Gestational Diabetes - Looks like i have it

[fionas]

Yep, I had it.

Don't get me wrong it was tricky to manage in terms of eating the right food and even though I did everything right, I had to have insulin in the end. To me, this was no big deal, honestly. But if I'd been able to exercise, I may have been able to manage it without the insulin. Couldn't exercise, couldn't walk more than 25 metres because I also had pelvic instability and was housebound for six months. I had a caesar about 10 days early because of the pelvic instability, not because of the diabetes.

In terms of baby size, my GD baby was actually TWO POUNDS lighter than my non-GD baby, so go figure and I only put on 3 kilos in the entire pregnancy, and this was without being able to walk very far let alone genuinely exercise remember. The paediatrician said this was because I'd managed the GD so well.

DD was fine. They did three blood sugar readings on her which were all good and she didn't have to have formula.

I felt a little under par for a couple of days after the birth but again, no big deal. They tell you that GD disappears after the birth but I don't think they necessarily mean 'immediately'. But because I wasn't taking insulin after the birth (on advice), I think it took a few days for my body to really get back to normal. I'm meant to do another glucose reading soon to make sure that's happened but I feel absolutely fine. There's an increased chance that I will now get diabetes within 20 years but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

So it's not all doom and gloom and although losing baby weight is never a priority for me, a week after I had DD2 I was 4 kilos lighter than when she was conceived and I feel the healthiest I have in years.

I know it's scary getting the diagnosis and working out what you can and can't eat can be overwhelming but it it is possible to manage it very effectively.