Gestational Diabetes - Danville,CA

I managed to avoid insulin simply thru diet changes! I cut out ALL juices & regular soda. I allowed myself one diet soda each day. I relied on milk- which has to be counted as a carb!... decaf tea & coffee, & water. I was pumping enough protein, carbs, & fruit...but had to triple my vegies.

Portion control was imperative, & I was diligent in my daily testings. If I strayed from my diet.....even with just a little.....my #s showed it! During the last 1/2 of my pregnancy, I had "sweets" twice.....& paid for it!

BUT the best thing that happened as a result of this diagnosis.....was a trip to the hospital's dietician. This was 14 years ago, & I still use what she taught me! My husband's been a diabetic for almost 10 years now....& he too uses those guidelines. Ask for a referral.....it's well worth your time!

2 moms found this helpful

hmm, I had GD. I'm a bit surprised they aren't trying diet to control it, then gluburide meds if that doesn't work. 10mg 2x a day controlled my spikes, which I would get from any fruit or milk. I ate tons of protein (cheese, eggs, steak). Ask the doc about trying meds first. It won't hurt the baby and my daughter was born completely healthy. And fyi, there is a gestational diabetes forum on justformommies.com.

1 mom found this helpful

We tried to control my GD w/ my diet. It helped but my after lunch numbers were always high (not crazy high but they were concerned because as your due date gets closer, it is harded to control). I learned how to give myself the shots but had my husband actually stick me because I couldn't do it...probably would have if I had to but hey, I didn't get pregnant on my own so I didn't have to do that on my own.

I went in labor 6 days before my "due date" but right when I thought I was due and a day before they were going to do an induction. My daughter was NOT over-weight and we neither one have diabetes now. She is healthy as can be.

I would suggest that you relax and don't stress (stressing can cause high numbers). Do your best to keep w/ the recommended diet but keep in mind that a bite of that dessert is better than not having it and pigging out on it later. Be careful of low readings (especially in the morning) and be sure to eat when scheduled.

If you eat right and keep it under control it will go away and there is a chance that you will not have it after. I have been tested time and time again and it completely went away after pregnancy. thank goodness. I didn't really over eat either but did crave a little sweets here and there. good luck to you and you and baby will be fine!!!!

I'm sorry to hear of your impending diagnosis. if it is any consolation though gestational diabetes go away once you deliver. however that puts you at a 50% increased risk of developing type II diabetes later in life but you can help prolong that with proper diet and exercise. good luck with your pregnancy.

dont cut sugar completely just limit it. I cut all sugar out when I was told I had gestational diabetes and bottomed out the other way while driving. your body has to have some sugar but limited. instead of bread use flour tortillas. use brown rice instead of rice and whole wheat bread and etc. double your meat and cheese on your sandwiches and add more vegtables. corn turns into sugar and so does whole milk. 2% turns in to sugar slower. fruit is bad too. limit it. especially oranges. I bought a fix it and forget it diabetic cook book and used it to make all my meals. that way I was still getting the sugar my body needed.

for a sugar substitute I like splenda. my son has a lot of yeast infections caused by sugar so I still do the diabetic cooking out of the cookbook. I basically have him on the same diet I had when I was pregnant. my sugar problems went away when I gave birth but I think they are coming back. just remember protien protien and more protien. if you have no energy that day eat protien. increase your protien alot. the cookbook will give you cooking hints throughout and diabetic ideas to reduce your sugar. good luck

I ended up on the shots too. See if your insurance will cover an insulin pen, that made it a little bit easier for me. It stinks but is temporary. Make sure you're snacking consistently and have a quick sugar fix if your numbers drop. Good luck!

I had GD with my pregnancies as well. With my first I was able to control it with diet and exercise, not sure why they aren't hooking you up with a nutritionist and trying that first? With my last we did diet and exercise then moved on to the oral meds (glyburide) which my body didn't respond to well and eventually ended up on insulin. Sometimes your body is going to do what it's going to do. The insulin it turns out is not a big deal, typically you can't even feel the injection. My kids were all healthy! Just keep in mind that your chances of having Type II diabetes later in life is increased since you have GD. Good luck with your new little one once he/she arrives!

Hi,
Yes, I had G.D. with both pregnancies, the first I ended up on insulin, the second pregnancy I got by with the diet and exercise and pills (which they constantly had to adjust the amount of medicine--the same thing happens with insulin--adjusting almost weekly). My blood sugars went right back to normal after delivery--both times.

First of all, they should have told you, that this has to do with hormones and NOT what you have eaten while pg--it's not your "fault." As the placenta gets larger, it can interfere with the absorption and production of your own insulin.

The diet that you'll be following is healthy--it's the way we should be eating anyway. I learned a lot. In fact, when I went in for diet counseling with my second pg, I told them that I always had trouble with my morning numbers. They were always elevated. With that history, she modified my diet to eliminate fruit and milk until lunch, since those foods are processed so quickly, raising the blood sugars. That was just the trick! Because I didn't start off the day high, I was more consistent and my sugars didn't get all out of whack. I'm convinced that the simple modification allowed me to avoid the insulin injections.

From my own experience, the worst part of insulin was it was inconvenient. Going out to dinner? What if it is more than 30 minutes before you get to eat, but you want to do the insulin shot at home? I ended up taking it with me.

So here's the deal, if you have too much sugar in your blood and not enough insulin, that blood is transferred to the baby, and the baby must then make insulin to lower the blood sugar. Insulin is a growth hormone, so then your baby gets very large, making delivery more risky. That's why managing your sugars is so important.

You can do anything for 12 weeks. Bring M&Ms or your favorite sweet treat to the hospital with you and promise yourself you can have something after you have held that sweet little baby.

Hang in there! Best wishes.

Just hang in there. It is very scary to be told you have gestational diabetes, and the idea of shots is hard as well. I went through it with both my children, and it is not as horrible as it sounds. Just remember that at the sacrifices you will have to make will be so worth it when your healthy baby is born.

Feel free to message me with any questions about it.