Gestational Diabetes Thread - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[spughy]

Why such a long fast, madelaine?  I only had to go 10-12 hours - which is actually just normal for me, so no big deal.  15 hours seems excessive for most people (although I do it pretty regularly - dinner at 6, and I don't usually eat again until nearly 9 the next morning, I'm just not hungry overnight - but I think it would be different at a different point in the diurnal rhythm!).  Or is that just the earliest available appointment and they figured you wouldn't want to wake up at midnight just to have a snack?

[chocolatechip]

spughy, bummer!!! I wonder if it would help your blood sugar at all to actually eat a little snack right before bed? I know eating more frequent, smaller meals is supposed to help, and my midwives told me it was fine that my body was occasionally waking me up at night to eat, because it could help keep my blood sugar more level. Just a thought. What is your approach going to be to deal with it now?

[buko]

spughy, that stinks!  Did you have GD with your previous pregnancy?

One thing known to lower BS is to have 1 oz of almonds before each meal (or at least some meals), and, of course, exercise also helps.  Pardon me if you knew those things already! 

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by buko 

spughy, that stinks!  Did you have GD with your previous pregnancy?

One thing known to lower BS is to have 1 oz of almonds before each meal (or at least some meals), and, of course, exercise also helps.  Pardon me if you knew those things already! 

Interesting. I have to eat a protein snack before bed and when I wake up to pee at night or else I can't sleep and wake up really crappy.

The night before my test, I had a few almonds and a few grapes. I also had a few almonds in the middle of the night. I had my test that morning.

I don't eat processed sugar at all and during this pregnancy any sweets have been a turn off for me, so I wasn't too worried about passing. Still, I wonder if my almond snacks helped my sugar levels. 

[buko]

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Studies-Show-that-Almonds-Help-Regulate-Blood-2307482.php

[spughy]

Oh, I eat almonds all the time.  They were part of my bedtime snack last night, in fact.   And prior to getting pregnant I followed a pretty much paleo diet (which is mostly ideal for this) and I've being back on that probably 90% of the time since mid second-trimester.    The sad fact is, I'm 40 years old and I spend the majority of my adult life eating foods that were really not compatible with my genetics.  Can't say I'm surprised at this outcome.

[madelaine]

My appointment was at 9am, then I had blood drawn at 9 (drank the drink), 10, 11, and 12. Kind of sucked, but I felt mostly okay. Got REALLY tired a few hours after drinking the drink. I watched dumb tv on my laptop and crocheted to pass the time. Brought some peanut butter crackers and a clementine to eat afterwards, and man, nothing ever tasted so good.

I still haven't found out the results because of Christmas, but I have a scheduled appointment tomorrow anyway.

[buko]

Good luck, madelaine!

[writermama12]

I took mine last Thursday and haven't heard anything...wondering if i have to call to find out? 

[buko]

Maybe-- But it might just be a matter of the holidays.

[spughy]

Can you check your results online? 

I just did that - because I could - and found that to my great surprise, I am only barely technically diagnosable with GD and my blood glucose monitor is WAY off.  My fasting glucose was only a teensy bit out of range (normal is 3.3-5.0 mmol/L, my measurement was 5.1) and the 1 hr and 2 hr measurements were well within range.  My monitor gave readings of 5.8, 12.6 and 11.8 respectively.  Soooooo I'm gonna be taking that puppy back for a refund I think. 

BUT I'm anemic. ????  WTF?  My multivitamin has iron in it, and I eat a LOT of red meat, much more than is "recommended" (I should add that it's all organic grass-fed, so not the actually dangerous kind of factory-farmed overfat stuff.  But I eat a lot because we buy a side at a time and that's what's on top in the freezer - has been for a few months - and I'm too lazy to dig most nights.)  Bizarre.  Well, I'm having steak for dinner tonight and I'll go grab a bottle of that yummy iron supplement that I really like but don't regularly take because my iron levels are normally really really good. 

[buko]

spughy, my iron levels also put me at just barely "anemic" when they did my GD screening.  My MW told me not to worry unless I was experiencing symptoms-- I could take an iron supplement to be safe, but she said she wasn't concerned, as apparently around 28 weeks, women's iron levels dip down temporarily before going back up.  I hate that I can't remember the exact explanation, but apparently 28 weeks is something like... the exact moment when blood volume is up but iron levels haven't "caught up" to blood volume.  She said it almost always corrects itself.

[SamSarah]

I just did the test today, so I'm waiting for results. 

I did the one hour test, risking the false positive,  because I'm still vomiting on regular days 1 - 2 times/week and just didn't think I could muster it.  

The drink it self - clear not orange - was fine.

I felt a little shaky and headachy then, and now, 6 hours later, I'm totally wiped.  I don' t consume that much sugar, and it has made me really, really tired. 

[spughy]

Originally Posted by buko 

spughy, my iron levels also put me at just barely "anemic" when they did my GD screening.  My MW told me not to worry unless I was experiencing symptoms-- I could take an iron supplement to be safe, but she said she wasn't concerned, as apparently around 28 weeks, women's iron levels dip down temporarily before going back up.  I hate that I can't remember the exact explanation, but apparently 28 weeks is something like... the exact moment when blood volume is up but iron levels haven't "caught up" to blood volume.  She said it almost always corrects itself.

Ah, thanks.  That's good.  I knew it dipped at one point but I thought it was later, around 32 weeks.

[withlittlelungs]

Just got a call from my midwife because my results were high. She said she doesn't think that I'm diabetic, but that the extra weight I'm carrying is affecting my numbers. Either way I have to get a glucometer, make sure to walk 30 minutes every day, and see a dietician. I'm super bummed, but I haven't been as active as I should and I definitely could be eating better. I just wish that I didn't have to worry about another thing.

[withlittlelungs]

Does it make sense that I would pass the 1hr, but fail the 2hr? My results were: fasting: 67, 1hr: 167, 2hr: 173

[buko]

What I'd be wondering is why they had you take the 2-hour if you passed the 1-hour, as it's supposed to be a screen?

[spughy]

Maybe she meant her one hour post-bolus measurement was within range but the 2-hour was not.  (The numbers did go up - that's a definite sign that the insulin isn't being used properly.)

[buko]

Oh, yes, that makes more sense.

[withlittlelungs]

Originally Posted by spughy 

Maybe she meant her one hour post-bolus measurement was within range but the 2-hour was not.  (The numbers did go up - that's a definite sign that the insulin isn't being used properly.)

Yep, that is what I meant!