Gestational Diabetes???? how did this happen??

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• by
  • proudofmyboyz
  on May. 8, 2009 at 12:59 PM

• im so sorry. don't be so scared. i had gd and i controlled my diet and checked my blood sugar fasting and 1 hour after every meal, and wrote down everything i ate. i didnt even need medication.  my baby came out healthy and no c section. just do everything the doc tells you to do and im sure everything will be fine. good luck: )

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• by
  • Aamy
  on May. 8, 2009 at 1:16 PM

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  Quoting camsmomma13:
  
  

  
  

  Quoting jsi:
  
  

  Thanks for the info on the artificial sweetners... i never would have known that. i used to work with a guy that had diabetes, and he used those all the time. he is another reason why im so scared. he had it bad. wow, only 5 lbs... thats good, ive gained way too much to even talk about it ;)  both pregnancies.

  Quoting Aamy:
  
  

  Hun take a DEEP breath. Its nothing to get so worked up over. I had GD while pregnant with DD. Its fine. Yes you have to test your blood sugar , and thats not even bad. A tiny pin prick. I thought it was going to hurt, it doesn't. You just have to watch what you eat. Not hard at all. It does take some getting used to but ...... you learn. I only gained 5 lbs my whole pregnancy cause it made me eat better. You wont automatically need a Csection ..... so take a breather on that. They wont induce you early unless the baby starts to measure big. I was induced at 39 weeks, 1 week to be exact from my due date, and DD was born 7 lbs 9 oz. So really, deep breaths, its going to be fine. Oh and stay away from the artificial sweeteners, they can affect your BS lvls even when ppl say its fine to use.

  
  

  Oh.. and try not to compare gestational diabetes to the other types it's not the same... it's nowhere near that bad.

  Yeah i agree its not the same. I had to take a class and the lady there said you COULD use artificial sweeteners but to much can STILL effect your BS lvls ... to me it was a no brain er and i just cut DOWN on the sugars and carbs. My DH even went on sort of the same diet with me. We went from sweet tea, to unsweet tea. If i was going to have a hamburger, i only ate the thin part of the bun. Also ask for mayo on the side, that way you can put the amount on it. Like i said, yes it does get some getting used to, but just think hun, its only till the little one is born and you are doing this for your childs health. I am a AVID coke drinker, not when i found out i had GD. I stopped cold turkey. And you know what i asked for after she was born ?? Yup a COKE heheeh. But you will catch on and hopefully you will be able to control it with diet. I to did gain some weight at first, but then i went on the GD diet and i lost all that i had gained and then some. And only gained the 5 lbs in the last 2 months of my pregnancy. You will be fine hun !!!
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• by
  • Nicole080984
  on May. 8, 2009 at 8:27 PM

• I'm with your DH, you are freaking out over nothing...don't get me wrong, it's not a fun thing to have, but having GD has NOTHING to do with having a c-sec...I had GD with my son and was insulin dependent...I was induced 3 days early (BY CHOICE, the doctor would've let me go up to two weeks late had I really wanted too) and I delivered (vaginally) a healthy 9lb 3oz baby boy...I didn't get GD with my daughter...but there's not reason to get all freaked out about it, it's a much more common thing these days and as long as you take care of yourself it will go away after you have the baby...don't freak out, it will be okay. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  I am a formula feeding, never co-sleeping, sleeping in their own room, stomach sleeping, vaccinating, time-out and CIO believer, pro-induction, pro-choice, tattooed and pierced, needs to lose some weight mama.

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• by
  • Bekah062205
  on May. 8, 2009 at 8:36 PM

• well i didnt read the other replies, but im sure what im about to say others have already said.......I had Gestational Diabetes....i was devastated. I did the glucose test my numbers were high, i couldnt control my levels with diet, so i had to do insulin injections....well i didnt, i had other people do it because i couldnt do it myself. .......The dr(not my normal dr.) during labor told me she felt that my baby was 8+lbs and that i might need a c-section.......the nurse pushed me to push harder...and i did and out popped a 6lb 8oz baby......Dont let Gestational Diabetes scare you.....follow the diet, keep your levels in range. If you cant do it with diet you will need insulin injections...but dont worry and stress yourself out.
  

  

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• by
  • Lavagirl
  on May. 8, 2009 at 10:10 PM

• With my 1st pregnancy, my OB forced me to fast for an entire morning and then slam down that awful sugar drink, and I too was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I too was forced to prick my finger, and even eventually take insulin at night because my numbers were borderline (just a smidge too high for the doctor's liking).  Ironically, my points were only ever 2 or 3 higher than what's considered a normal number for blood sugar.  I started my pregnancy at a normal 144 lbs, and only gained 17 lbs. by the time I delivered.  My OB scared me into thinking that my baby would be TOO huge, and talked me into inducing at only 36 and 1/2 weeks pregnant.  I was already 3 cm dialated at 36 weeks, and my OB said, "want to call it labor and just get it done?"

    I found out (after the fact) that she was leaving for a 3-week vacation that Saturday, and she obviously wanted to deliver me and collect the labor/delivery check before she left.  Afterall, if somebody else delivered me in her absence, she would have missed out on a good payload.  After a LONG, rather horrendous labor (including an epidural and numerous cervical checks that lead to an infection/fever for both of us) that ended in 3 hours of pushing flat on my back and a vaccum to suck him out, I had my 7 lbs. 13 ouncs son.  I was so numb from the epidural that I couldn't feel to push.  A truck could have driven out of my crotch and I wouldn't have known it.  I couldn't even feel pressure down there during delivery.  After the vaccum, however, my poor va-jay-jay was shredded.  She told me that I almost went to C-section because she thought my pelvic outlet almost wasn't big enough to push my baby out....she said it was a good thing we got him out when we did.  As a result of his premature entry and infection, Fox spent a week in NICU.  It was awful to leave the hospital without my son.

  Fast forward 2 years.  I got pregant again and did my research this time.  I decided to go with a midwife and deliver in a birth center.  Instead of forcing me to take that awful sugar drink, the midwives gave me the option to consume 50 grams of glucose in a more natural form (half of a banana and 8 ounces of apple juice).  You see, there is nothing remotely natural about forcing a pregnant woman to fast for a morning and then slamming 50 grams of straight gatorade-like sugar drink down her throat.  Firstly, a pregnant woman's metabolism is completely different than a non-preggo person.  If you starve a pregnant chick and then slam 50 grams of artificially-derived glucose in her, her blood sugar may well do WACKY things!  Studies show that many pregnant woman are falsely diagnosed with gestational diabetes BECAUSE of this testing method.  If, however, a provider understands and supports the natural metabolic processes of a pregnant woman, he/she will start off by NOT starving you and forcing you to slam an unnatural drink!   This is why my midwives advised me to eat as I normally would the morning of my test.  They understood that under normal circumstances, a preggo woman is not going to be ( and should not be!) fasting.  Hence, her metabolism is not geared to handle fasting very well.  Furthurmore, they also understand that consuming 50 grams of glucose in an actual natural food form (that awful sugar drink is 50 grams of glucose) will yield a more accurate test result when testing for an unnatural reaction to glucose.  SOOO....this time I ate my eggs and wheat toast in the morning.  I had my salad topped with chicken salad for lunch.  An hour before my blood draw, I consumed my 50 grams of glucose - except this time I had 8 ounces of juice and half of a banana.  LOW AND BEHOLD.....my blood sugar was PERFECT and normal when I had it drawn an hour later.  Imagine that.  No gestational diabetes.  No finger-pricking.  No insulin.  No scary "OH MY GOD, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO SHIT" talks from an OB.  I actually enjoyed this 2nd pregnancy.

  In retrospect, I realize I probably didn't have the gestational diabetes the first time around.  This 2nd time, I weighed the same and gained about 5 more lbs. than I did in my first pregnancy.  Even though the child within me was growing large, my midwives assured me that I would not grow anything that I could not push out.   Just the same as my 1st pregnancy, I was 3 cm dialated at 36 weeks.  I was 4 cm dialated at 37 weeks.  I was 5 cm dialated at 38 weeks.  I was 6 cm dialated and completely effaced when I suddenly went into labor the day before I turned 39 weeks pregnant.  Because the midwives had allowed my body to naturally ripen/go into labor on its own, I had done most of the work of labor without all the pain that is naturally associated with dialating (really, there is no need for pitocin when you just wait for a woman to do it on her own!).  I went into active labor at 11:15am.  I labored in a zacuzzi, surrounded by candles, in my husband's arms.  I was SO relaxed.  I pushed for only 20 minutes.  At 2:15pm, only 3 hours after labor started, a 9 lbs, 2 ounce boy slipped so easily out of my body.  I didn't even have a scratch on my girly parts.  He didn't leave my arms until I was ready to give him up (for 2 hours straight), and all newborn checks were performed right there with the baby on my chest.   

  So much for needing an epidural and a vaccum.  Being upright, relaxed, and in warm water made ALL the difference in the world.  So much for not being able to push out a bigger baby....so much for needing an induction because of gestational diabetes and a baby that was "too big."  I can honestly say....the birth of my 9 lbs, 2 ounce son was MUCH easier than the OB-managed birth of my 7 lbs. 13 ounce son. 

  Food for thought....have you considered going midwife?  They DO deliver in hospitals....and you CAN still get your epidural and everything.  The major difference, I believe, is in the quality of prenatal care that you'll receive.  Hope everything works out!

• 
• by
  • tracy223
  on May. 8, 2009 at 10:25 PM

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  Quoting mom.of.twins:
  
  

  Why would having GD make you have to have a c-section? I've never heard that.

  I had GD when I was pregnant with my twins and I was able to control it with diet. Just record everything that you eat and make sure that you make modifications to keep your numbers where they need to be at. Talk to your nutritionist to be sure that you completely understand your food options and how to maximize your choices. You and your baby will be fine.

  And if for some reason you do have to have a c-section, just try not to stress. Go into it calm and take your time afterwards. Don't try to do too much, but you do need to force yourself to stand up and walk around when they tell you to. I didn't need pain pills after the first day and I was able to move around and take care of my girls just fine. Mind over matter, that's what I always tell myself.

  Listen to your husband and you will be FINE! Just breathe and try to relax. :)
  

  Well said!  First, take a breath and relax.  Getting yourself all worked up is not good for you.  You can easily control your gestational diabetes with your diet and light exercise.  Read all that you can  online on how to control your blood sugar and go from there.  I am not sure why you are worried about a c-section with GD?  The two do not go hand in hand.  If you don't control the diet and develop pre-eclampsia.....then you would most likely need to have an early delivery via c-section.   But, at this point, you need not worry about that.  Just focus on controlling your diet, eating healthy and getting outside for a walk around your block.  Drink a lot of water and try and relax about this temporary ailment.  Once your baby arrives, the GD will go away quickly.

  If you end up needing a c-section, help will be essentail for about 10 days after you deliver.  If you do the right thing now....then you probably won't need to worry about that path.
  

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• by
  • MissyButtons
  on May. 9, 2009 at 1:21 AM

• I had GD, and was perfectly fine! If you watch your diet and take care of the diabetes, you will most likely not have a C section. Some ppl need C sections without GD! I made it to 38 wks, but was induced for other reasons other than GD. Take a deep breath, take care of yourself and everything will be ok:)

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