Gestational Diabetes Group - Us vs. the Carbs

[Amythyst]

Thanks, yea the insulin isn't so bad. I think if I had to take it before every meal then it would be a bit more troublesome. My doctor's office told me that most women they are treating for GD do not eat what they are supposed to eat and end up having to take tons of insulin and do it before every meal. I just can't figure out why as a pregnant woman, you would risk your baby by not eating what you should be eating.

There do seem to be some good options for us here, but trust me, they are hard to find! I have to do a lot of online research and also have to order food from an online website (netrition.com) that has the pasta, bread, snacks and stuff I need that are low carb.

I lived in Denmark for a while, so I understand that Scandinavia seems to be lacking in the low carb department. I know in Denmark everything is about carbs! They are in love with their potatoes and baked goods loaded with the stuff we can't eat. Hope you're doing ok with it though.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I had a good look in a big supermarket today in the UK and there isn't much to choose from here either...

I follow some low carbing pages on facebook and have got some really good recipes. In my last pregnancy I was happy to live on omlettes and 'snacky' meals of various low carb elements - this time for some reason I want a proper plate of food.

At present my numbers fasting are fine. Post breakfast and lunch I am OK too and can still eat quite filling things like soya and linseed bread and I can have a bit of fruit.

Evening meal though my body has given up by then. I am just eating meat and veggies or 'fake' pasta I.e strips of courgette and carrot with creamy and cheesy sauces and bacon. Hehe.

Thank god my body likes cheese and milk still!

 

[oneway]

My numbers look much better now that I am almost over my cold. I have to have a breakfast of two eggs and bread. That keeps my blood sugar stable all day. I have started having sugar free ice-cream in the evenings which feels so decadent but has not affected my numbers at all. The only problem is that it contains sugar alcohols so I get gassy afterwards

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I have yet ANOTHER cold and it is messing with my numbers *sigh*

 

[Amythyst]

Sorry to hear that!! I hope you feel better soon... how is it messing with your numbers? (just curious).

 

[Amythyst]

My numbers look much better now that I am almost over my cold. I have to have a breakfast of two eggs and bread. That keeps my blood sugar stable all day. I have started having sugar free ice-cream in the evenings which feels so decadent but has not affected my numbers at all. The only problem is that it contains sugar alcohols so I get gassy afterwards

I use Bryers Carb Smart ice cream which has mostly splenda in it and it is very tasty. I keep losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about having it... I miss sweets, so its nice.

I'm like always gassy... so, I'm not sure what I'm eating is doing it the most. I've been eating a lot of broccoli, asparagus, salads, sugar alcohols ...so it is probably a combo of everything!

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I wake up much higher than I would be normally and have to be really careful with what I eat until gone midday when it seems to go back to normal for me.

I also have a rumbling cold from my 2 little germ monster daughters so that doesn't help!

 

[oneway]

I am very tired all the time. I am not sure if it's because I am not eating enough. Is there any way of knowing if I am eating enough? My numbers are just under the recommended numbers but I don't know if it's because I am eating too little. Here's what I ate yesterday

Breakfast: decaf tea with splash of milk, two slices of wholegrain bread with cheese and 1 egg.

Lunch: One glass of whole milk, two slices of wholegrain bread and cheese, salad vegetables.

Early dinner: Portion of turkey, brown sauce, brussel sprouts, swede and potato mash, rice pudding made with sweetener, one almond cookie and blackberries. My reading was high after this meal.

Snack: cheese on crackers (4), small handful of peanuts and a few almonds.

Is this enough food in your opinion?

 

[AmeliePoulain]

That sounds like enough food to me.

In both my other pregnancies around 27-32 weeks was REALLY hard with exhaustion, just because the baby is growing so rapidly at that stage. I'd say my GD peaked around 32 weeks actually and then I was tired but got through to the end without it getting worse and worse.

Maybe try snacking more and smaller meals to keep you going?

In my second pregnancy I bought ketone testing strips to test my own urine to make sure I didn't have ketones which can suggest you aren't eating enough. I was paranoid after having issues with ketones in my first pregnancy when I was being too strict.

 

[oneway]

Thanks Amelie!

Good to know that your GD peaked at week 32. What happened after week 32? Did your numbers become easier to control? Did you deliver your baby full term or were you induced early? I have a C-section scheduled at 39+1. This is unrelated to the GD but I wonder if the baby will try to come earlier because of the GD.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

After 32 weeks my numbers seemed to stabilise and it didn't get harder and harder on a daily basis to control, my numbers didn't ever massively improve though.

I had DD1 at 39+3 - induction. DD2 was also an induction at 39+5.

 

[Amythyst]

Yea I think you're eating pretty well. I also recommend trying to snack a little more and maybe just having smaller meals. I'm guessing you spiked with your one meal because of the rice and possibly the blackberries. If you find your numbers are very close to where they are supposed to be or they start to creep up, I would maybe try cutting out the milk. I know here in the US the milk has a lot of sugar in it. I can't drink regular milk, but I use the Calorie Countdown milk that I mentioned in another post. Also they told me to make sure I'm having protein with every meal.

Mine has been getting easier to manage as time goes on. I think its cause I'm losing weight though. I have been a bad girl over the holiday though... I have been able to eat like one sugar cookie or small bites of real cake with real frosting on it. Its weird, cause the farther a long I get, it seems the more carbs I have to eat to keep my numbers over 100. After a big Christmas meal of steak, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, deviled eggs and carrots - my number was only 96.

I'm pleased and my doctor seems to think its ok that my numbers seem to be going down instead of up but they also said it was unusual.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I had a weird day yesterday. I was 7.1 pre dinner. Had a biggish meal of pork steaks, celeriac and cauliflower cheesy mash and then loads of veg - and was 4.9 an hour later...

I've had 3 highs in 7 days now. I am back at clinic on 9 January, they might want to medicate me I guess.

 

[oneway]

Good for you Amethyst! It's great that your numbers are doing well and that you feel well fed. I do ok with milk. I think the white rice in the pudding probably was too much for my body. I feel tired of feeling tired and hungry. I am going to call the hospital tomorrow and see if I need to get started on insulin. I have had high numbers after meals but my fasting and before meal numbers are well under control. I have a sinus infection so that could be a reason but I am tired of guessing.

Amelie, I wish you the best of luck! I think we might both feel better if we start insulin. My doctor has put me on quite strict numbers. Less than 5.5 fasting and not more than 7.0 2 hours post eating.

 

[AmeliePoulain]

When I was on 2 hour post food testing in my last pregnancy I had to be below 6!

My numbers are nowhere near high enough for insulin yet, I know that from experience, the diabetes team would try tablets first to just generally lower it a little over all.

 

[oneway]

Here in Norway they don't give out medicines as it crosses the placenta. The only option for me would be insulin as that does not cross the placenta. 6 is pretty strict! There is no way I could be less than 6 post meal unless I did not eat any carbs at all!

 

[Amythyst]

You ladies are talking over me! Apparently we don't use the same glucose numbers between the US and overseas. So, I'm not sure what your numbers mean.

My docs did tell me that sometimes even when you're eating great, your body still can't regulate the sugar properly. So yea, sometimes you need to do the insulin. Luckily, I only have to do it at night time to help my fasting numbers.

My high risk doctor uses Metformin to help treat GD which doesn't cross over and I was already taking anyways for PCOS. Not sure how much it is helping though.

I do feel tired all the time but I actually don't feel "hungry" all that often. Today I guess I didn't even think about it and didn't really eat a whole lot and I think I went about ohhhh 6-7 hours without eating and the only thing I had to eat before that was mostly protein: eggs, cheese, sausages ... so when I checked my sugar this evening it was 61! Never seen it that low before. And for comparison, anything under 60 is when you start having bad reactions to low sugar. I quickly ate a sugar cookie! Hehe! Brought me back up to 100 within an hour or so.

 

[oneway]

Amythyst, they use mmol/l here instead of mg/dl as they do in the US. I know it's confusing as I lived in the US before I moved here and am personally more used to the mg/dl. I think they have online calculators but there are not exact. A measurement of 7.0 is 126 in mg/dl according to this website: https://www.soc-bdr.org/rds/authors...version_glucose_mg_dl_to_mmol_l/index_en.html

I went to the doctor and it looks like I have a sinus infection. I called the endocrinologist's office and they thought that my numbers were all over the place and that could be the result of the infection I have. Today after dinner I had my highest reading ever, 8.8! They are not yet starting me on insulin as they believe my numbers before I fell ill are well under control.

I am so tired of this! I feel so low and stressed! I cannot wait for the rest of the pregnancy to be over. I really admire those of you who have another baby after GD!

 

[Amythyst]

Ugh that sucks! I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you get things to calm down and you feel better soon.

Thanks for the link, now I can translate ya'lls numbers... 8.8 eh? Well its not "horrible" ... was that 1 hour after you ate? Its over the 140 mark which what you're supposed to be under but its not terrible.

My nurse told me I will have spikes and not to feel pressure to ALWAYS have perfect numbers. I don't particularly like having GD - but I would do it again for another baby. I think it would be a different story if I couldn't control it with diet and I had to have insulin before every meal. That would drive me bonkers. Its bad enough with the night time dosage.

 

[oneway]

Thanks Amythyst! Sorry about the rant. It's so great that you are so positive about this. You really are an inspiration. I know this is just a short period of time but I guess I was really stressed and miserable because of the sinus infection when I posted. Yeah 8.8 is pretty high. They are going to call me from the hospital on Friday to discuss my numbers and maybe I could mention it then and see what they say. I have a growth scan scheduled on the 7th of January, next Wednesday. I cannot wait to see how my little boy is doing! I think I need to focus more on that and less on how miserable GD is making me feel!

Hope you all have a good evening!