dd's blood sugar and rapid heart beat at end of pregnancy

[BMW]

Please help me to encourage and care for my 20yog. She is 32 weeks along in her pregnancy. She will spend a few days a week with us until mid-Jan and then move in until after baby arrives and is a couple weeks old, then go back home.

 

Yesterday I took her to her Dr. appointment. I was with her all day and she did not eat junky. Her urine test had glucose traces and she got her finger pricked and her blood sugar was 140. She has gained 30 pounds so far, so, yeah, she didn't stay small... She has to go back for a fasting, 3 hour blood test Thursday morning. I've heard that gestational diabetes does not mean that you will be diabetic after pregnancy.

 

Also, she gets anxiety attacks when she gets upset about things. She has been very careful, as have those of us who love her, to help her not get upset about "anything". But, she is having rapid heart beat. If she gets excited of concerned about something (as in, having to come back for the blood tests!) her heart starts racing. She physical feels it race and has to catch her breath. If she gets out to walk briskly, it triggers the rapid heart beat, too. She will be wearing the heart monitor for 48 hours and is keeping a journal and writing down each time it happens. Please tell me, if you know, who this could affect her delivery... is this something they do a c-section for? What else could they do? I cannot imagine if anything starts to go wrong in labor and delivery that she would NOT have anxiety or rapid heart rate...

 

 

Thanks for the help. She is really leaning on me and I want to help my girl!!

[BMW]

Bump. Any insight, encouragement or tips?

[Heather in OK]

What did she eat that morning? How long had it been after she ate that they pricked her finger? You don't have to eat a junky diet to spill glucose and/or run high. Her weight gain doesn't mean she has GD. That gain at 32 weeks isn't horrible. Was she underweight at all pre-pregnancy?

 

No, the anxiety doesn't mean she'll have to have a section. I would encourage her to look into Hypnobirthing techniques. That or really start studying relaxation (maybe take a prenatal yoga class?).

[BMW]

She had eaten oatmeal (sweetened kind) and a whole wheat mini-bagel, and at 1pm she ate a chicken enchilada and plain tortilla chips and about 1/2 cup of rootbeer. But, she also drank 2 12ounce water bottles before noon and another 2 bottles after 1pm. Her finger was pricked at 3:30.

 

We are going to look into some prenatal classes and also a childbirth technique class to do together... she due toward end of Jan.

 

I am now having her add in extra veggies and continue with the water. She is not really a junk food eater, so that is good...

[LisaKinVA]

That's a nice amount of carbs... which would have impacted her blood work negatively (for glucose).

 

The rule of thumb I was given for my GD glucose tests was... protein, protein, protein. No dairy. No fruits. No breads. She should do just fine on the fasting diet.

[Unicorn.]

She had eaten oatmeal (sweetened kind) and a whole wheat mini-bagel, and at 1pm she ate a chicken enchilada and plain tortilla chips and about 1/2 cup of rootbeer. .

 

Those are all pretty high starch/sugar content. Her meals need to be more balanced. Chicken enchilada but omit the chips and root beer would be better. Add some protein to the oatmeal or bagel, but don't eat both. One other thing, if she is going to eat something high in sugar/starchy she should eat it w/ a little fat. Fat causes the sugars to take longer to absorb or break down, so it helps keep blood sugars more level.

 

Tell her not to stress- GD can be managed very easily w/ diet for most people. And no, it is not an indication of becoming diabetic after.

[treestarfae]

I would consider taking magnesium. http://www.calmnatural.com/mama-calm

Edited December 7, 2010 by treestarfae
adding link

[celticmom]

If a low stress birth is important, I would definitely consider using a midwife or at the very least having a doula present.

[Heather in OK]

She had eaten oatmeal (sweetened kind) and a whole wheat mini-bagel, and at 1pm she ate a chicken enchilada and plain tortilla chips and about 1/2 cup of rootbeer. But, she also drank 2 12ounce water bottles before noon and another 2 bottles after 1pm. Her finger was pricked at 3:30.

Yeah, lots of carbs and sugar (sweetened oatmeal and the rootbeer).

 

She MUST have protein with her breakfast. MUST. And each time she eats (which should be ever 2-3 hours) it needs to include protein. Also a before bed snack should have protein. A great way to get that in the morning and before bed is a protein shake (I can give you a couple recipe ideas if she needs them). Jay Robb is a great brand that isn't gritty. She needs to aim for 70-90 grams of protein a day.

 

She can do some complex carbs. So the oatmeal is a good choice for breakfast but not artificially sweetened. She could sweeten it with some plain yogurt or keifer. That would be a way to sneak in some more protein and probiotics.

 

 

We are going to look into some prenatal classes and also a childbirth technique class to do together... she due toward end of Jan.

Steer clear of hospital classes. There isn't time for her to do Bradley but perhaps there is another option where you live. Ditto the doula suggestion. Some doulas will do some childbirth prep. and relaxation practice during prenatal visits so that might be an option for her.

 

I would consider taking magnesium.

It needs to be magnesium AND calcium.

 

Best of luck to her!! :)

[danybug]

I did not read the other posts. But I can share my experience. I had awful issues with this for my recent pregnancy and I had a safe and healthy delivery of my baby boy in August.

 

I had the issues starting at around 4 months. I ended up having a heart murmur and being seen by a cardiologist twice. I had anxiety attacks and heart palpitations and near fainting spells. I also ended up with gestational diabetes this time around as well. I only had problems with my morning fasting number.

 

I really could not get control over the situation that well myself. Exercise only made me feel worse in terms of being out of breath and faint. I had to make sure that I was really well hydrated at all times. I kept a water and a snack with me at all times. If I let myself get hungry it always exacerbated the problem. I ate a ton of greek yogurt, like fage and chobani. It was a wonderful way to keep my blood sugars low and made me feel full.

 

I had fetal monitoring done through the last two months and because of an issue with this I was induced 3 weeks early. Besides being induced (which was awful) I had a wonderful delivery with a midwife and had no complications from the diabetes or my heart "issues".

 

I am no 4 months post partum and my blood sugars tested completely normal. They just warn you that you are at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes later in life if you do not watch your weight and let yourself get out of control.

 

Anyway, sorry I do not have many pointers. But many :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: for her!

[AnitaMcC]

I had high glucose issues in my pregnancies and I take meds for irregular heart beats.

 

In the regular finger prick tests I was high in glucose, but in all the fasting glucose tests... I was borderline high but nothing to worry about.

 

All through pregnancies they monitored my potassium and magnesium levels as this can up heart rate issues. The few times I dipped too low they gave me a IV supplement. I saw a cardiologist a few times throughout the pregnancy and he gave his recommedations on what steps take during pregnancy and delivery/post partum.

 

I never had a c-section with any of my pregnancies. The doctors just kept close tabs on me, and had me go to hospital first signs of contractions. They put my on heart monitor and dealt with symptoms as needed.

[EKS]

I had to take atenolol during my second pregnancy to keep my heart rate in check. It really helped.