Gestational Diabetes Chatter #7

[csab]

Hi everyone,

Teepee - They will monitor bubs when born for approx the 24hrs, due to you being on insulin. They need to make sure your bubs sugar levels are within normal range before letting bub stay with you. My baby was taken from me approx 5mins after her birth and was admitted to NICU 28mins after her birth due to her sugar levels dropping too low and was in NICU for 4days, she had trouble sucking as well so was tube fed, yet I was also unable to look after her after my surgery due to some complications with the spinal which was part of the reason she was in NICU for so long. I was also admitted into hospital the day before surgery due to being insulin dependant GD, as the hospital I went to like to monitor you and bub and start insulin drip a few hours before surgery. If they are happy with your bubs sugar levels after about 4 BSL's they will let bub room with you. Well thats my experience anyway. GL.

Kim - So sorry you ended up needing insulin. hugs

Jak180 - Hi, not long now for you. hugs

Still waiting for my results with my GTT, yet i think i will be fine, hoping anyway no insulin required anymore.

[JennaJayen]

KimB - I'd heard about empressing bringing on an early labour too, and did a bit of research (you can tell that I love doing research lol) and apparently it takes on average about 4 hours of constant stimulation to the nipples and breasts to cause any contractions, though it is different for everyone.
I started expressing a bit early (I'm leaking that much anyway it seems a waste to just let it get soaked up by the booby pads lol) every 2nd day 5 days ago for only 30mins at the most all up, and the only thing I've noticed is that I get a few more BHs than normal.
I now have 28mls stored in the fridge and freezer lol and have only expressed 3 times, with DS it took 6 days to express more than 5mls each time I used a pump lol so I am definately feeling like the cat that got the cream at the moment.

Jaki - Yay on not having to up the insulin again!

Teepee - It took a couple of days for my insulin to start taking effect, so maybe your body just needs to get used to it? I also find that I have days where it doesn't seem to work at all and then the next day it works perfectly.

Csab - Good to hear from you darl, and Chloe is gorgeous I'll keep my FXed for you that the GTT results are all good for you

afm - feeling really yuck, all yesterday my levels went through the roof and it didn't matter what I did nothing worked to make them go lower This morning my fasting levels were 6.9, but at least my after breakfast levels stayed below 7, and I think that was only because I accidentally injected 3 units instead of 2 and only had 1 & 1/2 wheat bix
I hope they fix themselves today because we're heading to the beach tonight and won't be home until monday or tuesday, so I'm going to miss out on calling trhe diabete's educator and finding out if I need to up my insulin.
Consoling myself today by going through all my beads and sorting them out, going to be doing a trade with a beady friend to exchange some of my beads for some beading magazines to try and get my mojo back, haven't felt like making anything for ages and I'm getting so bored at home, so hopefully the new magazines will help.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend

[kylie9]

Hi Everyone, i hope you dont me popping on to your tread.

I have been borderline diabetic for a few yrs now, and been on metformin for about 5months. Im only 6 weeks pregnant and the doc wants me on insulin (not very happy or want to do it). My diet and excercising was horrible when i seen her, but ive gotten my act together and my levels seem to be coming down.

She wants me to Protaphane only at night, i will have to wake up at 2am every morning to make sure im not having a hypo. Has anyone else had to do this???

[WeeMansMummy]

i will have to wake up at 2am every morning to make sure im not having a hypo. Has anyone else had to do this???

No. I suppose it depends on what your levels are like anyway, just make sure you have supper. What is your after dinner and fasting level? And what dose insulin is it?
For example.... My after dinner level is about 5 after novorapid. Then i have a glass of milo and 28 units of protaphane and my fasting level is usually about 4.5. But everyone is different of course.

[kylie9]

Thanks for your reply Jaki,

I found out yesterday i dont have to go on insulin just yet

They wanted me on 6units of Protaphane just before bed, so thats not so bad. And i dont have to wake up at 2am because its such a small amount.

My fasting levels are usually between 5-6, and after other meals usually between 6-7,
he said i have to keep my levels between 5-7 so i think im doing alright...

[Artechim]

kylie9, protophane is a long acting insulin, so it shouldn't cause a hypo as much as a fast acting insulin can do. I haven't heard of anyone having to wake at night to test.

I have only skimmed, but someone asked about babies after birth? My DS had his BSL's tested after birth every hour for three hours I think, they all came back o.k so he was not taken to special care (well he was for half an hour,but just to check his breathing - unrelated). But I was on an insulin drip during the labour so my levels were kept stable. I think you have more probs if your BSL spikes during labour and bub comes out overproducing insulin.

[teepee2]

Thanks csab for all the info. Hopefully the baby will be fine and doesnt have to spend any time in the SCN. Good luck with your GTT. I hope you can throw the insulin out the window for good!!

Jenna good luck over the weekend. FXed that your levels are stable so you dont have to worry while you're away. Enjoy the beach!

Kylie im new to all this so cant offer any advice but its great news that you wont need insulin just yet. Hope you manage to keep it under control without it.

Now AFM im totally overwhelmed by all of this. I saw the dietician for the first time today. He was happy overall with my diet and i just have to increase my carb intake in my snacks and a little a dinner. On Friday the Dr (who i havent even seem yet) increased my dose from 16 units a day to 18 units (6 a each meal) because my lunch and dinner levels were sneaking up to between 7-8. I showed them my readings today over the weekend and because at fasting this morning it was 5.7 and right on 7 after dinner last night, they wanted to run them past the Dr. Well i get a call this afternoon to say that he's increased my doses again, this time breakfast is 8, lunch 6, and dinner has gone up to 10!! Now this is where my dilemma begins. Ive done everything they've asked me to today, followed their suggested diet to the "T" yet my glucose tonight went up to 10.8! Im getting so worked up over all this that ive been in tears all night. I dont know what else i can do to keep it under control. I feel like such a failure right now. I hope that this doesnt have too much of an effect on my baby. I just want it all over with

[WeeMansMummy]

Aww Hun.... It's not you it's your hormones! You are doing everything you can and its just a matter of the doctors finding the right dose. It takes alot of fiddling. And remember the diabetes will be harder to control as you get further along.
The one thing I found with the diatician tho is they do encourage you to eat quite alot of carbs, my endo said not to eat the extra unless you are being left hungry. So we really need to judge what and how much we eat based on how hungry we are and how hungry we get between meals and what we know will effect our levels.
I'm curious tho, what did you eat for tea the night you got a 10.8?

[Artechim]

Teepee, it was probably nothing you did or could avoid. It is hard going and sometimes the exact same meal will give a different reading on a different day - stress, tiredness etc can affect it. I was going up a couple of units every few days for a while there because despite everything I was doing it just wasn't enough to control the BSL's.

[JennaJayen]

Well I'm up to 14 units of insulin as of this morning, 4 in the morning, 4 at lunch and 6 at dinner... knew my good luck streak was going to run out sooner or later and had been expecting this to happen for the past week lol

At least Little Miss isn't a big baby - estimated weight was only 2.7kg at 35wks and she was sitting right on the 57th percentile, so average... unlike her boof of a big brother who has been istting on the 75th percentile all his life lol

Hope you're all going well.

[KimB]

Hi all, sorry I haven't been on in a while but I have been in the hospital with DD3 as she was getting her insulin pump fitted. We went in Tuesday morning and only got home at dinner time today. She is still having trouble with her overnight levels but they are trusting me to be able to get them under control.

My levels pre breakfast are still abit high so am at 16 units of protaphane tonight and will see how that goes. My other levels are great but I have another appointment on Wednesday so will see what they say then. I'm 31 weeks today and omg can't believe how close it could be

JJ - I'm glad to hear that miss muffet is not on the large side. Fingers crossed that Frogglette is the same

Hi to everyone else and take care

[teepee2]

Hi ladies. Hope you're all doing well.

Jaki i dont remember what I had for dinner before the 10.8 but t wasnt much different to what I normally eat, thats why i got so worked up over it i guess. Ive come to the same conclusion about dieticians. I increased my carbs to what they suggested and felt sooo sick - it was just way too much for me so ive cut back again and am starting to feel a bit better.

Artechim i seem to be going up every few days too. I know it isnt easy to control and I 'think' im sarting to come to terms with it all being hormonal and not really my doing

Jenna good to hear your little girl isnt getting too big. She's doing well not to follow in her big brother's footsteps LOL

Kim hope your DD is ok. Must be hard for a little one of her age to deal with. Fingers crossed that her night levels settle down. Time certainly does fly doesnt it. 31 weeks sounds early in a way but the big day will be here before you know it. Have they said whether they'll induce you early at all?

AFM im now on 36 units a day 12 each at bkfast, lunch & dinner. My fasting level this morning was up so i have a feeling they'll be introducing protaphane some time soon - they've been threatening it for a while so its only a matter of time LOL. Starting to feel like a bit of a pin cushion but i know it'll all be forgotten once baby arrives. Have an OB appt tomorrow and a scan at 35 weeks to check on the baby's size and make sure the placenta is still doing its job. My OB has suggested delivering on 12th April so only just over 5 weeks to go for me!! :O Really need to get organised...

[KimB]

Saw the midwife and the endo this morning and now I'm on 4 units of novorapid for dinner as well as 28 units of protophane before bed. Hopefully this should bring my levels down to where they want them to be. The midwife has told me not only will I be on 2 drips but that I will have to have continuous monitoring and more internals and that when Frogglette is born she will have to spend time in the NICU. BUGGER!!!!!! I really wanted minimal intervention with this pregnancy but looks like I'm getting the works now. I'm scared that with all the interventions that I will end up with another c/s any way. Only 7 more weeks to go and I still have a crap load to organise. Our fridge has broken down and we have no money to either fix it or replace it while I'm trying to pay off the cord storage. I'm starting to get very down with all the money we have to pay out and DF's bestie left us with huge bills and no money. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH I hope I feel better tomorrow.

[WeeMansMummy]

We are on the exact same dose Kim!

Saw the brissy endo today, they are super happy with my levels. Whoot!

I asked about the SCU thing and they don't take baby unless they have to

[JennaJayen]

Hi ladies,

Well I started on Protaphane the other day - so far so good, though the muggyness and humidity down here played with my after breakfast & before lunch readings today, the rest have been really good though.

So now I'm on 14 units of the novorapid and 2 units of protaphane a day.

Sorry for no persies, trying to get the 2yr old to eat his dinner so we can all have an early night tonight - he hasn't had a sleep yet today, so he's waaaaay overtired and running amuck.

[KimB]

Thanks Jaki with regards to SCN. I might have to change my midwife. She seems to be all doom and gloom and it is really getting me down. I'm starting to feel really depressed and I'm not sure how to get myself out of it. I don't want to do insulin injections any more, I don't want all the medical interventions that I know are coming, I want to have some control over what happens but I'm being told I can't. For my last pregnancy I just wanted simple and uncomplicated (laughs to myself wryly) How did this get so out of control and complicated???? The money issues are really worrying me as well. Nothing I can do about those but follow the budget but it would be nice to be able to afford some new stuff for this bubs as all the other stuff is over 2 years old. Also I need to either get my fridge fixed or buy another one but again no money and we badly need the fridge. Why did it all have to happen right now?? I wanted to relax and not stress about anything. Sorry ladies for whining here but I just want to curl up and cry and hide until this baby comes. I don't want to look after anyone else - just me. Does that sound so bad??? No-one is thinking of the stress I'm under and they expect me to continue like I always have. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to!!!!! Ok tantrum over for now

[JennaJayen]

Just stopping in quickly as I am completely exhausted not feeling too well.

Had a bad headache from thursday night onwards, and was getting regular painful BHs every 20 mins last night, then woke up this morning feeling like something wasn't right so went to maternity and spent 4 hours hooked up to the CTG machine - only because Little Miss' HR was high (175-182bpm when active) and she wouldn't stay still long enough (3 hours straight of constant movements!!! plus only one big contraction in the entire time that made me feel like she was going to pop out right then and there lol) for them to get a good resting HR rythm - and had a pee test that showed ketones were present and that I was dehydrated before they said I was good to go home at 2:30 this afternoon.
They got me to drink a whole heap of water before they let me go, and thankfully it brought Little Miss' HR down to a nice resting level and put her to sleep for an hour or so lol She hasn't been that active for a LONG time, I was getting kicks left right and center, and she wouldn't stop moving her head from side to side either.
The registrar on call did a quick scan too, I didn't get to see the screen but hubby did before he had to go to work, she's still anterior and still engaged, and has developed the habit of lying her body sideways with all her arms and legs stretched out, made the midwife think she had turned posterior again - which the midwife was really nice and helpful and made me feel a lot better about going in as I was worried that it was all for nothing.
So now I just have to take it easy and rest as much a possible, and drink as much fluids as I can to stop me from getting dehydrated again.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

[teepee2]

I was told the same thing Kim about the baby going into SCN once its born Apparently the more insulin you're on the longer bub has to be monitored. I dont think it sounds bad at all that you just want to look after yourself hun, I dont think anyone understands how stressful this is unless they've been through it. There's so much more going on and to think about than I would have ever guessed if I didnt know from personal experience. I hope you dont have to have all intervention your midwife is talking about and sorry to hear things are tough with money atm - not what you need right now Try to rest if you can and think of holding your beautiful little princess at the end of this roller coaster of a ride xx

Congrats Jaki on having your levels under control. Fingers crossed that its smooth sailing for you till baby arrives xx

Wow Jenna sounds like you've been through the ringer, you poor thing. Hope your feeling better and that your little girl gives you a bit of a break. Will you need to retest for keytones at all?

AFM my insulin is still going up. Im now on Novorapid - 16 unit at b/fast & 20 units at lunch then 24 units of Novomix at dinner to try and keep my fasting levels down. Never thought that id get to 60 units a day!!! My OB has decided on a delivery date of 12th April (38+1 wks) so only 4 weeks to go - OMG i dont think im ready for this LOL. Like Kim I was told that baby will have to be monitored in SCU - in my case it will prob be for at least 48hrs because of how much insulin im on (which is likely to keep rising too). I always knew id be having another c/sect (my 3rd) and ive slowly come to terms with that but to be told that I wont be able to have my baby with me is what im most upset about. When DD1 was born she was in SCU for 2 days because of jaundice and it was horrible - even though I knew there was nothing seriously wrong with her I still felt like a part of me was missing and thats the one thing im dreading this time. Bad enough that they take the baby from you when you're in recovery but to then not be able to have it beside me for god knows how long is going to be horrible