New and struggling!

Hi, I know exactly how you feel!!! I tried diet controlled for a week then ended up on insulin, 2 units before each meal, with my levels up and down all the time.
It got to the point with the diet controlled that I daren't eat inbetween meals and lost 3lbs and ended up hungry!!! You have to keep up with the snacks but make them sensible, for example I eat so much fruit now although I find bananas send my sugar levels really high at times!
My evening meals tend to raise my level about the recommended 7.8, sometimes as high as 9.7, but they are undecided as to whether they should increase my lunchtime insulin. I also find I have to manage my morning meal/snacks better as I tend to hypo around 10am'ish which isnt good
It really is such a balancing act and I test some days more than they ask me too so I can check which foods my body processes better, I;ve found white bread is really bad at raising my levels so changed to wholemeal, white pasta is bad yet rice is really good....whats good for one person is not good for another.
Take your time, sit back and think about what your eating and relax........

do you snack before bedtime and then test in the morning? If you let your levels get too low in the morning sometimes it can cause higher levels for some strange reason. My morning level is usally around 4.2, I have breakfast of original readybrek with semi-skimmed milk and Splenda and manage to get a reading below 7.8 one hour after and feel full for a couple of hours.
My little one is being measured tomorrow to see how big he is, due date is 14th December (40 weeks) but got a section booked for 30th November (38 weeks) as I had a previous emergency section with my now 4 year old (strange but I didnt have gestational diabetes with him) and with the diabetes they said they usually deliver/induce early so thats the plan!!! I just dont want to have a 'huge' baby, really scares me to think of having a 10lb'er thats straight into 3 month baby clothes and missing the little snuggly newborn stage I had with my little boy......Good luck with your scan and let me know how you get on!

Mrsg said:

I don't normally snack at night even though I wake up in the nigt with a grumbly tummy. This morning it was 5.6 when I woke then 13.2!! one hour after breakfast. I had weetabix with semi milk and a tiny bit of splenda so i don't know where I'm going wrong.

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The rise would have come about because weetabix is a carb and therefore turns to sugar, I'm nmot sure if you have been told to test after an hour but diabetics are normally told to check after 2 hours as this will give your blood sugar time to level out once the insulin has done it's job. HAve you tested since then, you may find you're back to an acceptable level now

Which insulin have they put you on?

Hi
Glad your scan went well!!!
I am 33 weeks today and scan measurements were averaging around 35-36 weeks so a little on the larger size but the consultant said that she was happy with this. She did however try to change my elective section date from 38 weeks (30th Nov) to 39 weeks (7th Dec) as she wanted to make me aware that I would need to be in 48hours before the delivery on 30th Nov to have steroid injections each day and also an insulin drip as the steroids would make be insulin resistant. We are opting to stay with the 30th Nov as I dont want him to get too big and dependent too long on the sugar I am producing...will have to give her our decision in 2 weeks!
Before I found out about the diabetes we were opting for a VBAC but my SPD really started to kick in (am currently struggling with crutches to walk and regular codydramol which doesnt do much) and then the diabetes diagnosis took me over the edge and I asked for an elective which they pointed out was 'completely my choice' but I was willing to put up a fight and throw NICE Guidelines at them if I needed to!!!! You have every right to opt for a section if thats what you want and they have to respect your decision and a form must be completed as per the NICE Guidelines which confirms your choice and that you are fully informed of the risks.
So sorry your having to increase your insulin, I have been warned this will happen but been told off for reducing my portion sizes in order to reduce my insulin levels. Been told to eat 'normal but healthy' and the insulin will be adjusted around that not by me 'dieting'!!!
I think we test at the same times...one day morning, before each meal then before bed and the next day 1hr after every meal? My pre-meal/fasting levels are to be below 6.0 and after meals below 7.8...my after meals fluctuate though from 7-10 depending on what I eat but they cant increase my units as I am waking with low levels so have to make sure I have a proper carb snack before bed and they will re-assess again.

I don't know if this will help you at all, but I found breakfast a challenge when I had GD in my first pregnancy. What solved it for me was a complex carb / protein snack just before bed. I usually had 1 slice of wholemeal toast and a glass of milk or a hardboiled egg. Then for breakfasts it was bacon, tomatoes and eggs all the way!! LOL! No bread, cereals or juice. A great substitution for me when I was pressed for time were scotch eggs!

Waiting to see if I have it with this pregnancy, wish me luck!

breakfast can be a struggle I found that if I ate more than around 15- 20g carbs (apx one slice of toast is about 15) then even if I upped my insulin dose it wouldn't make the one hour post meal target but it would send me hypo later on in the day, like the insulin couldn't get into my system straight away but hung around til later.

So my solution was/is to have a lower carb breakfast, and then maybe a snack later on in the morning if I was hungry that way you aren't hitting your body with too many carbs at once but everyone's different this is just what worked for me.

Just know that it won't last forever. You are doing this to help your baby and eventually you will be able to go back to what you considered normal. It is hard, but it won't be forever.