Gestational Diabetes - Edmond,OK

Updated on October 30, 2009
L.R. asks from Edmond, OK
13 answers

Hello all! I want to thank all of you for the advice and help you give. Here I am with another question.
I was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with 2 1/2 months to go in my pregnancy. I am just wondering what to expect and how your experiences were with this problem? Also, I'm pretty sure this goes away with the birth of the baby but I just wanted to clarify that as well. I haven't been able to meet with a dietician yet, so I am a little worried and have some questions. Thanks so much!

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So What Happened?

I want to thank each of you who sent me encouraging emails about the Gestational Diabetes. It seems like it's pretty manageable and I did get an appt. to see a dietician next Tuesday. I was pretty freaked out as I knew NOTHING about diabetes in general and I have a pretty big sweet tooth so it will be hard, but it's worth it for the baby. I had pancreatitis last year, so I think alot of this is probably due to that, since the pancreas does so much work in that area, but I can suck it up for a few months. Thank you all, my husband and I feel much better!

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E.G.

answers from Seattle on

I would get some Shaklee energizing soy and take that first thing in the morning if you can take soy. This evens out the blood sugar. There is also instant protein which has no carbs at all. I would try the energizing soy first. My sister took this when she had morning sickness really bad and after drinking this first thing in the morning, never got sick again.

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L.

answers from Baton Rouge on

It can be controlled with diet. You'll probably be required to check your blood sugar at least 3 times a day.
My blood sugar usually stayed in the normal range due to sticking with a semi-diabetic diet (I did cheat sometimes). The first thing I did after leaving the hospital was stop for Krispie Kreme donuts. lol. GD does go away after the birth of the baby but does increase your risk for Type 2 later on. So you will need to follow up with that.

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A.K.

answers from Tulsa on

Gestational Diabetes should go away after the pregance is off but you should still wait your carb closely. About half of the woman who get gestational diabetes will later in life get type 2. SO make sure you kept to your diet and excerise even after you get full trem.

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S.N.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Dear L.,
Hi there. I had gestational diabetes with my last pegnacy, but haven't been diagnosed with it this pregnacy yet thankfully, and I'm only 6 months along. It's not the end of the world, and yes, it does go away with the birth of the baby. I had an incredibly difficult time with it, but I am a carbohydrate junkie too, lol. If you eat healthy and aviod a lot of carbs and sugars, you'll be fine. Mine wasn't so bad that I had to take anything shots or pills with mine, it was all diet controlled. I did have to check my bloodsugar before and after every meal, and they did blood sugar checks on the baby for like the first 24 hours after he was born I believe, but after that, no more. There can be serious complications but as long as you eat right and don't go overboard you'll be fine, nothing to get all freaked out over, lol. It can be scary when you first find out about it tho. Just take some deep breaths, make absolutley sure you do get in to see a dietecian and eat healthy and everything will be great. Lots of luck to you!
S.

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L.W.

answers from Auburn on

I supposedly had that, but I felt fine, so I paid no attention and nothing happened. My son is a healthy 12-year-old now.
That said, the dietician just tried to make recommendations about how I could eat a healthier, lower fat diet. Probably that is a good idea, along with any other recommendations your doctor might have. But I don't think it's much to worry about unless you have worrisome symptoms.

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J.L.

answers from Little Rock on

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with my second pregnancy :-( It was difficult at first because the doctor put me on a strict diet, but once I got used to it I felt better...not only about the situation, but also physically. My blood sugar was tested every 2 weeks for the duration of the pregnancy. It did go away after I gave birth, but I have to be tested annually to make sure that I haven't developed regular diabetes; it's sometimes common after you've had gestational. After I started the diet I lost 9 pounds through the duration of the pregnancy, I felt and looked great! I was induced because they don't want you to carry the baby after your due date because of the possibility of the baby being too big. I gave birth to a healthy 7 pound girl and it's been 2 years and no diabetes. Good luck...you should have nothing to worry about. :-)

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J.J.

answers from Tulsa on

L.,
Hello. This is manageable. I had gestational diabetes and am the pickiest eater I know. So, I'm here to tell you that you can do it. Your diabetes dietician should help a lot. You will need to test yourself often and eat 6 to 7 times a day. The limits they give sound so small at first, but with lots of snacks in between meals, you still feel full. I will say I left the dietician office so overwhelmed I went and had cheese dippers for lunch that day (big carb item), then not again during pregnancy. And I ate more than normal at Thanksgiving and Christmas and actually my doctor said that was fine, he was willing to give me a pass those 2 days since I was managing it the rest of the time. I ate a lot of sugar free jello, low carb ice cream, etc. You can still have a lot of the same things, just the amount is limited (or changed to sugar-free). And I ate a lot of nuts. You just have to read labels and count your carbs. And you get use to testing yourself too. It does go away after giving birth, but you are in a higher risk factor of possibly getting diabetes later in life. I had a healthy 7 pound girl 2 weeks early and this was 4 years ago in Jan. She had no issues at all. I would meet other Moms that had Gestational Diabetes and they didn't want to bother to maintain it, I was surprised how selfish they were. If you choose not to maintain it, it can cause your newborn baby to go into shock. It's not just having a big baby; it's dangerous for the newborn too. Gestational Diabetes is scary to learn at first, but worth changing a few things for your child (at least for just a little while). You can do it. Best of luck.
~ J.

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D.G.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I had it with my first pregnancy (her name's Savannah also). The main thing the dietician had me do was have a pretty healthy diet, which is kinda what I was doing it anyways, but most importantly spreading my food into 6 or 7 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 bigger ones. I had no complications, but they did give me an ultrasound right before I was due to make sure my daughter wasn't too big which can apparentally happen more if you have GD. She wasn't though...7 lb, 10 oz. and 3 days past my due date. :) They did have me check my blood sugar starting out at 3 times a day, but I slowly quit doing that so often as my blood sugar was always in the right range...better safe than sorry though. =) Good luck! If you have any other questions, please email me.

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L.S.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I also had gestational diabetes, make your doctor stay on top of this mine did not, I thought I was doing well and my daughter was one ouce under 10lbs had a c-section and she went into the NICU because she had no blood sugar and she could have died. I did not know that it would be such a problem and you would think she she was GIFT baby (infertility) the doctor would have taken better care of me, so stay on top of your doctor. but with that I have a wonderful healthy 16 year old and her doctor said she should not get diabetes, again very healthy

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J.S.

answers from Little Rock on

never had it but as a nurse, yes it does go away. i believe if you have it while you're pregnant, you're 60% more likely to have diabetes when you're older. not exact on numbers, but something like that. so take care of yourself even afterward. good luck.

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C.C.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I had it with both of my pregnancies. The dietician will provide you with an eating plan telling you how many carbs you should have at each meal and snack. Hopefully there will be a chart which helped me a lot. If you eat well it won't be a huge deal but if you are a mostly carb and sugar eater it will feel like a strict plan. You must have some carbs though to help the baby's development and you balance it out with protein. You may even need medication(I had pills) but I doubt it this close to the end. It is mostly the eating well and in moderation we all know but do not always do. I had no complications and had 8 and 7 lb babies and neither one looked like diabetic babies which have a lot of fat on them. I still had my Arby's roast beef sandwich but I took the top bun off. The doctor may decide to induce (nice not having the rush to the hospital) to make sure the baby is not too big. You may have more fetal heart monitoring at each appointment. At your 6wk check up after the birth the dr. will do another sugar test to make sure you diabetes is gone. You are at risk of diabetes later in life. Once you get used to checking your blood-sugar levels 3-6 times a day the rest is easy.

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E.P.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Hi i just delivered a baby two months ago with gestational diebetes. It does go away in most cases...rare cases you can keep it, and having gestational does increase your risks of developing diebetes later on in life... The good news....being on a sugar free diet made me feel so much better towards the end of my pregnancy....i felt better at 38 weeks than i did at 20 weeks...and i lost 39 lbs!!!! i came out of the hospital looking like i didnt just have a baby...I'm still on the diebetic diet and steady losing weight... my baby came out perfectly healthy and happy....the diet sucks but stick with it...it will help you both in the long run and its only two months. maintain good blood sugar levels and your baby wont become excessively large which makes for a difficult delivery...and possible complications with the baby....you can do it!!!! if u need any more tips or advice feel free to email me at ____@____.com good luck!

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

it will be easily controlled with good diet. your nutritionist will help you a lot. adavantage is that you will watch the carbs/sugar you eat and actually helps you not gain too much weight. dont binge on sugars right after delivery. have a little but wait till your sugar check up, may be about 4 weeks following delivery. the GD will go away but risk will stay.

follow good diet always from now, even after delivery. occasional binging is fine but dont over do.

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