Gestational diabetes support thread

[naomi88]

I've also managed to do a 15-30 min walk after breakfast and lunch. May not manage it after dinner though as I'm knackered...

Should I be trying to eat less carbs than I am then? Trying to keep all the carbs 'good' carbs but am still having some sort of carb with every meal xxx

 

[Fruity01]

Yes try to minimise where possible. First couple of weeks I struggled to get my head round it all but once I got used to adding more protein to compensate the lack of carbs things fell into place. And try eating full fat everything as the fat will slow the absorption of carbs into your body. I know it sounds strange but it will work if you don't eat too much of them or sugary stuff.

I think that's where people go wrong initially. When diagnosed with GD they all think cut out the sugar but it's the carbs they need to reduce too as they turn into sugar when broken down.

 

[Fruity01]

I forgot to add. My readings had to be under 5 before eating food and under 8 one hour after finishing my final bite.

When testing things out to see if I could tolerate certain foods I'd test 30 mins after and then the hour incase I spiked aboupve the 8 before my hour was up. But every health board is different as I know some people were testing 2 hours after eating and their after number was lower than 8 too.

Also, please do be careful with those non alcoholic drinks. They will be full of sugar! GD is very serious for the baby but each to their own and taking the risks. I'm not gonna preach to anyone just want you all to have good pregnancies and healthy beautiful babies.

If you are on Facebook have a look at that page I mentioned earlier. It will help you along your journey and the ladies who run it are fab along with the members.

F.

 

[naomi88]

Thanks Fruity. I'm trying to make sure my carb portions are smaller. Doing spag bol tonight with a small portion of wholegrain spaghetti with plenty of the lean mince and then a nice sized portion of vege.

Picked up some full fat greek yogurt yesterday - couldn't believe how much more sugar was in the fat free version - never really looked at that kind of thing much before.

And yeh the alcohol free drink was a treat as had a bit left in a bottle in the fridge. Sticking to the water the rest of the time and have picked up some sugar free pop for the odd treat on a Saturday or Sunday.

How did your appointment go Karen? I'm part dreading and part looking forward to mine on Wednesday. Just want it over and done with now so I know where I stand and what my levels were - don't know how badly I failed yet. Want to get an idea of whether they are going to induce me early too xxx

 

[Fruity01]

It's probably going against everything you know about healthy eating but try using the full fat mince for future spag bols as well. The fat content will help slow down the sugar breakdown from the pasta.

I remember when I used to go to clinic the diabetic nurse used to ask me why I had a few very low readings and when I told her it was because I consumed no carbs at that particular meal she said ok just make you are eating some sort of carbs during you meal times.

F.

 

[scn]

Had my appointment this morning. Got given my monitor and what levels I'm aiming for - fasting level of below 5 first thing in the morning and then I've to test two hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner aiming for a level of below 7.
Also saw the diabetic dietician who was pretty useless to be honest, she asked me to describe a typical days diet and then told me what things I had to cut out from that ie, sweets, choc, crisps, honey etc ....... no shit Sherlock lol
Didn't give me any information or hints/tips on what I should be doing with my diet overall
I've joined the Facebook page suggested and also signed up for their membership on their web page, it's £7 per month and gives you a lot of diet information and a 7 day diet plan. Money well spent I think to get this under control.
I've had 1 slice of burgen bread with two scrambled eggs and grated cheese for lunch and due to do my first test at 3.30pm so I'm hoping it's ok. For dinner we're having fish with veg and new potatoes, I'll only have a couple of potatoes and fill up on veg. not sure what I'll have before bed yet as I won't last until morning without having to eat something else.

 

[scn]

Yay .... my sugars were 4.2.
The problem being is that I was full when I finished my lunch but have been hungry for the last 30 - 40 minutes waiting for the 2 hour mark to test, mmmmmm going to have to think how to get round that.

 

[naomi88]

Oh brill about the levels Karen! That's fab well done

Should I get some burgen bread then instead of wholegrain?

I've read that we should eat (/snack) every 2.5-3 hours? I'm definitely needing the mid morning and mid pm snack on working days.

Told my boss today and she was actually really great about it. She told me I could work from home occasionally if I was getting too tired and that I could move my mat leave up if needs be. I'm still hoping I can last til september so that I can have a full year off (11 months mat and 1 month annual leave at the end - can't quite afford a full 12 months off mat).

Intrigued about what my levels will be like Wednesday.

How often have you been told to test? Xxx

 

[scn]

I only need to test 4 x daily, first thing then 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I've read on the GDUK website that the burgen bread is the most tolerated one so I just went for that, it's a seeded wholemeal and quite tasty x
I'm sure I'll get the hang of working all the meals and snacks in without feeling hungry!
That's good your boss is understanding, takes some pressure off you xx

 

[naomi88]

Ah that's good - I'm hoping I will have to test a similar number of times to that.

Will have a look for burgen bread once I've finished this loaf
And yeh very lucky she's been so nice about it. Will probably try and do a day from home a week or so. Got a busy week this week but from next week I won't be out and about as much.

Did your consultant say much about if and when you'd be induce or were you having a section anyway - I've forgotten! Xxx

 

[scn]

I didn't see the consultant on Thursday, it was a junior doctor but my consultant noticed and said I've not to see anyone but her so I'll defo see her next time and let her know I've decided to go with an elective section. I'm hoping she'll give me a date between 37 and 38 weeks it'll depend on my scans I suppose and how baby is growing xx

 

[Fruity01]

Scn those readings are brill well done. Yes the website is money well spent for the amount of info you get from it.

The Burgen bread is brill and lovely once you get used to it. I always liked the soya and linseed one as I wasn't fussed on the other flavour which I forget what it was.

You won't have discussions about induction until your around 36 weeks as I think that is when they do one of the final growth scans. I went in for 37 week appointment on a Monday and was told I be in the following Monday to be induced so had one week to get everything I needed to sorted.

If your hungry waiting to test try some cheese as you'd need to eat a block of it to get any sort of carb from it but try it cautiously to see how you go. Also some people snack on nuts I didn't as I don't like them at all.

I had to test 7 times a day. The overnight fasting one and then before and after each meal.

Remember too ladies if you drive you need to test before driving as you have to be above 5 to drive! Speak to your dietician about it for clarification. I didn't know this till I was nearing the end of my pregnancy. You may also have to I for your insurance and dvla if you go on insulin. You'll come across this info from the GD website I think.

F.

 

[naomi88]

Eesh didn't know that about driving! Makes sense though I guess....

Ah frustrating that we may have to wait so long to know if/when we are being induced. I kind of want to know now so I can work out how much earlier I'm going to have to leave work...

Karen that's good that you've decided what you want to do. I think I'd prefer elective c section to induction as my induction ended in emergency c section last time and I'd rather be a bit more in control!
Xxx

 

[Fruity01]

Make sure you carry something on you that is sugary incase you drop below 4 as that is classed as a hypo and you need to raise your levels rapid. You only need 3 or 4 jelly babies or similar to do this and I kept a small can f coke in car to drink should it happen when I was driving.

 

[scn]

Sugars 4.9 after my dinner tonight. I had smoked river cobbler, sugar snap peas and 3 new potatoes followed by some no added sugar jelly, handful blueberries and squirty cream.
Just had my bedtime snack of 2 x wholewheat cracker bread with dairylea, a couple of mini cheese portions and a handful of nuts.
You can start having those discussions now though Naomi with regards to your birth preferences you might just not get a date for when it'll happen just yet.
I'm not worried about checking it before driving, a blood sugar of between 4 and 7 is considered normal and I very much doubt that I'd be below that unless I was on treatment xx

 

[Fruity01]

I think as long as your snacking (which I didn't) you should be fine. I was on insulin too - started off on 2 units at night
Which was gradually increased to 10 before I gave birth for my fasting levels as I was ok with food levels.

 

[scn]

Thanks fruity, yeah the guidelines with regards to hypos etc are different when you're on treatment.
Fasting sugar this morning is 4.6. I'm going to try a weetabix for breakfast and see how I get on with that x

 

[naomi88]

Enjoy your weetabix! I'm having a piece of toast with egg for breakfast as starting work a little later than normal.
Managed to do a 15 min walk after every meal yesterday. Not going to manage it after lunch today as got a meeting but going for a quick one before work this morning and then will make sure I do one after dinner this eve.
What exercise is everyone else doing? I'm fairly active with my toddler too on my days off and in the early evenings, but don't really get chance to go swimming as I've pretty much always got her with me. Xxx

 

[scn]

I actually did enjoy it and I'm not really a weetabix lover. I had it with some blueberries, nuts and coconut milk and it was really nice
I'm not doing any exercise just normal day to day activity, with the PGP it takes me all my time to be normal without being in agony!
Enjoy your brekkie xx

 

[naomi88]

Yum your breakfast sounds lush!
Ah yes I was forgetting your PGP - how are you finding that? Xxx