Gestational Diabetes

[sunnymel]

i had a GTT done yesterday (as eliana was 11lb 4oz or 5.1kg) & the dr thought they might have missed picking it up last time - well my dr just called & i have gestational diabetes (my mum is a diabetic)
just wondering if anyone else has/had it & what treatment they were given - i am waiting to hear back from the hospital about going to see the diabetes people there
thanks for your help

[Trillian]

My Mum had it with my youngest brother and she had it bad enough that she needed insulin injections several times a day as well as a controlled diet. Some of the time it can be controlled with diet only if it isn't too bad. There have been a few Mums on here who have had it too and there is a thread for it as well.

[Taia's Mum]

HI Mel,

I don't and haven't had it - however I've heard you just treat it with an injection. And after the baby is born it goes away.

Hopefully you get to talk to the hospital soon!
xoxo

[sunnymel]

thanks guys - i did look up online about it & knowing it is treatable has helped - i thought i was doing so well with this pregnancy having only put on 4kilos so far

[Tobily]

I had it with both pregnancies.
Basically they'll probably start you off controlling it with dietary changes. It's a very healthy diet and the one bonus is that it will keep your weight gain under control. I only gained 13kg with DD and 10 kg with DS so that's a bonus

You'll need to do a finger ***** test four times a day to check your blood sugar levels and record all the readings. If you are consistently under the targets they give you (usually 5.5 fasting and 7.0 2hrs after eating) then that is pretty much it - you'll just roll through the pregnancy on the diet and then they'll probably push you for an induction at about 38/39 weeks.

If you can't control it with the diet (and it isn't your fault if you can't) you'll have insulin injections to keep your levels down. These really aren't a big deal either but if you do end up on insulin it tends to have more implications for your labour and birth in terms of possible interference - you'll be under pretty strong pressure to induce, if your water breaks they'll want to induce immediately, they'll want you on monitors for the whole labour etc etc.

I was on insulin for the last few weeks of DD's pregnancy, but I managed to control it really well with diet alone for my son's and avoided insulin altogether.

It's interesting that they missed it with your first pregnancy - with my second pregnancy I passed the test twice at 20 and 28 weeks....but I started feeling really thirsty alot at 32 weeks so I started checking my BSL's at home and noticed they were consistently high. The test they use for GD is a bit of a croc IMO.

i thought i was doing so well with this pregnancy having only put on 4kilos so far

Just wanted to reassure you that getting GD has nothing to do with weight gain - I am average weight and have no risk factors for it whatsoever yet have had it twice. In your case your highest risk factor would be your mum being diabetic so don't beat up on yourself

[bettyboop]

Hi there , i got it on my 4th preg, 3 preg was born 9lb 10oz was tested for it but did not have it till 4 preg. Took injection , it went away when baby was born. Hospital staff were so great.just ask lots of questions.

[sunnymel]

thanks flea & bettyboop - i was already planning another csection cause i had a feeling this baby was going to big again so at least there is a reason to why eliana was so big - at least i know its not life threatening & can be treated - will be interesting to see if i can control it with diet or need the injections - funnily enough i havent craved anything sweet but my dr said it also has to do with the way your body metabolises carbs etc
thanks again girls

[tommygirl]

hay melbee,

not sure if this helps ihad it a bit with DS 6 years ago i put on 30kgs. went from 59kg to 82kgs. i was so big and he was 9 pounds exact and everyone was shocked asi am so small.
When i fell with this bub i told my new OB about it and he said to be safe forme to go on a low GI diet this pregnancy, and im 34 weeks and only put on 8 kgs. And i havnt had much time to exercise as im too tired after working....im a hairdresser on my feet all day.
so maybe try the low GI diet it just means you have to change a bit what you buy, andnot give into cravings, i wanted to eat a whole tub of sara lee ice cream the other night but instead had some fruit with vanilla low fat yougurt. you have to be strong but i tell you after 30kg its worth it this time around. good luck.
love TG

[bettyboop]

How it all going?

[sunnymel]

i am still waiting to hear from the hospital about my appointment but have been using my diabetes testing machine &Y yesterday i was fine but today it was high & we put it down to eating white bread & pikelets - i will look into the low gi diet & hopefully the nutritionist can give me an idea of what to avoid - will let you know what happens

[Rachel23]

Hi

I have GD aswell. I've been able to control it with diet though. Try and substitute white bread with four seed or soy linseed bread and try and cut as much fat out as possible (low fat milk/yoghurt etc). My fasting levels were high when I first got my machine so I simply had a glass of milk before bed and it leveled out my BSL!

I have to test my BSL four times a day three days a week. Not a big hassle really.

Good luck with it all!! I know it can be a little daunting at first!

[Phteven]

just moving to medical conditions during pregnancy forum

[chon]

Hi
I'm new to the forum, just joined and this thread stood out first to me because I had GD. I had my little girl 5 weeks ago.

My GD showed up at the normal testing at 26 weeks, I tried the control diet first and did the finger pri-ck test 4 times a day. After a couple of weeks they werent happy with them so I had to go on insulin injections twice a day then in the last couple of weeks it went to 3 injections a day (before each meal). It is a very small percentage that go to injections, so dont even dwell on that as it is very far from a fact for you at this time.

Heres just a couple of tips for you,
*try 'Bakers Delight' 'high fibre-low GI' bread, that seemed safe for me to eat through it all as I'm not a fan of wholemeal etc.

*if you have to go to injections, know that it IS okay to inject in your thigh. I had the doctors push me to inject in the stomach, there was NO WAY I was comfortable with that and injecting in the thigh got the results that were needed.

*If you get upset, worried or stressed about it all, talk to someone, whether that be a doctor, friend or family member. I got upset a few times wondering 'why me'.

The GD has gone, I tested for a whole day at the hospital, 2 days after I had my daughter, but I still need to go and do the glucose drink test at the hospital near the end of this month which will confirm if it has completely gone.

hope all is going smoothly....

[minimatron]

I had my test 3 days ago and i checked my results on the computer and they came back at 7.9 and the cut off is 8. I was just wondering if I need to contact the midwives or anything else???
Melissa

[sunnymel]

thanks everyone for the extra replies - i go see the diabetic clinic in the morning - i already dont eat white bread & not alot of the things im not supposed to eat so will be interesting to see what they say
thanks again everyone for your support

[bettyboop]

I had my test 3 days ago and i checked my results on the computer and they came back at 7.9 and the cut off is 8. I was just wondering if I need to contact the midwives or anything else???
Melissa

That a talk to MW might be a good idea so she can keep an eye on you.:icon_question:

[minimatron]

I rang them and asked and they said to ignore it and eat whatever I like...

[sunnymel]

went to the diabetes clinic today to learn how to use the glucose monitor, what i can & cant eat etc - am going to see the diabetes dr at the hosp on tuesday armed with all the things i [have to fill in about what i eat so fingers crossed i can keep my levels between 5 & 7