Gestational Diabetes & Glucose Tolerance Test

C.,
1st, sugar test is bad for you, bad for baby.

Get the meter. Test regularly. The doctor should refer you to nutritional person who can help you regulate meals. If you can't manage with diet and exercise, you have to go to insulin. Another not good for your baby, but at the same time, if you are spiking sugar, THAT is not good for your baby.

This late in your pregnancy, it can be VERY confusing.

I had GD, and it is no picnic. I wound up eating little amounts over short periods, testing for the larger amounts, and figuring out how far I had to walk to get the sugar down. IT WORKED.

if you can't put down the jelly donut, it won't work for ya! (or Haagen dagz, etc).

For your baby,

get up, eat some crisp vegetables.

eat eggs (if you can tolerate them)

eat meat

eat cheese

all of those are extremely low carb, or for the proteins, NO carbs. They won't drive up your sugar.

Lots and lots of vegetables. your kid has to eat them when they're older! So do you. : )

Grains and cereals very sparingly. Sparingly, not eliminated.

if you find yourself craving cereal, try carrots. you miss the crunch.

Oh, and salad dressing is a big YES - when it isn't full of soy.

soy is a big thing to avoid. THAT I have eliminated from my diet. Not good for a baby? not good for me. No brainer.

I didn't take either of my tolerance tests my second pregnancy. I did the math. If sugar spikes are NOT good for the unborn, then a *really* HUGE one is SO devastating on them. Why they still do it this way is really beyond me.

Just get the meter. Very likely it will save your baby health problems later in life. A lot of work on your part can save them from trouble later. And at this point, it's only for 5 weeks. Or less.

www.ICAN.org Oh and check out international cesarian (sp?) awareness network. It'll open your eyes about what your doctors may be setting you up for - an emergency or preventive c-section. So wrong on so many levels for you and your baby.

Good luck,
I wish I could get you more info but my baby is waking now, and I'm off to get him his morning milk!

M.

PS: I can't return mails that I receive for some reason. if someone knows a way to contact management about this, several Moms would be greatly appreciative. I've had contacts I cannot return. It's sad. Berry N, I'm not ignoring you! And all the other Moms too!

I had GD with both of my children. Most people can manage it with dietary changes. But you'd be surprised, I had trouble eating everything I was supposed to. They should send you to a nutritionist that will help you plan out your meals (to get you started) and give you the plan. You need to eat every 2-3 hours with GD. The best part of it for me was that during the time that you would normally have the most weight gain, due to the diet, I didn't :) Both of my babies were fine-on the big side 8lb 11oz and 9lb 7 oz, but they are beautiful and healthy-as I am sure yours will be. And at 35 weeks, you won't have that long to deal with it-your numbers will go down after you have the baby...If you have any questions, feel free to contact me !!!! Good luck!

Very common. You should just start checking your blood sugars now. Did you have GD with your son or no?

I had gestational diabetes with my 3rd baby (now 10mos) and I didn't find out until I was 34wks along. My 2nd baby was 9lbs 1oz, which is why they had me go straight for the 3hr test. Anyways, it's really not as bad as it seems. I just ate healthier--limited my sugars & carbs, and everything was fine. If you do have it, your OB will send you to a dietician to figure out a plan for you. With me, all that came of it was healthier eating habits! My daughter was born 7lbs 15oz, so completely normal size. And I was re-tested and I never went on to develop regular diabetes. I know it's stressful, but rest assured, it really isn't as bad as I thought it would be~and I'm a HUGE worrier!!
Good luck!!

I had Gestational Diabetes with my daughter. I had to blood test myself throughout the day to check my blood sugar levels and eat accordingly. I already had a diet free of processed foods, so I ate a ton of greens (spinach, kale, salad greens, etc without dressings) and protein (chicken, lean meats like pork without any sauces). I felt starved for awhile. I think my case was a bit more severe than others as I could not eat a carrot without my blood sugar soaring from the sugar in it.

I stated by researching proper diet and foods. Look up the glycemic index and check out what they advise for food choices. Then it takes some time to figure out how your body reacts to each food. Keep a journal of what you are, how much and when...then record your blood sugar levels before, a half hour after and an hour after, etc until you find the right foods for you. I was very limited, but not everyone is.

Also, they pushed to take my daughter 2 weeks earlier than her due date by C-section because of the Gestational Diabetes. I refused. They sent me for stress tests every other day for the last month, and we had 3 sonograms the last month to be sure baby wasn't getting too big (I was almost 10 lbs to a very tiny 5 foot mom, we run big anyway). My daughter was 2 weeks late, healthy, beautiful, and 9lbs. Trust yourself and your body.

P.

Try not to worry. It's not good for your baby.
Take the test and then go from there.
The good news about gestational diabetes, if you do have it, is that it's gone once the baby arrives.
I have several friends who went through this. One had to have insulin shots but the others were able to control things with their diets.
It is a scary thing, but you only have a few weeks left to go.
You and your baby will be fine no matter what as long as you follow your doctor's advice. If your sugar levels are wonky and you don't have GD, you should still get a referral to a nutritionist who can help you stay on track until your baby is born.

Best wishes to you and let us know how you're doing.

My mom had GD with all 5 of us... If you fail the 3 hour test, your doc. will send you to a class teaching you how to manage it with your diet. If it's severe, then you may be put on medication. My mom was able to control it with her diet, (as were my aunt, 2 cousins, and my grandma. My family has a LOT of diabetic issues, so it's pretty much expected that we will have GD. I got lucky enought that I didn't get it...)

I do not have any helpful information; however, I would try not to stress too much. Baby will be here soon, like you said. I would also recommend that you trust your gut.

There are lots of reasons to fail the one hour... I made the mistake of not fasting completely before the 1-hr for my second child and failed. I did not fail the 3-hr test. Things turned out fine, but that pregnancy was difficult for me since I felt like everytime I turned around, the doctors were trying to set me up for c-section. I kept measuring "big" and they screamed about my son being a big baby for weeks!! They even wanted to send me for an US at like 38 weeks to determine if his shoulders might get stuck or something. The probability of this happening would be based on the US, my weight and a bunch of other "factors". I refused. Ultimately, though the docs drove me nuts.

With my daughter, my third, they wanted to test me at like 18 weeks for GD based solely on my BMI. I refused. I passed the 1-hr taken at the "regular" time. She was normal sized and perfect (but according to the doctors she was "late" since she was born after 40 weeks). Sometimes you just can not win.

Relax as best you can and again, try not to stress too much (as stress can result in higher results too).

You are in my thoughts and prayers.
~C.

FYI: I failed the 1 hour test with both of my pregnancies. I then had to take the 3 hour and passed both times. You never know...you may be just fine!

From about 7pm on the night before the test... do not eat ANYTHING high in carbs or sugars and make sure dinner has a lot of protein. In the morning,TWO HOURS BEFORE THE TEST, have 2-3 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of whole wheat toast with a pat of butter/margarine and lots of water!! Don't drink or eat anything with true sugar or high fructose and try to stay away from artificial sweeteners for that morning too if possible.

Be sure to bring a bottle of water with you to the test.

It says to fast when you take it from the OB, but when you don't eat anything it raises your blood sugar more than if you eat protein. The night before instructions and breakfast (which is to be eaten 2 hours before the test!!!) was what my Midwife had me do before my test.

***My Midwife is also a Nurse Practitioner and on par (except for surgery) with the Dr and also has a woman and baby's best interest as her priority... not charging more to get a cesarean like majority of OBs who do so for many reasons (cesareans can be charged double to triple, malpractice insurers LOVE cesareans over normal birth, it's much more convenient for the OB)***

Listen to your doctor and FOLLOW YOUR DOCTORS orders. Please do not try to manipulate the results by eating certain things at certain times. If your doctor says fast for 12 hours, then FAST FOR 12 hours!

The only thing that matters is that your baby is taken care of. If you have gestational diabetes your doctor will help you do what you need to do. And when the baby is born they will monitor him or her a little closer to make sure that their blood sugars are okay.

I failed my first test and passed the second. Everything will be fine!

With my first i passed the test for GD and my son came 2 weeks early and he was 10lbs 3oz and 24 in long. With my second they tested me at 18 weeks and i didnt have it but then tested me at 25 weeks and i had it. I was just on the healthy eating diet and checked my blood sugar. I have never heard of anyone being tested at 35 weeks im sure if you have it they will just check your levels after baby is born and check baby to see if they have it. Good luck and let us know what happens. Have a safe and healthy delivery.