Kateo, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You have the right to be an absolute pain in the arse with the midwife - I would be checking in whenever you're unsure and don't let them make you feel like you're bothering them! I can't begin to imagine the pressure you are under. Are they talking about inducing early?
I've gained about 19kg so far in the pregnancy, but it seems to have slowed down over the last few weeks. I think since I found out about the GD I haven't been giving in to temptations (I seem to have zero willpower with the sweet stuff since I fell pregnant!) and I think at my last check which was a week inbetween I only gained 400g. They do say you can lose weight towards the end of pregnancy so if they're not bothered about the 3kg then I wouldn't stress about it.
What you've been told seems different to me - I'm supposed to keep it under 5.0 fasting and then under 7.0 2 hrs after every meal. Is yours different?
Andi - I'm pretty similar. 5.5 fasting, and below 7 2 hours after main meals.
So far the highest I've gotten was 6.8, and I panicked, but I email my diabetes educator every week with numbers, and while I was stressed, she was perfectly happy as I rarely go above 6.1/6.2. Generally dinner is my highest reading.
33 weeks today, have an appt with my OB for the first time since finding out about my GD, so will be good to find out her opinions on whether she likes to induce early etc.
The plan for me was to induce early because my daughter died at full term. I am expecting to be induced at 38 (ish) weeks.
I have gained about 7 kgs overall this pregnancy and have lost about 3kgs (depending on hat I'm wearing and time of day etc.)
I have to be under 5.5 for fasting and under 7 for 2 hours after meals
When I was pg with Ellen I gained about the same amount and was back to my normal weight after about 6 weeks.
I went to see the diabetes people about the inconsistent levels today and they weren't that worried because none have been over. They did think I need a new meter so I ordered one this arvo as the other one was so inconsistent when I double checked readings.
Andie, if your OB induces early with GD you only have 2 weeks to go.....how exciting!
Kimbles, I hope everything is going OK for you. We have the same due date but I expect to have my baby home by the time my due date arrives.
Have either of you found any particular foods that make your levels go high?
I have found Gluten Free Pasta is not so good and a certain brand of crumpets.
Are either of you doing more exercise? Most nights we walk to dogs but I'm not so sure tonight as the weather here is AWFUL!
The highest reading I had was 8.9 at my glucose tollerance test which the dietician at the diabetes clinic said was very high, but when my obs asked what my highest had been she said "oh that's not that high, high is usually around 13"... Geez this is so confusing! Glad there's only a couple of weeks or so left.
My obs said that she may induce at 39 weeks but won't let me go over 40 weeks and 2 days (I don't get the 2 days bit!). Hopefully I'll know a little more tomorrow after my appt.
I haven't found any foods that I'm particularily sensitive to...if anything I seem to tolerate sugars better than carbs which is quite surprising. When I first found out about the GD I pretty much cut all the sugar out but then every now and then would test to see what a small piece of cake or a sweet drink would do and I always still seem to stay under which is quite odd. I'm thinking that my muesli is starting to become a suspect though...
I'm finding that I don't do much exercise at all. I finished work last week so I've been taking it easy since then (my feet and calves are really swollen now - how attractive! My DH told me I have cankles!). I find that just doing the simple things like the food shopping or bits and pieces around the house is enough to tire me now. I walk the dog down to the park at the end of my street then sit on a bench and let her do the roaming on her own.
HI girls,
How's it going today?
I just went out to lunch with a friend and the only thing other than soup on the menu that I could eat was beef and quinoa balls.....which they ran out of. I ended up having soup so that might be interesting 'cause I think there was a fair bit of potato in it.........
Andi, tell your hubby that in some cultures cankles are considered very attractive!
My exercise has reduced because I'm pg as I no longer ride one or two horses a day but I am still mucking out three stables, teaching horse riding (have 4 hours to do tomorrow) and just generally doing housework. I just filled up the wood box for the fire this evening and because I have a sore back I've been going to to pool every now and then for physio. I am going to stop swimming soon though because I can't be bothered to buy a new pair of swimmers when I get too big for these ones, just seems too expensive for only 4 weeks. So once they are too tight swimming ends!
Hope everything goes well for both of you. Have your OB's told you anything about what will happen to your bubbas after birth. I have been told mine will have a heel prck and have blood levels checked for up to 48 hours....poor little baby getting poked on arrival in the world......I have heard some hospitals take the babies away for closer observation. I really want my baby to stay with me so I hope this doesn't happen.
I think at my hospital they do the heel ***** standard for all births regardless of the GD...I think there's a few tests that they take from it (the only one I can remember is Cystic Fibrosis). They have told me that there is a risk that the baby can have low blood sugar levels when she's born due to the GD but they said they try to get them on the boob straight away to get the levels up. But if it's really bad they may need to take her to neonatal and maybe tube feed but I think that is worst case scenario.
I agree, it would be awful having our little ones taken away so early but I guess you have to remember that everything they do is for the good of the baby... It's funny how the maternal instincts kick in hey? I have so much love for my baby and I haven't even met her yet!
I guess the energy thing is just 'cause of our lifestyle. I look like a blob compared to my hubby who rides his bike about 50km a day!!!
I talked to a friend about the heel prck today and she said not to worry. Her baby is only 4 weeks old and she said they did lots of injections and stuff.
I am wondering if I should express a little milk before bubs arrives in case I can't feed immediately and so my milk comes in.
The maternal instincts certainly are strong. I remember when Ellen was born how protective I was of her and she was born still. I can only imagine how fierce I'll be with this little one.
I am wondering how to cope ith my baby shower in a few weeks. The plan is for nibbles for the evening instead of a meal. I guess I'll just have to hope for the best that evening.........any ideas?
Kateo - the others are right, levels should be 5 or under before meals and 7 or under 2hrs after meals
And the levels can alter randomly from one day to the next and each finger will give you a different reading - sometimes the same finger can give you several different readings (I experimented lol) as it depends on how much glucose is in that particular sample of blood that you squeezed out.
re baby shower nibbles: plain or salted popcorn, I found that was a great snack in the later weeks of pregnancy with the GD
re weight gain/loss - I lost 22kg in pregnancy... and have lost almost 8kg since lol
re heelprck tests - they generally do them for 24 hours, and if the baby shows signs of low glucose then they go to 48 hours, and they'll get you to start expressing from 36wks onwards and freeze the colostrum as they will probably give bub his/her first feed of colostrum with a syringe, especially if bub has to go to the nursery.
You can use a manual pup to express - I did and had 150mls of colostrum in the freezer ready for DD, and my milk came in the night after she was born
AND last bit of advice in case anyone was hoping to have VBAC or go into labour naturally - you don't HAVE to be induced, and you CAN have a VBAC
I had a VBAC at 40+2, though they had to break my waters after 3 weeks of constant irregular contractions lol, but I ended up only having a 4hr 43min labour, so t worked out well.
AND, bubs aren't always big just because you have GD, my DD was only 8pd, so you can back your OB up against a wall to demand to be left alone for as long as you want though you'll probably still have to have the daily monitoring after 40wks... and you can have an active labour as well, just demand to use the wireless monitors Ad breaking of the waters if you're already dilated and effaced can be a natural induction option as well, just remember that you can go for up to 48 hours with waters broken before the threat of infection becomes an issue, and don't let the OBs and midwives force you into something you don't want It's your body and your baby
Last edited by JennaJayen; July 22nd, 2011 at 12:17 AM.
HI JannaJayen,
I re-checked my #'s and it is <5.5 fasting and <7 2hrs after meals. Perhaps the GD people I am seeing have slightly different protocols than your's did.
My readings (with minutes in between) have been wildly different (yes I have been washing hands yadda yadda yadda) so they have sent me a new monitor. Hopefully the old one was a bit weird, I certainly got lots of electronic error messages.
I have spoken to the midwife and so far she doesn't think I'll need to express but I am checking with a lactation consultant next week.
Since my last little darling died in utero at 41 weeks I have absolutely no worries about being induced at 38weeks.
Sounds like you have lost heaps of weight....well done....I must say I find I have learnt lots more about diet by having GD. It's quite interesting!
I agree Kateo - it makes you think so much more closely about what you consume, when and how often.
I also notice now on non testing days (I'm down to twice a day, 3 days a week) when I'm more relaxed, I know pretty quickly when I've had too much sugar. I can also tell when my readings are going to be quite low (closer to 3.4 or below 2 hours after a meal) because I feel shocking and can barely focus or concentrate.
Thankfully I'm mostly in the 4s and 5s now without much variation from meals.
Kimbles, I haven't heard of people with GD having "non-testing" days.
I have been under the impression that I have to test 4 times a day right up until I go into labour and the same in labour then I have to test until numbers "settle" after bubs is born.
I think different hospitals/doctors must have different systems of managing GD. I say this also because the #'s Jenna spoke of are different to the ones printed on my GD tracking booklet.
I went out to dinner with hubby this evening and tried to be very aware of what I ate. It will be interesting to see how the #'s go!
I have had an extremely "busy" baby today.....perhaps too much sugar?
I reckon I'll certainly pay more attention to sugar and carbs once I'm through the GD so in one way it's been a good thing.
I think maybe because I was so marginal with my tolerance test (8.2, they wanted 8 or below), I can control it quite well. If I score over 7 two times, I go back to testing 4 times a day, everyday.
My original testing limits are sane as you though, >5.5 fasting, and >7 two hours after meals, so i guess that's standard.
I had my GD test today.. The OB at the hospital called me with my results and said they were high, but she didnt give me a level.. She said I would have to go back to have another test.. Have any of you, or do you know anyone that has had a high first test and then gone back for the second one and it come back normal...??
Hi Mollie,
During my first pregnancy I had a high reading on the first test then did the 3 hour test and they found I didn't have GD. I hope this turns out to be the case for you. Like Kimbles I had fairly low but "just over" readings for this pregnancy after the 3 hour test. Based on the comment Jenna has made above there do seem to be different protocols with different hospitals/doctors regarding the numbers too. If you do end up with GD I hope you can easily manage it with diet. I was really stressed to start with but I have managed to control my sugars with diet so I'm not too worried now. I have been out for meals, had all sorts of different foods and really had no major spikes. The one thing that seems to make the numberss a little high is gluten free pasta because you can't buy low GI GF pasta. Usually I eat what my GF hubby eats but I've just cooked separate pasta for the last few weeks.
Good luck with your 2nd test. Please pop in and let us know how it goes. I have been tempted to count finger pr#cks as I only have a couple of weeks to go........
How's it all going for you Kimbles?
Hi Mollie, my first was 9.2, and my second (fasting) test was 8.2 - so not quite normal, but pretty darn close! I started modifying my diet slightly after the first one, which seemed to help.
I figure worst case scenario, the GD is forcing me not to get too out of control near the end when I just want to pig out!!
Hey ladies...
Just thought I would pop in.. Firstly thank you for the support. I rang my GP after I did the GCT test and when I told her what had happened she was quite cranky as something with my PCOS can effect the level anyway. So on Monday morning I did the GTT (3 hour test).. I rang the midwife clinic that I am going through, adn the receptionist told me that one of the midwives would need to talk to me.. Oh my heart pretty much stopped you know when you have to talk to a midwife or dr, something is wrong.. Anyway the midwife got on the phone and was told "yes Mollie your level is high, so you have GD" i didnt say much but she said she would go and get all the information for me and give we a call back.. 45 minutes later she called me back and said "ohh im so sorry ive made a mistake, I was reading your GCT results, I didnt know you had had a GTT done, everything is normal you dont have to worry, you dont have GD" I could have reached down the phone and strangled her!!! that was the longest 45 minutes of my life!!!!!
Hope all you ladies are going well.. Im still going to stick to the GD diet though! I dont want to go to mental.. although Im pretty healthy to start with looking forward to seeing some BA's very soon
Yay Mollie! So glad you don't have GD! Much as I'm sure you did want to punch someone down the phone line, I guess 45 mins of stressing about it is better than weeks and weeks of testing and diet worries!
I think sticking to a GD diet is a good plan though, should hopefully keep yours and bubs' sizes under control during the latter stages of your pregnancy.
Good news Mollie. Glad you don't have to test lots like me.
I am still managing the GD with diet and haven't got long 'till I can stop testing (I hope the D goes away once I have bubba)
How's it going for you Kimbles?
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Ad breaking of the waters if you're already dilated and effaced can be a natural induction option as well, just remember that you can go for up to 48 hours with waters broken before the threat of infection becomes an issue, and don't let the OBs and midwives force you into something you don't want
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