Gestational Diabetes General Chatter #4

Hi Girls how are you doing :D,

had to ring the hospital on Friday with my blood sugar readings and they have added another injection so on two now one before bed and one at lunch time ild say when i go in on Tuesday they will add another one for the morning i can see how they are going up

do you ever find the diet just doesn't work I had brown bread and a cup of tea low fat milk and butter and they were over 7 after an hour

The diet is hard isn't it think im a bit over whelmed by it today got to me a bit this is how its going to be for the next 3 months

does any one know if they let you go to your due date or in duce you early if you are on insulin

Thanks Niamh

Niamh - Sorry to hear you're on more insulin.
I've found a few foods I can't have. Lol. It's so frustrating too.

As for the inducing and stuff. I'm not on insulin or anything, but I do know my OB won't let me go over my due date. He also said the other day that if my BSLs do start to rise towards the end, I may have to be induced early or something.
I'll have to ask more questions about it as it gets closer.

Becci - If you've been going really good with your levels, then one night should be alright. I found you can't just be so so strict the whole time or else you'll just crack and eat something real bad. (or maybe that's just me. Lol.)

Yeah that's what I'm worried about too Tenny.
We went out for snitzel night on Friday night and I had my usual meal just didn't have the ice cream we normally have afterwards just to see what my level would be like. It was 7. So on the border. At least I know I can have that every so often and it's not going to be too bad for me. At this stage anyway.
Had a great day yesterday. But I was quite good with my diet too. My highest reading was 5.3 and that was my fasting. My fasting was 5.3 again this morning but I didn't get up until 10.30 so it might have been a little lower if I had risen earlier maybe?

Hope everything works out for you Niamh.

Good luck Becci - I wrote everything down at the start and once I found that even the most unprocessed carbs (wholemeal or cape seed bread, special K or Weet bix) would send me over then it was time for insulin - although I hope it does not get that bad for you!!

Niamh - my Ob said that due to being on insulin they will look at inducing at 38 - 39 weeks, due to the risk that the placenta will not last the distance beyond that. I am working on making it as late as possible in the 39th week!

Sorry to jump in without introducing myself - I am 33 weeks pregnant and have GD. Tried to control with diet for one week, but couldn't tolerate any carbs (no matter how low in GI) in the morning so quickly ended up on insulin. My OB is saying it is just a sensitivity rather then a weight or lifestyle issue so hopefully it will go away once baby is born. The only time I find that the diet really gets to me is when there are office birthday cakes, and a banana does not compenstate for missing mars bar cheese cake!!:(

Hey Petals.
Welcome to the GD section.
Hopefully the time flies by at the end and you can push your induction to as far back as possible.
Good luck with your insulin and everything else.


xx

Hello:D

feeling a bit better now about it all

Tennykins Im thinking with going on insulin now Ill deffo be induced early I was the last time I was give two choices a induction on the Wednesday or a c section on Friday so i picked the Wednesday and it went great so not to worried about it as long as all is ok with the baby .

beccie Thanks I should be fine hormones I think LOL

Petals hello this is my second pregnancy with insulin and it does go away so dont worry about it :) thanks for the information I had a feeling it would be like that alright esp with going on insulin now im 27 weeks today and been on it a week . and you are so right a piece of fruit is just not the same as a nice mars or cake LOL all worth it in the end though :D just have to keep reminding my self that :)

has any one noticed they are losing weight and what the story with keytones bit confused by them

Hi Niamh, I lost some weight at the start and with what I can eat I am struggling to gain it back. no ice cream, cakes, white bread products, lollies, chocolate etc does cut the calories a bit! Add in some heartburn making it necessary to keep meal sizes reasonable (or else none of it stays down) and my calories are not huge. At least I am not losing any more and from some measurements that the gym took mid 2nd trimester it is from my hips, thighs and arms, not the bump. It does not seem right to me, but the endo didn't seem worried when I mentioned it and the OB was happy with things last week and he did a quick U/sound.

In the first week of trying to manage my sugars I ended up with Keytosis (or however it is spelt). It shows up in your urine, and was explained to me as the body breaking down protiens and tissues for fuel, as there are not enough carbs. There are some radical diets based on this theory (tony furguson is one in Aust) however, it is not a good idea when preg as it can product toxins the body needs to deal with. As every bread and cereal (no matter how low in GI or wholmeal or seedy it was) had a tendancy to put me over I was avoiding them, and thus the decision to use insulin, was made, so I could eat some of them. They still give me the worst readings, potatoes, pumpkin and corn are no where near as bad for my readings.

Thanks for the welcome Tennykins!:)

I was losing weight at the start, only a few kgs, then the scales didn't show I was gaining any more weight, so i bascially was at the same weight. We put that down to me losing my own fat, and the baby was just making up for what I'd lost (i hope that makes sense. Lol.)
Now nearing the end, I've put on like a kilo here and there, but then last week I'd lost some.

With my first pg with DS, I gained a heap of weight.
So the only good thing with this is that I'm healthier and I haven't gained any of my own weight. lol.

I was showing a little sugar in my urine some weeks, but lately I've had none. No one said anything about it being bad, so I just assumed it was all ok.

xx

My bsl's haven't been too bad in the day time, it's just my fasting one in the morning.
Anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to bring this down?
Obviously I would really like to avoid insulin if I can.
Was wondering if it might be that I'm fasting for too long overnight? From about 9pm to about 9am. Maybe I should try getting up earlier and see what happens.
Any thought?

Hey Becci, I had the same thing happening to me. The endocronologist explained it all. Long story short, nothing you can do will bring those morning readings down. This is the reason I ended up on insulin the last time as no matter what I did, nothing would bring them down under 5.5.
Sorry.

That's ok Kirsten, was just hoping for some miracle lol.
Can I ask you what type of insulin you had to take and when?

Hi Girls,

Just back from my appointment have to increase my night time insulin to 8 now but very thing else is fine still have a trace of keytones and lost a little more weight but baby is great and growing so its all me

Petals think ill make sure I dont get that as I have heard it can be bad for the baby I have a feeling Ill keep losing weight it does seem to be all me and it wont do me any harm have a bit spare lol just as long as my baby is ok though

Tennykins sugar is a sign of GD I think

Becci thats waht was happening to me my fasting was just getting higher and higher so on Insulin i went Im taking 8 insulatard at 10 pm and my lucnh time level was rising so on 2 of the novarapid if that helps

Yeah, the sugar is from the diabetes.

Ugh, I'm so sick of this testing and food and all that jazz.
:wall: :wall: :wall:

Hello all,
Just wanted to drop in. i've just found out, like 1 hour ago, that i have GD.
I'm devastated!! I had my 2 hour test yesterday and got a 9.2 on it. Fasting was 4.2, 1 hour was 9.6 and 2 hour was 9.2. I remember the hour after drinking the glucose that my heart was racing but second hour felt fine. Apparently not though.

I'm very confused though because I've been faxed a diet plan to use till i see the endo next Wednesday and the food is what i already eat just many more servings! I don't eat junk food, don't eat sugary food, no cakes or treats, so I just don't understand how this still happens.

Secondly I don't see how a diet which is almost the same as what i am doing now is going to help the situation and more and more i am concerned i'll end up on insulin. Having a big "needle phobia" is not helping the situation. A blood test is an effort for me..

This is what i'd have on a normal day:
B'Fast: Weet bix with sultanas or Just Right with added Bran + skim milk
Lunch: Multi-grain or Wholemeal sandwich with tomato & cheese with mustard
Dinner: Lean meat (either beef, chicken or pork) with vegetables/potato or spag bolognaise or a stir fry.
Snacks: If i get peckish then i'd have a piece of fruit or some diced mixed fruit or maybe a cracker like Vita Wheets.

I don't eat deserts, don't eat lollies. Have 1 or maybe 2 cups of tea with 2 sugars & skim milk per day. Might have 1 x small glass (250-300ml) of unsweetened fruit juice a day and the rest is all water.

I know I must sound like a drama queen and trust me the tears have been free flowing for the last hour or so but i just don't understand how this happened. The only thing I can think of is lack of exercise. Prior to being PG i used to play touch football and attend pilates/yoga classes. I've always been slim but now i find exercise (walk the dog around the block - about a 20 minute journey) makes me tired, my sciatic hurts and i'm getting lower back pain so I haven't been as active. I would have to assume that the exercise is not the culprit here but i'd really love something to blame for this because i'm absolutely stumped on how this has happened.

sweetie.....huge hugs it must be a big shock for you. just know you are not to blame at all. GD is not related to diet, exercise or lack thereof in most cases. You have just been plain unlucky tis all. scuse the poor typing have just got a new puppy and am typing one handed!
in simple terms here is how the pancreas works during pregnancy: during pregnancy you will require 2 -3 times the normal amounts of insulin to metabolise your food, that goes for everyone when they are pregnant. Understandably this places stress on the pancreas to produce that much extra insulin. In some people for whatever reason the pancreas doesn't cope as well with the extra stress and can't quite keep up with the extra demand so you get a small shortfall of insulin. you have just been very unlucky to be one of those people.....not that it makes it any easier but it is not your fault.
there is a fantastic book i reccommend you look for called the new glucose revolution by professor jennie brand-miller. it explains the GI approach to diet extemely well and has tips and recipes etc. Also the diabetic living magazine comes out every 2 months and is awsome for food tips for diabetes of all types.
chin up keep thinking its only 12 weeks tops not a lifetime. :)

SnowChickie - Welcome to the group!!

It's all got to do with that extra insulin that's needed plus the placenta creates a hormones that stops the insulin from working properly (sorry I can't remember how but I was pretty bamboozled with info when I saw the Diabetic Educator).
The main thing is it is managable. I'm new to it all too. Only been monitoring my levels since last thursday. And I hate needles too!
There is only a few % of women with whom the diabetes will stay wil til after the birth. Plus GD babies are usually induced early so the time that you will have GD is getting less and less.
When you see the Dibetic Educator and the Dietician next week all will be clear.
It's not just about low GI, healthy diet, etc the amount of carbs comes into effect too.

Anyway I don't want to comfuse you anymore than you already are so I'll stop now.

Try to look on the bright side.....You have just met a wonderful group of girls that are just the same as you!!!!!!

We are here for you.

Hey Snowchickie!

I'm sorry to hear about your results.
When you first find out it's such a kick in the teeth.
I cried so much when I first found out. I'd cry when I woke up and throughout the day. I must have been an ightmare to live with.
Once you get started with the testing and seeing a diabetes educator, or whoever you need to see, things should seem better.
It does take adjusting and even now I find I break down about it, and I've been doing this since I was 10wks.


We're all here for you.
We'll try our best to answer your questions aswell as support and encourage you.

BIG HUGS!!! :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
xx

Hey Beci, I was on some fairly high doses of insulin by the end of the pregnancy. I was taking (I think) about 20 units of Actrapid at lunch, about 40 of Actrapid at night before dinner and then about 30 of Protophane before bed. This is the dose that brought my morning readings down.
I was diagnosed at 15 weeks and on insulin from 16 weeks so it was a VERY long pregnancy. The good thing was that I had a healthy little boy weighing 7lbs 15oz. They monitored his BSL for a couple of days and they were all fine. My Ob was convinced that it wasn't going away after the pregnancy, but a GTT at 7 weeks revealed that it had gone away! YAAAY!
Good luck with it all everyone. If anyone has any questions, just ask!

First question, with many more to come I'm sure..
What do you all drink?? I used to have a cup of tea in the morning, a small juice and then water. But the material i've been given says juice is out so what on earth am I supposed to drink other than water?? Water is so boring after 1.5L..
Also with tea, should i switch to an artificial sweetener, and if yes, which one as I thought you were not supposed to use some of them during PG?

Also I'm really worried about the possibility of this not going away once baby is born, is it common for it to stick around afterwards? Is it more common for those on insulin rather than diet based control?

I drink mostly water, but yeah you get sick of it and I miss juice. Lol.
Sometimes Coke zero or some of the other sugar free range they have.
I did get Equal as the sugar substitute when I have tea, but I haven't really had tea or used it. ( I don't really know if it's alright or not. )
Splenda is alright though. I used it in some cooking.

I'm on diet control. I think if I did find out when I was 28 weeks or whatever, then I'd most likely be on insulin, but since i found out so early I think I had it easier. If you get what I mean.

I think it generally does go away as soon as you have the baby.
I'm not sure if mine will be though.

Snowchickie - I have a bottle of lemon juice from the supermarket and a few drops of that will brighten up plain water when you are over it, or you could squeeze some in for water with meals if you have a lemon tree - lemons are just a fruit after all. Plain mineral water is fine also and at least tastes different.

I have the occasional coke zero. I have never had sugar in my tea, so that isn't worrying me and I can't help with sweetners. After I have done the night BSL test I tend to have a Rev milk with a small amount of milo as I can not face plain milk.

As for it going away, ask me in a couple of months - I am worried about it also...

I'm a big water drinker and I am only a social drinker when it comes to tea so I don't worry about that. But I love Hot Choc, especially this time of year.
I bought some Jarrah Hot Choc yesterday as it said in all the literature I had that it was good. Only has 3gm (or whatever) of carbs per drink and 15g is a serve so certainly under what your allowed. You make it with boiling water, so no milk to add to the carbs list. It was really nice too.

For those people who found out early in PG, what was the reason you were tested, or how did you find out so early. I just had the routine 26wk GTT and that is how I found out. Nothing even mentioned before this that would have prepared me for the result.

Sorry but I'm still shocked and when I woke up this morning was so very much hoping it was all a bad dream.

When I went to the GP for the routine blood tests you get at the start of pregnancy, for some reason he included a random sugar level test.
That was rather high, so I had to go for a fasting one. That wasn't the best either.

I did find out later, when I booked into the hospital, that getting sugar levels tested with the normal pregnancy blood test isn't that common, and that I was lucky that he actually did it.
I wouldn't have called it luck at the time, but thinking back now I can see I was lucky.

I wouldn't have known any different if I didn't have the test. I would have thought everything was going fine. I had no symptoms or anything. It was a complete shock, still is.

Hope it gest better for you, Snowchickie. xx

Had my 30 week check up with the dr this morning.
He was happy with my bsl's, which surprised me. i'm meant to keep the fasting ones under 5.5 and they are usually a little higher but not more than 6. He said that was ok and that we will keep monitoring them over then next few weeks. If they stay the same then we can go back to two weekly appointments! Yay! I was really expecting him to put me on insulin as they seems very strict with what was allowed and what wasn't. He said mine might have been that few .points higher because I have a head cold at the moment.
I don't actually see him next week as I will have my app at FMC next friday when I would normally see him, and they will be doing the same checks anyway, so will see him the week after.

So all in all I'm very happy and relieved.

Hope everyone is doing well today.

I was tested at 15 weeks as I had had GD with my last pregnancy. I think my Ob was convinced that I had preexisting diabetes and wanted to see for himself. I sort of had a suspicion that the GD was back though as I had a case of thrush (never had it before) and was peeing a lot more. It did go away however. I haven't heard of anybody yet who has had it stick around after baby was born. I had my son mid afternoon and by dinnertime that night it had all gone back to normal!
Your Ob will send you for a GTT at 6 weeks post partum which will tell you for sure that it is gone.
Oh yeah and as for the artificial sweetner thing, I had it with all 3 pregnancies and there was no problem. Also to flavour water a bit of diet cordial can make things much tastier!
Good luck with your BSLS.

I had a very naughty day today.
it was football and I haven't been to footy since I was diagnosed. All the hot dogs and hot chips were just too much. to top it off I forgot to take my glucometer with me so I couldn't take my bsls. Took itwhen I got home and they were over 8!!! To a very healthy dinner for me, maybe porridge as I have heard that it can help to bring your bsls down (girl at work who has type 2 told me that).

I haven't tried porridge actually.
I did have weetbix this morning for breakfast for the first time, and they did well.

Yum. I'd love a hotdog. lol.
I've had hot chips occasionally. I couldn't help myself. It's hard to resist sometimes. :(

I hate that breads getcha though. Like white bread and stuff.
That annoys me.

Weetbix aren't too bad.
I had porridge this morning, but this time I grated a small fuji apple into it for the sweetness. It wasn't too sweet, and didn't taste too apply, but it wasn't bland either. I added a little cinnamon into it too.
Bsl this morning was 5.2 so happy with that.

Good idea with the apple.
5.2 is gooooooood. Is that after breakfast? or the before breakfast reading?

Becci - must have been the weekend for being bad!! I was doing the grocery shopping yesterday, and my trolley was full of all the right foods, I had even found some wholemeal tortillis for soft taco's and some sugarless jelly to have for desert with some low fat / not too much sugar yogurt... and then I wandered down the health food isle, and amoungst all the gulten free buscits that are full of sugar I found the sugar free chocolate!!! Now after 5/6 weeks of being very good about everything I thought it was time for a experiment. So when the mandarine I had planned for afternoon tea just wasn't enough, I ate it and it was surprisingly good, (I had to ignore the fat content printed 3 lines above the 0 sugar line). Dinner was late as it was at the IL's but the reading after dinner was 6.2.

I have had a few hot chips of hubby's a few times, provided I only have a few they are OK as the taste comes from fat not sugar and a little bit of potato is OK.

We had a scan on Saturday, bub's sucked his / her thumb all the way through it. Based on their estimates s/he is 2.5kg and if I go to 40 weeks will be about 3.7kg (around 8 pound) so happy about that, hope the Ob is also, will see him this week.

Tenny, 5.2 was before brekky, which is good for me. Normally closer to 6.

Petals - Great to hear your scan went well. I think I'll be having another scan soonish. My last one was at 28wks. I can't wait.

Becci - Great reading!!

I've found soup goes really well. So we've been making different soups lately.
It's been great especially since the weather has been so cold too.

Hope you had a great weekend & week ahead.

xx

So i got to see my endo today. He seemed pretty calm and relaxed which helped me. My poor finger is bruised from the sugar test he did but i've gone and bought a glucose meter today so tonight will be first test I've done myself. Quite nervous actually and scary that I have to do this 3 times a day.
I have to report to him next Tuesday on my levels but he said to aim for lower than 7. I have to test 2 hours after my 3 main meals.

Question- When you buy stuff at groceries what is the amount of carbs/sugars that you look for in products? I know I can test out stuff and my sugar levels will tell me if they ok but I'm thinking if I know a gauge of the level of carb and subsequent sugars I should look for in product then I'll have a level to start at.
I assume if the sugar reading is almost identical to the total carb reading, this means it's high GI. What what sort of carb level should i be looking at per serve of any product? Didn't really get information about this and forgot to ask.

SnowChickie - a serve of carbs is 15g. And I am allowed 2-4 serves for a main meal and 1 serve for a snack, so I can work it out form there.
My dietician gave me a list of low GI foods but you can also get them from glycemicindex.com.
HTH

Hi Ladies,
I saw my endo today and feel a little better. He was very relaxed about the whole thing which helped me I think. He did a sugar test to show me how to glucose meter works and my poor little finger is bruised now.

I just did my first glucose test myself (very scared) but i put the setting on 2 for pressure and managed to get some blood but NO PAIN. I am SOO happy that it didn't hurt like the one the Endo gave me.

I got 4.7 tonight. I assume this is good??? He said under 7 is good. Is is good or a little low? If I get low levels like this can I afford to have a little more at my meal. E.g. tonight i had some chicken, a potato and some vegies. I probably could have had a little more chicken but otherwise was satisfied afterwards.

I'm about to have some warm milk with a teaspoon of milo as I found last night it helped and meant i didn't wake up this morning wanting to drink a 2L bottle of water in one go.

Feeling much better. Will see how I go tomorrow.

P.S. Also how many times do you use the needle? It says to change it each time, chemist said can use twice so i'm wondering what everyone else does? Also how do you dispose of them?

Snowchickie - I'm glad you're feeling better with it all.
4.7 is really good 2hrs after food. Yay! No pain with the needle. Whoohoo! My first few times I struggled with getting enough blood out for the strip, so now I make sure I have more then enough. I'm a fool. :p
I used to get bruised fingers from the finger pr!cks. I guess my fingers got used to it and have toughened up. Lol.
As for the needle changing. I was told to change each time too. I used to but now I'm lazy. I don't see anything wrong with using it more then once or even twice.
I was given one of those little yellow containers to dispose of the needles in. I have no idea where I take it when it's full though.


I'm crossing my fingers this all goes away when the baby is born. Not much I can really do if it doesn't though. It wasn't really diagnosed as GD, but it could still be I suppose.
I'm getting sick of it and the tears about it all are coming back more.
My poor DP puts up with alot of my crap.

Snowchickie - glad things went well with the endo. When I saw the Dibeties educator she gave me a yellow sharps container and told me to take it to the chemist when it was full and they will dispose of them. I guess the other alternative would be to put them through the sharps disposal at the hospital if you can store them safely until then. May be ask the chemist if they have containers for them, preferably childproof!! My sister had the stress of a needlesitck injury once so I am a bit podantic about this...

4.7 is a good reading - I would be happy with that! - keep them coming...

I tend to look for the items with 0 or as low as possible sugar from the range you are choosing from and then work out the proportion size I would get for the non sugar carbs and decide if that is enough to eat....

My lancetts last a day or so, I get a bit lazy about changing them...

SnowChickie - your levels do sound good to me. You probably could afford to have a little more carbs. Best to have them at your next snack though. Maybe some fruit or yoghurt (or both) for supper? Or next time have a little more potato or maybe some corn? and see how that goes. Remember 2-4 serves for a main meal.

I was told to only use the lancettes once too, but the chemist whispered that you can use them twice, so that's what I do. The first one for the mrning before and after brekky bsls, then the other for the post lunch and post dinner ones.

You can buy the yellow sharps containers at the chemist, around the $5 mark I think. Or you can use any plastic container with a slot for putting the needles in. Both types of containers can be taken to the local council for disposal. So if you are going to use a container from home, remember that you won't get the container back. So best to use a marg or ice cream container.
I have mine in a little tupperware container and plan to take it to work to empty into thier sharpos containers. Cheeky I know, but that's the beauty of working in the health industry. lol

I found that milo really snet my bsls up, you might be fine though. Check out the Jarrah Chocolatte and Hot Choc mixes.It jars are much cheaper than the sachets too. They are very low carb. I think about 3g carbs per serve (mainly because you only add hot water - it must already have the milk powder in it). They are very nice and don't affect me so much. Have that with a couple of Snack Right biccies and thats supper for me.

Ok I hit a snag!!
Breakfast this morning i had 2 weet bix with a chopped banana - levels 2 hours after was 5.3 which was happy with. Morning tea i had a pear, then lunch i had wholegrain sandwich with cheese, tomato & lettuce plus a yoghurt. Level after lunch was 8.2!!!!!!!!
Was it the combination of fruit & yoghurt within a few hours?? Surely couldn't be the sandwich???

Should i still have afternoon snack if level still this high?
I'm scared for dinner tonight now!!