hello =) Not Happy About Gestational Diabetes Diagnosis

hi. i am new here on diabetes uk.

i'm glad i found this forum. i am a uk resident but based in australia at the moment. was diagnosed by australian hospital 2wks ago to have gestational diabetes. not happy about it. will post more about it in a little bit.

hi guys.

i am a uk resident but based in australia at the moment. i'm 20wks pregnant and was diagnosed (by a sydney hospital) with gestational diabetes 2 weeks ago.

my problem is - i never had gestational diabetes. both my 5yo and 3yo were born in the uk - never had problems. now, australian hospital is telling me that i do have it. when i double-checked their proc, they're testing is different. they test 3x during the GTT (start, 1st hour and 2nd hour). with the nhs, they only test twice (start and on the 2nd hour). they caught my peak at the 1st hour (they said it should be 10, but was at 10.2). after that, they got me the accu metre and now have to test 4x a day.

i saw the dietitian today and she asked me if i ever had gestational diabetes. i said never. and told her that if i were in the uk, i would have passed the GTT. then she said that the uk is still resistant to international changes (do you know what she's talking about?). after a few hours, nurse called me and told me that the doctor wants to put me on medication: tablets and insulin. i am not really happy about this =(

would appreciate any advise.

kind regards xx

MelissaC said:

Hi @sczaja

It is hard when you are first diagnosed, but you'll find this forum really helpful. I've been diabetic for ten years and there are things I've learnt through this forum that I've found so useful.

Best of luck x

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thank you melissa. i just posted my GD story and i hope i can get some proper advice on here xx

Diakat said:

Hi, you can manage this and have a healthy pregnancy. Lots of gd/diabetic mums here to help.
Welcome by the way.

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thanks diakat. the support means a lot x

azure said:

Hello @sczaja


Hi @sczaja Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy

The UK guidelines for diagnosing Gestational Diabetes (GD) have been tightened up in the last couple of years as it was feared that cases were being missed. I haven't had a GD test as I have Type 1 but I do know that a friend had her blood tested every hour during her test. So it's possible things have changed here since you had your children.

You said you're testing 4 times a day. What kind of results are you getting?

(I've merged your other post with this thread so it doesn't get overlooked )

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hi azure.

thank you for your quick reply.

on the day of my GTT, at the start of the test, my blood sugar was fine. After the 1st hour, I was at 10.2 (threshold is 10), and on the 2nd hour, my blood sugar was fine (i don't know the exact value but the endocrinologist was happy with it).

my bmi before i got pregnant was at 25.8 - i was 58kg. i am 20wks pregnant and only at 61kg.

i test 4x a day: before breakfast, after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner. i am using the accu chek performa metre. from last week, it looked like this ("na" means i was unable to test because i was out and about, forgot my metre, or fell asleep with my children):

31 jan - 4.6 / 5.1 / 6.9 / 6.2
1 feb - 4.9 / 5.7 / 6.5 / 6.3
2 feb - 4.3 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 6.5
3 feb - 4.8 / 6.4 / 6.8 / 6.9
4 feb - 4.8 / 7.03 / na / 6.8
5 feb - 4.9 / 5.4 / 6.4 / na
6 feb - 5.2 / 6.5 / na / 5.8
7 feb - 5.0 / 5.6 / 5.6 / 6.2
8 feb - 4.8 / 6.1 / 6.9 / 6.0
9 feb - 5.9 / na / 6.6 / na
10 feb - 5.9 / na / 8.3 / 6.3 (exceptional circumstance as it was my children's birthday and had some of their cake and ice cream)
11 feb - 5.4 / 5.7 / 6.4 / na
12 feb - 5.3 / 6.4 / 7.0 / na
13 feb - 5.2 / 5.9 / 6.3 / 7.5
14 feb - 5.0 / na / 6.1 / na (was at the hospital with the dietitian, etc)
15 feb - 4.7

i have checked the australian website and they've only got 2 drugs on there for gestational diabetes. i have done my research and both drugs aren't recommended for pregnant women. in fact, they admitted that metformin was frowned upon in the usa and europe.

what do you think? would appreciate any advise.

kind regards

azure said:

@sczaja I'm not a medical professional so I can only give my personal opinion, but those daily results look good to me, apart from the odd higher one.

You'll probably be given targets by your doctor, but the ones I had (as a Type 1) were no more than 7.8 one hour after eating and no more than 6.5 two hours after eating. I was also told to aim for a fasting result below 6, preferably in the 4s or mid 5s.

Usually, people diagnosed with GD in the UK try to control it with diet initially. They're then re-assessed to see if that's working, and monitored regularly during pregnancy to ensure their blood sugar remains in target.

You mentioned Metformin - what other drug did you see that worried you?

Do you know what plan your team there have? Are they going to monitor you for a while? Is there a max blood sugar after which they'll recommend meds? Have you been given dietary advice?

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hi azure.

yeah, i was given targets: nothing above 5 for fasting. nothing above 6.7 2 hours after meals. what do you think? what are the acceptable levels for pregnant women based on uk standards? i just want to compare because it feels like the healthcare system here is OTT. i have checked the nhs website and it says there, as well, that they only test twice, not three times, during the 2-hour duration of the GTT.

i was also concerned about glibenclamide. i was really nervous yesterday. had to meet the nurse. thankfully, it was just insulin. they were concerned about my fasting results. so, they officially put me on insulin - once a day - before bedtime - number 6 on the pen. i hate needles. i am wondering why they already put me on insulin and have not yet tested my results after the new diet =(

yes, they will monitor me until the delivery of the baby. baby will be tested too.