Gestational Diabetes, anyone else?

by **wardrobe** » Fri Apr 27, 2022 8:21 am

hey girls had a gtt test done 4 weeks ago with my gynae in cumh ..said they wud ring if there was a problem ..heard nothing ..til i went in for 32 weeks scan yesterday and they tell me my second blood test after drinking the lucozade was on the high side of normal so i must cut out all the sugary stuff now no chocolate fruit sweets drinks ice cream etc ...just wondering what type of stuff wud be ok to snack on ...wud be used to low fat diet as have high cholesterol but having to limit sugar now too i dunno what i can eat ..any advice ye have wud be welcome girls , i know i cud be in a worse situation ..dont have gd just need to monitor diet myself x x x

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Fri Apr 27, 2022 10:27 am

Fatty things are fine. it is a bit confusing when you are used to a low fat diet as many things banned from that are fine, like cheese is really good for gd as it is protein and slows down the rate of the blood sugars going up. You have to eat a certain amount of carbs too but bread should be wholegrain and stoneground like Mccambridges or similar.From a sweet snack point of view, the nairn oat biscuits are fine to eat or digestive or rich tea or marietta biscuits. At least you are near the end. You should ask them for a food education session with the dietician. They have to educate you if they want you to comply. Diet fizzy drinks are fine. Did they give you a machine to check your blood at home? That really helps you figure out what to eat as everyone is an individual and some foods will push sugar levels up in one person and not another. Hope this helps. You can pm me with any questions if you like. On my first pregnancy I was diagnosed at about 31 weeks with it but was sick when I was tested and all my bloods afterwards were normal. They don't check you on a subsequent pregnancy but presume you will get it so have to do it...the diet and blood tests and home checks from 8 weeks this time which is hard. My bloods are all fine so far so it hasn't set in yet.

justwed09 · by **justwed09** » Fri Apr 27, 2022 12:13 pm

Hi there i got it on my 2nd pregnancy only. i cut out fats sugary biscuits cakes chocolate etc. I found out i could tolerate a fun size bag of malteasers or a kinder bueno so that was fine for days i had sugae cravings. Here is what i usually ate daily:

Brekkie: they say porridge or all bran. I ciuldnt ear either as my levels went up so i just had 1 slice of wholemeal toast with a scrapin of low low and a cup of tea.

Snack: a mandain or pear and a vitalinea 0% yoghurt. These an dunnes low fat ones are the only ones you can have.

Lunch: scrambelled egg on whemeal toast or a ham or turkey sandwich on brown. If i bought the sandwih in a shop or deli my level would be sky high presumably from the butter they use ao i made my own or homemade veg soup.

Snack: snapwheat crackers they are lovely.

Dinner: half portion of whatever i made for dh and ds but pasta was brown which doesnt taste anh different to whitw pasta, or brown rice which i wasnt mad about.

Basically change whites to browns in everything bit do it gradualy, i went hell for leather the first week and got very constipated.

Drinks: diet drinks or robinsons no added sugar cordial is ok too.

I was diagnosed at 32 weeks an lost over a stone and a half, had dd last week and she is perfect and my levels are fine so i know it is gone but i have to watch it for 6 weeks. I weigh less now than when i got married 3 years ago and none of my clothes fit!! So a new shopping spree is on the cards!

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Fri Apr 27, 2022 12:45 pm

Gosh it is amazing how the hospitals must differ. I am not allowed any wholemeal bread...wholegrain or stoneground only and not allowed much fruit at all either. Butter or spread is not a problem and on last pregnancy I was told to increase it as I wasn't eating enough and had loads of ketones at the end from not eating enough. I have a friend who is attending Cumh and is at trhe very end of her pregnancy now and she has had to eat alot of dairy. We were told any low fat or diet yogurt is fine but I just can't tolerate yogurt when pregnant. it repeats on me terribly. I have 2 slices of wholegrain bread with spread and a slice of cheddar cheese every morning for breakfast or eggs are fine if you can manage them. I always go off them when pregnant.

by **whackywoman** » Mon May 28, 2022 8:09 am

Got GTT on my 3rd pregnancy.

For breakfast I used to have either of the following:
wheetabix
porridge
Pat the baker wholemeal bread with sugar free peanut butter

lunch
found I needed lots of protein here so usually had a brown roll with chicken, salad and salad cream
eggs
meat
sugar free peanut butter

dinner
rice
pasta
potatoes
wraps
found I could eat a good bit of carbs as long as I ate lots of protein with my dinner
veggies

snacks
fruit - limited amount particularly of some types
low fat humous and crackers
sugar free jelly
low fat yoghurts - was told that any yoghurt was fine as long as it had 10g of sugar or less per 100g
plain digestive but only occasionally
nuts - cashew, almonds, hazel nuts
cream crackers and spread
cheese - melted - I can't eat cheese not melted
frozen grapes - maximum of 10 at a time
slice of cold meats as I constantly needed protein hits to fill me up.
brown scone

I was diagnosed at 28 weeks and managed to diet control it until week 35 when I had to go on insulin, was induced at week 38 so didn't have it for very long. Found I was starving all of the time and couldn't really eat much in between as you are meant to stick to snack and meal times especially when on insulin.

by **significantother** » Fri Jun 01, 2022 4:02 pm

Hi girls, was just told yesterday I had GD. I am so upset about it. Have had a difficult pregnancy up until now and am just out of a week-long stay in hospital with a vomiting virus :o(

I know its not the end of the world, but I'm so nervous and upset about having this and am finding it hard to get my head around it all :o(

by **Fx and tx** » Sat Jun 02, 2022 4:05 pm

Hi Significant other

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time of it.

You will come to terms with the GD, I too was very upset when I found out I had it had a rough first couple of weeks but I booked an app with my GP and she went through everything with me in detail. Once you get used to the foods you can eat and getting your bloods right you will be flying it.

I lost 2 stone during my pregnancy and so far so good it has stayed off. Diabetes has gone thank God.

Best of luck

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Sat Jun 02, 2022 4:22 pm

significant other, meant to reply to you yesterday but didn't get a chance. I was devastated when I was diagnosed on my first pregnancy with it at about 30 weeks. I had lost a stone and a half during the pregnancy and would have thought I had avoided it then. We got a really good lifestyle education class with other people who were diagnosed at the same time and it dealt first with our emotional reactions and how the diagnosis made us feel, as well as our fears and worries and questions, gave us a good understanding and then a chat with the dietician to educate us on diet. Really felt better after it and felt I could cope. My bloods stayed normal after the diagnosis and they let me go from the diabetic clinic at 37 weeks as baby size was normal. It went away after the birth which was a relief.
This pregnancy they didn't test me as they just presume it will come back on a second pregnancy and it usually comes earlier in the pregnancy. Was much harder to be checking my home levels from as early as eight weeks pregnant and trying to stick to the diet, which I just couldn't do. My bloods have been normal all along so far thank God but the home levels have been a little high recently. Blood results are more accurate though. Which hospital are you attending? Do they offer you any education class? It really helps. Hope you get to grips with it soon and that it will stay stable for you. You have about ten weeks to your due date I think but if it is well controlled they might let you off the hook with testing and diet before then. Try not to stress too much as stress puts sugar levels high. Feel free to pm me and get as much support and education as you can from your hospital. Take care.

by **significantother** » Sun Jun 03, 2022 9:02 pm

Girls, thanks so much for your replies- it means alot. Im attending maternity hospital in Limerick. Got a phonecall on Thurs from midwife telling me I had it and to come for appointment that evening as she was going away for 2 weeks hols the next day. She spent about 45 mins with me, and I came out with loads of pamphlets, leaflets and testing kit but after reading everything, I still feel very lost and uninformed about the whole thing. I do have an appointment with a dietician, but its not for another 3 weeks- just afraid of the damage Im doing in the meantime :o(

Have started the diet and about twice during every day (not the same time) my readings are off target (around 5.4 when target is 5.0/ around 7.8 when target is 7.0). I know its early days and Ive heard its trial and error but Im just not sure what to do about this because I cant see any pattern, its not at the same time and its not after eating the same thing. Feel so helpless when this happens and then I get upset thinking what Im doing to baby.
Have dieted before (weightwatchers etc) and can train myself to cope without sugary things, but I hate having to monitor my vegetable intake to 2 portions a day-didnt even know there was sugar in vegetables?
Thanks girls, really appreciate any help ye might have x

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Mon Jun 04, 2022 3:28 pm

You should be able to eat most vegetables freely but better stick to what you were told. I know you have to be careful with fruit portions alright but alot of veg don't have natural sugars in them. When are you getting your blood tests checked at the hospital? I find my home levels are a bit out but my blood test results have been normal all along. Sometimes the home machines are a bit over sensitive or the morning ones will be up if I snack the night before or if I don't get a decent sleep at night. Different foods work for different people too. I have to be very careful with which type of bread I eat. Some people have to split their breakfast portion in two. It is a pity that your hospital don't do any group education sessions as it can be really helpful and supportive to meet other people in the same boat as well. Awful you have to wait three weeks before seeing the dietician. Try not to get stressed about your home readings anyway. Did they mention that you would be scanned in a few weeks to check the baby's size? Don't know if they do that in all hospitals.

by **Fx and tx** » Tue Jun 05, 2022 3:23 pm

Significantother I have pm'd you as I was in Limerick as well.

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Fri Jun 08, 2022 8:21 pm

significantother, how are you doing? Have you come to terms with it all?

I was at the diabetic clinic today. My fasting bloods were fine but my post prandial was 7.1, which is the first time it has gone slightly high. They were happy enough for me to go a month before the next tests though. Hopefully it was just a blip as got very little sleep last night. Not going to stress too much when they aren't overly anxious about it.

by **significantother** » Sat Jun 09, 2022 8:11 pm

Hi girls,
FX and TX, thanks so much for your pm
Little Miss Hopeful, am a bit better about it all now- still get 1/2 readings that are between .1 and .4 over every day which tends to scare me but not sure what to do about them, saw the specialist and he is reviewing me in 4 weeks to see if I need insulin injections which I am praying I wont. I know, its a real pity they havent any group sessions here in Limerick- think they used to alright, not sure why they stopped. Have a growth scan on Monday and a clinic appointment on Tuesday so will be interested to see how babs is doing, am abit nervous
Thanks for the advice re: the veg etc, much to my delight I have found I can eat green salad to my hearts content so Im not as hungry as I was for the first few days. Also finding walking great for lowering readings. It sounds like you are doing really well, can I ask- do you have to test 1 hour after eating or 2 hours after eating?

littlemisshopeful · by **littlemisshopeful** » Sat Jun 09, 2022 9:00 pm

significantother, I test first thing in the morning before eating and then one hour after breakfast and one hour after my main meal of the day. When I get the blood tests at the hospital, I have to fast from midnight and get a fasting blood test and then eat breakfast in the clinic and then another blood test an hour after breakfast. Best of luck with the scan.

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