So I was diganosed about 2 weeks ago (at 27 weeks). It was a surprise, didn't have it with my first one, but I'm 35 now. I was a bread/milk/fruit eater so this diet has been really hard on me. I am not a meat fan, but I feel like meat and veggies are all I can eat. I can't keep my fasting numbers under control. I've been around a 100 the last 5 days upon waking so they are scheduling an appointment to discuss nighttime insulin. I find it all very heartbreaking. I don't want to eat anything, but I have to, but when I'm sleeping my baby is being flooded with glucose. I'm losing weight. AND my Ob keeps "reassuring" me in the most annoying way, "Don't worry! It's fine! This is all normal pregnancy stuff!" It doesn't feel normal at all. I tried before bed snacks but it actually made my morning numbers go up.
Any website suggestions for healthy recipes?
I think we're due at about the same time. I'm 29 weeks along right now. 
Losing weight on this diet is a big concern for me. So my dietitian has me eating a lot of "good" fats...like nuts, avocado, olive oil, etc. She says not only is this great for my weight, it slows digestion so my blood sugar will stay lower and provides the baby with stuff he needs, too.
GD is so individual specific, that I haven't really found many good recipes yet. I've found it easier to just combine ingredients I know I can have in specific portions into different configurations to make up my own meals. Or do something like cut down portions or substitute an ingredient for something less carby on a regular recipe.
flor - all I can tell you is that a lot of the feelings you are having about it are normal ime. It's very frustrating & I've definitely been in that "nothing I eat is right" mindset - it's terrible. I know taking the insulin can feel like a failure & be upsetting but honestly it relieved a LOT of the stress for me. Nothing I tried would bring down my fasting numbers but the nighttime insulin brought it down & brought down the stress with it - well worth it.
As for recipes - I can't suggest much, we eat a very simple diet of eggs, meat, nuts, veggies & a few carbs (nothing white). For protein have you tried cottage cheese or greek yoghurt (you have to watch this 'cause many are also high in sugar)? I also do protein shakes daily - it's an easy meal & gives you a good amount of protein. You can add natural peanut butter to up the good fats & make it more filling.
I buy a protein shake mix from my gym. You can get them at the grocery store, drugstore, healthfood store, etc. There are MANY brands out there - watch for the carb content - some are much higher than others. Some are also much better tasting then others. I currently really like the Whey Gourmet brand as they have an amazing variety of flavours & I haven't tried one yet I didn't like - the peanut butter chocolate is great & even better with a tablespoon of chocolate in it.
We cook as a family. Tonight we had leftover chicken breast, pasta & tomatoe sauce & some veggies. I just omitted the pasta from my plate.
I think I would like to join in here with you ladies. I'm almost 19 weeks and not "officially" diagnosed yet, but at my initial prenatal visit they drew an a1c which came back a little high so I had to go to dietary counseling and have "a few" visits with the diabetes specialists. I've been using a glucose monitor since then - the official instructions are to do a fasting and 2 hour postprandials every other day. They would like the fastings below 95 and the postprandials below 120.
So far all of my postprandials are stone-cold normal, every single one. Even when I stray from a lower-carb diet. So that's reassuring. But, my fastings are consistently a little high.
I'm feeling extremely stressed because I know that if I end up officially diagnosed as GDM, and if this diagnosis leads to medication/insulin, then hospital policy is that my baby has to go to the NICU for at least 6 hours to be monitored and have frequent blood sugar checks. This is the single biggest stressor for me because I know that the nurses in the NICU tend to be very generous with formula and not so attentive to parental wishes for breastfeeding (I'm a nurse in L&D). I've called to update them on a mom more times than I can count and when I tell them mom wants to breastfeed they almost always respond with "oh okay, I gave the baby a bottle so let her know, but she can breastfeed once we release the baby!" I had a mom demand to breastfeed her baby while "visiting" after I was allowed to take her to see her baby and the nurse was absolutely livid that mom holding the baby disrupted the monitors and they couldn't tell exactly how much the baby got, and were going to have to monitor sugars even more closely because "it really could have screwed everything up for the baby to have breastfed." 
So I'm not necessarily upset by the potential diagnosis (and I think it pretty much is official in everything but writing at this point) so much as what it will probably mean for my baby's first few hours of life. The idea of this precious little person lying in the nicu being poked and prodded and fed formula like it's liquid gold is really upsetting. If I have to go on medication it also means that I'll be pressured to agree to an induction at 38 weeks, which I am planning to refuse as long as the baby is fine, but what it means for our tiny newborn is extremely upsetting. My plan if we end up there is to just hang out in the NICU the entire time the baby is there, breastfeeding on demand and bonding as much as we can, but that's not exactly what I want, kwim?
Anyway, I'm rambling. (sigh)
So anyway, hi. I'm here. Glad this thread is here and sorry to dump my pity party on you all.
I'm feeling extremely stressed because I know that if I end up officially diagnosed as GDM, and if this diagnosis leads to medication/insulin, then hospital policy is that my baby has to go to the NICU for at least 6 hours to be monitored and have frequent blood sugar checks. This is the single biggest stressor for me because I know that the nurses in the NICU tend to be very generous with formula and not so attentive to parental wishes for breastfeeding (I'm a nurse in L&D). I've called to update them on a mom more times than I can count and when I tell them mom wants to breastfeed they almost always respond with "oh okay, I gave the baby a bottle so let her know, but she can breastfeed once we release the baby!" I had a mom demand to breastfeed her baby while "visiting" after I was allowed to take her to see her baby and the nurse was absolutely livid that mom holding the baby disrupted the monitors and they couldn't tell exactly how much the baby got, and were going to have to monitor sugars even more closely because "it really could have screwed everything up for the baby to have breastfed."
So I'm not necessarily upset by the potential diagnosis (and I think it pretty much is official in everything but writing at this point) so much as what it will probably mean for my baby's first few hours of life. The idea of this precious little person lying in the nicu being poked and prodded and fed formula like it's liquid gold is really upsetting. If I have to go on medication it also means that I'll be pressured to agree to an induction at 38 weeks, which I am planning to refuse as long as the baby is fine, but what it means for our tiny newborn is extremely upsetting. My plan if we end up there is to just hang out in the NICU the entire time the baby is there, breastfeeding on demand and bonding as much as we can, but that's not exactly what I want, kwim?
What a sad experience for those women. Where I gave birth (with GD) we actually don't have nurseries anymore, and they promote breastfeeding right away, and there was no issue with DS's blood sugar tests. I hope you can get those hours to be as right for your family as you can,
That's crazy! My doctor and diabetes nurse both keep telling me that breastfeeding is extra critical for a GD mom. Guess those NICU nurses haven't gotten the memo yet.
I think I would like to join in here with you ladies. I'm almost 19 weeks and not "officially" diagnosed yet, but at my initial prenatal visit they drew an a1c which came back a little high so I had to go to dietary counseling and have "a few" visits with the diabetes specialists. I've been using a glucose monitor since then - the official instructions are to do a fasting and 2 hour postprandials every other day. They would like the fastings below 95 and the postprandials below 120.
So far all of my postprandials are stone-cold normal, every single one. Even when I stray from a lower-carb diet. So that's reassuring. But, my fastings are consistently a little high.
I'm feeling extremely stressed because I know that if I end up officially diagnosed as GDM, and if this diagnosis leads to medication/insulin, then hospital policy is that my baby has to go to the NICU for at least 6 hours to be monitored and have frequent blood sugar checks. This is the single biggest stressor for me because I know that the nurses in the NICU tend to be very generous with formula and not so attentive to parental wishes for breastfeeding (I'm a nurse in L&D). I've called to update them on a mom more times than I can count and when I tell them mom wants to breastfeed they almost always respond with "oh okay, I gave the baby a bottle so let her know, but she can breastfeed once we release the baby!" I had a mom demand to breastfeed her baby while "visiting" after I was allowed to take her to see her baby and the nurse was absolutely livid that mom holding the baby disrupted the monitors and they couldn't tell exactly how much the baby got, and were going to have to monitor sugars even more closely because "it really could have screwed everything up for the baby to have breastfed."
So I'm not necessarily upset by the potential diagnosis (and I think it pretty much is official in everything but writing at this point) so much as what it will probably mean for my baby's first few hours of life. The idea of this precious little person lying in the nicu being poked and prodded and fed formula like it's liquid gold is really upsetting. If I have to go on medication it also means that I'll be pressured to agree to an induction at 38 weeks, which I am planning to refuse as long as the baby is fine, but what it means for our tiny newborn is extremely upsetting. My plan if we end up there is to just hang out in the NICU the entire time the baby is there, breastfeeding on demand and bonding as much as we can, but that's not exactly what I want, kwim?
Anyway, I'm rambling. (sigh)
So anyway, hi. I'm here. Glad this thread is here and sorry to dump my pity party on you all.
Yep. In general I love my hospital and my job but the way GDM moms are (mis)treated makes me really really sad and disappointed in us. I think these women deserve better but changing hospital policy is not a small undertaking and is pretty much impossible for one person. So I don't have a problem with testing my blood sugar or going on medication, I'll do whatever I need to in a heartbeat for my baby's health. But thinking about my baby getting kidnapped off to this very breastfeeding (and parent) UNfriendly unit for 6+ hours right after he/she is born is just breaking my heart already. It's a little bit of a nightmare, honestly, to be a diabetic mom at my hospital. We do a lot of things super well but compassionate care for diabetic moms and their babies is an area where we have failed on a massive scale.
Does anybody else find themself getting hypoglycemic after exercising? I've been testing before and after exercising for a few weeks because I end up feeling shaky and lightheaded within about 20 minutes on the treadmill, and my sugars when I feel that way are consistently in the low 60s, even if I just ate about an hour before exercising. Last time I tested before working out, an hour after eating, and my sugar was 124. After walking/light jogging for 25 minutes I had to stop because I felt dizzy and my sugar had dropped to 61. 
Is this a sign that I really do have some serious problems regulating my sugars or is this a sign that I need to maybe eat more protein before working out? I never had this problem when I was eating more carbs and fruit than I do now.
I've also lost 15 pounds during the pregnancy so far because of my diet changes. I started out quite overweight and I know the baby still has plenty of "fuel" but the weight loss and the episodes of hypoglycemia concern me, as do the sometimes high fasting sugars. (usually in the range of 90-100). I really wish that this pregnancy was going as smoothly as my others, I never had any complications with my other babies and this is all pretty overwhelming.
beansproutmama - is there any other choices in hospitals? That really is atrocious & completely unnecessary. Sigh.
As for the lows after working out try adding some protein & even some healthy fats before your workouts - this should slow down the release of the carbs into your system.
Fastings are always the hardest for me to address. Do you have a bedtime snack? Immediately before bedtime? By shortening your fasting period it can help with fasting numbers. A little bit of carbs, protein & fat is ideal - you may have to play with the amounts to find what works best for your body.
Good luck with it!
My fasting numbers are also 90-100, so I go learn to give myself insulin injections next week. They are saying probably just at bedtime at this point. I've lost about 4 pounds in the last 10 days, so that is worrying me, too.
My biggest worry last week was exactly as you described-- taking the baby away and not letting us get started on breastfeeding right away. I posted that question somewhere (maybe a different website) and everyone responded that the blood sugar tests were really uninvasive and they could still breastfeed right away, so I was feeling better about it. I guess I should find out the policy of this particular hospital. :( Though, I guess I want to know the policy and what they actually do, since it isn't always the same in practice.
I got some good news from my diabetes RN this week! She's so pleased with my numbers, that she wants me to start scaling back how often I test. We're starting with fastings. She now only wants me to check once every three days. And then at my next appointment, she's going to cut back on my PP testing as well.
It felt AWESOME to get that pat on the back. But I can't quite figure out why she's not more concerned about my fasting numbers. They're normal right now, but they're going up. When I first started testing at about 26 weeks, I was consistently getting something in the range of 70. And now, at 29 weeks, I'm consistently getting something in the range of 80. A ten point climb in three weeks! And I've still got a lot to go. Seems to me like they're on track to get up into the problem range here. But my RN seems extremely unconcerned by the rise. My OB, too. I'm the only one worried about it!
Guess I have to try to trust that they know a lot more about this than me, and try not to be such a paranoid perfectionist. 
Thaesan83-- seems like you will still catch that upward climb in numbers (if it continues) testing every three days. That is exciting to test less!
Anyone on medication/insulin? I'm supposed to start night time insulin next week. My fasting is inching up from 80's ten days ago to 95-105 the last few days. The nurse told me that pregnant women have to do isulin injections because there are no oral meds approved in pregnancy. On another site I noticed a lot of mom were talking about being on "pills" or "starting pills." Anyone on an oral medication?
Different care givers use different protocols - many do not like to use oral meds in pregnancy whereas they know insulin is considered very safe so many prefer to only use insulin. I am on nighttime insulin & it really is not a big deal to use - after the first couple times it just becomes routine. For me it also worked better than when I tried the oral meds (in my last pregnancy) & that alone makes it worthwhile.
Seana - they cannot really force you to show up for an induction. I think the most important thing is to (as much as possible) find a care giver that you feel comfortable with & who is not going to push you into unnecessary interventions. Being educated is important so we can advocate for ourselves & our babies.
Question for mamas who had GD in a previous pregnancy:
Did you do the follow-up GTT postpartum? I'd like to take it to make absolutely sure everything has returned to normal and to see what my non-pregnant numbers are. But I can't quite figure out how a new mother can find the time to do such a long lab test. Especially if you're breastfeeding!
The diabetes nurse told my that I should have bloodwork done once a year to make sure I don't develop type 2. She said I wouldn't have to repeat the glucose test, it would just be a bloodtest. I wonder if they could do that postpartum?
Also, I Googled "glyburide and pregnancy" (the oral med that it seems that everyone with GD is taking instead of insulin) and I can see why the RN told me to go with insulin! I just can't go along with the "most women who take it in pregnancy are fine" since most women pass the one hour, most women pass the 3 hour, and most women control GD with diet alone. Clearly I'm not "most women" at this point!
thesan - I monitored for awhile after I had ds. My doctor continued to do a1c tests at least once a year which gives you an average bg for a 3 month period (don't really understand the science of it but it's just a simple blood draw).
flor - I didn't find glyburide worked for me with ds & was never really comfortable with the "well, many people do this but it's not yet recommended" approach.
As for post-partum, I did blood tests for 3 days pp, then was cleared to stop. I was supposed to do the GTT at 6 weeks, but like someone said, it's so hard to make the time! I didn't do it until 6 months when I got chased up, and now they want me to test yearly.
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