Help, Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy, 28 weeks?
Posted by admin on Feb 12, 2009
Please help, I don’t know what to do. I’ve been eating very healthy since the beginning. I have 1 glass of 2% milk blended with strawberries, then 2 cups of fruit with yogurt (melon & cantaloupe cantaloupe, sometimes apple, other days i have strawberries and oat meal, i love brocolli, so I pretty much have it everyday, some day, most of the time i use olive oil and red wine vinagrette as dressing, i also have with cheese and red onions. On the weekends i have what i want, mexican, italian etc. I drink 80 ounces of water everyday and sometimes i also drink orange juice and that’s it…….i hate soda, i hate sugar, donuts, i never liked them. I try so hard to be healthy for our baby and I am just so frustrated because I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I failed the 3 hour Glucosa tes, my sugar level came out very high. My Dr. can’t tell what is wrong just to watch my blood everyday at home, so they’ll teach me at the hospital how to do it, if I don’t get better they’ll put me on insulin. This is not generic because when they did my tests everything came back normal, gestational diabetes is something I developed during pregnancy but they can’t tell what’s causing it. My Dr. frustrates me because he doesn’t help me much, but I’m only 2 months away from labor and I don’t want to change Drs. If you experiences anything similar please share it with me, any advise will be helpful. I appreciate your help.
I’m 28 weeks pregnant, a boy
I’m 5′ 1", i was 120 pound, I’ve gained 26 pounds so far.
(just in case this info is needed)
I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 16 weeks, so trust me, i know how you feel :S
The way to keep your sugars down is to watch your carbohydrate intake. Bearing in mind that nearly ALL foods contain carbs, and sugar is nearly pure carbs. (NO MORE FRUIT JUICE- have an orange instead!).
http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/Living-with-Diabetes/Gestational-Diabetes/Managing-Gestational-Diabetes/
Your doctor should be sending you to a diabetes centre so that you can learn about what foods you can/can’t have, and HOW MUCH of them you are able to have. It’s very complex and would take far too long for me to explain it all.
My basic diet lately has been
1 average size banana for brekky, and an instant coffee (minimal milk)
morning snack- yoghurt or cappucino
lunch- 1 multi grain roll with salad
afternoon snack- yogurt or cappucino, or 2 slices of burgen wholemeal and grain toast (this bread is only 1/2 carb per slice).
dinner- 2/3 cup pasta with bolognaise. or 2/3 cup doongara clever rice with stir fry
evening snack- yogurt or toast or fruit.
Try not to feel bad that you have gestational diabetes- it is not in anyway your fault. The placenta creates lots of hormones which in some women interferes with the way your insulin works. :S Nothing you can do about it. this is one of the suckiest things in the world. Because you can be being 100% good, and your readings can keep getting worse- because your hormones increase. and some women will end up on insulin NO MATTER what they do. Also, even with being 100% good with your diet/sugars/insulin/exercise you still have a 30% increased chance of ending up with a bigger baby!
The important thing is to get to the end of the pregnancy knowing you did everything you could to help your baby come out healthy. It is important to listen to your diabetes educators because if you don’t manage it well, your baby is at significantly increased risk of all sorts of things.
It’s important that you go to a dietician who is specifically trained in managing gestational diabetes with diet.
I’m sorry that you have to deal with all this. It really really sucks. I have been really good, and at 36 weeks pregnant, my baby is still on the 80th%ile for size. But i’ve only put on 7 kilos during my pregnancy (about 15 pounds) and at least 5 kilos of that is baby/placenta etc. Eating like this is really good for you. Try to minimize weight gain, so that you’re less likely to develop diabetes later in life. Also, risk for things goes up for every 10 pounds you gain during pregnancy.
