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[Rebecca987]

I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. I gave birth a month ago. I'm meant to have my fasting glucose test next week so I decided to check my glucose levels at home. Yesterday I had a burger for dinner and 1.5 hours after having my dinner I took the test. It turned out 9.0. In the morning I did my fasting test and it was 5.3. I had 2 toasts of brown bread with Nutella for breakfast. One hour after breakfast it was 6.7. I had one full plate of rice with lamb meat and one hour after it was 5.7. For dinner today I had a burger and one slice of pizza and one hour after my sugar level was 9.3.



Do you think I have diabetes? I'm extremely worried. Is it diabetes or pre diabetes? I'm very scared of diabetes. Are my sugar levels totally out of control? Please someone help, I can't call my gp or debetic clinic today as its Sunday.

 

[Alzebra]

Hi Rebecca, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new arrival, hope all is well with the little one?

Your fasting numbers look good, although clearly your BG is spiking a little after some pretty high carb meals. I'm not an expert by any means but I think you don't need to panic at all. It may be that you get a diagnosis of diabetes or pre-diabetes, but really, it isn't the end of the world, there are lots of us here who can attest to that. Do you have a family history as well as the gestational diabetes?

 

[Rebecca987]

Hi Rebecca, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new arrival, hope all is well with the little one?

Your fasting numbers look good, although clearly your BG is spiking a little after some pretty high carb meals. I'm not an expert by any means but I think you don't need to panic at all. It may be that you get a diagnosis of diabetes or pre-diabetes, but really, it isn't the end of the world, there are lots of us here who can attest to that. Do you have a family history as well as the gestational diabetes?

Yes my mother and all four grandparents have type 2 diabetes. You think I have diabetes or prediabetes? Is there any chance that I have none?

 

[Alzebra]

No, I don't think you have either - your fasting level is very good! I just wanted to say that even if they do give you a label then it really isn't as bad as you might expect.

You have such a lot on your plate already with a newborn to look after, please don't let this worry make things harder for you.

 

[Totto]

I'm sure you could tweak your diet a bit and those numbers will go down. Test before and every hour after a meal until you are back to baseline in order to see what you can tolerate BG wise or not. If you cut down on bread, pizza, nutella and such carby foods it will help. And ask if you can get HbA1c tested. I keep my BG more or less normal by not eating carb heavy stuff so fasting reading is usually 4.8 and I try to never go above 7 at any time and be back to baseline within two hours after a meal.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. As you may realise diabetes is a continuous spectrum from none to being full-blown and the definitions of 'pre' etc are a bit arbitrary. Your figures are very good with slight spiking beyond the limit of '8.5mmol after 2 hours'. I would just have a sensible low-carb diet and do occasional meter checks

 

[Rebecca987]

Hi. As you may realise diabetes is a continuous spectrum from none to being full-blown and the definitions of 'pre' etc are a bit arbitrary. Your figures are very good with slight spiking beyond the limit of '8.5mmol after 2 hours'. I would just have a sensible low-carb diet and do occasional meter checks

So do you think I have full blown diabetes? I have a month old baby and I feel so low thinking how will I take care of him all alone. And with diabetes things will only get more difficult for me. I'm scared to death.

 

[Rebecca987]

No, I don't think you have either - your fasting level is very good! I just wanted to say that even if they do give you a label then it really isn't as bad as you might expect.

You have such a lot on your plate already with a newborn to look after, please don't let this worry make things harder for you.

I've heard fasting sugars don't matter, after meal sugar levels decide whether a person is diabetic or not. Is that true? My fasting is always fine and after meal is mostly high. Today I had a burger and got 7.5 one hour after. I have my blood test on Tuesday. Very nervous.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, fasting levels aren't that reliable due to the overnight liver glucose dump. The 2 hour post-meal meter test is more reliable and the HBa1C is the best test. From your figures I don't think you have anything to worry about and you might just slip into the pre-diabetes range in your next test? All the things you read about when people have long-term badly managed diabetes don't apply if you manage your diabetes by keeping blood sugar in range most of the time. T2s can usually do that by having a low-carb diet, some medication determined by meter readings and annual HBa1C. It's important to have a BMI in the good range. If a T1 you would normally be on insulin with a similar diet to keep the BMI good. Either way there is no need to worry about long-term issues.

 

[4ratbags]

Try not to worry too much, just enjoy being a mum and get your test done and see what the result is. None of your BG readings are really high so even if you are diagnosed pre diabetic or diabetic you should only have to make some small changes to your diet to reverse it. Please let us know what your test results are and in the meantime maybe have a look around the LCHF forum.

 

[Alzebra]

@Rebecca987 good luck with your blood test today, do let us know how you get on. I'm sure things will be fine, just know that we're here for you if you need support

 

[MrBrightside]

Something similar happened to my wife while pregnant. The important thing is to not panic! Your levels at the moment dont appear too high. Hopefully the blood test will confirm for you either way

 

[Rebecca987]

@Rebecca987 good luck with your blood test today, do let us know how you get on. I'm sure things will be fine, just know that we're here for you if you need support

Thanks my blood results were fine. But that was just fasting blood test. Is that enough?

 

[Rebecca987]

I have another question. I want to test my blood sugar at home accurately. Because I get high readings after high carb foods. For accurate results when shall I test? Two hours after I finish my food? Or two hours after I start eating?

 

[seadragon]

For now I would try not to worry - your levels don't sound high enough to be doing any damage but it is good for you to be aware and maybe try to cut out some of the more sugary foods from your diet if you can. I had gestational diabetes many years ago but never had any follow up and then two years ago was told I was pre-diabetic with fasting bloods of 6.1 - only just in to the pre-diabetic range. Advice from NHS was so hopeless I just ignored it for over a year as I had a lot of other stresses to contend with at the time . 18 months later the fasting bloods had increased to 6.6 but I took it seriously this time and went to low carbs high fat diet and followed advice on this forum and in about a month my levels are back down to 5's and under. So if you fasting bloods were fine then i'd suggest you just take time to enjoy your new baby but perhaps arrange for further tests on an annual basis. if fasting bloods start to rise then you can take action.

 

[Rebecca987]

For now I would try not to worry - your levels don't sound high enough to be doing any damage but it is good for you to be aware and maybe try to cut out some of the more sugary foods from your diet if you can. I had gestational diabetes many years ago but never had any follow up and then two years ago was told I was pre-diabetic with fasting bloods of 6.1 - only just in to the pre-diabetic range. Advice from NHS was so hopeless I just ignored it for over a year as I had a lot of other stresses to contend with at the time . 18 months later the fasting bloods had increased to 6.6 but I took it seriously this time and went to low carbs high fat diet and followed advice on this forum and in about a month my levels are back down to 5's and under. So if you fasting bloods were fine then i'd suggest you just take time to enjoy your new baby but perhaps arrange for further tests on an annual basis. if fasting bloods start to rise then you can take action.

How many years ago were you diagnosed with gestational diabetes? I had a plate of chips, chicken, rice and half a glass of full fat fanta. Started my food at 12 and ended 12:50. I took BG test at 2:50 and it turned out to be 7.1. You think that's ok?

 

[seadragon]

How many years ago were you diagnosed with gestational diabetes? I had a plate of chips, chicken, rice and half a glass of full fat fanta. Started my food at 12 and ended 12:50. I took BG test at 2:50 and it turned out to be 7.1. You think that's ok?

Well my eldest is 26 now so quite a long time ago. Who knows what my blood sugars were doing in the interim but I didn't have any of the classic symptoms so never went to get checked again til 2 years ago.
If you are stressed about it then the first thing to do is reduce your sugary foods and drink. If you have got diabetes or pre-diabetes then moving to a lower carbs higher fats diet is the best treatment anyway, along with losing weight which quite often naturally follows such a diet change. Ditch the Fanta for either a diet version or preferably just drink water. If you can take you baby out for a walk twice a day that will help you too as exercise even quite gentle exercise does wonders. If you can manage two 25 minute walks a day that's great but even 15 mins will help.
.Without knowing what your BG was before the meal you can't really say how big the rise was but 7.1 is not hugely high. But in that meal you had two portions of carbs, the chips and the rice. Did you really need both? Could you substitute veggies for one of those carb portions? Anything you can do to cut down on carbs and up your intake of green/leafy/above ground veggies in particular (which you can have smothered in butter as you will need to increase the fats to compensate for the decrease in carbs) will help to protect you against developing diabetes. It is a lifestyle change but once you've made it you wont regret it.
However do bear in mind that stress can increase BG levels and while you are stressing out about maybe having diabetes you are not really helping yourself. Take a few deep breaths and calm yourself. It's tough with a new baby but anything you can do to get some relaxation time for yourself will pay dividends. Please try not to stress. It is unlikely that you will have done any damage so far and making some small changes now in reducing carbs will mean you should never have to suffer any diabetes complications.
If it helps my mum wasn't diagnosed til her 70's but she has had none of the complications despite not being diagnosed until her fasting BG was over 8.0.

 

[Alzebra]

Non-diabetic levels should remain under 7.8 2 hours after a meal. Given that you had rice, chips and sugary fanta it seems very unlikely that you're even pre-diabetic at the moment! I'd consider that result really good!

@seadragon is right of course about cutting down on carbs and getting regular exercise, but that's just general advice to anyone who had gestational diabetes. Your personal situation sounds good How's the little one doing?

 

[Rebecca987]

Non-diabetic levels should remain under 7.8 2 hours after a meal. Given that you had rice, chips and sugary fanta it seems very unlikely that you're even pre-diabetic at the moment! I'd consider that result really good!

@seadragon is right of course about cutting down on carbs and getting regular exercise, but that's just general advice to anyone who had gestational diabetes. Your personal situation sounds good How's the little one doing?

He's fine, thanks I have a question.. When's the best time to test BG. 2 hours after first bite of meal? Or 2 hours after last bite of meal?

I tested 2 hours after last bite of meal and it turned out to be 7.1. Is that too high? Roughly 3 hours after first bite of meal.

 

[Rebecca987]

Well my eldest is 26 now so quite a long time ago. Who knows what my blood sugars were doing in the interim but I didn't have any of the classic symptoms so never went to get checked again til 2 years ago.
If you are stressed about it then the first thing to do is reduce your sugary foods and drink. If you have got diabetes or pre-diabetes then moving to a lower carbs higher fats diet is the best treatment anyway, along with losing weight which quite often naturally follows such a diet change. Ditch the Fanta for either a diet version or preferably just drink water. If you can take you baby out for a walk twice a day that will help you too as exercise even quite gentle exercise does wonders. If you can manage two 25 minute walks a day that's great but even 15 mins will help.
.Without knowing what your BG was before the meal you can't really say how big the rise was but 7.1 is not hugely high. But in that meal you had two portions of carbs, the chips and the rice. Did you really need both? Could you substitute veggies for one of those carb portions? Anything you can do to cut down on carbs and up your intake of green/leafy/above ground veggies in particular (which you can have smothered in butter as you will need to increase the fats to compensate for the decrease in carbs) will help to protect you against developing diabetes. It is a lifestyle change but once you've made it you wont regret it.
However do bear in mind that stress can increase BG levels and while you are stressing out about maybe having diabetes you are not really helping yourself. Take a few deep breaths and calm yourself. It's tough with a new baby but anything you can do to get some relaxation time for yourself will pay dividends. Please try not to stress. It is unlikely that you will have done any damage so far and making some small changes now in reducing carbs will mean you should never have to suffer any diabetes complications.
If it helps my mum wasn't diagnosed til her 70's but she has had none of the complications despite not being diagnosed until her fasting BG was over 8.0.

You really helped, thanks I feel much better now that I know there's a possibility I don't get diabetes for another 40 years.

I had complications in my pregnancy and I haven't recovered yet. Responsibilities of baby and I have other big problems in my life. I don't want an additional stress of diabetes so I'm very concerned.

My gp is not concerned at all. I told her I'm concerned but she wasn't much bothered about it. I had gestational diabetes, I'm Asian and my parents and grandparents and almost all aunties have diabetes. It runs in my family. So I'm VERY worried.

I dont think I can live with diabetes. I can't give up eating delicious food. I eat chocolates to cheer up