Gestational Diabetes - Looks like i have it

[RhiChiChi]

Another one diagnosed with GD....

How did ur pregnancy go with GD?
I had a great pg and controlled my GD with diet and walking for approx 20 mins 5 out of 7 days per week. No insulin needed.

Did u have bub early?
No, I went up until 40+9

Was bub big?
7lb5oz and 48 cms long

Did u have a virginal or C-section?
'Emergency c-sect' following failed induction. My choice for induction - no pressure from OBS at all to have c-sect. In fact he was against it since my GD was under control.

Did they have to monitor u while in labour? if so what did that involve?
I was monitred due to being induced - nothing to do with the GD

Was everything ok with Bub when born? Was everything okay with you during labour and after?
100% fine with both me & DD. I actually wasn't allowed to eat not long after being induced, so from approx. 10am then ate after DD was born at about 7pm and felt fine. They did check mine & DD blood sugar levels for (I think) 24 hours after DD was born. I then had a follow-up test approx. 6 weeks after DD was born to ensure I hadn't developed Type 2 diabetes (which I didn't)

I found GD easy to control whilst pg & believe that the walking helped significantly. The only time I had issues with blood sugar levels was either stress related or eating too high GI foods (ie: white bread). It took me less than fortnight to work out what I could & couldn't eat. Definately got to the GD chatter thread cos that had som handy hints. Best of luck

[Marnikat]

Hi! I have had GD with both of my pregnancies. Sometimes it just can't be helped and you have done nothing to cause it and it definately isn't your fault! That was what I felt both times but I have none of the risk factors, not overweight, eat well, etc.

Pregnancy - To be honest from the time the GD hit it was pretty awful. I felt sick from the constant changes from blood sugar levels and hungry from attempting to eat less to 'fix' my sugar levels (eating less isn't something you should do). I was put on insulin both times as I just couldn't control my readings no matter what, e.g. toast with vegemite would give me a 5.5 one day and 7.8 the next. The drs sent me to a specialist who thinks that my hormones are to blame for my GD and I just have to control it the best I can. Also from about 33 weeks I had to have CTG monitoring at the hospital twice a week because of the insulin.

Did you have bub early - No 1. She was induced at 38 weeks because of the insulin and instability of my GD and also she was classed at growth retarded (somehow she ended up too small instead of too big). This resulted in an emergency c-section after 24 hours.
No 2 - Spontaneous labour 8 days early ending in a VBAC. She was meant to be a c-section the following Tuesday but had other ideas! She was 3528g

Monitoring - With my first it was constant monitoring and I had drips in both arms. It was horrible! With no 2 it was much more relaxed. I only had heart beat checks every so often and was able to labour in the shower/bath and move around until I had an epidural. I didn't even have a drip with insulin or sugars attached the second time!

After - I had some funny readings for a while but stopped the insulin immediately. It all settled down in a couple of days. Both bubs had blood sugar checks done for a while but both were fine and didn't need any further monitoring. Both times after my follow up GTT has been clear and the only it was recommended to continue eating well and breastfeed (if possible) to reduce both my and babies risk of deveoping diabetes later.

While it certainly isn't fun to have once your head is wrapped around the diet and testing it is manageable. I think the worst thing was the wait between eating and testing (2 hours) cause you couldn't just have a cup of coffee or snack until after the test was done or your read wouldn't be reliable.

Sorry for the novel, but if you have any other questions I am happy to try and answer them!

[Maisy]

I had GD in my first pregnancy and while it was annoying to have it, it is only a few months you have to watch what you eat but it does make you eat healthy and you are not likely to gain as much weight :-) I controlled it with diet. Once you get your mind around the principles of it and stick to low GI foods, it is not that difficult to do. You end up eating 3 main meals and space out your snacks as you have to test your 2 hours after every meal.

As for your questions:

How did ur pregnancy go with GD? - I had a great pregnancy TBH
Did u have bub early? - only one week early
Was bub big? - no. I had a girl and she was 2.6kg. I did the GD diet pretty strictkly
Did u have a virginal or C-section? - vaginal
Did they have to monitor u while in labour? if so what did that involve? - I was monitored but only because I was induced (as waters broke but labour didnt start spontaneously). I was hooked up to a monitor but because of the epidural I couldnt move around anyway. Being induced was painful I found.
Was everything ok with Bub when born? - Fine. She went to the nursery for a bit so they could test her blood sugars but she was ok and was back in my room after a couple of hours
Was everything okay with you during labour and after? - Labour was fine, very relaxed though i had an epidural from early on.

With my 2nd baby I didnt get GD, but I had to have an emergency caesarian. I was dreading having a caesarian and thought it would take ages to recover but TBH I recovered soooo much quicker than the vaginal birth. If I had to say which was better I would say the caesarian!

There is also some info on the diabetes australia website and the glycaemic index website. It is really worthwhile seeing a dietician or a diabetes educator (through the hospital) - they tell you exactly what foods you should eat and what you should avoid.

[hj1981]

well............... i had my OB appt today and it turns out that i do have GD! my BSL should not of been over 5.0 and it ended up being 5.1! so not happy! so now i have an appt with Diabetes clinic or something and will have to start monitoring my BSL 4 times a day!!!!!!

[~MummaBear~]

Hj sorry to hear that you had GD. I just have a quick question for you, did you have the 1 hour test or the 2 hour test?
just cause i got my results but i havent spoke to the dr and now i am wondering if my results were ok....

[hj1981]

Mummyof4 -i had both the tests done! and both times i was over by 0.1!
what test did u have and what were ur results if u don't mind me asking? i so hope everything is okay for you!

[~MummaBear~]

I had the 2 hour fasting test with the 3 blood tests taken an hour apart and the results were
4.7
5.1
and 5.7

now i am freaking out

[Maisy]

I had the 2 hour fasting test with the 3 blood tests taken an hour apart and the results were
4.7
5.1
and 5.7

now i am freaking out

That's a very good result! If it is over 7.8 then you would be classed as having GD. I had 7.7, so 0.1 less but didnt have GD.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

well............... i had my OB appt today and it turns out that i do have GD! my BSL should not of been over 5.0 and it ended up being 5.1! so not happy! so now i have an appt with Diabetes clinic or something and will have to start monitoring my BSL 4 times a day!!!!!!

Wow not over 5.0?? - i had GD with my 1st pregnancy and had both the 1 hr and 2 hr tests and was told anything over 7.5-7.8 was considered GD. Both tests for me came back at 9.2 and 9.4 so yeah, def GD!! - 5.0 seems very low to be diagnosed as GD

[Maisy]

Wow not over 5.0?? - i had GD with my 1st pregnancy and had both the 1 hr and 2 hr tests and was told anything over 7.5-7.8 was considered GD. Both tests for me came back at 9.2 and 9.4 so yeah, def GD!! - 5.0 seems very low to be diagnosed as GD

I didnt notice those figures, but I agree that seems way too low!! I wonder if they mean the "fasting" level shouldnt be over 5.0? That is really weird as I've never heard of the cut off being that low - I know at the lab that did my test their upper range was 7.8 as the cut-off. Also in pregnancy the levels they say you show aim for when you DO have GD is 4-7 and that's 2 hours after meals (I just had a quick look at the diabetes australia website). hj1981 I wonder if they have mis-interpreted your test? I guess it will be interesting to see what the diabetes educator says at your appointment. You'll be able to know by your readings I guess.

[skybie]

I;m thinking the same thing as PP, 5.1 is low, anything under 5 is considered 'hypo' for me. my specialists want my levels to be at 5.5 after meals, anything under 5 and im eating sugar like a mad thing because these pregnancy hypos are awfull!
if it makes u feel better my levels when i was diagnosed were 26.8 . i really wouldnt stress too much hun, if they think u DO have it it looks like a very minor case and u shouldnt need any insulin
Thinking of u
xx

[hj1981]

apparently i do have it!?!?

The first test my result was 8.1 when it shouldn't of been over 8.0
and the second test was 5.1 when apparently it shouldn't of been over 5.0!

But i have no idea if they were the fasting tests or which one they were - but even the GD lady said looks like u just scrape in as being classed as having GD!!!!

She took my first BSL today which i had 2 hrs after lunch and it was 4.9 so well and truely under! i have to keep my BSL's between 5.5 and 7.0!

Already i hate this!!!!!!

Skybie - my golly gosh! 26.8 - they haven't been that high since tho have they?

[hj1981]

OK i been thinking and im very confused!!!!

If when doing my BSL.... if my 1st one of the morning (fasting) has to be under 5.5 and than the other 3 that i need to do 2hrs after breaky lunch and dinner have to be under 7.0 than how come my BSL of 5.1 has classed me as having GD????????

[Maisy]

I am just as baffled as you are!!

the 2 tests you did, was one of them a 1 hour test and the other 2 hours? With the 2 hour one you are suppose to be fasting beforehand but the 1 hour one you dont.

4.9 after lunch is very good.

Maybe just monitor and see how you go - and if they are fine then "test" it out by eating something a little bit naughty (like something hi-GI or starchy (or chocolate!) and see what the result is 2 hours after. Also if you eat protein with a meal it tends to make the readings a bit lower too, as does exercising after a meal. Would you consider going somewhere else and having another test? (I know I wouldnt be racing to have the drink again but given your strange results)

[hj1981]

yeh a few weeks ago i did the 1hr test and got the 8.1 (when OB said it should be 8.0 or under)

than last week i did the 2hr test and got 5.1 (instead of 5.0 and under)

i will see how my levels go over the next few days and if they are good im not doing it anymore!

[KimB]

I have 2 children that are diabetic and the perfect levels are between 4 and 6. I don't see how you have GD with a score of 5.1

[skybie]

for thw first month or so they were, not for a while though

[Artechim]

How did ur pregnancy go with GD?
Good apart from the GD. I couldn't control with diet so ended up on insulin. About 120 units per day by the end which is apparently quite high?

Did u have bub early?
Was induced at 39+3. Refused induction at 38 weeks but had CTG monitoring every second day until the birth.

Was bub big?
8 pound, 3.6kg so pretty average

Did u have a virginal or C-section?
Virginal birth - no, but I did have a vaginal birth lol

Did they have to monitor u while in labour? if so what did that involve?
I had hourly BSL monitoring and my levels started to rise even though I wasn't eating. I ended up having a glucose/insulin drip to regulate BSL. But this doesn't happen to everyone, I was on a fair bit of insulin.

Was everything ok with Bub when born?
Every thing was fine with DS. His BSL's were taken for the first three hours but all were normal so they left us alone. He went to special care for 30 mins for raspy breathing but nothing to do with GD

Was everything okay with you during labour and after?
Apart from the drips for BSL everything was fine. Took a couple of days for BSL's to return to normal and no problems since.

Was the 5.1 the fasting reading?