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[chilli]

Hi, I am 28 weeks pregnant and have GD, i have been to my antenatal for diabetes and got all the info and to get my glucose meter. i am upset and disappointed this has happened..this is my 4th pregnancy and the first time for GD.

I started testing this morning and my readings after an hour of food have been 7.8, 8.8 and 8.9. what i want to know that i forgot to ask is, starting a better diet today, will the gucose readings go down straight away or does it take a good few hours or days for it to stabalise?

FeeX

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Hi, and welcome!

My sister had GD and managed to keep it in check by watching her diet and doing regular tests.

Is it only diet you are using to control the glucose levels? If so, you should see results straight away but not if you test too close to eating. Testing about 2 hours after food should give you a good idea if your levels are back in range. Some foods might be off the menu for a while.

All the best for your last trimester and hope to hear all about your new bub even when the diabetes goes away. Hopefully your blood glucose will not get overly haywire. It has been 10 years since my sister had her baby and GD and she has had no issues. She was told she'd be at risk of Type 2 diabetes but this hasn't eventuated in her case.

Not only do hormones do bad things to your mood.

 

[chilli]

Hi
I am just doing it by diet only, my readings are just over the limit at the moment..the nurse told me to do the test 1 hour after eating. but i have to ring them monday or tuesday to let them know how its going. if it doesnt stabalise then i will have to have tablets or insulin and i dont want to really get that far.
even though i have been given a diet booklet i still dont know some of the things in not allowed. its so confusing.
feeX

 

[catherinecherub]

Hello chilli,
It must be difficult for you as you have to make sure you are eating enough of all food groups to make sure that you and baby are well nourished.
Perhaps if you post a typical menu for a day someone may be able to help you. Cannot promise but it might help.

Catherine.
PS Has your nurse given you any targets for 1hr. after eating?

 

[chilli]

Hi there is a booklet with a guide of what it should be between before and after food, i seem to be always just over the higher limit..even though this morning all i had was egg and toast i was still above. i havent touched anything sweet since thursday sometime. would 1 teaspoon of sugar in tea affect it too much? i am going to buy some sweetners today but i dont really drink much tea in the day anyway. im more afraid for baby than anything else..
I will post a menu of what i eat see if someone can help..thanks for the advice.

chilliXX

 

[catherinecherub]

Good idea to cut the sugar out chilli.

Look forward to the menu and we will see if we can help.
Post the targets and how soon after eating you need to get there and what your readings are at the moment.
Catherine.

 

[chilli]

Thanks, i will do the menu and also a list of readings for a couple of days one day is going to be readings before food and another day reading an hour after food.

I had a very bad moment while out today..i was shopping with hubby in asda and i was hungry when i went, after walking around for 5 minutes i started to sweat and get light headed and dizzy and sick feeling. i was so scared. the reading i done before i left the house was 5.3 so it must have dropped more when i was out. i quickly ate a cereal bar and splashed my face and started to feel a bit better, i then went to the cafe and had tom soup and brown bread. after that i was completly normal again..but my husband panicked..

I was wondering if anyone could also recommend a good book that just gives lists of all food showing low med and high GI foods.

chilliXX

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi chilli,
It must have been frightening for you and hubby. Carry something with you in future as you may not be near somewhere to get food. A small carton of orange juice or some glucotabs and a snack and take the meter as well if you have somewhere to carry it. You can feel bad when your sugars are too high.
A book I would recommend is The GI Diet by Rick Gallop. Foods are arranged in a traffic light system and alphabetically so it is easy to reference them. It is quite surprising to see what foods come in the high list if it is something that you are new to. I am sure others will have more titles for you.

Take care,
Catherine.

 

[chilli]

Thanks again for your help, i will be more careful when i go out and will buy some gluscose tablets for my bag.
I think i was so worried about my glucose tests being over a bit that i thought not eating as much would make them drop, now i know i cant do that.
Hubby is off later looking in lakeside shopping centre for a book about the foods i can eat.
ChilliXX

 

[cocacola]

Hi Chilli, try not to let your BG levels go over 8.0 (or 8.5?) 2 hrs after food. It can be useful to do a test before a meal and then 2 hrs after to see which foods send your levels high.
I have recently started to test before and 2 hrs after meals. I have found that I can eat 2 slices wholemeal bread without it sending my BG levels high. I think white bread is higher in carbs.
I have also found that my evening meal levels are usually higher than my lunchtime meals. Maybe cos the meal is bigger than just a lunchtime sandwich.
The only way to keep on top of things is to test. After 5 weeks of testing I now find I don't have to test before and after lunch as that meal is usually the same every day and my levels are fine during the day time.
If like me you tend to eat the same type of meal day in, day out. You can test, have good levels and then only need to test before breakfast and before and after evening meal.
If it were me, BG levels to aim for are 5.5-6.5 morning fasting and under 8.0 (8.5) 2 hrs after meals.
Also look at the labels when you shop. No sweets or sugary drinks.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi chilli,
Hope the rest of your day was OK.
I was wondering why the nurse wanted you to test 1hr. after food as opposed to the 2hr. test that most diabetics do. The only thing that I can think of is that she wanted to see how high you peeked?
Hope hubby managed to get a book for you and please remember that even if a carb food is low GI you will still have to test it to make sure that it doesn't affect you personally as we are all different and respond to some foods with a higher blood sugar than others. Make sure you balance the meal too.
Please come back and ask any questions if you are not sure.

Regards,
Catherine.

 

[chilli]

I thank god for this forum, i would be lost already without it. with all this advice im sure to get to grips with it sooner.

My nurse wants me to test one day before food three times a day and then alternate days 1 hour after food.
my fasting bloods were nearly within the normal range yesterday.
yesterday my morning fasting blood was 6.5,then i had egg and toast for breakfast. then before lunch my result was 5.7, then after feeling ill in asda i had a cereal bar and then tomato soup and two slices of brown bread. and some apple juice. later as a snack some cashew nuts and a few grapes. then i tested before dinner and had a reading of 5.3. then i had a small amount of mash and steak and salad..afterwards grapes. and then later in the evening a glass of semi skimmed milk. is this food i had ok?
Today i have to test an hour after food...so i will put in later what i have through out the day and my levels.
thanks again for all your help..its helping me to slowly understand, but its going to take me time to get it right..food wise. this is so important for my baby.

I am also told to look at the carbs of which sugars on packets and not to go over 3-6g per 100g if possible.
I have made the change from white bread to wholemeal granery and sugar to sweetners so far.
A friend of mine who is into natural rememdies as well has told me i should take 1tsp of cinnomon ina glass of water to regulate my blood sugar..but i have never heard of this before.?

ChilliXX

 

[catherinecherub]

You will get there chilli.
You need optimum health for you and baby and I can see that it is paramount with you. If your supply of test strips allow then I would do some extra testing and you may see a pattern developing. Keep a food diary so that you do not duplicate any mistakes that you make.

The food you ate after the low blood sugar would probably have put your sugars up if they hadn't been so low. The restaurant soup may have had a high sugar content and the bread would not be ideal on a daily basis. A good one to try is Burgen Soya and Linseed if Granary sends your sugars high. It is all about testing inasmuch as what I eat may not be suitable for you and visa versa.

As to the cinnamon, the jury is still out on that one and has been since 2003. Some say it works and some say it makes no difference.

Which book did hubby buy? I only ask because the one I recommended goes into great detail and does include some recipes and exercise options as well as the food lists.

Keep up the good work and let us know how you are getting on.

Catherine.

 

[chilli]

Hubby didnt manage to get out yesterday but we are going out this afternoon to get one.
i had brown bread and bought granery as i read it had a low GI..also i read tomato soup was low as well, i was going by some websites as to what was low and not low GI. thats where i get confused. some websites say one thing then another says something different.

I get some more testing strips and lancets tomorrow or tuesday so i will do a bit more extra testing.

will be back later with some more questions probably.

chilliXX

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi chilli,
It is confusing if you use websites as a guide to low glycemic foods. I have tomato soup as a medium G.I. It doesn't really matter what you did yesterday so don't fret about it. We have had chefs who post here and they say that sugar is often used in soup preparation. If you had asked I am sure that Asda would have taken a while to sort this out for you and you needed to eat a.s.a.p. Making your own or using a tinned or packet soup with the nutritional data is probably the easiest option when it comes to soups.
When eating out it is best to opt for something that you know will not contain hidden surprises. The more you can cook from scratch then the better it will be for you as you know what is in the meals.

Catherine.

 

[chilli]

so is say and heinz tinned tomato soup ok? i looked at the carbs of which sugars and it was in the range between 3-6g per 100g. is that ok?
I also bought some glucose tablets of my bag just in case it happenes again.
im not happy with my last reading from this morning. i had two slices of granery and peanut butter..and after an hour it was reading 9.4..but not long after this i was feeling sweaty and shaky, so im confused as to what im feeling now. i guess im pretty anxious as well, i never dreamed i would get gestational diabetes.

chilliXX

 

[chilli]

my blood levels were in normal range yesterday after eating. after i had took my test after dinner, about an hour later i had a muller light yogurt and a glass of milk before bed. on getting up this morning, they were a little on the high side..i dont understand that, as i was asleep all night not eating, why wouldnt they be low on waking? my reading was also a little high after having two slices of granery and baked beans. this is so hard to get right.

chilliXX

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Hi Chilli,

At least you shouldn't have to live on a restricted and overly healthy diet for too long. I would think bread and beans would be quite high carb even though low GI. I did this to my son (type 1) last night. I gave him low GI food for supper last night and even though his bsl was 7 at 10pm he got considerably higher by morning. Your blood sugar doesn't come solely from food as the liver releases and replenishes stores in your body all the time. This can explain why you continue to rise over night. Hormones of pregnancy can be higher over night and this will also affect your levels. You can only monitor and if diet wont prevent levels getting out of range I'm sure you will be offered some treatment. You still have to eat and carbohydrate is very important for the brain as it only runs on glucose and no other form of energy. Your baby needs all the nutrients also, although I'm sure you wouldn't be keen on a 10+ pound bub from having too much access to sugar. Eating small meals, often, should help.

Maybe if you eat beans and toast you could have half the amount and have a salad or have a serve of meat (unless you are vegetarian) to make a meal.

 

[chilli]

It is very hard to get the right balance..i thought the granery was ok and well as beans..
also can i eat peanut butter? i am finding it hard now to this oof what to eat, most lunches to me mean, sandwiches or soup with bread..or something on toast. now im finding im putting off eating..which is not good.

i had two slices of granery with peanit butter this morning and bsl was 9.6 so its either one or the other or both im unsure?

now im sitting here hungy wondering what to eat for lunch..lol

chilliXX

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi chilli,
Try this site and go to the questions and answers for some help. There is one there about peanut butter,

http://www.gidiet.com/en-gb/

Try one slice of bread, scrambled/boiled egg and tomatoes/mushrooms
30gms. porridge with flaked almonds, seeds and berries/stewed apple and cinnamon. seeds and nuts.
If you like fish then try some with a small piece of bread and some mushrooms.
You will see that these breakfasts are balanced with all food groups and are low G.I.

Make a large pot of soup using chicken, veggies and stock and pearl barley or some mixed beans and don't include any bread when you eat it as the pearl barley and beans are in place of the bread and are slow release carbs and you will feel fuller for longer. Make enough so that you can freeze some portions and this means there will always be something for you to eat. Finish off with a yoghurt.

Main meal include plenty of veggies, lean protein and substitute potatoes for sweet potatoes, use basmati rice or wholemeal pasta. You only need 30-40gms of the carb part so make sure there are plenty of veggies and include a side salad if approriate. Finish off with some low G.I. fruit.

Although these meals are low G.I. you will still have to test to make sure that they are alright for you personally. It is all about testing. You may find that some of the carb foods raise your blood sugars and then you need to halve them and see the response. If that doesn't work then cut them out completely and substitute with one that tests alright for you.

The key points are testing and balanced meals. G.I. is difficult if you do not balance the meal.

Hope this is of some help.

Catherine.