Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

i was just diagnosed with it and would like to know what I am in for. thank you so much

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

I was put on a limited carbs diet. I had to eat 15g of carbs or less with each meal. i also had to test my blood sugar in the AM when I woke and then 1 hour after each meal.

as far as how it effected the baby she did get big. she was born 3 days before due date via c-section at 9lbs 10 oz.
If you have any questions please FM me. I saw a nutritionist and nurse practitioner at winthrop that were excellent!

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

What are you looking to know?

I was but on a diet plan (hated my nutiritionalist and if you hate yours my advice find a better one quickly - I regret I did not) which consisted of 6 smaller meals a day. Pretty much no cookies, candy, cake, fast food, white breads, juice, soda, etc. The meals were to be eaten at certain times of the day. I had to test my blood sugars 4 times a day - once upon wake up and the others a certain amount of time after meals. My nutritionalist was super strict and when I followed the diet my sugar numbers were so low that my dr was starting to think I didn't have it. The diet plan wasn't horrible but I never dieted a day in my life so it was a little tough for me to get use to. The hard part for me was the time eating. With my job, it was tough to always have to eat at certain time and take blood at certain times and it really stressed me out. It also meant more dr appointments to monitor the baby's size closely which meant more time out of my office which was also tough on me.

As for baby, he came 3 weeks early (unrelated to GD) and was 7lbs 2 oz. So he could have been on the big side if I went to term. He did have hypoglcemia (low blood sugars) and had to stay in the NICU for about 5 days until he learned to stabilze his sugars himself. My dr was surprised by this since my GD was so under control for so long and since he was a small baby (usually this is seen in larger babies and smaller babies over come if quicker).

After the baby (at about 6 weeks), I took a 2 hour GD test and yes it was gone. This does put you at higher risk to develop diabetes as you get older and you should always let your regular drs know about it.

I may have an old FM with my diet plan - if you are interested in it - PM me and I look for it for ya.

Good Luck to you.

Oh and the biggest thing - I know it took me for a loop and really depressed me. Now it is not your fault at all. I ate relatively normal during my pregnancy. I did not have really any of the high risk factors for GD and I had it. You just have to udnerstand it is just how your bady reacts to sugars at this time.

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

Message edited 2/8/2007 3:35:51 PM.

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

I had a very similar experience to Niecey & Anon- very strict diet, eating very specific foods 6 times a day. I tested my blood sugar 4 times a day. While the diet kept my weight gain down (the only benefit!), it didn't regulate my GD, so I had to go on insulin. I "shot up" 3 times a day- that part was miserable- I have (or "had") needle anxiety.

Due to my GD & the baby being breech, I had a scheduled c-section one week early- she was 7 lbs. 15 oz.

I also had non-stress tests for the last 3 weeks or so, twice a week.

It was such a pain, but a piece of cake compared to the first few weeks of parenthood!

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

I had it also. I went to a great diabetic educator at Winthrop and she gave me a meal plan to follow. She went over portion sizes, etc. I was not allowed fruit in the morning and 30 carbs for breakfast, 15 for a snack, 30 for lunch, 15 for a snack and 30 at dinner. I tested my blood a few times a day and controlled it with diet. I had an extra sonogram to check the baby's weight and he was born weighing 7lbs 15 oz and I was 5 days late so he was perfect size. If you have any other questions just let me know!

Re: Hi ladies, if you had Gestational Diabetes can you please tell me about your experience

I had Gestational Diabetes, I went to a nutritionsist and had to go to an endocrinoligist to get tested. I was put on a low carb no sugar diet. I was pregnant with twins so my blood sugar was always high. I also had to give myself shots of insulin everynight. Basically if you eat lots of protein you should be fine also limit your fruit. As soon as i had my babies it went away. Don't worry my babies were fine and as long as you control it your baby will be fine too.