Gestational Diabetes in pregnancy - NO MEDICAL ADVICE.

cbyrd · 08-08-2014 1:56pm #1

I think it might be good for anyone who develops this to have a support and information thread to go to rather than having to sift through other threads.
I have it this time (5th pregnancy) and while you get the basic information, there's nothing like being able to discuss it with the people who are actually going through it too.

lainycool · 08-08-2014 3:19pm

cbyrd wrote: »

I think it might be good for anyone who develops this to have a support and information thread to go to rather than having to sift through other threads.
I have it this time (5th pregnancy) and while you get the basic information, there's nothing like being able to discuss it with the people who are actually going through it too.

Great idea, We can have a little moan in here when we want something nice to eat :-)

user37 · 08-08-2014 3:27pm

A very good idea to set up this thread!
I'm worryed i have GD because i'd sugar in my urine at the hospital last week at 27 weeks. they said they will monitior it.
i am always craving sweets stuff though.
How did you know you had it ( obv apart from tests which i will prob get if my samples is the same next time).
Did you always crave sugar.....
What can you eat now.....
Sorry about all the questions!

Thanks

lainycool · 08-08-2014 3:33pm

user37 wrote: »

A very good idea to set up this thread!
I'm worryed i have GD because i'd sugar in my urine at the hospital last week at 27 weeks. they said they will monitior it.
i am always craving sweets stuff though.
How did you know you had it ( obv apart from tests which i will prob get if my samples is the same next time).
Did you always crave sugar.....
What can you eat now.....
Sorry about all the questions!

Thanks

You don't crave sugar when you have it, There is usually no symptoms and I didn't have any symptoms last time!

This time around I have been very tired and thirsty although I have a 14 month old at home so that probably has something to do with the tiredness!

I find protein keeps my levels nice and steady so try to have some at every meal.
Exercise brings down blood sugar levels too.

Hopefully you don't have it when they test you.

Karmella · 08-08-2014 3:35pm

Yes good idea cbyrd!

I WANT CAKE!!!!

No seriously though, I've been monitoring my bloods for 3 weeks now and they have not gone down at all really. Its so demotivating!!! I'm trying very hard to stick to the diet and its just not working out for me. The first week I actually wasn't too bad, only had a few blips over 5 or 7, but the second week I didn't have one reading that was under 6! This week was a little better, in that all my post meals were under 7, but didn't have any pre readings under 5. They were around 5.5 all week and then the last 2 days spiked up over 6 again.

I'm at a loss really at this stage, but am back in the hospital on Monday so will see what they say then.

I'm so sick of wholemeal bread ....

January · 08-08-2014 4:12pm

I know you all know it already but please remember the no medical advice rule.

cbyrd · 08-08-2014 5:48pm

I went to bed last night with a read of 4.6. Was quite happy with that, first read this morning was 5.1. :eek: I cried !! How did it go up overnight with a 12 hour fast???? My partner did one to calm me down and his was the same..that's some of the stuff I don't get.
So I went to the gym (1 hour 20 mins) and did another when I came back, down to 4.9, had my breakfast of 2 gluten free sausages, 2 rashers and a tomato, all grilled, 2 slices of brown soda bread, after an hour it was 5.2, my partners was 6.3. He doesn't have any problems, just trying to reassue me and that I'm not to be freaking out at every result. Because I'm very new to it I'm testing various stuff aswell just to check what sends my sugars into space. I have never been as freaked. Its not like me at all!! :eek::(

Karmella · 08-08-2014 6:31pm

cbyrd wrote: »

I went to bed last night with a read of 4.6. Was quite happy with that, first read this morning was 5.1. :eek: I cried !! How did it go up overnight with a 12 hour fast???? My partner did one to calm me down and his was the same..that's some of the stuff I don't get.
So I went to the gym (1 hour 20 mins) and did another when I came back, down to 4.9, had my breakfast of 2 gluten free sausages, 2 rashers and a tomato, all grilled, 2 slices of brown soda bread, after an hour it was 5.2, my partners was 6.3. He doesn't have any problems, just trying to reassue me and that I'm not to be freaking out at every result. Because I'm very new to it I'm testing various stuff aswell just to check what sends my sugars into space. I have never been as freaked. Its not like me at all!! :eek::(

I was freaking out last week too but now I'm just resigned to the fact that it doesn't seem to make any difference what I eat.

Also, I think they said that you should eat something before bed to keep it down? Because of the long gap between eating. I dunno it's all very confusing really.

madeinamerica · 08-08-2014 8:18pm

cbyrd wrote: »

I went to bed last night with a read of 4.6. Was quite happy with that, first read this morning was 5.1. :eek: I cried !! How did it go up overnight with a 12 hour fast???? My partner did one to calm me down and his was the same..that's some of the stuff I don't get.
So I went to the gym (1 hour 20 mins) and did another when I came back, down to 4.9, had my breakfast of 2 gluten free sausages, 2 rashers and a tomato, all grilled, 2 slices of brown soda bread, after an hour it was 5.2, my partners was 6.3. He doesn't have any problems, just trying to reassue me and that I'm not to be freaking out at every result. Because I'm very new to it I'm testing various stuff aswell just to check what sends my sugars into space. I have never been as freaked. Its not like me at all!! :eek::(

About having higher sugar levels in the morning: your body can make sugar from its own stores of glycogen in the liver and muscle. It does it when ur not eating and your sugar is low, like when you sleep. If your insulin isn't working right, as in GD, that self-made sugar can just build up in your blood too.

dustie1 · 08-08-2014 9:53pm

Hi all,
I had GD in my pregnancy (LO is 10wks now) and I started on diet only but then progressed to insulin at night and in the morning due to issued with fasting sugars. It was soo frustrating at first as I couldnt figure out why I got certain readings. For example tea and brown toast would give me an 8 after an hour, while a fry up with rashers, sausage, tea and white toast would give a 5. I suppose its different for everyone but I found carbs were the killer for me. But if there was protein in the meal it was ok. So toast alone was a no-no.. but toasted ham sandwich was grand. ???!!! Once I worked this out I was less frustrated and it got easier. So maybe keep a log and experiment a little to understand what's going on.

In some ways it was a lot easier once I was put on the insulin as nothing I ate/didnt eat would bring the morning reading under 5. And as it was up, breakfast was a nightmare.. I was on half a slice of wholemeal bread before the insulin and absolutely starving for the morning. So if you need insulin dont feel like a failure... I was initially upset but once on it things got much better and I could get healthy but normally again. Also sugars have been great since I had the baby.. even after a carb feast.

gctest50 · 08-08-2014 10:25pm

dustie1 wrote: »

....... So maybe keep a log and experiment a little to understand what's going on........

heres one you can print out - help you keep track of it

http://www.cypressnj.com/CHI_Blood_Sugar_Log.pdf

loads of apps / online glucose diarys out there

http://www.glucosebuddy.com/

.

Karmella · 09-08-2014 7:37am

A nice website to look at is gestationaldiabetesrecipes.com It's Australian but still some nice ideas on it and she also explains about the different types of carbs etc.

cbyrd · 11-08-2014 10:31am

So, I'm managing the bloods okay.. 2 high reads in 4 days.. the first was 7.3 and the second was 8.4. The 8.4 was after a small piece of cake that my eldest daughter had made and because it was her first attempt at chocolate sponge cake and I have to say it was yum!! Funny thing is at 1 hour it was 8.4 and ten minutes later it 6.8.. surely for a high read it would stay high for longer.?? I'm just curious does this happen to everyone? I'm not doing anything different except I have to leave longer between my meals, which is a pain in the hole cos then I'm cranky.. I was told to eat 3 bigger meals in a day and 2 small snacks, like fruit or a yogurt, my snacks used to be a thin slice or 2 of brown bread and either some tomato or honey... so I've cut these out cos they're too big.. ( a fruit portion being 4 or 5 grapes or strawberries)
I don't eat breakfast before I go to the gym, for obvious reasons, I never could.. The timeline is usually like this,

8.30am : get up and get breakfast for the kids and tidy up
9.30/45am : head for the gym
12pm : home
Then I'll have breakfast/lunch ..

So on my gym days I'm missing out on one of the 3 meals a day unless I have my 3rd meal at 10pm at night and then do my bedtime bloods at 2am :eek:
Maybe I'm being to pedantic about it but given what I was told this is following the directions!!
I'm happy enough with my bloods as they're between 3.8 and 6.8 (before and after)
I go 3 mornings a week to the gym and I'm dreading going in to the clinic next week and getting into trouble

I feel like an idiot sometimes cos I'm just not sure.

Karmella · 11-08-2014 11:17am

Sounds like you are doing very well cbyrd - way better than me anyway

The only thing I might say is that it might be a good idea to eat something before you go to the gym though - noon seems very late to be eating the first meal of the day. Doesn't have to be anything huge, very small bowl of cereal or porridge or a slice of wholemeal bread.

But I'm no expert - My pre breakfast reading this morning was 7.7 and it was 7.0 2 hours after. Not good!

During the week I'm really eating and snacking healthily and I still haven't had a reading below 5 in 2 weeks. I do find it hard to organise myself to eat proper meal/snacks at the weekends then though.

I sometimes end up skipping a few of the readings because they are essentially at the same time ... like I might eat my dinner at 8 pm and then take the 2 hr reading at 10 and sure then I'm going to bed so I don't see the point in taking another reading. Yesterday I had lunch at 3 and then went to a friends house for dinner and again the 2 hrs post-meal and the pre-meal were around the same time, so I didn't bother with the pre-meal one.

I'm in the clinic today so no doubt I'll get a telling off and they may look into tablets or insulin. Although I've only had 2 readings over 8 in the 3 weeks I've been testing so I don't know if its all that bad really. Its all my pre-meal readings which are catching me out. But I really don't see what else I can do.

I'm rightly pee'd off at the cost of the testing strips aswell - 35 euro a week is a cost I could really do without right now. I'm 34 weeks today, so if that means another 6 weeks of testing its really going to add up. :mad

Although this baby is so huge (was measuring nearly 5lb 3 weeks ago) that I'll be very surprised if I go full term. My last baby came a week early.

cbyrd · 11-08-2014 11:42am

I have to test 1 hour after eating.. sometimes though I do my pre-meal test and by the time i actually sit and eat it could be 20 minutes.. so I'm confused whether to test 1 hour from the first test or from when i actually start eating..

It's down to having 4 kids and getting everyone sorted..
Going to the gym I would maybe have a piece of fruit or a soya yogurt but then
I don't know whether that could count as breakfast and i'd have to test at the gym... see... confusion... that's why I leave it til I come home.. I would find it very difficult to exercise with food in my belly at the moment..my portion sizes were never huge anyway but at the moment I can eat half my dinner and then an hour later eat the other half..

that's why I'm all fecked up... My dinner plate is a side plate size .. that's the tough bit I have.. when I was told to make my meals bigger I explained I can't physically fit it in.. I was told 'well you'll just have to!!' :eek: Aaahhhhhh feck off !!! :rolleyes:

lainycool · 11-08-2014 11:50am

cbyrd wrote: »

I have to test 1 hour after eating.. sometimes though I do my pre-meal test and by the time i actually sit and eat it could be 20 minutes.. so I'm confused whether to test 1 hour from the first test or from when i actually start eating.. It's down to having 4 kids and getting everyone sorted..
Going to the gym I would maybe have a piece of fruit or a soya yogurt but then
I don't know whether that could count as breakfast and i'd have to test at the gym... see... confusion... that's why I leave it til I come home.. I would find it very difficult to exercise with food in my belly at the moment..my portion sizes were never huge anyway but at the moment I can eat half my dinner and then an hour later eat the other half.. that's why I'm all fecked up... My dinner plate is a side plate size .. that's the tough bit I have.. when I was told to make my meals bigger I explained I can't physically fit it in.. I was told 'well you'll just have to!!' :eek: Aaahhhhhh feck off !!! :rolleyes:

It's amazing how the advice changes from different dieticians, My dietician in the hospital says you're better off eating smaller meals throughout the day as this keeps your levels stable!

I know if I leave long periods between meals my levels will shoot up an hour after eating!

I would check your levels an hour after the fruit though as that would be considered your breakfast!

My levels are mostly ok except the fasting one, I'm back at clinic next week and I'd imagine they'll put me on to meds.

lainycool · 11-08-2014 11:51am

Karmella wrote: »

Sounds like you are doing very well cbyrd - way better than me anyway The only thing I might say is that it might be a good idea to eat something before you go to the gym though - noon seems very late to be eating the first meal of the day. Doesn't have to be anything huge, very small bowl of cereal or porridge or a slice of wholemeal bread.

But I'm no expert - My pre breakfast reading this morning was 7.7 and it was 7.0 2 hours after. Not good!

During the week I'm really eating and snacking healthily and I still haven't had a reading below 5 in 2 weeks. I do find it hard to organise myself to eat proper meal/snacks at the weekends then though.

I sometimes end up skipping a few of the readings because they are essentially at the same time ... like I might eat my dinner at 8 pm and then take the 2 hr reading at 10 and sure then I'm going to bed so I don't see the point in taking another reading. Yesterday I had lunch at 3 and then went to a friends house for dinner and again the 2 hrs post-meal and the pre-meal were around the same time, so I didn't bother with the pre-meal one.

I'm in the clinic today so no doubt I'll get a telling off and they may look into tablets or insulin. Although I've only had 2 readings over 8 in the 3 weeks I've been testing so I don't know if its all that bad really. Its all my pre-meal readings which are catching me out. But I really don't see what else I can do.

I'm rightly pee'd off at the cost of the testing strips aswell - 35 euro a week is a cost I could really do without right now. I'm 34 weeks today, so if that means another 6 weeks of testing its really going to add up. :mad

Although this baby is so huge (was measuring nearly 5lb 3 weeks ago) that I'll be very surprised if I go full term. My last baby came a week early.

Did you not qualify for a long term illness card?

Karmella · 11-08-2014 12:12pm

lainycool wrote: »

Did you not qualify for a long term illness card?

Nope don't think so - they don't count gestational diabetes as a long term illness as its only temporary (fingers crossed!). I think I can apply for the drug payment scheme ... do you have to be spending 120 euro a month or something? But then I don't know if that's supposed to be a long term thing aswell. And I'm probably caught because I got the first lot in july and if it goes by calendar month I won't have spent enough in july to claim, will definitely go over it in august alright though, and then again in September it won't be enough either?

Dunno. I'm extremely clueless about all the schemes available, or how to apply for them. (Not gloating but thankfully I very rarely get sick and my 3.5 yr old has only been to the doctor twice) All I know is that the nurse asked me day one if I had a medical card and I said no and she gave me a 'oh dear' look and gave me a couple extra boxes of strips. I nearly fell over in the pharmacy when I got the first lot myself.

cbyrd · 11-08-2014 12:16pm

The fruit would be snack size portion.. like a plum or an apple.. sometimes though I wouldn't bother cos it repeats on me :rolleyes: I know I have hypo's sometimes.. I can't do the 3 meals a day.. but then I can't test right.. so therein lies my dilemma ..
My morning levels are usually in around 4.4 -4.8 .. and before meals .. after meals i'm usually 6.2 to 6.9, gym days these would be lower (5.2 ish) so the exercise obviously helps to keep them low..
The last pregnancy my results in the gtt were higher than this time and I was told I'd be grand but just to give up dairy as this pushes up my sugar levels (intolerant) This time they said to me, ' Dairy doesn't affect blood glucose .. but, it might raise the stress hormones cos the body is trying to deal with processing the dairy....' WTF ???? is this not the same thing??
On a side note, my last baby was 6 lbs 8ozs.. I was told I should have been on a GD diet ....

Karmella · 11-08-2014 12:16pm

lainycool wrote: »

It's amazing how the advice changes from different dieticians, My dietician in the hospital says you're better off eating smaller meals throughout the day as this keeps your levels stable!

I know if I leave long periods between meals my levels will shoot up an hour after eating!

I would check your levels an hour after the fruit though as that would be considered your breakfast!

My levels are mostly ok except the fasting one, I'm back at clinic next week and I'd imagine they'll put me on to meds.

Yep my dietition said the same - eat small meals and snacks and eat very regularly - like every 3 hours.

Generally I've been testing 2 hrs after I finish eating, and I take the pre meal reading just before I start to eat. The one that confuses me (and I'm going to ask about it today) is the pre bed one. Are we supposed to take it before or after the bedtime snack?

cbyrd · 11-08-2014 12:26pm

Maybe it's a conspiracy to sell more drugs :eek::pac::pac:

lainycool · 11-08-2014 1:11pm

Karmella wrote: »

Nope don't think so - they don't count gestational diabetes as a long term illness as its only temporary (fingers crossed!). I think I can apply for the drug payment scheme ... do you have to be spending 120 euro a month or something? But then I don't know if that's supposed to be a long term thing aswell. And I'm probably caught because I got the first lot in july and if it goes by calendar month I won't have spent enough in july to claim, will definitely go over it in august alright though, and then again in September it won't be enough either?

Dunno. I'm extremely clueless about all the schemes available, or how to apply for them. (Not gloating but thankfully I very rarely get sick and my 3.5 yr old has only been to the doctor twice) All I know is that the nurse asked me day one if I had a medical card and I said no and she gave me a 'oh dear' look and gave me a couple extra boxes of strips. I nearly fell over in the pharmacy when I got the first lot myself.

What hospital are you with?
I don't have to pay for any of my items for gestational diabetes! They give out the forms in the coombe to apply for the card, I was lucky I still had it from my pregnancy last year!

lainycool · 11-08-2014 1:18pm

cbyrd wrote: »

The fruit would be snack size portion.. like a plum or an apple.. sometimes though I wouldn't bother cos it repeats on me :rolleyes: I know I have hypo's sometimes.. I can't do the 3 meals a day.. but then I can't test right.. so therein lies my dilemma ..
My morning levels are usually in around 4.4 -4.8 .. and before meals .. after meals i'm usually 6.2 to 6.9, gym days these would be lower (5.2 ish) so the exercise obviously helps to keep them low..
The last pregnancy my results in the gtt were higher than this time and I was told I'd be grand but just to give up dairy as this pushes up my sugar levels (intolerant) This time they said to me, ' Dairy doesn't affect blood glucose .. but, it might raise the stress hormones cos the body is trying to deal with processing the dairy....' WTF ???? is this not the same thing??
On a side note, my last baby was 6 lbs 8ozs.. I was told I should have been on a GD diet ....

Our nurse said say for example you only had a cup of tea with milk in it for breakfast you would have to test 1 hour after as it has the milk in there.

I think the lactose in dairy would affect sugar levels if you were eating enough of it, In the coombe they recommend all low fat dairy stuff but I stick to my full fat as I don't like all the sweeteners they put in the low fat.

Karmella · 11-08-2014 1:24pm

lainycool wrote: »

What hospital are you with?
I don't have to pay for any of my items for gestational diabetes! They give out the forms in the coombe to apply for the card, I was lucky I still had it from my pregnancy last year!

The public system in Cork. I've been to 2 different pharmacies since to collect the strips and both have pretty much said that the drug payment scheme is my only option. Maybe I'll be able to claim something back on a MED1.

lainycool · 11-08-2014 1:30pm

Karmella wrote: »

The public system in Cork. I've been to 2 different pharmacies since to collect the strips and both have pretty much said that the drug payment scheme is my only option. Maybe I'll be able to claim something back on a MED1.

Yes you will!
It's probably worth mentioning to your doctor the next time though, Every woman that's diagnosed with gestational diabetes gets this form (That's not to say that all women will be approved) in the coombe. I'd say it's a pain having to fork out that money every month!

At least there isn't too much longer to go :-)

orchidsrpretty · 11-08-2014 1:35pm

Karmella wrote: »

Nope don't think so - they don't count gestational diabetes as a long term illness as its only temporary (fingers crossed!). I think I can apply for the drug payment scheme ... do you have to be spending 120 euro a month or something? But then I don't know if that's supposed to be a long term thing aswell. And I'm probably caught because I got the first lot in july and if it goes by calendar month I won't have spent enough in july to claim, will definitely go over it in august alright though, and then again in September it won't be enough either?

Dunno. I'm extremely clueless about all the schemes available, or how to apply for them. (Not gloating but thankfully I very rarely get sick and my 3.5 yr old has only been to the doctor twice) All I know is that the nurse asked me day one if I had a medical card and I said no and she gave me a 'oh dear' look and gave me a couple extra boxes of strips. I nearly fell over in the pharmacy when I got the first lot myself.

The drug payment scheme only kicks in after 145e per month, so unless you are on other meds, it won't be enough to qualify. Its still worth signing up for the card though if you haven't already.

madeinamerica · 11-08-2014 3:10pm

Wow I'm really surprised that the strips aren't covered, that's pretty bad alright.

mirrorwall14 · 11-08-2014 8:56pm

Any chance any of the strips on amazon match your reader? I know I get my saline rinse sachets on there because they're way cheaper than the pharmacies here

Karmella · 11-08-2014 9:28pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Any chance any of the strips on amazon match your reader? I know I get my saline rinse sachets on there because they're way cheaper than the pharmacies here

Didn't think of that option! On amazon they look about the same price unfortunately.

I was in the pharmacy today picking up another lot of them and the pharmacist thinks that they might be covered by the long term illness after all, she's checking it out and will ring me when she knows more.

I've been prescribed tablets to take for 2 weeks and if they don't bring down the readings they'll go the insulin route. At least I can stop feeling guilty now!

Karmella · 12-08-2014 9:02am

4.6 this morning .... woo hoo!! And I hadn't even started taking the tablets yet.

First reading below 5 in 2 weeks.

lainycool · 12-08-2014 9:52am

Karmella wrote: »

4.6 this morning .... woo hoo!! And I hadn't even started taking the tablets yet.

First reading below 5 in 2 weeks.

Great stuff well done!
I had a 4.9 this morning which is good for me :-)

Gestational Diabetes in pregnancy - NO MEDICAL ADVICE.

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