GD ... BSL ... I dont understand? Please help

:wave: Hi

I was diagnosed with GD at 36 weeks. It didnt show up at all in the 28 wk test. :smt102
Anyway so they plan on inducing me next week, but until then I have to take my BSL and eat following a low G.I diet, which I am fine with because Ive only got a few days left obviously .....

However, something I dont understand about the BSL. All of my levels are fairly under the 6.9 mark, usually around the 4-5's BUT today I had a sandwich for lunch and 2 hours later my BSL was 7.8!

I cant get it out of my head that it got so high especially considering that the sandwich was on 9 Grain Bread and only had on it,
Tuna
Lettuce
One slice of Tomato
Cucumber
and I only had Natural Mineral Water (plain) to drink.

Prior to that, my after breakfast reading was 4.7 so I dont understand at all. What did I do wrong? Thats literally what I ate, no word of a lie. No butter, no salt nothing at all except for what I wrote.

Someone told me that stress can raise your BSL, is this true? Because as at right now, I cant see any other reason why my BSL got so high. The only other time my BSL has been that high (that I know of) was when I did the glucose test, and thats when they told me I had GD because it was ALOT higher than that even.

Should I throw away the food listed above and just avoid it for now incase it was the food?

To be 100% honest, yesterday I cheated and had a packet of chips. Two hours later I tested my BSL just to see what it was like and it was only 6.5!
I dont see how eating a packet of chips, naughty smiths chips at that, can be better for my BSL test than a sandwich.

Any help to understand this would be much appreciated.

Gemini,
I really wish I could help you with this, but it sounds like a question you may need to ask your Dr.
There are other things that can also raise your BSL, such as stress or sickness, among other things.

My DP has type 1 diabetes, and we are having problems controlling it atm... his BSL's are commonly over 13!!! :shock:
So in my view 7.8 doesnt sound too bad... just slightly higher than the recommended...

sorry, I really wish I could help more with advice... I still think running your question by your caregiver might be a good idea, just for some peace of mind.

Hi Gemini

I've been a type 1 diabetic for over 30 years - and currently on 4-6 injections a day. GD is a weird thing from my readings and knowledge of others that have gone through it.

Your pancreas is still creating your insulin needs but your body isn't using it properly. Sometimes it works just fine - probably explains the chips - and other days it doesn't, hence the sandwich. I know other diabetics who can eat the same thing 2 days in a row, yet get completely different BSLs from it

There are a myriad of things controlling BSL's, most are not really understood as to how... food, insulin and exercise are only some of them

Don't stress too much. As Ambah pointed out, your raised reading would be considered "normal" for most diabetics - 4-8 is doing just fine in our books


And LowGI doesn't mean low sugar... it means it takes a while for the body to take up the sugar in the food. Versus HighGI where it's all taken up very quickly


Hope you are feeling better today !

If you're worried, maybe try a lower GI bread and see how that goes? I know 9 grains is listed as low GI, but there are lower such as the burgen soy linseed bread.

Oh :flower: Thankyou for all of this information!

I did not know ANY of that! At the GD clinic all we were told was scary things like how much it will affect the baby...Not how it actually works!

I think Im just stressing because I keep wondering what I might have done considering in the 28wk test, it didnt show up. Like obviously if I had known back then, I would have been living a stricter lifestyle. Now it just seems silly. Ive already had the measurements and I know her stomach is large, compared to the measurements of the rest of her body ... so all that has already been done because the GD was undetected. So now I have less than a week before I see the Doctors to discuss an induction date, I have no idea what difference it will make now, and I didnt want them to think I wasnt trying!

So thankyou so much, I understand so much more now. I dont even feel concerned anymore and I can rest ALOT easier now :cheer:

THANKYOU

Hi gemini6

Don't worry hun. Your BSL is a little high but it is no where near scary high. As abs said there are many things that influence your BSL. Just keep to your low GI diet and I'm sure things will be OK for you.

Hi gemini6,

I wasnt that surprised when I read your post. I have discovered throughout both my pregnancies that bread and cereals escalate my BSL longer than almost anything else. Last pregnancy I just couldnt get my BSLs under control until I gave up bread almost completely. I did try all the recommended types of bread... Burgen, Soylin, Spelt, the works. and yet not hing seems to help me avoid the higher BSL readings. These days I stick to 1 piece of bread occasionally or pita (flat) bread which is very undense. This seems to be ok as there is so little of it!

Goodluck its a change I know but once you get the hang of it low GI is healthy eating overall and helps you avoid the less healthy options.

Kaety