Warm and fuzzy GD stories?

[psyche]

Today I was given the diagnosis of gestational diabetes. I know that it is sort of a touchy topic (I've done some reading myself since I failed the one hour test by 4 points (139)) so I am a bit ambivalent about it.

For the three hour test, my fasting blood sugar was three points above the cut-off, the one-hour blood sugar was about twenty points above the cut-off, and the second and third hours came in below the cut-offs. With two out of four abnormal, I get the da*n diagnosis. Overall, I am not too worried about being able to keep the medical establishment happy with my numbers by following a lower-carb diet because my numbers were not *that* high to begin with.

However, then I had to go delving through previous posts about GD on this forum. One thing freaked me out and now I am starting to get worried. Someone once posted that women with the GD diagnosis are not allowed to go past their due dates. Does anyone know if that is a general rule or maybe just particular to certain obstetrical practices?

I have a group of midwives that I see, but they work within a practice of OB/GYNs. Furthermore, I'm trying for a VBAC but because of the "C" they pretty much don't want to induce me. My first kiddo came nine days past the due date so I've just assumed that it was likely that I'd go past this time as well (not necessarily, but I just don't like to focus on the one date). To make things potentially worse for the whole due date issue, the firstborn was nearly nine and a half pounds at birth *without* any GD issues (my family just has big babies) so I'm afraid "they" will really worry about size.

[vicky72]

HI I don't have much time to post, I am falling asleep LOL! With DS I was diagnosed with GD at 30 weeks. I controlled with diet only. I saw a nutritionist one time, and checked my blood sugar 3-4 times a day. My #'s were worse than yours, my one hour was 186. I also saw a group of CNM's backed by OB/GYN's. They would have let me go til 41wks. I delivered 2 days before my induction day.

I had a nice natural labor, nice delivery, nice baby. He was only 8lb 9 oz, small for my family!! He did need a glucose test after birth, it was fine. He never need formula, and we went home the next day. :throb

This pregnancy I took my first one hour at 19wks and passed with 90. Will do another at 25ish weeks! I do check my blood sugar and watch what I eat.

Good Luck, for me it was not so bad. Feel free to ask any more questions! I neeed to go to sleep now! :o

[maybebaby]

If you control well with diet, which I bet you will with those low numbers, I think usually the care providers are more willing to give some leeway. I mean, my backup cnm's backup OB ( :lol ) just wants my fastings below 105, my HB mw's want it below 110. I'm betting your GTT wanted lower than 95 or even 90 (so, by my docs/mws standards, you would have passed, yk?)

But I know the backups have already said they don't "want" me to go past my due date (but they don't know I'm planning a HB :wink ). So yeah, *usually* they don't like to see "GD" moms go late at all.. BUT that can be totally different based on your provider! Some would probably be fine with it.

Good luck!!

[pinkmilk]

Hi Zenbutterfly,

O.K...I'll try to focus on the warm-fuzzies of GD for you!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't think of any.
Sorry.
I'm just being negative.
Hopefully you can find a bit of humor in this.

Love and Light. Angela

[AnditheBee]

Your numbers are really borderline, ZenButterfly. Some practices don't even do the three-hour test unless the glucola test comes back at 140 or above. Do your research, eat right, and be happy--you and your baby will be fine! :)

[ChattyCat]

You really shouldn't have any problems controlling your blood sugar with diet.

With ds, my blood sugar was rather out of control. I was on oral meds for GD the whole pg, and my 3 hour tests kept coming back wacky. Even still, he had his blood sugar checked a few hours after birth, and it was low. But, I just had the ped come back in an hour or so, and by then it was going up, so they didn't push the formula. Also, should a small amount of formula become necessary to get the blood sugar up, remember to ask for an SNS (if you plan on bfing) to avoid nipple confusion.

Luckily, with this pg, my blood sugar seems to be staying in check. Hopefully, that will continue.

[FaeKind]

I have GD, too, and my numbers were way worse than yours... 170 for the 1 hour and all of my 3 hour test numbers were bad (2 of them were over 200!). I've been able to control it well with diet so I have no doubt that you will have no problems. According to my dr, they won't try to induce me so long as the sugars are under control and the baby's not getting really big.

And, if the baby has low blood sugar after birth, the hospital will give a little bit of sugar water from a cup so that they won't cause any nipple confusion! I guess they don't routinely give pacifiers or formula unless the mom can't breast feed or specifically requests it.

Good luck!

[L'lee]

BTW, I went to a La Leche meeting recently and the leader said that a small amount (1 tsp - 1 Tbs) of colostrum has enough sugar to raise a baby's blood sugar without supplementation, if your DR will allow you to BF and retest your baby's blood sugar, I would try this first!

[psyche]

Thank you everyone. At this point, I'm not really concerned about the blood sugar issues but rather with the "medical establishment" issues. I had to change my primary care physician today because I'm suddenly "high risk" and need a referral to my midwife's office (the other PCP goes to a different hospital so wouldn't give me a referral) as well as a referral to a dietician. Any dietician would do, but there was no way I was going to change my midwife!

At this rate I'm going to have blood pressure issues at my next appointment.

I just hate the fact that all this medical protocols now are aimed straight at the heart of my wished-for low-intervention VBAC. With the numbers from the three hour test, I am pretty sure I would have "passed" if I'd taken it two or three weeks earlier instead of at over thirty weeks pregnant.