Have I got GD?

[DonutEnter]

Bit of background - pregnant with my 3rd baby. Had my first 9 years ago age 21. Never tested for GD (no signs of it) 6.6 lbs baby at 39.5 weeks
Second baby age 24, passed the GTT at 28 weeks (midwife this time round sent me for it because my notes said my mum had it with me) 7 lbs 15 oz baby at 40 weeks

This pregnancy from about 25 weeks my urine has had sugar in it at most midwife appointments. After two occasions of ++ glucose she sent me for a OGTT at 30 weeks which I passed. Had a 3+ glucose urine sample 5 weeks later so at 35.5 weeks pregnant I had another OGTT which I passed (3.1 mmol fasting , 6.8 mmol 2 hours after the glucose drink)

I have continued to have sugar in my urine, ranging from +1 to ++++ . I decided to buy
my own at home glucometer to see what my blood was doing as the powers that be put my sugary wee down to “one of those things”
I’ve been taking readings where I can for the last few days (from what I’ve read, fasting should be 3-5 mmol and 1 hour post meal <7 mmol so by that reasoning are my readings bad and should I speak to someone? It is stressing me out big time)

day 1 -
Fasting: 4.8 mmol
1 hour 25 after breakfast: 4.1 mmol
2 hours after lunch: 6.1 mmol
Pre dinner: 5.1 mmol
1 hour 30 after dinner: 7.1 mmol (bolognese with fresh egg pasta and garlic bread)

Day 2 -
Fasting: 4.6 mmol
2 hours after breakfast: 4.2 mmol
2 hours after dinner: 6.8 mmol (my baby shower, so white sandwiches and cakes as had an afternoon tea)

Day 3 -
Fasting:
1 hour after breakfast: 7.3 mmol (shredded wheat. Had 3+ sugar in my wee with the midwife following this)
Before dinner: 5.5 mmol
2 hours after dinner: 7.1 mmol (4 slices of pizza which I’ve since learned is a big no-no. My 1 hour post pizza reading was 6.4)

Day 4 -
Fasting: 3.1 mmol
1.5 hours after breakfast: 6.1 mmol
Before lunch: 3.2 mmol
1 hour after lunch: 4.6 mmol
1 hour after dinner: 7.7 mmol (huge portion of veggie chilli with brown rice)

Day 5 -
Fasting: 5.5 mmol
2 hours after breakfast: 5.1 mmol
1 hour after lunch: 7.5 mmol
1 hour after dinner: 7.2 mmol

Are these readings something to be concerned about? If I didn’t have GD would my blood sugars have returned to normal even after things like cakes and white pasta? I’m concerned about the over 7 mmol readings after some of my dinners as I tried hard to make sure they were GD-friendly meals . My 5.5 mmol fasting reading this morning threw me off too

thanks in advance for input x

 

[DonutEnter]

Just to add - I’m now 38 weeks tomorrow and afraid to be let to go to full term if I have undiagnosed GD.

 

[Antje77]

Hi @DonutEnter , and welcome to the forum.

Your numbers don't look diabetic at all, but where does the sugar in your urine come from? Usually we don't start passing sugar until we're over 10 or 11 mmol/l.

So sorry, no answers for you, hopefully someone with more ideas will come along.
Good luck with the last bit of your pregnancy!

 

[DonutEnter]

Thanks for the reply! I have no idea - it’s a mystery how I can get a 3+ reading in my urine and my BG at that time be 7.3 mmol. I just don’t understand it

thank you

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks for the reply! I have no idea - it’s a mystery how I can get a 3+ reading in my urine and my BG at that time be 7.3 mmol. I just don’t understand it

thank you

No idea either, but your BG looks just about perfect. You and the baby'll be fine. (And congratulations!)

 

[DonutEnter]

My urine showed +++ ketones on waking this morning (no sugar in urine) and overnight fasting level of 5.2. Should I be concerned by this? I’ve also lost half a pound since last week. I feel like my obsession over what I eat is now causing more harm than good

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My urine showed +++ ketones on waking this morning (no sugar in urine) and overnight fasting level of 5.2. Should I be concerned by this? I’ve also lost half a pound since last week. I feel like my obsession over what I eat is now causing more harm than good

If you're eating very few carbs now (about 20 to 50 grams a day, or even less) then you might be in ketosis, which would explain the ketones in your urine. If you're not severely overweight you might not want to lose weight right now though. Ketosis isn't going to hurt you nor the baby, but you do want to make sure you're both getting enough nutrients.

If your blood sugars look good after things like pizza, you don't have to worry about what you're eating, other than making sure you're putting decent fuel in for the both of you. Relax.

 

[DonutEnter]

Thank you. I really appreciate the replies. I feel like the only way I can relax is when he’s born and healthy and I feel he’d be better off out of me than in. I wish I wasn’t so neurotic and not got urine strips and a blood glucose meter. I’m struggling to know properly what the numbers and ketones mean, what to eat for the best.. I don’t see my midwife for another week and as I haven’t actually been diagnosed with GD I feel my concerns aren’t valid.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you. I really appreciate the replies. I feel like the only way I can relax is when he’s born and healthy and I feel he’d be better off out of me than in. I wish I wasn’t so neurotic and not got urine strips and a blood glucose meter. I’m struggling to know properly what the numbers and ketones mean, what to eat for the best.. I don’t see my midwife for another week and as I haven’t actually been diagnosed with GD I feel my concerns aren’t valid.

You're about to become a mum again, meaning your hormones are all over the place, so don't beat yourself up for being anxious. Your concerns are valid, whether you're diagnosed or not: You just want the best for your baby! Can't fault you for that. But your readings are fine. (So don't regret the meter, it tells you and us as much. You're okay. So it was worth the money. Now you can put it in the drawer and forget about it).

Also, if you did have GD, the size of your baby would've been noticed already... They tend to get very big. (I know my friend's first boy was next to a giant, and he was delivered early because of it.). If something like that was going on, they'd probably already have seen it weeks ago, and discussed induction with you. You're okay. Go have some herring with whipped cream or something.

 

[DonutEnter]

Thank you so much. You’re right - hormones get in the way of rational thinking!
I appreciate the support a lot.

I’m having growth scans (for non GD related reasons) and at 28, 32 and 36 weeks he was on the 50th centile , so not in any way huge. His belly is measuring 6 days ahead but this was in line with his head and no one mentioned it.

I hope he makes an early appearance and this anxiety can all be over in less than 2 weeks!!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you so much. You’re right - hormones get in the way of rational thinking!
I appreciate the support a lot.

I’m having growth scans (for non GD related reasons) and at 28, 32 and 36 weeks he was on the 50th centile , so not in any way huge. His belly is measuring 6 days ahead but this was in line with his head and no one mentioned it.

I hope he makes an early appearance and this anxiety can all be over in less than 2 weeks!!

Just a little longer to go. This is going to be one loved little fella. And a highly anticipated one, too!

 

[Antje77]

I’m struggling to know properly what the numbers and ketones mean, what to eat for the best..

Best eat what you feel like eating, the last part of pregnancy is hard enough withouth worrying what is the most healthy choice
The baby is already everything a baby should be, those last weeks are to give it some extra strength to take on the world.
With both your ogtt's and your bg meter indicating there is nothing to worry about, please feel free to eat!

What made you decide to test for ketones?
Ketones are usually measured for 2 reasons, neither of which seem to fit your situation.
1: By people with T1 diabetes when they are ill or running very high blood sugars. No need to test them when not running high, it's only in combination with very high levels for a period of time that ketones can be an indication for a dangerous condition called DKA. You don't have high blood glucose and you don't have T1, so this can't be the reason to test for them.
2: By people on a very low carb diet to see if they are in ketosis, as that's what they aim for. For those people ketones are a good thing, and they aren't accompanied by high bg. Those ketones are of the same kind you get when you haven't eaten for a while, like after getting up.

 

[DonutEnter]

Best eat what you feel like eating, the last part of pregnancy is hard enough withouth worrying what is the most healthy choice
The baby is already everything a baby should be, those last weeks are to give it some extra strength to take on the world.
With both your ogtt's and your bg meter indicating there is nothing to worry about, please feel free to eat!

What made you decide to test for ketones?
Ketones are usually measured for 2 reasons, neither of which seem to fit your situation.
1: By people with T1 diabetes when they are ill or running very high blood sugars. No need to test them when not running high, it's only in combination with very high levels for a period of time that ketones can be an indication for a dangerous condition called DKA. You don't have high blood glucose and you don't have T1, so this can't be the reason to test for them.
2: By people on a very low carb diet to see if they are in ketosis, as that's what they aim for. For those people ketones are a good thing, and they aren't accompanied by high bg. Those ketones are of the same kind you get when you haven't eaten for a while, like after getting up.

Thank you for the reply. My worry is that many women with GD are told to aim for < 5 mmol on fasting and < 7 mmol one hour after first bite of meal, which my figures don’t represent Struggled to be below 7 just an hour after food. I also worry that the 2 hour post meal readings that are in the 6’s, were in the 9, 10s (?!) at 1 hour which would be a spike and could affect the baby? (Hence the sugar in urine which starts being dumped at around 10 mmol as someone above kindly mentioned) Do non diabetics who eat sugary or high carb foods have similar levels/spikes?

I test my urine periodically for infection, protein (and sugar) but freaked out this morning when I saw a high level of ketones on the stick. Had a few before but not quite as many. I didn’t drink a lot of water before bed , I am also getting up 2-3 times to pee and I did limit carbs more than normal yesterday to get my BG where I thought it ought to be. Would all those things cause high ketones and will this damage baby?

I so wish I could just relax and enjoy these last 2 weeks of pregnancy. I’ve put the glucose meter away as I think the stress was doing more harm than good. And in the spirit of shrove Tuesday I just had a big fat pancake...

 

[lazyy98]

If you're eating very few carbs now (about 20 to 50 grams a day, or even less) then you might be in ketosis, which would explain the ketones in your urine. If you're not severely overweight you might not want to lose weight right now though. Ketosis isn't going to hurt you nor the baby, but you do want to make sure you're both getting enough nutrients.

If your blood sugars look good after things like pizza, you don't have to worry about what you're eating, other than making sure you're putting decent fuel in for the both of you. Relax.

hiii
thanks for sharing this information....