Gestational Diabetes confirmed...Please share your stories!

Hi,
Last week it was confirmed that I have Gestational diabetes. Everything else looks great "Baby Luke" is just bigger then they want him to be right at 4 lbs now.
I was wondering for the ones of you that has had it could you share your success stories?
Did you go to deliver full term?

Thanks & Everyone Take Care

 

I don't have any personal stories, but I had a friend with GD. She was huge toward the end, then she had him 2.5 weeks early...no induction, just went into labor on her own. And in spite of the fact that they measured him to be around 8lbs according to u/s even that early, he was in the lower 6lb range... So theoretically he still would've been in a normal range had she gone a few more weeks...maybe upper 7s or lower 8lb range. She was fine after delivery and so was he.

 

Thank you for the response

 

I had GD with my first (only for the last 2 weeks) and then absolutely had it with my twins. Both times it was diet controlled. I am just planning on it this time as well and am already eating the diet(since about 21 weeks) and testing my sugars 4 times a day. I will be tested for it on Friday. With my first I was induced at 37 weeks (not related to GD) and he was 8 pounds 4 ounces and my twins came on their own at 35w6d (they were 6.5 pounds and 6.11 pounds). None of them had any problems and neither did I before or after birth. My kids were big, but we are big people too. I am 6' and my husband is 6'6", so we just plan on it-lol! I haven't had a negative experience with the GD and I hope yours will be the same! GL and if you have any questions, please just let me know

 

I always test on the high end of normal at my 28 week appointment, but I'm beginning to think I develop GB toward the end of my pregnancies. I'm 5'2" and my most recent baby ended up being 10lbs 11oz. I hope some more people reply as I am interested in hearing more. I went into labor with her at 39w6d. The two before the twins were 9lbs plus and also came right around my due date see my siggy.

Rachel,

Could you share a little bit about the diet?

Thanks.

 

I try and keep the diet simple on myself and I eat bascially the same things every day. The biggest thing is to just cut the carbs. I still have some, but not many. This is what I eat on a typical day. Sorry if this is long!

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs or an omelet with cheese and tomatoes. (I like mine really plain, but you can add any veggies or meat and even some salsa and sour cream-yum!) and then a low carb yogurt. I keep a big pitcher of Crystal Light in my fridge at all times, so that if I feel like having some 'juice' I can just have some of that anytime of the day I want!

Lunch: I have a turkey sandwich with some cottage cheese and either some strawberries or a chocolate sugar free pudding (or two on days that I NEED my chocolate-lol). I do heat up my turkey in the microwave for about 30 seconds to get it steaming-just in case. I buy Sara Lee Delightful bread, which has half the calories and half the carbs. It is really soft bread and you don't even know that it is low-carb. My dh has no problems with it and he usually won't eat anything low-carb! I also have a sugar free jam and peanut butter sandwich on occasion. I think apricot jam is one of the better tasting sugar free options for jam.

Snack: I really don't have an appetite this pregnancy, so I only have a snack here and there. If I do, I have a yogurt, string cheese, almonds, cashews, or even a Nature Valley peanut butter bar. Usually something that is about 20g carbs or less, you can get away with. I also love to make homemade ranch dressing and love to dip raw zucchini in it as well.

Dinner: Usually some kind of meat. My dh grills some chicken for me at the beginning of the week and then it is already for me as the week goes on. I will use it in a salad sometimes, or just eat it with some corn or beans. Really simple. Also when we make a roast, hamburgers or pulled pork or something similar, I just don't eat the bun and I am finding that even a little bbq sauce is not effecting my sugars either. Sometimes I will toast the Sara Lee bread for my bun. We went out to a bbq place and I had ribs and my sugar was great! I try and keep it simple, but I also try to mix it up so I don't get too bored.

Nightime snack: Ok, this is my absolute FAVORITE treat. I seriously eat some every day and I never gain weight or anything on it. It does nothing to my blood sugar and I LOVE it. It is Breyer's Carb Smart ice cream. I am one who thinks that ice cream should be the 5th food group-lol. I love it and this makes staying good worth it at the end of the day! I just make myself a bowl of the vanilla and chocolate flavors and savor it after the kids have gone to bed, hehe. It's fabulous!

I hope that helps to give you an idea. This diet just works for me. My sugars have been in the 90's-low 100's while eating this way. My dr wants me to check 2 hours after meals and when I get up in the morning. After meals are supposed to be under 140. I do wait 2 hours to eat again after a meal, even if it is just a snack. Also, since I have been doing this, I have lost a pound and a half even though the baby is growing great and getting lots of protein! Let me know if you have any questions! Hope it helps

 

Thanks for sharing your stories & Rachel for the type diet you are on.
I think that's the hardest not knowing what to eat or not eat because the Dr didn't really tell me anything except not to eat carbs!

 

Thanks Rachel! I appreciate you taking the time to type up your GD diet. I think I'll definitely have to do a better job with breads. That was my weakness. It was just so easy to make toast when I was hungry. I'm sad though, I'm latose intolerant and your ice cream sounds so yummy!

 

You guys are welcome! I hope that helps to give some ideas of what to eat. I just found out that I passed my 1-hour! So no GD this time, but I am still following the diet since I don't feel nauseous on it-lol .

 

Rachel,
Glad you passed this time!
I have another ? did you have to take any meds when you had GD?
I researched the med they want me to take and on some of the sites it says not to take it?
I have an appt with the High Risk Dr on Friday to talk more and to see how everything is going.

 

Nadana,
I didn't have to take any meds when I had GD so I wish I could be more help! With the twins, I had to be SUPER strict and even had a hard time eating the low carb things sometimes. I was really close to being on meds. My levels for my 1 hour and my 3 hour were awful with the twins that they thought for sure I would be on meds from the start. We were all shocked that I was able to keep it under control. I know that I figured out the different times of day when my sugars were super sensitive (morning and the evening with the twins) and I had a little portion of the afternoon were I could actually have something low-carb. What meds did they suggest?

 

Rachel,
The regular ob prescribed glyburide 2.5 mg x's a day. I haven't taken any yet because of all the stuff I have read on the internet and I've been testing my blood sugar for the past 5 days and one time it reached 140 but, all the others it's been running 99,111,120. I've just really started watching everything I eat and stopped drinking all the oj and sugar lemonaide that i use to be drinking.
I'll just be really glad for tomorrow to come when I see the high risk ob and discuss more on what to do.

I appericate you talking with me about it

 

Sounds like your numbers are great without it for the most part. I think for a little while, it is trial and error with the diet. Some foods work and some don't. Once I would see something that made my sugar above 140, then I wouldn't eat it again. Even when I had the occasional high reading above 140, my babies had no problems when they were born. It made me upset when my numbers would be too high, but I just knew what to change the next time. Are your fasting levels good? I think that is one of the big keys as to how things are going. I hope the high risk OB has some good advice. GL tomorrow!!!

 

I had it with baby girl...managed with glyburide and sugar busters type diet. I ended up delivering via c-section at term (39.5 weeks) after a failed VBAC attempt and she was just fine. If there's anything specific I can help with or advise on, please ask...it's not fun, but you sound like you're on top of things.

 

I have GD right now and am into week 15. I was told my by nutritionist and endrocrinologist to watch the total carbs. For example, for breakfast, I am allowed up to 30 grams of carbs which may equate to a small bowl of Cheerios and milk. Eating eggs is great because it doesn't count towards a carb... it is a protein food. For lunch and dinner, I can have up to 45grams of carbs. Typically, I have a turkey sandwich on (Healthy Life) bread which is 1/2 the carbs of normal bread and it tastes the same. I may have 16 pringles chips, a caffeine free diet coke and maybe some Voortman's wafers (3). For dinner I usually have a meat dish of some sort and maybe a salad or cottage cheese. Most importantly, read labels and plan ahead. After reading total carb labels, you will know how to swing the GD without spiking your glucose levels. If my glucose levels do spike, on occasion, I will walk for 20 minutes and that usually does the trick. I hope this helps. Thanks, Jackie

In addition, I eat 3 snacks per day. The snacks shouldn't be over 30 grams of carbs. Ideally, keeping your sugar levels below 120 is ideal per my doctors.

 

I had GD w/ my twins. They were born at 35.5 wks w/ no complications. Just a little factoid about GD - yes, it causes big babies, but it also causes potential blood sugar problems for the baby when (s)he's first born and along with it raising the potential for early delivery, it can retard the development of the respiratory system somewhat, so it can be a double whammy. I just thought I'd mention this since I didn't realize this before my consult w/ the specialist (and I was borderline with my firstborn).

My GD was diet controlled. It was tricky, but I managed. There was a good deal of experimentation at first to find out what worked and what didn't for me. Breads were bad as were tomato sauces. Everyone reacts differently to different things. Breakfast was the hardest, since so many breakfast foods are a no-no (at least for breakfast). This includes milk. I ended up eating the same meal every morning for the last 1.5-2 mo of my pregnancy (yes, that sucked) - scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, and a small whole grain english muffin w/ a low sugar/carb count. No milk, juice, cereal..... :cry: But it was well worth it in the long run.

I would hope that your dr will refer you to a dietician. If he doesn't, I would ask. They can really make sense of the diet for you.

One thing I'd like to add - personally, I would avoid all sugar-free/low sugar products (including drinks like Crystal Light), as they all contain sugar substitutes and it's a pretty gray area whether or not those are ok for pregnant/nursing women. FWIW, my treat of choice was a carob coconut cluster. I'd get these at a local health food store. Chocolately and sweet, but a very low sugar count (and all natural ingredients)...and I could have more than one with little or no effect on my blood sugar! :banana:

Good luck to you!!! I know it can seem pretty daunting at times on top of everything else we have to deal with during pregnancy, but it will be over before you know it!