Gestational Diabetes

15 years ago

I flunked my glucose tests last month.

I have to go to a diabetes clinic on Thursday and get a glucometer and strips and stuff, and I have to see an endocrinologist and a dietician. I'll have to check my blood sugar several times a day. I'm going to have to watch what I eat very carefully, charting the food I eat and my sugar levels. And I have to go to the hospital every 2 weeks from now until the end of my pregnancy to have my weight, urine and blood pressure checked and I have to have an ultrasound every 2 weeks to check on the size of the baby. I don't think I'm going to need medication or insulin.

Did any of you have Gestational Diabetes with your pregnancies? I'm curious to know how it was treated and how soon after delivery it went away. I know it varies from person to person.

I'm off to the hospital now for an ultrasound to check on the position of the placenta - it was a little too close to my cervix when I had my last one. And I have to go to get an echocardiogram tomorrow to see what's up with my crazy super-speedy heart.

Isn't pregnancy fun? :)

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Comments (9)

susanjf_gw
15 years ago
nicole take care..know it isn't fun being poked everytime you eat, but dang the end result sure is worth it...my friend does it and it at this point now it's become very routine...the food diary will help a bunch...

i swear they didn't have half the tests my dds took, when they had the grands... and me? i didn't have a clue i was carrying twins the last time, until the doc had an xray(!) done to see if the "big baby" was ready to come early, lol..
paula_pa
15 years ago
I just had it with my last pregnancy. It wasn't that bad, to be honest. It was a blessing in disguise. I felt great since I was eating so much better and I only gained about 10-13 pounds (fine since I'm overweight). Daniel is 2 months old and I'm already about 12 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight.

I didn't have any trouble controlling my post-meal numbers but my fasting number starting getting hard to control (my doctor liked to see it under 90). There isn't too much you can do with your diet that helps your fasting (I tried different evening snacks and even no evening snack but nothing helped). I ended up taking a tiny bit of insulin at night at the end and it wasn't bad. Those needles are so small, they hurt less than the finger pricks - the needles really didn't hurt at all.

I was fine after delivery and the baby was fine. I'm not off the hook though - I was a big baby and my mom has Type II diabetes now. I have a high probability of becoming a Type II diabetic.

Oh, I only had one extra ultrasound to check the size of the baby, at around 35 weeks I think and he was averaged size at that point. He was 7lbs 6ozs when he was born.
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dotmom
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When I had my babies, in the 50's & 60's, they didn't know about gestational diabetes.I have been told that, I probably had that as my babies kept getting larger. 7.4 - 9.4 - 9.10 1/2. I was pretty small (then) about 110 lbs, and delivering the babies became progressively more difficult. Hopefully, your diabetes is just for the duration of your pregnancy. My good thoughts are coming your way for a pleasant pregnancy and a beautiful, healthy, thriving baby. Dottie
dirt_yfingernails
15 years ago
I had testing for it in my last two pregnancies. The stuff they gave me was nasty - syruppy lemonade yucky stuff. I didn't have it, but DD#3 was almost 11 pounds at birth. One year later, my "runt" was born weighing ONLY 8# 3 oz.
Granlan_TX
15 years ago
Nicole, it sure sounds like the doctors are being completely thorough.

I had this condition when I was pregnant with my son (my 3rd child). It was because I was obese when I became pregnant. However, I took no medication or insulin.

It was good for me, too, I guess. I was told I or the baby could be in real danger if I gained one pound during this pregnancy.

Long story short, I lost 40 lbs. while pregnant with my son and yet, he weighed in at 8 1/2 lbs. and was 22 inches long!

Doctor told me when I delivered, my diabetic condition would disappear and it did.

Take care and keep us posted.

Granlan Hugs :)
jannie
15 years ago
My cousin had it. I know she had to do several finger-stick tests a day and really watch her diet, but her son was delivered just fine and she is well, the diabetes went away after her son was born.
girlsingardens
15 years ago
I agree isn't pregnancy fun. I had to monitor my blood sugar levels with Hayden because some of my numbers were high. This time I passed the tolerance test, thank God because with the gallstones, I don't think I could handle the diabetes. Just watch what you eat, DH has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and by watching his diet and with medication things have been going good. Try to eat on the same schedule each day so that you don't go too long without eating. Watch the carbohydrates, they turn into sugar and can affect your blood levels. I know it will be a long haul, I had contractions with Hayden for 10 weeks and had to be monitored constantly with non stress tests and doctor's visits. Just think about all the time that you get to see that new baby on the ultrasound, and that gestational diabetes can be a heads up to watch your diet and make sure you stay healthy,

I am in there with you and this pregnancy thing,

Stacie
girlsingardens
mrs.micki
15 years ago
DD had it with her baby and the one thing the Dr. kept telling her was to do alot of walking,at least a couple of times a day.When she was in the hospital after having Ally they tested her sugar and she was fine.Ally weighed 7'12 ounces and was 22 inches long.
jannie
15 years ago
My cousin Joyce is married to a man with diabetes. She cooks for him and controls what he eats. He takes pills but has not required insulin shots because she has taken such good care of him. It's no picnic for either of them.

Gestational Diabetes

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