Gestational Diabetes

[duckens]

A few days ago, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Wednesday, I meet with the nutritionist/dietician. Our baby is due the day after Thanksgiving, so we have ~8weeks to go!

 

I have been keeping a food diary for a few days and making a list of questions for the nutritionist. I am trying to watch my carbs (and eat more fruits/vegetables/protein) and watch my portion sizes.

 

What else do I need to ask the nutritionist?

 

What are your experiences with gestational diabetes? What do I need to know?

 

Thanks in advance for any information and advice you can give. We want a healthy baby!!!

 

:D:DI've already made Loverboy promise to bring me chocolate in the hospital! :D:D

[cougarmom4]

I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy. It was hard to change my eating habits, but I was able to do it as my baby's health was at stake!

 

Your nutritionist will help you figure out exactly what you need to do. I was nervous and knew nothing about what to do/ask, but they helped me figure everything out. I had a certain number of servings of protein and carbs to eat at each meal and snacks, and had to check my blood every two hours. That was the part that made me really scared, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I had thought it would be. A pain in the behind, yes, but not scary.

 

I figured out pretty quickly what types of things counted for a serving of protein/carb and then typically ate similar things for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and evening snack. Dinner I was a little more relaxed--I ate a small serving of whatever I made for the family and made sure to serve lots of vegetables. I ate lots of whole wheat bread with peanut butter (carb + protein), cottage cheese w/tomatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese sticks, and my favorite two things to eat were strawberries and cantaloupe.

 

The hardest thing for me was when we went to events or gatherings--I had never noticed how there are ALWAYS yummy things to eat and suddenly I couldn't have any and I really wanted them!

 

Good luck with figuring things out! You can do it! :grouphug:

[SweetMissMagnolia]

I had it....had to watch what I ate which I should have done better---ended up being on insulin for last part of pregnancy....had other complications too and zach was 8 weeks early....I guess my advice would be to write your questions down so you won't forget what you want to ask once you get in to see your nutritionist....portion sizes,make sure you understand those.....good luck......

[HollyDay]

I've had it 3 times. Off the top of my head, some questions I would ask:

What type of monitor and how to use it?

How often to test?

What is your "emergency" snack if your levels drop too low?

How to adapt your evening snack if morning levels become to low?

 

Ask for a restaurant guide, so you will know what you can eat when you want to go out.

 

Make sure you are familiar with signs/symptoms of sugar highs and lows AND how to deal with those. Make sure your dh knows as well.

 

Everybody is a little different. For instance, I could eat grapes as long as I only ate the correct amount for the exchange. But, I could not eat watermelon - even the correct amount would make my sugar levels go up. My gf was just the opposite. She could not eat any grapes, but watermelon was no problem for her. So, be aware of how foods react for you.

 

Chose wisely. Hot dogs are on the exchange list, but they are junk. Chose a healthy protein. If you are hungry, chose raw veggies rather than cooked because you get to eat more.

 

Relax and learn how to make it work......

[kim.4dogs]

I had it with two of my pregnancies. I was very careful with what I ate. (It's easier when you know it's just temporary!) I had to test my blood sugar a couple of times a day. I figured out pretty quickly some things that no one told me. Potatoes are awful. I couldn't even eat a baked potato without my blood sugar shooting up. Oatmeal was great. It seemed to help lower my blood sugar. And exercise helped lower it as well. If I realized I'd eaten something I shouldn't have (or too much of something), I'd start walking right away to bring down my blood sugar. All of my kids were under 8 pounds, so there was no problem in the end!

[*~Tina~*]

I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy (and will be tested soon for the current pregnancy). The nutritionist/diabetes specialist are very thorough and will give you all the information you need. Mine was also very accessible anytime I had questions.

 

I had to eat frequently (had fairly regular times planned out), check my glucose levels 4 times a day, and was able to successfully manage mine with diet and monitoring.

 

I'm generally terrible with diets, but I found it pretty easy to stick to considering the risks to our precious baby. (Plus, of course, I really wanted to avoid injections.)

 

The positive side effect was I only gained a couple lbs the entire last 10 weeks of my pregnancy! :) Woohoo!

 

You can do it!

 

Blessings,

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))

((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-Tina ~

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

http://seasonsoflearning.blogspot.com/

[LMK]

Hi,

 

I've had gestational diabetes 3 times. All 3 times, it was diet controlled. What I found the most helpful was eating protein more frequently. That was hard for me because i LOVE carbs. You can do it though! As much as I love carbs, I loved my babies more and that made it very clear cut and easy to just avoid what I knew I wasn't supposed to eat. With that said however, I tested my blood sugar very frequently in the beginning so that I could see what foods affected it and what I could get away with! I found that I had to avoid white rice, most white bread, and most cereals. I found that brown rice was totally fine, whole wheat bread was ok (in moderation), and that some cereals were ok (the ones with more protein and fiber...think Kashi type cereals..not fruit loops etc). I was able to eat ice cream (obviously not a lot but a small bowl). I avoided juice but fruit was fine. It really will be something that you will have to figure out and monitor for yourself.

 

When you go to the nutritionist, they should tell you when and how often you should check your blood sugar. They should give you goal numbers for each time. For example (these were my goals but may not be yours):

 

fasting blood sugar (means the 1st blood sugar in the morning before you eat anything): below 90

 

2 hours after meals: between 80-120

 

Things that helped me:

 

if your fasting blood sugar is high: what are you eating as a bedtime snack? what time are you eating dinner? I used to eat dinner late (think btwn 830-930pm...i would feed the kids/clean kitchen/put them to bed and THEN eat). so, just by changing my dinner to before 7pm and then having a 10 pm snack (fruit/milk/nuts or peanut butter or some other small protein <cheese stick or HB egg>) then my fasting blood sugars were fine

 

if your 2 hours after meals are high: 1. what are you eating? don't forget condiments <ketchup is full of High fructose corn syrup and that can make your blood sugar go crazy> , even salad dressing has sugar...learn to read labels for carb/sugar content.

2. give yourself a chance to digest but then take a 20 minute (or more) walk. you will be amazed at how much that can help.

3. wait the full 2 hours to check your blood sugar. i would sometimes check it at 1 hour because i was monitoring it so closely... and then my goal was to be under 140.. and it would sometimes be high..so then i would recheck and at 2 hours it was completely fine.

 

Well, sorry to be so long winded. I hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I would love to help you in any way. I know it can be scary, especially if you read alot on the internet but as long as you do your best and follow the advice of your OB team, things will probably be ok. The complications associated with gestational diabetes (I think) refer mostly to people with uncontrolled blood sugars.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

LMK

[Rosie_0801]

I had it with both my kids and argued a lot with my personal team of medical professionals (seriously, how many does a woman need?) to keep off insulin.

 

Don't eat more fruit! It is full of sugar! Yes, you should eat fruit because it is healthy, but keep very strictly to the recommended serving sizes.

 

Don't let them bully you onto insulin the first time your bloods are up. Yes there is risk to the baby, but that is over-reacting. Your baby won't mind you taking a week to get the hang of it. And it will take a week or two to get the hang of it. You will probably find you have to tighten your diet once or twice even in the two months you have left.

 

It got to the point with me, that to keep off the insulin, I had to get all my carbs from legumes. That makes for one hell of a boring diet, let me tell you, but if that's what it takes, it is good to know it is an option. Going on insulin may be a better choice though, coz a bean diet might trigger Food Psychosis, and you'll find yourself dreaming about artificial colours and flavours. :eek:

 

They'll tell you to spread your carbs out over the three main meals of the day. You might find you need to spread them evenly over six smaller meals as I did for a while. Or you might find you have to spread them unevenly through the day as I did at other times. There is more than one kind of insulin, they explained to me (this could be the 'lies to small children' version of the issue, but it is useful anyway) so your body can react to certain foods in different ways depending on the time of day you eat it.

 

Eat supper. A glass of milk or something should do the trick. It helps keep your levels stable over night.

 

Put lemon juice in your drinking water and vinegar on your salads. They help regulate your blood sugar levels.

 

Eat lots of salad. There's very little in there that even registers on the GI lists.

 

Don't eat cooked root vegetables.

 

Don't assume the nutritionist knows everything there is to know. Don't assume the diabetes educator knows everything there is to know. Don't let them admit you to hospital to get your levels under control. If it is anything like it is here, they'll feed you starvation portions of high GI carbs which is stupid, stupid, stupid. Your levels will drop alright, but only because you aren't eating enough. Being admitted so they can help you work out your insulin requirements is probably very sensible, but I didn't get that far.

 

Don't eat sausages. If you want meat, eat real meat. The potato starch they fill the sausages with will catch your blood sugars.

 

Remember that when they say "an orange" as a serving portion, they mean a really small orange. :) A small valencia, not a large valencia and definitely not a navel.

 

They will tell you to exercise, as that regulates blood sugar levels, but don't over do it. Stress will raise them very significantly, so if exercise stresses your body, you will be better off on the couch. I could manage an unhurried two km walk, but if I had to hurry, or I overheated, my bloods would go up.

 

The safest junk food is sweet potato crisps :D

 

Rosie

[JenniferB]

I had it with my last one, and I'm on the brink of Type 2 right now. To keep my blood sugar level in the normal range I have to cut out white flours, white rice, corn products, and white pasta and replace them with whole wheat/whole grain flours, brown rice, and multi grain pasta. Lentils and products made w/ lentils keep my blood sugar very even. It's not so much eating a lot of protein for me, but totally eliminating the products that quickly turn to sugar in the blood, and eating foods that break down more slowly.

 

I also have started to run 5x per week. This has helped a lot to keep Type 2 at bay. I don't have it yet. Once you have the baby, keep an eye on your blood sugar by testing 1 hr. after things like pizza, sweets, pasta, rice, corn, etc. Also test in the morning once in a while. Here's what the "normal" levels are:

 

Before meals 70-130*

After meals less than 180*

*American Diabetes Association 2009

[jazzyfizzle]

Watch closely for signs of bladder infection.

I shouldn't tell you that I developed it with my 3rd pregnancy and became a permanent Type 1, but I will so you know it can and does happen.

[JenniferB]

I had it with two of my pregnancies. I was very careful with what I ate. (It's easier when you know it's just temporary!) I had to test my blood sugar a couple of times a day. I figured out pretty quickly some things that no one told me. Potatoes are awful. I couldn't even eat a baked potato without my blood sugar shooting up. Oatmeal was great. It seemed to help lower my blood sugar. And exercise helped lower it as well. If I realized I'd eaten something I shouldn't have (or too much of something), I'd start walking right away to bring down my blood sugar. All of my kids were under 8 pounds, so there was no problem in the end!

 

:iagree: Yes, me too w/ the potatoes. Oatmeal has also been good for my blood sugar also. Checking your levels after eating will tell you what foods you are sensitive to. I would get depressed because I would eat something with protein, and my blood sugars were still high 2 hrs. after the meal. Well, I found out that I was sensitive to rice, corn products, and white flour products. :confused: Sad, because I love pizza.

[duckens]

You guys are so great! What would I do without you?

 

I'm continuing to food diary, but not eating too great because I've had a horrid cold (gross green goop from my nose and throat).

 

Thank you so much for the insight you all!