GD: Newly Diagnosed - Help!

[LianeB]

Hi

I'm 28+1 and today I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.. It's come as quite a shock and now my head is all over the place!

I have an appt on Wednesday at the hospital to get a monitoring kit and all the diet info etc and the doctor said until then to cut all sugars & fats out of my diet. I have excess fluid around the baby and she has booked me in for a growth scan and also an internal scan to measure cervix length. She also said that I will get an appt to see the diabetic nurse.. She said I might need steroid shots and will have to be admitted for these as they send sugars sky high.. My mind is spinning!

Any food suggestions until Wednesday when I see the diabetic team? I'm at a loss and don't want to eat anything that is going to harm the baby. This is my 3rd pregnant and I never had it with my other two. I'm already getting reduced movement and contractions so trying to get everything back on track.

Thanks in advance x

 

[himtoo]

Hi @LianeB
welcome to the forum and so sorry it has to be because of D issues.

I can't help directly myself but I am tagging the lovely @azure who should be along soon with some more support.

Have they given you a blood test meter and strips ?

 

[LianeB]

Hi @LianeB
welcome to the forum and so sorry it has to be because of D issues.

I can't help directly myself but I am tagging the lovely @azure who should be along soon with some more support.

Have they given you a blood test meter and strips ?

I have an appt at the hospital on Wednesday to get the meter and speak to the diabetes team. Until then I'm just winging it lol x

 

[himtoo]

well.. you're in the right place support wise --
once some of the sleepyheads wake up there should be a few more ladies along that can help.

 

[LianeB]

well.. you're in the right place support wise --
once some of the sleepyheads wake up there should be a few more ladies along that can help.

Haha! I don't blame them for still being in bed.. I would be if I could x

 

[azure]

Hi @LianeB

Sorry you've been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. If it's any consolation, it's not that uncommon. Also, more cases are being picked up now due to increased screening. That's a good thing as you'll get extra monitoring to make sure all's well

The extra amniotic fluid may be because of your higher than normal sugars. Don't panic about it - hopefully that will stabilise once you get your blood sugar under control. Do you have any idea what your blood sugar resukts were?

I don't know but I would guess that the steroid shots mentioned would only be if baby had to be delivered early (they help mature the lungs).

As for food choices, no one here can give you specific advice but while you're waiting for your appointment it would be sensible to avoid sugary things eg regular Coke, fruit juices, etc, and to avoid excessive carbs, eg if your normal evening meal is a big plate of pasta and garlic bread, change that to a very small helping of pasta, protein and salad instead of the bread. You may be advised to eat little meals more frequently, as sometimes a big gap in meals will make your body release stored glucose into your blood.

Once you get your blood testing meter, you'll feel a lot more confident as you'll be able to see how meals affect your blood sugar, and then avoid foods that raise it too much. You may be advised to choose low GI foods ('slow' carbs) rather than foods that your body turns into glucose very quickly.

My best advice is to make a list of questions to take to your appointment. Also, take pen and paper to make notes on what they say.

Don't panic - this can be sorted

Do have a read round this section. You may also want to look at the Pregnancy section too.

Best wishes to you and baby xx

 

[LianeB]

Hi @LianeB

Sorry you've been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. If it's any consolation, it's not that uncommon. Also, more cases are being picked up now due to increased screening. That's a good thing as you'll get extra monitoring to make sure all's well

The extra amniotic fluid may be because of your higher than normal sugars. Don't panic about it - hopefully that will stabilise once you get your blood sugar under control. Do you have any idea what your blood sugar resukts were?

I don't know but I would guess that the steroid shots mentioned would only be if baby had to be delivered early (they help mature the lungs).

As for food choices, no one here can give you specific advice but while you're waiting for your appointment it would be sensible to avoid sugary things eg regular Coke, fruit juices, etc, and to avoid excessive carbs, eg if your normal evening meal is a big plate of pasta and garlic bread, change that to a very small helping of pasta, protein and salad instead of the bread. You may be advised to eat little meals more frequently, as sometimes a big gap in meals will make your body release stored glucose into your blood.

Once you get your blood testing meter, you'll feel a lot more confident as you'll be able to see how meals affect your blood sugar, and then avoid foods that raise it too much. You may be advised to choose low GI foods ('slow' carbs) rather than foods that your body turns into glucose very quickly.

My best advice is to make a list of questions to take to your appointment. Also, take pen and paper to make notes on what they say.

Don't panic - this can be sorted

Do have a read round this section. You may also want to look at the Pregnancy section too.

Best wishes to you and baby xx

Thank you! This has helped loads.. I think the fact that I don't have the monitor yet is what's making it worse because I have no idea if what I'm eating is helping or not.. The baby has moved a bit more this morning so I guess the fact that I'm not eating chocolate or biscuits is helping lol!

My blood test after 2 hours came back at 8.9.. Is that particularly high?

Wednesday cannot come quick enough! x

 

[azure]

Thank you! This has helped loads.. I think the fact that I don't have the monitor yet is what's making it worse because I have no idea if what I'm eating is helping or not.. The baby has moved a bit more this morning so I guess the fact that I'm not eating chocolate or biscuits is helping lol!

My blood test after 2 hours came back at 8.9.. Is that particularly high?

Wednesday cannot come quick enough! x

Did you have an oral glucose tolerance test - where you drink sugary stuff and then they test your blood sugar? Is that where the the 8.9 came from?

 

[LianeB]

Did you have an oral glucose tolerance test - where you drink sugary stuff and then they test your blood sugar? Is that where the the 8.9 came from?

Yes. I had to fast from 10pm the night before. I had my first blood test at 8.30am, drank the glucose drink and second blood test at 10.30am x

 

[azure]

Yes. I had to fast from 10pm the night before. I had my first blood test at 8.30am, drank the glucose drink and second blood test at 10.30am x

Ok

8.9 is higher than the ideal, but it's not incredibly, shockingly high. You'll be given targets when you have your appointment but usually ladies are advised to keep their blood sugar under 7.8 an hour after eating, and under 6.5 two hours after. However, these figures can vary a little. You'll probably also be given a target for your blood sugar when you first wake up. This is often advised to be 5.6 or under, but, again, that figure may vary a tiny bit.

The reason for such tight control is that too much sugar/glucose in the blood can make baby get too big. It can also cause too much amniotic fluid. So if you can keep your blood sugar in the range your team will give you, you help control baby's growth and make sure he/she doesn't get too large. Babies vary in size, of course, but this is growth that baby wouldn't make if the excess sugar/glucose wasn't in your blood.