GD support thread

[KatieB]

sorry sweet, I had my lil boy 5 weeks early in the end! 6lb 5 at 35 weeks! ha! good job I didn't go full term, I struggled carrying even him! and he had to have ventous and me an episiotomy! lol gd went straight away for me! Nates sugars were low at birth, 1.9 infact!! the MW forgot to test him 'til I told her too 2 hours after he was born! the minimum they should be is 2.5 stupid woman, he could have died!!!! Make sure all you ladies remind them to test their levels and push push push!! Dont be afraid to tell them how to do their job, sometimes they need a kick up the bum!

Congrats! I had forceps and episitomy with Louis, ouch! That's really bad they didn't test his blood sugars more or less straightaway, I'd be mad too, glad he's ok

 

[HellBunny]

Hows everyone doing? I'm no longer pregnant i miss it though! haha.
I still have diabetes but if anyone has any questions ask, i will do my best to answer (i'm type 1, they originally thought i had GD but the rules in pregnancy are pretty similar!)

 

[izzy29]

Well I had my baby girl and she weighed in at a dainty 71/2lbs compared to DD who was nearly 11. They checked her blood sugars 3 times pre feed after she was born and they were all fine. Mine were checked every 4 hrs during induction and they were fine. At one stage they dropped to 3.9 so I was only allowed a up of squash with a spoonful of sugar according to the anesthetiser. Checked my sugars before I ate for 24-48 hrs and they were all ok so next stage is the ogtt in 6 weeks and hope I am all clear.

 

[urchin]

Hello Hello - room for one more?

I'm currently 36+5 and failed my GTT at 34 weeks - I scored 7.8
I had my appointment with the diabetes team on Tuesday and have been monitoring my bloods ever since.

I had thought because i only just failed the GTT that I would be fine if I just cut out sugar and watched my carbs but apparently not

This weeks I've had 4 readings between 8.7 and 9.2 ... 2 of these were after milk (and not a huge amount) so I cut that out ... but then I've had 2 more after only a fairly reasonable amount of carbs (e.g. a small naan bread)

So I have to go back to clinic on Monday and they are considering putting me on metformin for the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy.

I am scheduled for a c-section at 39 weeks anyway, but they have hinted that they might have to bring it forward a week if my BS levels don't sort themselves out.

... and I am feeling mighty pissed off about it all

Now I know there is no point in being cross with my body, but I really am - I feel like it has really let me down and I can't help feeling guilty.
They tell be Eenie (baby's nickname) is fine - she's around the 80th centile, but everything in proportion and not showing signs of distress, but that I have slightly elevated fluid levels

So I guess that's me and where I'm at; a bit shell-shocked by the news and wondering what happens next?

 

[Sproglet]

It might be what you're eating with the carbs that makes a difference. I find eating high fat/high protein alongside ANY carbs helps to keep my blood sugar down. At the moment, full fat cheese spread, Greek yoghurt and nuts are my friends!

Also, sugar regulation is harder in the mornings than evenings, so I try not to eat more than 15g carbs for breakfast and again for mid morning snack, 30g for lunch, 15g snack, and then can have up to 60g with dinner so long as I have fat and protein with it! (by the way, that small naan bread probably has more than 30g of carbs in, so would put me straight over for any meal except dinner)

Examples of good meals for me: Breakfast: 2 eggs on 1 slice of whole meal/granary bread. Snack: Greek yoghurt with small serving of berries. Lunch: cheese spread (lots of it ) on 4 crispbreads, apple. Snack: couple of crackers with cheese. Dinner: meat, small serving of potatoes, veg. Or homemade stir fry served with 1/2 portion of noodles. Or stew and small dumpling.

Hope that helps a bit! Also you can look up the glycaemic index (GI) of foods online, the lower the GI the better it is at keeping blood sugar stable so choose lower GI foods where you can. Basically picking brown bread, rice, pasta over white.

Oh, and I was furious with my body too!

 

[urchin]

thanks sproglet

My big problem is that right now I have no kitchen
There's a fitter in there as I type putting the units in, but I still have no cooker, sink, or any working functional kitchen things ... which means we are eating out or getting takeaways at the minute

I had another bad day yesterday - had one piece of wholemeal bread for brekkie with plenty of butter and ham ... and my bloods went up to 9.2.
I have no way of cooking eggs, so I don't know if they would be any better -

I will try a bacon and eggy brekkie at the cafe today and see if that is any better - but I'm not holding out much hope

I am back at the hozzy tomorrow where I am expecting to be put on metformin ... I'm not enjoying this GD one little bit

 

[Miss Broody]

i am exactly the same in the mornings, my body just cannot cope, so i spread the carbs through the rest of the day and have very little first things. Sucks as i miss my cereal, but whatever it takes to keep the BS under control.

I was diagnosed at 34 weeks too, they had been making me do GTT every 4 weeks as we have strong family history and they thought something was going on as i kept having sugar in my urine but passing GTT.

At 33.5 weeks i had growth scan and my little girls stomach was 95th Percentile!! the other measurements were like 60th percentile. At 35.5 weeks it had fallen to 90th percentile. But still way too high. Going to see consultant again today!

Since finding out i have been diet controlled and now i have mastered the morning carb issues i have managed to keep my BS really well under control, i am very proud as its been horrid!!

The consultant wants her stomach measurement down to 70-75th percentile, but i think its a bit late to get it down that far!!

They have said i am not going to be allowed to go to 40 weeks, but they wont commit to a date yet as they say its too early.

xx

PS fat with carbs really helps me as well!!

 

[urchin]

I'm just back from an appointment with the diabetes nurse... have been put on metformin for the rest of my pregnancy to try and get my blood sugar under control.
My next ante-natal is on Tuesday and they will decide then whether or not to bring my c-section forward (if they do that it will either be weds, thurs, fri next week!) eeeek!

I will definitely try to keep my carbs for later in the day, and have plenty of fat with them (Mr Urch didn't believe me that roasties were better than boiled spuds!)

Oddly I have no family history of diabetes, my BMI is around 25 so that should be ok - though I am an old knacker ... maybe that's it?

 

[Miss Broody]

I had my appointment too today. I have managed to get out of having metaformin as they are happy i have the diet under control

I am going back at 38+4 to have final scan and discuss induction dates!! xx

 

[urchin]

Sadly I've been experiencing the interesting side effects of metformin this evening - not at all pleasant

 

[RedRose]

I got a call yesterday informing me that I have GD, and have only been measuring since then so this is all very new to me.

Am still a bit shocked really cos I too don't have a family history and have a normal bmi etc but there we go. Hoping that I can find foods which work for me asap.

Better go shopping I suppose, as I only havevwhite bread and instant porridge

I'm sure I'll be back asking lots of questions as I get my head round it a bit more. x

 

[zogprim]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, so don't know if I'm doing it right. I am 32 weeks + 4 and went for a growth scan as I was measuring slightly on the large side. They discovered that the baby's tummy is too big (off the scale) and I have way too much fluid. They are suspecting gd, having test on Tuesday. I'm so worried and don't know what to think. Hoping its nothing else much more serious, although this seems bad enough after the horror stories I have read.

Any advice or reassurance greatly appreciated.

Thanks. X

 

[RedRose]

Can I ask what you guys are having for breakfast? X

 

[urchin]

zogprim - it certainly sounds like you are a likely candidate for GD - they picked mine up because of excess fluid too.
They are likely to give you medication and get you testing your blood regularly (I had to do mine 7x daily for the first week or so, but am now down to 3x)
In the meantime, aim for a low GI diet ... don't cut out carbs completely - pregnancy is no time to do the Atkins diet! but try and make them wholewheat rather than white and eat plenty of fat/protein with them.

Redrose - I found that any cereal (even wholewheat, no sugar, healthfood ones) do disastrous things to my BS, though it could be the milk ... I am much better with a couple of slices of wholemeal bread with plenty of protein - eggs/bacon/cheese those kinds of things

 

[RedRose]

Thanks urchin!

I've never been to the supermarket so much in my life! Can't wait to find the right balance of food for me!

 

[urchin]

It's hard work Redrose - I'm sure if I'd've had more time I would have been able to get to the bottom of what I was reacting to and not had to double up the metformin.... but, we're on a very short fuse aren't we?
As it is, the meds seem to be working for me now, which is quite a relief ... the main thing is that our babies get through this ok isn't it? - I'm sure my body can cope with a short course of nasty drugs to get us both through

 

[AlesiaNicole]

Hello all. I had GD with my first son was informed that "once a GD always a GD" so I have my appointment with a dietician next week and will be (not) looking forward to checking my sugars for this entire pregnancy. On the up side I get extra scans after week 20 to be sure babes isn't gaining too much.

The hardest part for me is that just like my last pregnancy my biggest cravings are sweets! And milk! And SWWEEEEETTTTS! So. Yah. This is hard. I'm making a trip to the store to stock up on Cool Whip and strawberries and lots of protein-y snacks.

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

Hi girls. I have a GD test (the liquid 2hr one) on Thursday and have been battling for a long time if I should have it or not. My son was born at 27weeks but this was due to a cervical issue. I had the test with him and it was negative. I really don't like the test and would prefer to be monitored another way. but then a colleague at work has it and I am not sure now. I am not over in terms of bmi. Its purely cause my fathers parents are from the carribbean...

 

[silver lady]

Hi girls. I have a GD test (the liquid 2hr one) on Thursday and have been battling for a long time if I should have it or not. My son was born at 27weeks but this was due to a cervical issue. I had the test with him and it was negative. I really don't like the test and would prefer to be monitored another way. but then a colleague at work has it and I am not sure now. I am not over in terms of bmi. Its purely cause my fathers parents are from the carribbean...

I would have it, you never know and its better safe than sorry, I had to have it due to past tests for diabetes and subsequent infections, so i went thinking what a waste of time its only going to be negative, i actually missed my first appointment. I was so lucky to have eventually gone a week later i was on insulin x

 

[bluecathy1978]

I am in the uk and just found out in the last few days that I have GD. I had my GTT on Monday and was told on Thursday that my result was borderline at 8.5 so they will be treating me as a diabetic.

I am 34 and this is my 5th baby. I have a BMI of 43, have been taking iron supplements as my iron is also on the low side and taking asprin to reduce the risk of clots.

I feel like such a failure as everything seems to be going wrong. I tried asking the nurse questions yesterday but she didnt want to answer them because "she didnt want to confuse me". More like she didnt know!!

PS Does anyone have any links to diet/menu plans? I dont see a dietician until next tuesday and I am really struggling on what to eat. I also need to have something 'sweet' after my evening meal. Anything that we can have? Thanks x
I am worried that I will be made to lie on a bed all the way through my labour which I know will make it much harder. This is my last baby and I wanted to be able to enjoy my pregnancy. After losing my baby last christmas I just feel so dissapointed. I wanted to end my childbearing years with something possitive but instead I have been made to feel like an obese freak.