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GD Info - For those interested (long)
Hello All,
I have only been doing this for one week, but thought I would share the info if anyone is interested.
The background to Gestational Diabetes (GD) is that when you are PG your needs for insulin quadruple (or so). It is exponential, so the further along you are, the more insulin your body needs to make.
That is why they do the GD testing at the weeks they do, it is the time in PG when your insulin needs really start to rise.
A person who would be fine normally, just can't meet the new level of insulin needed to regulate their blood sugar. So they walk around with high blood sugar most of the time. The baby, however *can* create plenty of their own insulin, so they gain weight - that's how you end up with a large baby due to uncontrolled GD.
Many PG women control their blood sugar through "diet" and "exercise" alone. However as the PG progresses, it takes more and more to control the blood sugar and sometimes requires medication and/or insulin. There is also special monitoring that will have to be done on me and the baby when I go into labor/give birth because all of a sudden my insulin needs will return to normal, so I will have very low blood sugar.
My OB is attached to the hospital where I will give birth, also attached is a diabetes care office, so I have been going there and they are great.
I say "diet" in the real sense - they put parameters around what to eat and when. However, it is a *lot* of food, you eat often and you don't have to count calories or fat, so it is not a "diet" in the traditional sense.
Also - they want you to exercise, but mostly they want you to walk for about 30 minutes a day. They do not want you to do strenuous exercise and/or to exercise for a long time.
So the diet is interesting. Most of the interest is in counting carbs. Carbs are "sugars" found mostly in grains (bread, pasta, crackers), fruit (all fruits) and some vegetables (potatoes, beans and corn).
Whenever you eat carbs, you also have to eat protein. It is suggested that you also eat things with fiber.
So, the diet that was given to be originally is:
Breakfast - 30 carbs (no fruit)
Morning snack - 15 carbs
Lunch - 45 carbs
Afternoon snack - 15 carbs
Dinner - 45 carbs
Bedtime snack - 30 carbs
An example of what I have been eating:
Breakfast - 30 carbs (no fruit)
2 eggs (protein)
1 wheat toast (15 carbs)
15 wheat crackers (15 carbs)
Morning snack - 15 carbs
1 unsweetened greek yogurt (protein)
1 1/4 Cup Strawberries (15 carbs)
Lunch - 45 carbs
Chicken Salad (15 carbs and protein)
1/3 of Cantaloupe (15 carbs)
15 crackers (15 carbs)
Cheese (protein)
Afternoon snack - 15 carbs
Hard boiled egg (protein)
1/3 Cantaloupe (15 carbs)
Dinner - 45 carbs
1 1/2 Chicken sausage (protein)
1 wheat garlic toast (15 carbs)
Cesar salad
15 crackers (15 carbs)
Cheese
1 1/4 cup strawberries (15 carbs)
Bedtime snack - 30 carbs
2 cups popcorn (30 carbs)
1 string cheese (protein)
So, it is a lot of food! I feel like I am constantly eating and often I don't want to eat all the food, but I have to.
About two years ago DH and I did calorie counting (for about a year) combined with working out. So I am pretty used to counting calories - which is harder than this. But it was really good practice :-)
I have to take my blood five times per day. Upon waking up, one or two hours after Breakfast, one or two hours after Lunch, one or two hours after Dinner, at bedtime.
They want your blood sugar to be really low, lower than a diabetic would be (for example). Upon waking up it should be under 90, after a meal it should be under 120/130.
When I was first diagnosed, I was really scared. I cried a lot. I just want to have a healthy baby. I read a lot of scary things online.
After following all of the recommendations for one week - I went in to my appointment today. They said that I am doing great. They said everything looked good and they said they didn't need to see me for two weeks. By keeping my blood sugar regulated I should be able to avoid the negatives associated with GD for the baby and myself. I am hopeful that baby and I will come out of this OK.
So - feel free to ask me questions. I am not an expert (by any stretch of the imagination) but I am happy to share :-)
When you've been married this long, you need a ticker to remind you.
Baby Boy M - 08/01/2013
Re: GD Info - For those interested (long)
thanks! sounds like you are off to a great start! I'm sure you and baby will do great!
Five times a day! Wow, that is a lot. Your poor fingers.
Glad you've made it work for you and are on top of things. You're menu doesn't seem bad. Good luck with this and thank you for sharing the info.
Thanks so much for sharing! We always see people on here saying oh yay I passed or oh no I have GD but I have never seen what having GD entails. It seems like a lot of work but totally worth it to keep yourself and your baby safe. Also that is a lot of food and a lot of testing. I know you have only been doing it for a week but you seem to have it under control and have a wonderful medical support system!
good luck and feel free to keep us updated!
Our Little Raspberry-Born 3/27/12
We Said I Do 09/06/09
Thank you for posting this information. I don't usually post on here since i'm still TTC, but I appreciate you posting what you learned. I was just diagnosed with pre-diabetes (glucose levels extremely close to diabetic levels) and I haven't been taking it too well. It helps to know that it can be controlled in pregnancy. Good luck and I am glad you have everything under control.