Gestational Diabetes Chatter #6

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New thread - awesome!

I just tested my post lunch BSL's and I got 14.3. This is huge so I tested again and 8.1. I tested again for good measure and got 8.7. This is crazy!!

Anyone else ever get such a discrepancy with their glucose meters? Mine is an Optium Omega.

such a big diff between the 14 and the 8 is almost certain to be food residue on your fingers.....meters have a variance of 10% either way on a reading but that big a diff will be food..... make sure you wash and dry your hands thoroughly before you test.....

You could be right Melbel. I'm pretty sure I wash my hands before testing, but I'll make double sure that I do. But truly even the acknowledged 10% discrepancy I find inacceptable - I mean that 10% is the difference between taking insulin or not, and in my case staying with my chosen doc and hospital, or going to a different hospital and having to get to know a whole new team of people.

I had something similar yesterday, it was my Birthday last week & we ate out 2 nights running across the weekend, Sat night being very bad! I was expecting high levels yesterday but when I got a 10.3 I was a little doubtful, tested again immdiately & got a 9.3 which I took but still not sure its accurate. I did use different fingers though so maybe I didn't wash my hands well enough. I agree though too much variance makes it impossible to really stay within the ranges you've been set. I'm lucky in that I don't need insulin but high reads still freak me out!

Been MIA this week, had a 3D scan on Fri & got some nice face shots of our little girl but withing 30 mins of getting home my Obs was on the phone, seems they are worried about her lack of movement (I did say that 2pm is a quiet time for bub), also some pressure on the chord which bothers them as she is also too small, 1.9 kilos at 34 weeks, only just under average but that together with fact I've gained no weight in last 8 weeks, in fact I've lost almost 2 kilos in the last 2 weeks, has given them cause to be concerned. I now have to start going for weekly growth scans. Lord knows what they do to correct the weight gain, guess they have to make changes to my diet or maybe protein shakes or something. I don't know, am of course worried but trying not to get to freaked at the mo, she could have a growth spurt this week & at least they are keeping a close eye on her. I felt like saying to them why are you surprised she is lethargic & small she is suviving on fresh air most of the time! I've only had a couple of times where my levels have been over 7 so I'm convinced my diabetes is mild & that this diet is too strict but they've kept telling me that no weight gain is ok.

Will keep you posted.

Quick question ladies. I am supposed to have my 75g GTT next week but can't because I have the kids home on holidays and am in the middle of moving house so I have been taking my BSL's 4x daily to show the Dr next week when I go for my check up. My highest fasting is 5 so not too bad but I am getting over 7 for some post meal readings and I know my hospital wants them under 7. So going from my numbers they are showing I have GD so will they make me do the test now anyway? or can I avoid having to have it done by just starting a GD diet and keeping monitoring my levels....I know only my Dr can really answer that but has anyone been diagnosed through home monitoring and not had to have the GTT?

hi eternalbear :) i'm not sure about the being diagnosed at home, although i am sure there was someone in the last thread that did something similar? sorry i can't help!

CAH - how are you going this week?

think i will be put on insulin at my next visit to the endo. my readings since easter have been a bit all over the place - mostly through not eating regularly more than anything else (i think) but my fasting level this morning was 6.3 and after breakfast of porridge (single serve from one of those packets) i was 8.3...doesn't bode well. i rang the diabetes line at the hospital but had to leave a voicemail. i have an appt next week but thought i should check to see if i needed to do anything before then.

feeling a bit down about it - i know the insulin will be good for the baby & i but i'm going through of "what if i'd exercised more or eaten even better", maybe i would have given myself a better chance then?

Sloane, forget all the what-ifs, it is what it is now and is enough to deal with without blaming yourself.

Eternalbear, I was diagnosed from daily testing as I couldn't drink the test drink fast enough so the (very rude) pathology lady declared the test invalid. They wanted me to do the test again but I just couldn't stomach it while pregnant so they let me test at home which showed the levels slowly creeping up. It helps to eat a GD diet so they know if your high levels are from what you are eating or because you need insulin.

:

---

Sloane, forget all the what-ifs, it is what it is now and is enough to deal with without blaming yourself.

Eternalbear, I was diagnosed from daily testing as I couldn't drink the test drink fast enough so the (very rude) pathology lady declared the test invalid. They wanted me to do the test again but I just couldn't stomach it while pregnant so they let me test at home which showed the levels slowly creeping up. It helps to eat a GD diet so they know if your high levels are from what you are eating or because you need insulin.

---

Thanks I have been following my levels for the past 6 days, just my regular diet, and as of today I'm eating a GD diet, so I will have alomost a week of that info as well to take to my antenatal appointment next week.

I've had it 4 times now so I guess I should have been expecting it.....but I usually don't develop it till after 34 weeks when I slow down so I am really surprised to see my numbers up. I've only gained 4kg (usually up at least 10-15kg by now :doh:) and I was only a 3 kilos over a healthy weight when I fell (still carrying a few kg from Quinn, he was only 10 months when I fell).....

Sorry to hear about the possibility of insulin Sarah, but like the others have said I doubt its anything you did or didn't do & you just have to go with what is best for baby. I sympathise though, its something I really wanted to avoid & so far I've been lucky.

How am I, mmmm, bit stressed. I went in for a CTG this morning & after some false starts they are happy that bub's heart rate is in the happy zone & that (after a glass of iced water & crunching down on several ice cubes) she is moving as she should be. I've had this weird lump come up on my wrist & been getting numb fingers at night so after showing that to the midwife she said I should see my obs, lucky I was able to do that straight after. Lump is some sort of cyst caused by fluid retention as is the numbness, then she decided that she wants me to have CTG's twice a week now & I have another growth scan next week. Basically she measured my tummy, weight etc & no change in a week so it would appear that bub has not gained any weight since the scan last week. They are checking me alot which is good but scary! I get the feeling they are more concerned then they are letting on, apparently its nothing to do with the diabetes diet & more to do with the amount of food that is getting thru to the baby. I don't know, have a bit of a bad feeling about things but trying not to stress too much. I think I'm in good hands & they are being v careful so hopefully it will work out. We will know more next week once they have a couple more CTG figures & another scan to do a comparison.

Honestly it feels a bit never ending, 1 thing after another & I feel like just moving into the hospital, the parking alone is costing me a fortune at the moment with all the time I'm in there :lol: Gotta keep smiling, so long as her HR is good she is still in the best place, just need to try & hang on to her for a few more weeks!

thanks guys :) i thought i had prepared myself for it happening sooner or later, but it still managed to sneak up on me a bit. feeling much better now.

CAH - glad to hear that the CTG went okay. are they going to do anything about the cyst?
it sounds a bit stressful at the moment - all the hospital visits can be totally overwhelming & i totally understand about the parking fees! i hope bubs stays put for a bit longer & everything goes okay with the CTG & scans next week :)

Hi guys, mind if i join you?
I'm just over 31 weeks pg and have been diagnosed with GD. My results from the 2hr GTT were 5.6 fasting, 11.2 1 hr and 9.4 2 hr. Haven't seen a diabetes educator yet, have an appt. on monday, but the lack of information that anyone can give me is killing me! My GP was not very helpful or forthgiving with any information(told me to google GD!), and apart from this,i have had no dramas what-so-ever with this pregnancy (my first), have been eating realtivly healthy (apart from the odd 'i have to have chocolate cake NOW' moments) and have put on just under 9kgs. I have just had to give up work early due to back and hip pain, which will make things easier in relation to keeping up a healthy diet, and getting some sort of exercise, but will probably send me mad not having something to do!
I guess i'll see how i go on Monday and hopefully i will be able to get some idea of whats going on and how i deal with it.
thanks for reading my mini rant, hope to be able to speak to you lovely ladies at another stage.

cheers

Hi ladies - I popped my head in here a few weeks back when first diagnosed, then got distracted .... it's pretty full on getting a handle on all of this!

Quick me update - controlling levels with diet alone wasn't as effective as hoped, so after about 10 days was put on metformin twice a day. They're a bit bleeeeurch but I think I'm getting used to them now. My after meals levels are fine the vast majority of the time - it's mostly my fasting levels that are misbehaving. I've only ever had it below 5 twice the whole time - most of the time they're 5.4/5.5 but this week had a couple of 5.8's (eek). I think my ob is opting for the stricter end of the glucose level maximums by the sounds of it - my post-meals maximum is 6.5, and I've noticed that lots of you are allowed up to 7? Funny, isn't it ....

Was also told by ob that as I'm now receiving treatment bub is now arriving no later than 38 weeks. Ob is pretty confident that induction will work, as my induction with ds was very successful. On Tuesday I have my first of 3 f/n growth and wellbeing scans, and on Monday I am off to see the endocrinologist - very likely that I will be put on insulin to address the fasting levels. Really seems like this pgcy went from zero to 100 in a very short space of time!! Keep remembering with amazement my pgcy with ds that I just sailed through!!!

I lost 3kg in the first 2.5 weeks which ob said was fine but I find a bit disconcerting - any other time I'd be cheering but just feels weird to be going backwards and be 7 months preg at the same time? At least it shows that I am doing everything else I can...

Anyway - sorry for rambling!

BD - just wanted to say that last night I too had the weird 3 completely different levels after dinner - 7.7, then 8.1 then 5.9 ???? I've got the accu-check performa. I had no idea about the food residue on fingers factor so will be super-vigilant about hand-washing. Don't normally test more than once by the way, only when I am in disbelief that a reading seems a tad too high!

CAH - sorry to hear that your scan has given them a little bit of cause to be concerned, but great news that the ctg went well. Fingers xd that the rest of the upcoming monitoring goes well also...

sloane - like the others have said, don't feel it is something you could have changed .... I know the amount of variance I get in readings after eating the same thing on different days just shows how much is outside of our control.

inov - welcome! Sorry to hear you've been fairly info-less so far - hope the appt on Monday goes well. I've found reading back through the old posts in the previous thread has been very helpful. Maybe also try the Diabetes Australia website?

hello to eternalbear, artechim, melbel and anyone else out there...

Hope you all have lovely weekends

xx

hi & welcome inov :) how did your appointment go on monday? hope it provided you with lots of useful info. are you managing with diet or straight onto insulin? (if you don't mind me being nosy!!)

jenushka - it is strange how diff states or drs have diff limits! my friend who has type 1 gasped at the thought of having to even be below 7 :lol:

CAH - hope you're going okay this week.

hi to everyone else out there :)

i did end up going on insulin after my appt on tues. i'm on what i think is a very very low dose at the moment (12 units before breakfast & 8 before dinner). the endo said she didn't want to freak me out by sending the levels too low etc. i haven't seen much difference yet & have only been under my 'limits' twice out of 6 meals but i figure it might take a week or two for them to find the right dose - back to the endo next tues for a review. the needle is even more painless than i expected! i wish the BSL tester was the same :lol:

Hi girls,

Hope everyone is doing well. Seems everyone has an endo but me! No one has suggested I see one, my insulin dose is set by the diabetes educators, or my doctor.

Sloane - if your dose is very very low, mine barely seems worth the effort! I am taking 8units before breaky, 6 b4 lunch and 4 b4 tea. I actually think i could do with a bit more and will mention that at my next appointment. For me the needle is sometimes painless but about 1 in 3 really stings. I have bruises all over my belly now! Wish I'd taken those sexy preggo belly shots already - now I'll have to cover the bruises with makeup!

I had a chat with an old friend who has been a midwife for twenty years and she told me that where she used to work it was a standard that any babe born from a diabetic mum was kept in neonatal ward for at least a week! Now noone has mentioned that to me at all, only that 'if there was a problem' they would take bubs to the neonatal ward. I'm quite worried about this now and will definitely be asking lts of questions at my appointment next week. Has anyone else been told what will happen to bubs after birth?

BD - are you seeing the dr re-the GD at hospital visits or are you doing shared care? i'm not sure how it all works but that i have to see a diabetes dr & an ob (or a 'baby dr' as the diabetes ppl call them :lol:) and the diabetes dr is the one who set the dose or had the final say about whether i had to go on insulin. i hadn't seen a DE since i was diagnosed until they decided to go with insulin. i'm not sure if i'm making any sense here :lol: maybe your dr is just less specialised than these ones? (which would be a great thing imo - one less appt!!).

i haven't heard about babies going into neonatal care for a week, although there are ladies here whose babies have spent a couple of nights in the special care nurseries - i think it's something to do with the baby's blood sugar levels after birth - they need certain readings to be happy. but i'm not sure if this happens to everyone - it's actually on my list of questions as well :) my first was whether they would automatically induce me early no matter what...and this is the second question - i'll have to ask next week when i go back & we can compare notes!! :)

just a quick reply here as I'm off to bed but...

blondedoctor - GD baby is not an automatic entry into the nursery for baby. Baby generally only goes to nursery if their BSL's after birth are low and they therefore need to be monitored and possibly given some formula to bring up their levels. They will prob do about 3 BSL checks on bubba. One immediately after birth, and then before the next two feeds. I believe from memory their BSL needs to be over 2.5. My DD's first BSL was 3.1 (good) then before her next feed it was 2.4 (0.1 under the requirement). They took her and gave her some formula mixed with colostrum I expressed to try to get it back up but it just went lower to 1.6 at the next 1 hr interval. After the 3rd reading they started hourly formula/colostrum feeds via a tube in her nose (so I could still BF her) and kept her in nursery overnight for hourly BSL checks. She was fine from midnight onwards (went into nursery about 8.30pm) as we went in for her midnight BSL check and it was over 4.0. So they just kept monitoring her overnight and bought her back to me at 6am the next morning. She had the tube in her nose till 3pm that afternoon when they said her BSL's had stabilised and she could continue staying with me she was only in nursery for about 10 hours. Only myself & DH were allowed to handle her for the next 24 hours so as not to drop her levels again by too many visitors passing her around. She has been fine since.

sloane - Induction really depends on your OB/Dr. I was not induced and OB was happy to let me go naturally. I was 100% diet controlled though and only had 3 x levels over 7.0 the entire PG so he was happy to let me go naturally, and even go over EDD if I wanted to. As it was I went 11 days early and had normal delivery with no complications.

Hope that helps a little. Night ladies..

Sloane - Hi there :) I am in shared care which means I see my normal GP (who does obstetrics around here) one week and the next week I go to the hospital clinic. At the clinic so far I've seen a midwife, a diabetes educator, a diabetes physician (although he thought I wouldnt need to see him again), and I've seen an OB too. I am not sure who I'll be seeing next Wednesday! Its a tad confusing to me. Seems everyone I see is able to adjust my insulin dose!

Snowchickie - thanks for the the info. Thats quite a relief to hear that because after speaking with my friend I was quite worried. It sounds like a lot of procedures you ad with your bub, but I guess if you got her back within 24 hours thats pretty good. I'm quite worried about being separated from my baby, so its good to hear stories like yours so I have some idea of what to expect.

My BSL's have gone up the last 24 hours, I think I've eaten too many slices of bread! I find that GD has made me similtaneously not want to eat anything, yet also be a little careless about what I eat too. I knew that when I had two slices of bread for morning tea yesterday it would elevate my readings but I did it anyway. I really need to take this more seriously.

Anyhoo - time to go. I'm going out today and already I am worried about how to handle lunch in a shopping centre food court! I guess I'll nip out to the loo to inject and then come back and find some food??? Maybe I should get the food and then inject at the table - hopefully subtly so no one can see? Can't wait for this to be over...............

Hope everyone is feeling well and having a good day! :)

BD - so you get a surprise when you go for an appointment?! :lol: at least they're all qualified though :)

hope the food court didn't present too many problems! i have a friend with type 1 & she will inject anywhere - cafes, restaurants, bars...i've even seen her inject at the cricket! i love the reactions of people around her who obviously aren't familiar with diabetes :lol:

snowchickie79 - thanks for that :) i asked the ob & they said that my hospital doesn't automatically induce, but they go on a case by case basis but they do hope you can go into labour naturally. i guess i'm happy with that for now!

Hi Ladies,
Saw the diabetes educator on monday and feel better now that i at least have some info to read.She gave me my monitor, and took my BSL there and then (8.2...not good) but i havent been able to see the dietician as of yet, will see her this monday coming, so i'm pretty much playing things by ear at the moment, with a lot of guess work as to what i can and cant eat without my levels going too high. Have had some beauties too, day 3 was 5.1 after brekky, 10.2 after lunch and 5.4 after dinner... somehow i didnt think my salad sandwich at lunch was that bad...
I'm really hoping i can keep this under control with diet, as i'm not very big at 33 wks, and would prefer to keep bubs in there as long as possible, so hopefully no insulin. Will hopefully keep everyone updated as i go by, but am stuck with archaic dial up internet at the moment while i get a new modem, so posts will be few and far between.

Cheers

Hello ladies

Just dropping by to thank everyone here for keeping my sanity throughout my horrible, depressing GD experience. Thank you thank you thank you SOOO very much!

Gave birth to a healthy 3.3kg (7 pounds 7 oz) baby girl, Mia Dahlia at 4.30pm on 21.04.09. Went in for an induction at 8pm on 20.04.09 and had prostaglandin gels inserted at 9.45pm (no one told me those bl**dy internal exams HURT!! hated it soooo much!). Unfortunately it wasn't enough to make me dilate, though it kept me awake all night with backpains, so they tried again very early the next morning. By 10am I still wasn't dilating at all so they decided to break my waters with epidural.

Epidural went in and 15 mins later they break my waters (it still hurt a little, epidural hasn't fully kicked in, but not too bad). Then all I can remember is waiting and waiting and waiting. Midwife came in and sat in to monitor baby's heart rate. Only much much later I learned that baby's heart rate was constantly high. They're worried baby might be in distress.

4pm ob came in for a final bl**dy internal exam and confirmed I wasn't dilating at all. Only 1cm! They broke the news of suspecting baby might be in distress and they're gonna have to perform an emergency C-sect. At this point, I'd go for anything to deliver this baby! 4.30pm baby Mia Dahlia was born weighing 3.3kgs. Not too bad, eh? ;)

So now I've 6kgs to lose and trying to adjust to this new little bub in our family. Still a bit sore from surgery but recovering well. Baby's doing fine and my endo came in on the 2nd day after the birth to check my BSL levels. All in the low 7's yippee! Am still waiting for the GTT test to fully confirm if I'm over it. Hopefully it'll go away! *cross fingers*

Once again, thank you everyone here for your support, advise and well wishes :) Wouldn't have gone through this pregnancy without it. Especially this being my first pregnancy. Thank you again :) Those new with GD, I sincerely with you well and hope delivery will be a breeze for you. Hopefully it wouldn't feel like eternity like mine ;)

Gotta make this quick, I wasn't really here for long but things def happened last weekend! They were worried about my little girl & started doing daily CTG monitoring, heart rate etc, then Sat morning after the CTG they said baby was in trouble I was admitted 2 hours later & 2 hours after that I had a C section!!!! Goodness me what a day :dance: Anyway all is good I have a beautiful little girl, weighing in at just over 5lbs, she is 4 weeks early so had a few probs but all is good now & we finally came home yesterday!! So officially introducing Attie, Skye (Attia meaning gift) she's an IVF baby, 3 years in the making & the best bit her sugar levels are great & so our mine, :D.

Wishing you all the best with diets, jabs & of course your pregnancies. Thanks for all your advice in the last few weeks.

Clare
x

Wow Clare - CONGRATULATIONS!!! Welcome to the world Attie Skye! I am so happy for you sweetie and am super glad that both yours and Attie's BSL's are normal. All the best :)

hi everyone

I'm bang on 33 weeks and was diagnosed with GD the day before Easter... good timing, huh?! I'm still a bit grumpy about the first Diabetes Educator I was sent to - I feel like she gave me incorrect/incomplete information. After two weeks of trying to control with diet, my Ob wasn't happy with my levels and gave me the choice of being referred to a private Endo, or a public diabetes clinic. I chose public - Dandenong Hospital. They've been absolutely fantastic. I started on insulin - 4 before lunch, 4 before dinner, went up to 6 & 4 after a week, and now on 8 & 6... and it just doesn't seem to be getting any better!

It just doesn't seem to matter what I eat - I can get a great result one day and a shocker the next. The only results that are fairly consistent are my breakfast readings, and then it just goes bananas :rolleyes:

Also, what's with the recommended diet? I reckon I have a fairly healthy diet normally, but seriously, for a growing girl, the 'snacks' - a yoghurt or some celery sticks or some such nonsense - they're just not happening ya know?!

I've been used to being a 'grazer' - eating every 2-3 hours - but with having to wait for 2 hours to test my BSLs ... :wall:

Sorry about the rant - I'm just finding this so much harder than I anticipated! At least I finish work this Friday so hopefully I can use the extra time to really focus on eating well and looking after myself and bub.

feeling sorry for myself :rolleyes:

wow - i'm so behind!!!

clare & smudgy - congratulations!!

lovelycate - i totally understand! it seems like the first reaction is to feel sorry for yourself - it was certainly mine! i spent a good couple of days sooking :lol: from what i understand, as you go further into the pregnancy, you may be less able to control your levels with diet, so there's not a lot you can do about those crazy blood sugar levels without insulin & maybe some gentle exercise? i was put on insulin a couple of weeks ago & it has been increased twice (once a week) as the endo explained they were starting me on a low-ish dose so as not to freak me out by sending the levels too low & me into a hypo!

i finshed work last friday & i have to say i'm finding it much easier to control. no longer am i sitting all day in front of a computer which means i'm moving more & helping lower those post-meal readings. it also means a greater choice about what i eat & when.

and if you're right on 33 weeks today - snap! we have a belly buddies group (1-15 july EDD) as well if you fancy chatting with people due around your due date. i think there's two of us with GD in the group :)

Thanks Sarah

I'm pleased to hear that it does get easier when you're not working! As I commute up to three hours a day :doh: there's just not time for making a super healthy meal - it's still healthy, but I know I could do better if I didn't just feel like going straight to bed when I got home!

I guess it's that feeling of not having any real control? I'm not actually too worried about the insulin - if it works, I'm happy to take it. (esp once I got over that psychological thing of sticking a needle in my belly! - it doesn't hurt, but my brain took a while to accept that!)

I'll come and join the other chat too.
:dance:

1000 times easier for me!! i wasn't commuting 3 hours but it was a 1 hr drive each way to work & as i explained to the endo who kept asking if i could fit in some exercise - i already got up before 6 & was not getting up any earlier & by the time i got home & made dinner there was no way i was doing anything other than crashing on the couch!! so anything other than a quick walk at lunchtime was out...till now. i'm not really 'exercising' so far but i am moving around heaps more!

the lack of control is frustrating - esp when you follow instructions & eat exactly the right thing only to get a high reading :wall:

hope everyone is going well - TGIF!!

And, TGI it's my last day at work - yee haa. :dance:

In the meantime, I have become quite adept at 'shooting up' without anyone noticing (either that or they're all being extremely polite - especially when I have to expose an inch or so of tummy bulge!).

Hope you all have a lovely weekend - I'm looking forward to just spending time with hubs and leaving all the chores to next week... ;)

What a relief to read this..............

I have just been diagnosed and i think everyone around me is trying to panic me a little. Ok its not everyone but i am feeling more stressed about this than anything else so far in this preg - and i have lost 7 babies since TTC, so in comparative terms this is really not that bad eh?

I feel alot better reading this thread..........i am 34 weeks and so far i have been refd to a diabetes mamagement consultant at Angliss hospital. She in turn has had me monitor my food intake v blood in the last week and ripped me a new one when my lvls were too high (6.4 on average overnight and mid 7's to 8's after a meal) I have an "emergency" appt with an endo in mulgrave this friday and all i want to know is how this affects bub and will she be ok. its unfair that after all dh and i have been thru - numerous blood tests - an amnio - numerous ultrasounds that this diabetes could cause such upset

its frustrating i am miserable and constantly hungry - mine seems to be all about how much i eat as a pose to what i eat.

I am deathly scared that after i have her - c section 30th june- they will take her away and keep her in the nursery and i wont get to have her with me......

suew

SueW - I also found the diabetes educators to be the scariest, most panicked people I have come across in this pregnancy. Rest assured that your levels are definitely NOT outrageous, they are at the very low end of what is considered to be GD. However as my doctor said they have to draw the line somewhere and it looks like you are just over it, same as I am. Different doctors and midwives will also have different ideas on how 'worried' you need to be.

If you are following the diet and your levels are still 'high' then you may be put on insulin. Believe me this is not a bad thing! With levels like yours you would still be on a very low dose, but you'd be able to eat a little more normally. I started insulin within about 3 weeks of monitoring my bsl's - I just couldnt stay below those magic numbesr without starving myself. My stress levels reduced immediatley on starting insulin, which also reduced my BSL.

As far as bubs is concerned, there is varying thought abouts the impact. Generally the main concern seems to be that the increased glucose in your blood will cross through the placenta allowing bubs to put on too much fat and you will struggle to deliver an oversized baby. Many GD mums are encouraged to have the baby induced early to avoid this, but it often turns out that baby is actually far smaller than predicted. Another idea is that babe will grow large, but have under developed lungs. This is what the diabetes educator told me but when I queried it wiht the obstetrician he said that the problems with the lungs are actually related to being induced, not the GD.

This is basically a fairly new area of medicine, one which is getting alot of funding at the moment. Some people call it a condition looking for a disease. While I dont dismiss it completely, I do think we need to be sensible when dealing with it.

I am being induced today (at 39weeks4days) and I expect that after bubs is born, they will do some pin***** tests to see if he/she has low blood sugar. There is a slight chance that bubs will have to stay in the neonatal ward for a day or so but that is only a very slight chance. The odds are that bubs will be fine and I'll be able to keep him/her with me.

I hope my ramblings havent confused you anymore Sue! I am sure you'll be fine. Just listen to the advice you are given, but dont take on the stress and panic. All the best :)

thanks Blonde doc feel so much better.........

good luck with your bub - cannot believe you are being induced today and you have taken time out to soothe me :clap:

Hi SueW

sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but as blondedoctor said, the diabetes educators seems to be major panic merchants!

If you're at the Angliss, you must be in the same area as me - feel free to contact me on thelovelycatherine @ gmail . com (without the spaces) if you need some help/reassurance.

As I understand it, the further through your pregnancy, the harder it can be to maintain your blood sugar levels anyway, and that's certainly what I've found. I'm on insulin, and as BD said, it's not a bad thing at all.

I found (and still find) it really difficult to work out what I could and couldn't eat - here's some things that I've learnt that may help:
*Eating at regular times is important - the days when I've had 4-6 hours between eating, my BSLs go nuts
*I've found porridge to be the best breakfast for me - traditional rolled oats, definitely not the stuff that's been ground up fine and has all sorts of added sugars. I have a bit of brown sugar and milk on top. Otherwise whole grain toast with vegemite or peanut butter has been good too :-)
*the major key I've found for main meals is to have LOTS of green veges - salad, broccoli, whatever. Keep your potatoes/pasta/rice/bread to an absolute minimum (and god I love my carbs, so this is a struggle for me!) - focus mainly on leafy greens and protein.

Other than that, my understanding is much as what BD said - if your BSLs are high, then the extra glucose goes to bubs, meaning that he/she can get a bit chubby. Since you're now 'under management', it's unlikely that he/she will get stupidly big. My obst initially talked about inducing me at 38 weeks, but he's calmed down a lot now and is (so far) happy to let me go until bubs is ready.

I'm 36 weeks now, and this week I start bi-weekly fetal monitoring so they can get a better idea of how bubs is coping with the GD. Like you, I'm concerned that my baby will be taken off me...but, whatever is in his best interests... If I can keep on top of my BSLs as much as possible, then there is a much better chance that he won't have low blood sugar when he's born - they will still monitor him closely for the first 24 hours though to make sure. Once your GD is being managed, the risks to your baby are so much lower than if it went undiagnosed.

I freaked out when I first heard about it, but people here have been so supportive, and as you move on you will start to take it in your stride too. Do feel free to get in touch if you want a chat! :hug:

thanks cate for your comforting and reassuring words- its so easy to feel so isolated when something like this pops up especailly when you seem have no control as i do . I will certainly sing out if i get a touch of the gitters again.

All the best to you
suew :D

hey ladies,

I just popped back in to lurk. I had GD last PG and ended up on insulin (only 18 units a day by the end though, so not too high). Someone asked earlier about diagnosis at home by monitoring. I spewed after 1 1/2 hours doing the GTT, so they didn't get a final result but thought I MIGHT have it (plus my dad has Type II), so I monitored at home and had three over 9's quite quickly so was diagnosed that way.

Re what to eat, there's a good guide here - the Healthy Eating for Gestational Diabetes Fact Sheet (PDF) which is linked about half way down the page: Gestational diabetes... Diabetes Australia - NSW

Re the stress, yes it's horrible to start with! I was really upset by it, found it hard to find the time to organise my food while working and commuting. Next time I'd definitely finish work a bit earlier to help spend the time organising food and attending all those bl**dy appointments!!

Re insulin & induction - different hospitals & obs have different rules, but many will talk about induction & regular monitoring towards the end. I was induced at 39 and bub born at 39+1. My obs said he would have wanted to induce me earlier if my insulin was higher. It's definitely worth asking if there's any policy/rules that they might want to follow. Also, again, many hosps will want to put bubs in special care nursery... I was variously told that bub would be in for 24 - 72 hours mandatory. In the end he was in for 24 hours as an "admitted" patient (if going private, your private care needs to cover this) but he roomed in with me mostly so that was fine. He actually had to go back in for light treatment for jaundice for 60 hours which was probably worse. But because I was so psyched up for his first admission, I was much more mentally prepared which helped.

BSL levels - like others have said, different states/hospitals/endo's/drs all go by different numbers which does my head in! In the end when I was researching whether to accept the induction or not, they basically said that yes, GD bubs can be bigger (mine was only 7lb 7oz so no issue there) but can also be bigger size than their organs are developed for - so can sometimes be more prone to have problems with breathing. The other unknown can be placenta function - so I don't want to give you the heebies, but I think it's worth knowing. My endo basically said that more babies that go "over" term in GD mums with insulin can have health probs, hence why they're more likely to not let you go over. Apparently in the past there used to be more problems (including deaths) with GD bubs but now there aren't as many problems cos they manage it better. So it's not to scare you too much, but basically in doing the diet and insulin needed, you're looking after yourself and bub. Plus as we know, the levels are a bit arbitrary and there is a 10% (at least!) error rate on the machines.... my endo said we look at the general trend of your BSLs when we put you on insulin. Apparently to make the machines more accurate, they'd cost $10,000 each lol. So while sometimes it's like ppl are trying to scare you, at the end of the day if you and bubs are healthy, that's the main thing. And even when the monitoring is a pain, at least you know they're taking good care of you.

Re weight - I didn't put on any more weight from 28 weeks, so only put on 5.5kg total (but was a bit overweight start with). I was lighter once I'd given birth than at the start of my PG (yay lol).

Oh and finally, the one thing I wish I'd known before having my DS. Apparently breastfeeding is really good for your glucose metabolism & insulin resistance (as well as your weight any way). So if you want extra motivation for BF'ing, there's some! No-one ever told me that before, and I was a bit amazed when I looked into it.

And the best bit... in the end, you'll have a beautiful bub, and touch wood the GD will have gone away (seems to have for most folks in this thread)... and the 2-3 months of GD that most people have will be nothing but a bad dream. And those ppl who tell you it's nothing and why are you stressed...well no, it is something and it IS stressful but you'll get there and it does get easier. GL to you all :grouphug:

Hi girls,

Just thought I'd pop in and let you know that I had a BOY!! James Hagen was born on Thursday 4th June at 9.32am by C-section. It was a bit of the drama, two days trying to induce with me literally strapped to the bed with fetal monitors, drips and a catheter, then an emergency C which was partly due to the fear of a giant babe. In the end he was 8 pounds 9 ounces - NOT the giant they predicted. He's beautiful!!

My BSL's were monitored for a few days after birth and they were great, so now no more diabetes for me!!! The hospitals policy was to keeep all babes of GD mums in the special care nursery for 24hrs of monitoring after birth so they did that, but James was fine - Phew!!! We are both home now and beignning the journey of breastfeeding, sleep regimes and all things parenting!! Exciting times. Anyhoo, hope you are all doing well, keeping your BSL's managed and are looking forward to a healthy happy child at the end of all this. Hugs to everyone!

SueW, if you are having bubs at the Angliss, they will tell you that s/he will be taken to special care for 12 hours for blood sugar monitoring. I had my baby there by c/s 9 weeks ago and this is what I was told. In the end, just before they took me down for the c/s they said that special care was full and that bub would be staying with me but the nurses there would check his BSL's every 2 hours. His first 2 levels were fine and then they got a bit low (2.4 was the lowest - they like them to be 2.5 and above) and he had a little bit of formula as we just couldn't get enough colostrum from me (took ages for my milk to eventually come in).
Anyway, even though they say baby must go to special care (their policy etc), obviously it isn't super important as the test is easily done on the ward. I would be discussing this with your care provider before hand to make sure you know what the plan is. I was told different things by different people with regards to GD babies and it's so frustrating.

I am off to have my follow up GTT tomorrow. Have done some testing occassionally the last few weeks and levels have been great so I hope all goes well tomorrow.

Congratulations BD!

so happy for you, and fantastic to hear that the GD has gone :dance:

Just a quick question - sneaking back in here. I had GD in my PG, and monitored my BSL's following the birth, and they were all fine. I never got around to having the 2 hour fasting test... my GP didn't seem to reealise, no-one referred me for it, and um... well I never reminded them either :redface:.

I just felt a bit crappy today, so was curious and did a BSL tonight 2 hours after thai takeaway (stirfry with rice & noodles) plus a hot choc - so a pretty carby meal. I got a 10 :(. From reading up I suspect I may have impaired glucose tolerance... it sounds stupid but I really don't want to go do the test and have on my permanent medical record... I've already lost about 6kg, and I need to lose a few more to have a healthy BMI and waistline, so i think these things could hopefully make a difference and reduce my BSL's. My question is - does this BSL of 10 mean what I think it means? Or am I just being foolish and I should go do the proper test? I just think some people end up with diabetes in their file and then keep it under control for years with diet & exercise, yet are still tagged with it.

Oh and no, I haven't noticed many typical diabetes symptoms (i.e. thirst etc... maybe a bit of tiredness but that could be from having a 9m.o.!).

Thanks in anticipation.

To me a 10 at anytime rings alarm bells.......I would be getting it checked out...a 10 suggests more than just impaired glucose tolerance.........

thanks melbel. Went to the doc today, turns out they never got told I had GD!!! Go figure huh. I also checked my fasting glucose this morning, 6.3. At lunchtime was 5.7 so that was nice. I'm doing a blood test tomorrow on fasting glucose and if that's "grey" then the doc will do the 2 hour glucose challenge. I've read something on the net that says that fasting glucose can miss some people and the 2 hr should be done also. Anyone else heard that as well? (not that I want to do the 2 hr particularly, but I wanna know if I'm clear i'm REALLY clear IYKWIM!).