gestational diabetes :( :( :(

[chickstar]

“I believe you have gestational diabetes”- this is what my doctor told yesterday and I have to admit, I took it like a death sentence, how could I have let this happen...I thought I ate well, not perfect, but well...so in my craziness last night I found some quick health information on a site that had symptoms/treatments/questions and answers from patients etc. on gestational diabetes and it calmed my fears a bit.  Oftentimes these things spin out of control before you really slow down and find some good information- don’t you think?  Has anyone else been diagnosed with this and what have been your strategies to deal with it?

[Cheshire]

I've had it twice and the most important thing I did was see a nutritionist and kept a food and blood sugar log.  I learned that I wasn't eating enough calories (I had to consume at least 2,000 with the right mix of fats, carbs and proteins).  Once I learned how to eat what I needed I felt so much better.

You can still have a beautiful pregnancy and birth - just be flexible, plans change even when we don't want them to.

[Ms. B. Sprout]

Originally Posted by Cheshire 

I've had it twice and the most important thing I did was see a nutritionist and kept a food and blood sugar log.  I learned that I wasn't eating enough calories (I had to consume at least 2,000 with the right mix of fats, carbs and proteins).  Once I learned how to eat what I needed I felt so much better.

You can still have a beautiful pregnancy and birth - just be flexible, plans change even when we don't want them to.

I totally agree. I was dx'd with GD and monitored my blood sugar 4x daily during my second pg. I learned so much about the way my body deals with carbs (and fats and protein too). It was a pain, sure, but it was a huge learning experience. So some good can come out of it -- plus, to state the obvious, you really do not want uncontrolled high blood sugars.

Another thing that you can turn into a net gain is that exercise is a HUGE factor in controlling blood sugar. It's great motivation to take walks, etc.

In this pg I am not dx'd (barely passed the 3 hour) but I am still checking my fasting blood sugar every morning, just to see where I am. I consider it to be a good piece of information to have about how my body is doing as I enter the last 8 weeks of pg.

I know how hard it can be when things don't go the way we'd envisioned.

[lifeguard]

It's not necessarily something you can prevent - even with best efforts. Don't beat yourself up about it. We have a gd thread in "I'm Pregnant".

[*Jade*]

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

It's not necessarily something you can prevent - even with best efforts. Don't beat yourself up about it. We have a gd thread in "I'm Pregnant".

Yep, absolutely.  I had GD, and wasn't able to control it with diet or metformin, so I needed insulin.  I think in the end you can try your hardest and things still go in the other direction, so don't worry too much.  Even with the insulin, it wasn't too bad.  It held me really accountable to eat healthy, which was great!