So I'm 33 weeks pregnand and was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes today. this is my third pregnancy and i've never had it before. I know alot about diabetes but not much about it during pregnancy.

I had refused the test awhile back and they made me do it today...nurse called and said after the glucose screening my blood levels came back at 190..which is so high that they skip the 3 hour glucose test and just diagnosed me with GD.

I just wondering any tips on how to mange it, how many times you check your sugar, etc...is it as bad as they make it seem?

My baby at 28 weeks was measuring big so we'll see on my u/s on thursday if he's even bigger.

I see a doctor to talk about all of this tomorrow, but the nurse said i may need insulin shots b/c i'm not allowed to exercise due to being on bedrest for preterm labor.

Any experinces would be great! THanks....I know there was a thread about it....somewhere?

just here to give hugs hon.

No real advice, just some

Hey hun....just thought I would drop a few words of advice for you...I was diagnosed with GD very, very early in my pregnancy...at 16 wks! (dr was concerned b/c of my weight and family history so she had me screened early on). It can be very trying at times, but all in all, it's not too difficult to deal with. Unfortunately I cannot keep my sugars at a good/normal level with diet and exercise alone so I have been taking insulin for about a month and a half now. THAT was scary the first few times, but now it's nothing to worry about! I'm to be checking my sugars 4 times a day....first thing in the morning and then after every meal. I also have to take insulin 4 times a day...before every meal and then at bedtime. The only thing that I've found to be a small hassle at times is checking the blood sugars. There are times when I forget, or I'm out grocery shopping or running erands so it just doesn't get done. But my diabetes consultant isn't too worried about that - as long as my numbers are good MOST of the time. They keep on telling me, that if I can control my sugars, the baby never really has to know that I have GD! lol.... I try, really I do.
My advice to you is to make sure you eat as much protein as possible with every meal (cheese is my saviour! lol), as it helps your body get rid of the sugars faster AND to try and take a quick walk after eating meals (even a quick 5 or 10 minute walk around the block will help you!)
Good luck! and remember that this is only temporary!
(If you have any questions just let me know and I will try to answer my best!)



Sorry for the novel above....just couldn't stop typing!

**Just read the bit about you being on bedrest...so ignore my comment on the walking, but eat lots of protein! lol **

WTF???? What else can possibly happen to you? I think we should just put you in a sealed plastic bubble until the LO comes

On a serious note: maybe if you get the GD under control it might help with your other probs...
Good Luck!

im getting tested for it friday .. kind of nervous but dont really think i have it .. or at least hope not. hope all goes well with your pregnancy!!

Here's a possible hidden blessing: if the baby is measuring big, maybe it won't be quite so difficult if he's born early.

Hang in there, hon. Remember why you're doing all of it and what a great reward you'll get when it's all over.

Huge hugs!

Yah, there's a thread called the "Gestational Diabetes Support Thread" kicking about if you search it. It is such a common diagnosis, perhaps it should be stickied or something???

I kind of dumped all my knowledge and experience onto that thread, so I'll let you read it there. My diet was fine and I still got it, so I have been doing the insulin injections for about 6 or 7 weeks now. At first it was HORRIBLE - I was so scared to inject myself. Really, though, it was a mental block - the actual injection hurts about the same (or less) than a mosquito bite - but it's not itchy after! (sometimes you may not feel it at all!)

I check my blood sugar 7 times a day - before and after every meal, and then again before bed. I have to have 3 meals and 3 snacks spaced precisely apart (breakfast, 7am, snack @10:30, Lunch at 12:30, snack@3:30, Dinner @7, bedtime snack @10:30)

I find I am super affected by any changes in these times - and have been known to get hypoglycemic (shaky, sweats, very low blood sugar) if I differ from these times too much.

The biggest pain for me is that - having to eat on schedule - and inject/check bloods on schedule. Makes making plans with friends and eating out a pain.

The nice thing about being on the insulin is that I am much more free to eat normally. When I was trying to control it with diet (they only let me do that for a week - I was peeing out ketones - aka burning fat and not using blood sugar for energy - the whole time), I was only able to eat 15 g of carbs with every meal. Now I usually have about 45g of carbs, so I am a lot less hungry, and have waaaay more freedom! I also discovered that if I up my injection of my fast acting insulin (I inject 5 times a day - am and pm long acting insulin, and then fast acting insulin before each meal) by a bit before stuff like my baby shower, I can even have a piece of cake

For me, it wasn't horrible, and my baby is actually measuring slightly small (didn't realize that small babies are just as likely with GD as big ones!), and she has no idea what I am going through.

I find that yoghurt (and frozen berries!) and little 100 calorie chocolate bars are my happy foods. Definitely brainstorm with your doctor all the high protein snacks you can come up with.

Oh, and if walking doesn't work, try swimming. I have really bad hip pain too, and this is the only thing I can do!

Good luck! Let me know if you need anything!


A

i have put off having the test 2times i'm 29 weeks n baby is 32cm. does anyone know what will happen if you dont get tested?