What are the target levels given for gestational diabetes?

FoxyLady2000

Member
Messages
17
I was just reading http://www.bayerdiabetes.co.uk/sections ... dpregnancy
and it seems that this website is giving 3.5-5.9 as the healthy range of blood sugars for pregnancy. However, I am given a completely different range (<5.6 when fasting and <7.8 1 hr after meals). I just wondered what the other gestational diabetics are given as their target ranges. If this website is right and blood sugar should be kept between 3.5 and 5.9 to prevent miscarriage etc, then I will be really worried as I am more or less all the time above this range :( Please help!
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

No, of course you're not invisible. :) I'm afraid I know nothing about gestational diabetes and so am not qualified to answer you. You will get a useful answer once someone comes on who knows about it. There are quite a few people who have been or are going through GD. The wait will be worth it :)
 

jessie

Well-Known Member
Messages
275
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

I don't know anything about gestational diabetes either but as a type 1 planning a pregnancy, a target of 3.5 - 5.9 sounds scarily unrealistic. Even now without crazy hormones flying around I struggle to get below 7 2 hours after my main meal. Going by advice I've had here already I think I would have to over-inject quite a bit to achieve these numbers then snack to stop myself from going to low, whilst also trying not to over treat any hypos. Aaaaaggghhh!

I hope someone gets back to you soon Foxy.

Jessie. x
 

yozer

Newbie
Messages
4
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

Hi I have gd, my targets are between 4.0-6.0 before meals and under 7.8 one hour after meals. I'm struggling to get within range but it's only been diagnosed for a few weeks, I'm currently on insulin morning and night and hopefully with the higher dose I was prescribed today I will be able to keep my numbers within range. X
 

FoxyLady2000

Member
Messages
17
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

Hi Yozer
I am usually within this range but it is taking a lot of effort on my part. Sometimes I am having an odd over 8 and my highest was a 9.1, which freaks me out completely. I find that walking after every meal for 10 minutes is helping a lot. I was given insulin for mornings but I am not using it since I started walking as I am getting better results by walking than using insulin. Yet my concern is I am not putting on weight :( . I have been the same weight for the past three weeks. I guess it is good that I am not losing either but not gaining much either and not gaining is a problem in a way for the first time in my life, only because I am worried about the baby's weight gain. I have a scan soon and hopefully these questions will be answered then. How much insulin have you been prescribed? I was started on 8 units for the mornings. It was Novorapid. I was supposed to inject it 15 minutes before eating and I injected this in the morning the first day. I was hoping that my results would be good. I chose to eat the food that gave me an 8.8 before and when I measured, it was a rather disappointing 8.6 with the insulin. The next day having gone through some forums and finding about what others are doing to deal with this, I found out that doing insulin slightly earlier than 15 minutes, something between 20-30 mins provided that you did not start with a too low blood sugar in the morning could help. I tried this and I was able to get a good result but then experimenting without the insulin but with walking and making sure I have a mixture of protein and carbohydrate for breakfast meant that I could get even better result with walking so I decided to ditch the insulin for the time being but of course as they say as the pregnancy progreses I may need it yet and well if that is what I have to do, then that is what I will do. As and when I cannot control it myself and need it, I will go back to using it. The values given to me for gestational diabetes was below 5.6 in the morning and below 7.8 after 1 hour of having breakfast. Until now, since january 25 when I was diagnosed, I had 2 big measures in the fasting bloods. One was 6.1 and the reason was going to bed the night before without a snack and a 5.7 last week and that was due to sleeping only 5 hours. My main problem has been the post-breakfast values but since I started walking they have been within the range of 6s with an occasional above 7 although these were still below 7.8. When I occasionally measure a big value I also tend to exercise to lower it as fast as I can. Even going up and down the stairs a few times seem to help. Usually my life is very sedentary as I am studying in front of a computer all day and it seems that exercise is really doing wonders. Having said that it seems that if one has too high blood sugar like in 13s then exercise is not a good idea. I am not an expert, I just read it somewhere. I hope your new dosage helps, and if not I would suggest taking a 10 minute gentle walk after meals and I am sure you will see a difference.
 

yozer

Newbie
Messages
4
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

Hi

Glad your managing so well J, my readings are still really bad. Im starting to get lows before meals around 3.5-3.7, which is not good, but after 50% of meals im still in double figures! I saw the dietician who had a go for not eating enough carbs and too much protein seems like im dammed if I do and dammed if I don’t!

Obviously it depends on your size, I was around a size 14 pre pregnancy and before 20 weeks only gained a few pounds, now they monitor me weekly and went mad that I put on 4lbs 2 weeks ago, don’t know how that happened, the hospital would be happy if I just maintained my weight for the rest of the pregnancy!

If you do go back on the insulin please be very careful about injecting early, as it can be very dangerous to do so. Ive been told not to inject more then 10 min prior to a meal after just 20 min you can go into a ‘hypo’ as your levels drop to a very dangerous low. When I started on insulin I never had low’s but now I have to test a few hours after a meal as im getting dangerously close – this can only happen if you inject insulin.

I started on 4 units morning and night and now im on 7 units each time. Though I expect it will change on Tuesday, as I know there not going to be happy with my readings. IT really sucks im so good with my meals and not eating nothing I shouldn’t be yet my readings never are the same even if I eat the same meal 2 days running!!!

Ive only got to last till the end of April, I just thank god that this is not something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life (well fingers crossed anyway!!!) When are you due?

Sue
 

FoxyLady2000

Member
Messages
17
Re: What are the target levels given for gestational diabete

Well, I am not sure if I am managing so well. I am just trying to manage and to be honest it is seriously getting me down. It takes over life doesn't it? At least it does with me. I am constantly thinking what to have, what not to have, whether the baby is moving enough etc. As for my due date I think the hospital thinks 18th April and private scan thinks it is closer to 23rd April and if I go by dates private scan wins! I went for a 4D scan recently and they calculated me differently as well. So basically I have no idea when I am exactly due. Sometime in April will be the answer I suppose. I am losing weight or unable to put on weight and they told me they want me to put on weight!!!!!! I cant believe I am in a position where people are telling me to put on weight. That is a first really! Usually it is the other way round, lose weight and lose weight fast!!!! I think carbohydrates are important for us pregnant diabetic ladies because if I understood right from what I have been reading, the body needs some energy source that it can have access to easily in order not to have ketones. Ketones is toxic for the baby. I found out that eating protein with carbs is a good way of slowing things down. So I do that. I walk at least to times a day and sometimes three times a day. Nothing too strenous. Just up and down the street for 10-15minutes after each meal and it seems to do the trick. You just mentioned that you were having high bg levels after 50% of your meal. I just wondered what kind of meals you are choosing. Perhaps if you can give an example we may be able to work something out for you. My dietitian is not good help. I am trying to find my way through this on my own. That is why I am here to be honest. To find out about others who are managing this condition. As for doing insulin early, I agree with you. I only did that if I was above/around 5.0 on waking up. I would not try that if I was below as it is fast acting and I would not want to put myself into trouble. This point was emphasised on the forum where I found that advice as well. I was just wondering if you are getting close to a hypo after a few hours perhaps you should have some snack in between. Did they say anything about this to you? I am trying to have slightly smaller main meals and snacking in between instead. Nothing big when snacking. I am having some nuts (3-4 brazil nuts or a few almonds) or a glass of skimmed milk or two Nairns oat cakes with a light babybel kind of thing. When having my main meals I am making sure that there is an element of each food group in there. On a normal plate I may have something like 1/3 of plate roast chicken, 2 new potatoes and 1/3 of platefull of veg for example. I am trying to keep an eye on the starchy ones like the potatoes, rice, pasta. I have been using the brown rice, wholewheat pasta options as well. I can tolerate to 75g of hummus with a wholemeal pitta, some cooked chicken meat and half a plateful of salad for example. I am learning to measure everything and to look for those low glycemic foods. Sometimes a cup of green tea seems to be helping me as well. Every morning my new routine is to start the day with lemon tea/water i.e. half a lemon juice with warm water. Yet, even though I am being so careful I am having some odd numbers sometimes which are freaking me out. If I find a high number the first thing I do is to walk but I am only able to do this because my levels are below the level marked for "do not exercise". I feel drained by it all to be honest. I also cannot wait for it to be over but, because we had this now, it seems that there is no turning back to old habits because we may end up having diabetes for sure if we do not take serious action. I live a very sedentary life due to doing my PhD, always in front of the computer. I think I will have to lose quite a bit of weight and start doing some serious exercise and watch what I am eating as well. I think for me there is no turning back to my old pre-pregnancy ways. Sorry for going on and on.