I'm really up in the air about this... I have read a number of articles (including the ones in this thread - thanks!) about GD and about the treatment being useless/essential if you have it and etc, and I've been given the option to have the test by my midwife at the Birth Centre on Monday, and I'm just not sure if I should go ahead... I mean, I've heard that being treated makes very little difference to fetal size and other factors are more influential (I am somewhat overweight - though not gaining since falling pregnant, and I'm having a boy) and I know that if I'm diagnosed and I'm put on insulin I'll be booted from the BC... So I'm inclined not to have the test, but then I've got a friend who has it currently with her second, and was induced with her first due to GD, and said it was a godsend because her daughter looked like if she'd been in any longer she'da been overdone, and the placenta had started to fail and etc etc... So I just don't know...
So is it scaremongering or am I risking my baby by not having it?? I'm keeping my weight down and trying to eat healthily for the most part... Is that enough??
Personally I would prefer to know if I have it.. There are other ways to get it under control before Insulin is introduced if it is positive..
FWIW, I was really suprised when the test came back clear this time.. I have eaten all the junk food under the sun this time (and not small amounts either). It was not even borderline. I am also not small and have only out on about 6kgs this pregnancy..
If you have GD which needs insulin to control it (which I understand is only in severe cases anyway) then I think being booted out of the birth centre will be the least of your worries - particularly if it remains undiagnosed. I don't think there's any harm to come from having the test (it's not exactly pleasant, but I imagine you'll be having the 1-hour non-fasting one which isn't as bad as the 2-hour fasting test) and even in cases where it is diagnosed, diet is usually all that is needed to control it.
I have had GD twice now and it's a pain, but I would rather know than not know. My pg with DS, I was diet controlled. This time I have it again and my BSL is slightly more elevated.
If you do have it, then at least managing your diet will help somewhat. You will get help monitoring your BSL to ensure you don't need to be on insulin. They also provide more close monitoring of the baby and offer extra ultrasounds to check up on things. I think it is one of those things where they do try to induce you early but you need to keep an eye on your own results, understand the condition, stay educated and ask lots of questions and don't let decisions be made for you.
GD is concerning because if it is not treated, high BSL during pg can cause problems such as:
- A large baby
- Too much fluid around the baby
- Early delivery (premature birth)
- Distress for the baby during labour
- Still birth or unexplained miscarriages
- Low blood glucose levels in your baby at birth
These are worst case scenario and GD, when it is managed, does not cause these problems. I think only in cases that aren't managed and quite severe, will still birth and other things be a problem.
The reason they won't let you birth in the BC is partly because of the monitoring the baby will need after it is born. If you have GD, your body doesn't produce enough insulin for your glucose to move from your blood and you have high levels. Your baby has an indepent pancreas and will produce his own insulin levels. After your baby is born, he won't have your blood glucose levels anymore but is used to producing a certain amount of insulin to compensate for your levels so he will need to be monitored and fed more regularly in the first 24 hours than a baby without a mum with GD.
I am not trying to scare you but I would encourage you to ask lots more questions before deciding not to have the test. Not much changed for me after I was diagnosed except I had to tighten up my diet, excercise more regularly and have regular check ups. Last time I was bullied into an induced birth, but this time I am far more aware of what is going on and prepared to look at my own info, ask questions and fight for what I think is right rather than just following hospital policy.
Good luck with everything and there is still a big possibility that you don't have GD. Being overweight is only one risk category for it but you don't fit any of the others and sometimes it is hard to predict who will be affected and who won't.
Thanks everyone... I'm just so up in the air after reading some of the stuff on here, like Odent's stuff and the other one by Henci... Seems like the treatment is mostly useless at combating macrosomia (which has more to do with my weight that glycaemic status?)... and stuff like baby's hypoglycaemia being fixed by prompt breastfeeding and stuff that should happen anyway?
I am a little bit overweight, have a bit of a family history of diabetes but nothing that would really set me apart from the pack. However, I failed the GTT and was diagnosed with GD. Within a couple of weeks I couldn't control it with diet and ended up on insulin. By the end of pregnancy I was taking over 120 units per day of insulin, which essentially means that the amount of insulin I was producing was doing nothing to metabolise the sugar in my blood. If I hadn't been taking insulin, I would have been walking around for months with sky-high blood sugars doing permanent damage to my pancreas and significantly increasing my risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
I would like to see Henci Goers medical credentials, she is one (unqualified) opinion against the tide of a multitude of specialist endocrinologists/Obs/medical researchers. In my opinion it is very irresponsible to denouce GD as a non-event when it can have a very negative impact not just on the baby but on the mothers well-being.
Get the test done for sure. You probably wont have GD so wont have to worry about it, but if you do have it you need to get it under control. I had 3 high risk factors (over 40, over weight & family history) yet I still didn't have it. It was however a relief to find out I didn't have it.
I know someone who did have GD during her pregnancy & she could not control it by diet so please don't go blindly into the rest of the pregnancy thinking if you do have it unknowingly that a good diet will avoid it.
Get the test done for sure. You probably wont have GD so wont have to worry about it, but if you do have it you need to get it under control. I had 3 high risk factors (over 40, over weight & family history) yet I still didn't have it. It was however a relief to find out I didn't have it.
I know someone who did have GD during her pregnancy & she could not control it by diet so please don't go blindly into the rest of the pregnancy thinking if you do have it unknowingly that a good diet will avoid it.
I think getting the test done is the way to go too. You probably don't even have it. I ate loads or junk and whatever I felt like with DS1 and didn't have it. But with DS2 I had lost weight and was so much smaller than I was before DS1 and wasn't eating too badly, but I had GD.
Either way, diet or injections, it's the best for you and your bubba.
I'll have everything crossed for you if/when you have the GTT.
GL and all the best. Congrats on your little blue bundle! Boys rock!!
xox
Okay well I went ahead and had the test, my level came back as 7.3 and apparently the threshold for GD is 7.7, so I just scrape in under... they said I should cut down on sugary drinks/foods etc but I'm alright for now
So relieved!
Would you mess around with diabetes if you weren't pregnant? I doubt it so I don't see why you would now especially when you have a baby on board.
The test isn't bad at all in my opinion (sweet, fizzy drinks don't bother me though) and there is every chance the results will be negative so you could be worrying for no reason. But, if you do have GD, it's essential to treat it correctly. As some of the other girls have pointed out there is a lot more to GD than just the possibility of a big baby and induction.
Good luck and if you do choose to have the test, fingers crossed the results are negative.
PS: just read your update. Well done and congrats on the good results!
Last edited by Taurean; July 29th, 2009 at 12:35 PM.
: added PS
Yay they were mine too! They are both super wonderful. I had Elaine for most of my appts so got to know her really well - then Karen delivered Eva
They rock, if/when I have #3 I so hope I get in and have them again
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GTT - should I have it??
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