can’t be all the time though and that I need carbs to sustain myself. I just wish I had left with a plan instead of having to be in limbo about what my targets should be.

That’s how I felt before I saw the dietician. I was googling what was the right amounts of foods and going by what the ladies here have to say.
Before that appointment I was doing no more than 45 carbs in my big 3 meals and no more than 15 per snack and they all had to be paired with proteins. My dietician doesn’t count carbs but sort of tells me what how much of certain foods I can have with each meal. She also told me to test in the morning before I eat or drink anything and then again 2 hours after every meal. My morning fasting number should be under 100 and 2 hours after every meal it needs to be under 120. Your goals may be different but you can look through this thread and do what you will work until you know better.

[food]

Nov 19, 2017 13:32:55 GMT -6 kbw said:

Thanks everyone. I had a bit of a meltdown last night after googling that I wouldn’t be allowed to have absolutely any treats/carbs etc. H reminded me that the Dr’s even said no one is perfect and will have tears here and there they can’t be all the time though and that I need carbs to sustain myself. I just wish I had left with a plan instead of having to be in limbo about what my targets should be.

I'm a lurker but I wanted to post to hopefully give you some peace of mind. I'm on my 3rd GD pregnancy and while it's definitely not fun, I feel comfortable saying that overall it's not too bad. First of all I think your doctor might have given you some misinformation regarding diet control. A majority of patients with GDM will be diet controlled. In fact, the statistic is that ONLY 1 out of 4 cannot be managed by diet alone. If your fasting is good, then the odds are even more in your favor that you will be able to be diet controlled. This article, along with others support this statistic:  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582643/

Furthermore, there is a good chance you will be able to have treats, just in a reasonable proportion and balanced out with protein. For example, most snacks will need to be between 15-30 grams of carbs. This means for a snack you might be able to have some oreos (25g), a single plain donut (17g Carbs) , snickers bar (24g carbs, 4g protein) especially if you have some protein like almonds or a cheese stick with it. In fact, it is regularly recommended to have ice cream before bed to help lower fasting numbers. So you might not have dessert with dinner, but a couple of hours later instead. Or you might find that you can balance out your treats with exercise.

As I mentioned before, this is my 3rd GD pregnancy and each one is different. My past two were completely diet controlled and I could eat whatever carbs I wanted, even junk food, as long as I stayed within the recommended allotment of carbs. I went in to labor on my own and my kids were 7 lbs and 7lbs 8 oz with no blood sugar issues. This pregnancy has been different in that I've been on meds since 20 weeks and have had to get increasingly strict with my diet over the past 4 months since diagnosis. I can't do anything white (rice, bread, potatoes, etc.), only small amounts of whole grains, no corn, sweet potatoes, pasta, or obvious junk food. Even following things this strictly I still have more high numbers in a week than I had in my entire previous pregnancies. However, I've made it through anniversaries, birthdays, halloween, and the hardest--a hurricane with no electricity, and I can say that it's ok, because it is temporary, what's best for baby, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You can do it!

[marygracerich]

I bought the fair life chocolate milk. I may try it tonight and see what it does to my morning number. If it’s still good, I will be the happiest person ever. I have been dying for some chocolate.

[aprilz81]

Nov 19, 2017 19:26:46 GMT -6 marygracerich said:

I bought the fair life chocolate milk. I may try it tonight and see what it does to my morning number. If it’s still good, I will be the happiest person ever. I have been dying for some chocolate.

I'm not a big milk drinker but I can tolerate chocolate milk, I'll have to get some to try it.

[marygracerich]

Chocolate milk update: the fair life chocolate milk was a little thick but pretty tasty. I drank a full glass of it and ate a handful of almonds with it. My fasting number this morning was 77. 😊 I am so excited I can have this.

[maddisonrose]

ugh. The dreaded 32 week progesterone peak has hit for me This is my 3rd day where my numbers have all been wonky despite eating the exact same things that have given me great numbers. I have my appointment tomorrow morning so I know they are going to increase my insulin amounts

[aprilz81]

Nov 20, 2017 16:11:58 GMT -6 maddisonrose said:

ugh. The dreaded 32 week progesterone peak has hit for me This is my 3rd day where my numbers have all been wonky despite eating the exact same things that have given me great numbers. I have my appointment tomorrow morning so I know they are going to increase my insulin amounts

Hang in there, this is due to HORMONES not anything you are doing wrong.

[Deleted]

I meet with the diabetes center tomorrow. I'm dreading what they have to say since I don't have any idea what my 1 and 2 hour levels were at when I failed.

I'm also struggling with snacks. I don't eat a lot of dairy and I feel like cheese and yogurt are in a ton of the recommendations. Does anyone have a snack they enjoy?