Gestational Diabetes....

[cillybean83]

I've been diagnosed and I test 4 times a day now. My numbers are consistantly high even though I'm controlling my diet (except for the small piece of cake I had at my baby shower... )

It might sound weird but I would like for my doctor to give me insulin. I have no fear of needles and I was told that insulin will make things all good....I don't understand that with there only being 11 weeks left to my pregnancy, why they are putzing around with "control your diet and come back in 2 weeks, then we'll give you medicine for 2 weeks, then if that doesn't work, we'll give you insulin"

I feel like they are wasting valuable time, if I could end up on insulin ANYWAY...why not just start it now and control the situation?

 

[letia659]

with GD they want to see if you can control it with diet first as thats the best way because either way you have to change your diet so you need to get used to the changed diet before starting the insulin they do this with normal diabetics also...I am only borderline GD and am keeping it under control with diet but I never want to be on insulin no reason to give myself a shot if cutting out the sugar and carbs will do the trick...basically they want to see what a good diet will do for you and see how your numbers look for that two weeks...what kind of medicine was they going to give you for 2 weeks? I was told if diet didnt control it they would go straight to insulin...I hope it works out for you and if you think your numbers are to high just call them and let them know they may have you come in to be looked at and get you on insulin quicker...

 

[cillybean83]

they told me if diet doesn't control it after 2 weeks, i'll go on glucophage for 2 weeks, then move on to insulin. I guess i'm just scared that time is being wasted you know? I'm watching my diet closely but i also just had a root canal and was told that the pain and meds could mess with my sugars...which were 203 a few minutes ago now i'm chugging water and bouncing around to try to bring it down....ugh!

 

[pennysbored]

I've just started my low carb, high fiber diet. Its kinda sucky, but not as bad as you think. I am checking my sugars 7 times daily. And it seems to be working, actually. I'm either hitting or barely missing my goals.
I'm a bit of a junk food addict, and the way I am trying to look at this is a) in Canada, unless you have prescription coverage you are paying for this stuff out of pocket. Its not proving to be cheap, especially right before Christmas AND a new baby. b) my lifestyle is crap. I need to change it, and although I won't have to be as strict when I am done, I need to change my habits.
As far as insulin goes, I'm not scared of needles either, and I've also heard that insulin definitely makes it easier, I'm looking forward to learning to make better choices. Its kind of a heads up for the future, and I don't want to take that lightly.
It does suck though. But we live in a time where there are lots of different options for healthy, yummy choices, imagine if it was 10 years ago!
Try to see the upside of it.

 

[letia659]

they told me if diet doesn't control it after 2 weeks, i'll go on glucophage for 2 weeks, then move on to insulin. I guess i'm just scared that time is being wasted you know? I'm watching my diet closely but i also just had a root canal and was told that the pain and meds could mess with my sugars...which were 203 a few minutes ago now i'm chugging water and bouncing around to try to bring it down....ugh!

they didnt offer glucophage to me but probably because I have been on it before and refuse to take it due to the side effects...Im sure you can ask to go straight to insulin...and I was told to get in touch with my Dr if my numbers were running as high as what you are saying yours is running so Id give my Dr a call tomorrow if I were you my numbers havent been over 150 the whole time except for one that was in the 200s and my dr said that was what he was concerned about..Ill tell you if you havent been on glucophage before you will probably hate it so Id ask the Dr to skip that step and see what he says...

 

[cillybean83]

I have PCOS so I've been on metformin for years...I quit taking it at 12 weeks. I'm sure the side effects for glucophage are no better than those for metformin....fun fun! lol

 

[letia659]

I have PCOS too so thats why I was on it too but I just couldnt stand the side effects I did take it for about 2 years before going off of it but I dont know why they would put you back on it instead of going to insulin because my Dr knows I was on it but never mentioned putting me back on it for the GD and Ive heard that insulin is much better treatment for GD as they know there is no harm to the baby and thats not a for sure thing with glucophage or so Ive read and heard.

 

[channy3232]

I had GD and ended up on insulin. They put me straight away on insulin after the diet wasn't working that well. It was ok. My fasting sugars in the morning were high. They wanted them to be under 90 and they were always around 100, which generally speaking, is NOT a high blood sugar. So they put me on a low dose of insulin, I think like 10 units. I would think if you told your doctor you wanted to go right to insulin, they would do it. They would probably start you on a low dose and adjust if needed. I would just tell them. Like you said, if you will probably end up on it anyway, I can't imagine they would tell you no!!

 

[cillybean83]

my fasting blood sugars have been between 130-150....not good

 

[Phexia]

If your fasting sugars are that high I'm surprised they don't put you on insulin straight away. My doc doesn't bother with glucophage (I have PCOS too) and when I got GD at 14 weeks I was put on insulin straight away. They didn't bother with trying the diet first because I was on it anyway and I needed insulin last time I was pregnant. Seems strange to me to wait all this time with your sugars too high

 

[channy3232]

Wow, yeah I'm surprised they don't put you on insulin too. Like I said, mine were like 100 in the mornings and I went in for a regular appointment and my doctor was like um,yeah we're putting you on insulin, go down and see the nurse and she'll show you how to inject it. It was a little shocking cause I wasn't expecting it.
I would go in there and tell them you want to be put on insulin. Tell them you've thought about it and don't want your baby getting too big. I credit the insulin with my boy only being 8lb 5oz when they told me he could be pushing 10lbs! He was 23 1/4 long too so that helped stretch him out so he wasn't chubby. lol

 

[Baby2ontheway]

I've been diagnosed and I test 4 times a day now. My numbers are consistantly high even though I'm controlling my diet (except for the small piece of cake I had at my baby shower... )

It might sound weird but I would like for my doctor to give me insulin. I have no fear of needles and I was told that insulin will make things all good....I don't understand that with there only being 11 weeks left to my pregnancy, why they are putzing around with "control your diet and come back in 2 weeks, then we'll give you medicine for 2 weeks, then if that doesn't work, we'll give you insulin"

I feel like they are wasting valuable time, if I could end up on insulin ANYWAY...why not just start it now and control the situation?

Diet is the best way to control it....but it didnt work for me no matter what I did...so I am now on insulin and it is undercontrol. I still watch what I eat and I am on my pregnancy diet but the insulin really helped me out. Good Luck hun and talk to your doctor if you feel as tho diet is not enough for you and express your concerns.

 

[rachelrhin0]

I haven't read the other replies yet, but did your doctor not tell you to eat a low carb diet (15 for breakfast, 15 for all snacks (one inbetween each meal) and 45 for lunch and dinner) AND exercise at least 15 mins after each meal making sure to increase your heart rate? I did this in my last pregnancy and it kept my BS on the lower end. The exercising helps to lower your BS levels.

 

[letia659]

with fasting numbers like that I would be calling my Dr and letting them know they need to do something asap...the longer they let it go the bigger your baby will be and that cant be good for you either...

 

[pennysbored]

Does anyone know why GD sugar level goals and regular diabetes goals are different?

 

[cillybean83]

I called and they were really like "we'll discuss it at your next appt...have you made your October payment yet?" I'm like....I have until the 31st to make my payment, which has never been late...and thanks for the concern...

assholes

 

[Phexia]

Does anyone know why GD sugar level goals and regular diabetes goals are different?

It's more strict with GD because of the baby.

 

[cupcake]

what aspects of your diet are you watching, aside from regular sugar in cakes candy and sodas you gotta be careful with fruit, fruit juice, and carbs. could this be why your levels are high. 150 is very high for a fasting sugar. I had GD last pregnancy but my diet controlled it well, DH is diabetic so he was very strict with me and that really helped.

 

[pennysbored]

Does anyone know why GD sugar level goals and regular diabetes goals are different?

It's more strict with GD because of the baby.

But why? What are the extra concerns?

 

[cillybean83]

I cut out "sweets"...pretty much anything that tastes sweet is gone...including juice. I drink just enough milk for the baby to get the calcium and other than that I drink water.

I'm really careful about how much fruit I eat, one small apple, 1/2 of a banana, a handfull of grapes, etc

I'm careful about what veggies i eat...i'm trying to stay away from potatoes of course, and corn, and even carrots

Instead of eating sandwiches on bread, i'm eating them on lettuce leaves, for snacks I eat a bit of peanut butter on high fiber crackers (6 =15 carbs), I eat string cheese, nuts, etc...i cut out pasta entirely...I've been eating a lot of grilled chicken...i'm basically following an atkin's like diet, very low carb

I think my system is totally jacked up...i called back to speak with a different nurse and she said I should consider losing weight, not after the baby is born, but now...she told me to eat 1500 calories a day and drop 15 pounds, then the diabetes will go away....i'm overweight but i don't know about dieting while in the 3rd trimester