Laindark
Newbie
- Messages
- 3
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi everyone!
As I wrote on the title, I have recently become a mom since Nov 2017 and now my little baby boy is 5 months old. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes two months ago. I found this forum a while ago and it helps me a lot with good information. However, It took me two months to accept this fact that I am sticking with this disease for the rest of my life. After checking with doctors and pediatrician, I have some questions which they could not give me an answer. So I hope I can discuss with you guys here and get some help.
Little background of me - I am 35 years old, 162cm with 58-60kg before the pregnancy (BMI 22.5-23). During the pregnancy I gained 14kg in total. Two months postpartum I weighted 62kg. My dad has T2D and grandfather (mother side) had it as well. At teenage age I was slightly overweight(68kg) so I got fatty liver for several years. But it was almost gone after I was 25 years old. I never thought that one day I would have T2D as I have been living a pretty healthy life, no smoking, no drinking, training 1-4 times a week and eat a lot of vegetable fruits and moderate carbs. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 35 and I started to stick the fingers 7 times a day. By the time I ate around 200-300g carbs (whole grain) per day. As my blood sugar values were pretty good (morning fasting sugar level was between 4.5-4.8 and 2 hours after meal was between 5.9-7.1). So the diabetes specialist doctor did not give me any medicine.
In November when my boy was born, he weighted 4.45kg which is consider as large baby due to my gestational diabetes. He had low blood sugar and temporary breathing problems after the birth. So he was treated in the hospital for 11 days and now he is a happy healthy little guy. Right after the birth, the diabetes specialist doctor told me to take Metformin 2x morning 2x evening. However, the side effect was pretty bad, I got abdominal pain and upset stomach almost everyday. So the doctor reduced the dose to 1x morning 1x evening and I was sticking with it for two months. During that period my morning fasting blood sugar level increased to between 5.2-5.8 and 2 hours after meal was between 6.2-7.2, I ate 100g carbs (whole grain) and 1-2 apples per day. The only problem was --- I was constantly thirsty. I drank a lot of water and urinated a lot as well. So the doctor ran some urine tests and the results were all fine. The T1D test result was negative.
In January I took blood sugar test and my H1AC was 38 (5.6%), which was pretty good. So the general practice doctor in the community hospital reduced the dose to 1x Metformin per day. I was very happy about the result as I thought that the gestational diabetes might had gone away. During that period the upset stomach was gone but I was still thirsty almost everyday. The intake of carbs was around 100g per day.
In February I did the OGTT test and 2 hours after the result was 13.1. So I met the diabetes specialist doctor again and he told me that I have T2D
. After that, the doctor increased the dose to 1x morning and 1x evening and told me to continue the way I ate before. My morning fasting sugar level was between 5.2-5.8 and 2 hours after meal level remained the same which was between 5.4-6.6 as long as I did not eat much carbs. The abdominal pain and upset stomach came back, and I was constantly thirsty as well, it never disappears.
OK, it's kinda pretty long background. Here comes to my dilemma/question:
As I am breast feeding 90% with little formula (still doing it), I have been worried that Metformin would affect my baby, even though I have checked with both the doctors and the pediatrician and they told me it was fine. However, my baby had poor weight gain and he did not show interest in eating. He is 5 months old and weights 6.9kg. Somehow, I felt that it could due to the medicine. I read a lot of studies and Metformin does excreted into breast milk, but the amounts seem to be insignificant. At the same time, I read a lot about keto diet and the pros and cons. It says that the diet is not recommended for breastfeeding, however, I still wanted to give a try. So I started keto diet and took 1x Metformin in the morning. During the first week, my 2 hours after meal level was between 5.4-5.8. so I made another decision without consulting the doctor - stop taking Metformin and continue keto die. For two weeks ago (in the end of March), I did a blood test again, my H1AC was 36 (5.4%), which was slightly lower than January (38, 5.6%). And I told the general practice doctor that I am on keto diet and off the Metformin due to the baby situation. The doctor was concerned but somehow she accepted it and she told me to start taking Metformin as soon as I stop breastfeeding.
Now I am doing keto for almost 1 month, I eat less than 20g carbs per day and only feel thirsty once or twice per week (mostly in the morning) and I lost 1kg. My 2 hours after meal level keep between 5.6-6.5 which are stable. However, I see that my morning fasting sugar level has slowly increased from 5.8 to 6.2, sometimes even 6.4, which kinda freaks me out. Later during the day, it decreased to 5.6-6.0 as long as I keep the keto diet. Yesterday I tested to eat more carbs, it raised to 8.2 after 2 hours(which prove again that I have T2D it is not an illusion). Most importantly, my baby's eating behaviour is not improving, which makes me frustrated(he does eat more but it goes up and down). I start to think maybe I am doing it all wrong, maybe I should resume Metformin? Maybe I should eat what I used to eat before keto diet?
And the question which the doctors could not answer - why am I still thirty even my daily blood sugar value is stable and H1AC is low? Sometimes when I was thirty I test my blood sugar level, it could be 5.4 or 5.6 (never over 6.5). The doctor's explanation is due to the breastfeeding and it's not usual to feel thirty. However, I feel this has more to do with the diabetes. If so, what should I do?
Here are the options I am having now:
Sorry for writing such a long post and thanks for your patience to read through it. Right now I am very confused and frustrated, maybe I just need little comfort by telling my story to someone or maybe I should just simply to book another appointment with another diabetes specialist doctor?
I understand that it's not allowed to give medical advices, however, if you were me, what would you do?
Thanks!
As I wrote on the title, I have recently become a mom since Nov 2017 and now my little baby boy is 5 months old. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes two months ago. I found this forum a while ago and it helps me a lot with good information. However, It took me two months to accept this fact that I am sticking with this disease for the rest of my life. After checking with doctors and pediatrician, I have some questions which they could not give me an answer. So I hope I can discuss with you guys here and get some help.
Little background of me - I am 35 years old, 162cm with 58-60kg before the pregnancy (BMI 22.5-23). During the pregnancy I gained 14kg in total. Two months postpartum I weighted 62kg. My dad has T2D and grandfather (mother side) had it as well. At teenage age I was slightly overweight(68kg) so I got fatty liver for several years. But it was almost gone after I was 25 years old. I never thought that one day I would have T2D as I have been living a pretty healthy life, no smoking, no drinking, training 1-4 times a week and eat a lot of vegetable fruits and moderate carbs. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 35 and I started to stick the fingers 7 times a day. By the time I ate around 200-300g carbs (whole grain) per day. As my blood sugar values were pretty good (morning fasting sugar level was between 4.5-4.8 and 2 hours after meal was between 5.9-7.1). So the diabetes specialist doctor did not give me any medicine.
In November when my boy was born, he weighted 4.45kg which is consider as large baby due to my gestational diabetes. He had low blood sugar and temporary breathing problems after the birth. So he was treated in the hospital for 11 days and now he is a happy healthy little guy. Right after the birth, the diabetes specialist doctor told me to take Metformin 2x morning 2x evening. However, the side effect was pretty bad, I got abdominal pain and upset stomach almost everyday. So the doctor reduced the dose to 1x morning 1x evening and I was sticking with it for two months. During that period my morning fasting blood sugar level increased to between 5.2-5.8 and 2 hours after meal was between 6.2-7.2, I ate 100g carbs (whole grain) and 1-2 apples per day. The only problem was --- I was constantly thirsty. I drank a lot of water and urinated a lot as well. So the doctor ran some urine tests and the results were all fine. The T1D test result was negative.
In January I took blood sugar test and my H1AC was 38 (5.6%), which was pretty good. So the general practice doctor in the community hospital reduced the dose to 1x Metformin per day. I was very happy about the result as I thought that the gestational diabetes might had gone away. During that period the upset stomach was gone but I was still thirsty almost everyday. The intake of carbs was around 100g per day.
In February I did the OGTT test and 2 hours after the result was 13.1. So I met the diabetes specialist doctor again and he told me that I have T2D
. After that, the doctor increased the dose to 1x morning and 1x evening and told me to continue the way I ate before. My morning fasting sugar level was between 5.2-5.8 and 2 hours after meal level remained the same which was between 5.4-6.6 as long as I did not eat much carbs. The abdominal pain and upset stomach came back, and I was constantly thirsty as well, it never disappears.OK, it's kinda pretty long background. Here comes to my dilemma/question:
As I am breast feeding 90% with little formula (still doing it), I have been worried that Metformin would affect my baby, even though I have checked with both the doctors and the pediatrician and they told me it was fine. However, my baby had poor weight gain and he did not show interest in eating. He is 5 months old and weights 6.9kg. Somehow, I felt that it could due to the medicine. I read a lot of studies and Metformin does excreted into breast milk, but the amounts seem to be insignificant. At the same time, I read a lot about keto diet and the pros and cons. It says that the diet is not recommended for breastfeeding, however, I still wanted to give a try. So I started keto diet and took 1x Metformin in the morning. During the first week, my 2 hours after meal level was between 5.4-5.8. so I made another decision without consulting the doctor - stop taking Metformin and continue keto die. For two weeks ago (in the end of March), I did a blood test again, my H1AC was 36 (5.4%), which was slightly lower than January (38, 5.6%). And I told the general practice doctor that I am on keto diet and off the Metformin due to the baby situation. The doctor was concerned but somehow she accepted it and she told me to start taking Metformin as soon as I stop breastfeeding.
Now I am doing keto for almost 1 month, I eat less than 20g carbs per day and only feel thirsty once or twice per week (mostly in the morning) and I lost 1kg. My 2 hours after meal level keep between 5.6-6.5 which are stable. However, I see that my morning fasting sugar level has slowly increased from 5.8 to 6.2, sometimes even 6.4, which kinda freaks me out. Later during the day, it decreased to 5.6-6.0 as long as I keep the keto diet. Yesterday I tested to eat more carbs, it raised to 8.2 after 2 hours(which prove again that I have T2D it is not an illusion). Most importantly, my baby's eating behaviour is not improving, which makes me frustrated(he does eat more but it goes up and down). I start to think maybe I am doing it all wrong, maybe I should resume Metformin? Maybe I should eat what I used to eat before keto diet?
And the question which the doctors could not answer - why am I still thirty even my daily blood sugar value is stable and H1AC is low? Sometimes when I was thirty I test my blood sugar level, it could be 5.4 or 5.6 (never over 6.5). The doctor's explanation is due to the breastfeeding and it's not usual to feel thirty. However, I feel this has more to do with the diabetes. If so, what should I do?
Here are the options I am having now:
- A: Continue keto diet (under20g carbs per day) and no Metformin as long as I am breastfeeding. --- I am not sure that to skip the carbs totally would trigger insulin response and make it worse.
- B: Adjust the keto diet, add more carbs and fruits (under 100g), continue breastfeeding. --- I probably would feel thirty again.
- C: Stop keto diet and resume Metformin, stop breastfeeding (which will be painful for a while). --- It is very hard for me not to breastfeeding when my baby is crying and refusing bottle.
- D: Stop keto diet and resume Metformin, continue breastfeeding. --- it seems to be most correct way to do but I am worried about the baby getting the drug.
Sorry for writing such a long post and thanks for your patience to read through it. Right now I am very confused and frustrated
, maybe I just need little comfort by telling my story to someone or maybe I should just simply to book another appointment with another diabetes specialist doctor?I understand that it's not allowed to give medical advices, however, if you were me, what would you do?
Thanks!
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