I have gestational diabetes - how did you manage this?

[Anonymous]

I did not have GD with my first but developed preeclampsia; I understand GD is a risk factor in developing preeclampsia which I’m very hopeful will not be the case for me this time. If you were diagnosed with GD, how did you manage it and how did it turn out for you?

[Anonymous]

Diet very careful diet.

Follow dr's orders.

I had it three times. Preeclampsia once.

[Anonymous]

Strict diet management
Frequent blood prick testing
38 week delivery

[Anonymous]

Diet, insulin , exercise

[Anonymous]

I had insulin but wish I just did stricter diet only.

[Anonymous]

I had postpartum preeclampsia with my first. Then got gestational diabetes with the second. I am thin and active so it was a surprise but diabetes runs in the family.

You Monitor your blood sugar and do checks at wake up and after eating.

You’ll count carbs and need to limit them. My doc had me keep a carb log and food journal.

I had to always pair carbs with protein. I had to eat very low carb.

Walk after each meal helps to control blood sugar.

I exercised and walked a lot.

No preeclampsia the second time around.

[Anonymous]

My friend really said meeting with a nutritionist helped.

[Anonymous]

I had it twice and also ate very low carb - less than what is typically recommended. I highly recommend checking out Lily Nichols’s book and website: https://lilynicholsrdn.com/ if you’re interested in the low carb route.

[Anonymous]

When I found out, I was really upset. It turned out fine!

If I were you, I would get a meter asap and start logging your blood sugar. At WHC the OB nurse’s line was able to prescribe one for me when I called and said I could see I’d failed the glucose test. That way you have data when you get to the doctor. Measure an hour after eating, before bed, and when you wake up. I just used a Google sheet but there are various apps.

I also recommend logging your food, even though it’s annoying. They are going to make you jump through some hoops. You’ll have to meet with a diabetes educator, which is pretty useless if you already have a working knowledge of nutrition. If you have a log of your diet, you can convince them you’re in compliance faster.

There is a book called “real food for gestational diabetes” that is really good imo EXCEPT that it is marketed as some sort of “alternative” to traditional medicine. I don’t think that’s true at all. But for me, the meter clearly showed that 30g of carbs in a Sweetgreen salad did not spike my numbers the way 30g of crackers with chicken did, and so her approach to meal planning was useful. The diabetes educator will stop at explaining how to read the food label. If you pay attention, you can get more nuanced.

All of this logging and advocacy to me is just so that if you do need insulin, even on the diet and exercise plan, you can get it faster. It takes some time to work up to whatever dose you need. So I think like everything else that’s not an immediate emergency you have to be your own advocate and not wait on the doctors too much.

Once I had the right insulin dose (I only needed it at night) everything was in control and it did force me to be super healthy, which is great. Baby was born healthy and happy and normal sugars.

Good luck! It’s okay to be sad about it. It’s scary and unpleasant. But you’ll start to get the hang of it and then it really is treatable and manageable. You can do it!

[Anonymous]

Mine was well managed through diet. Delivered a 6lb 4oz baby at 37 weeks by scheduled c for medically necessary reasons unrelated to GD. But the diet part is crapshoot. A friend who had GD, who was much healthier than me and ate better than I did needed insulin…

[Anonymous]

The impact of the diet really depends on the person even though there are general recommendations. You need to check your blood sugar and figure out what works and what doesn't. I ate a lot of meat and vegetables, some carb was of course worse than others. But I was still able to enjoy most meals, you just need to find what you like. I had GD twice with my boys and it went away after I delivered.

[Anonymous]

Developed GD with DC1. It was very hard to control even with strict diet, blood testing 4-5 times a day, 2 types of insulin injections twice a day. It was horrible.

7 yrs later (I was an older mom), I was older, wiser, smarter. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I went on a strict GD diet. I developed GD...in my 34th week. And it was beautifully controlled by a small dose of single type of insulin at night.

So, you can certainly control it beautifully with strict diet. Make every bite count nutritionally and weigh and measure everything. Finally, walk on a treadmill for 10 minutes as soon as you finish your meal. Every time.

Test a lot and keep a log.

[Anonymous]

I was able to control it with a strict low-carb (not keto) diet and exercise (lots of walking). If you don’t have a meter, get one. And see an endocrinologist if you haven’t already.

[Anonymous]

Get a continuous glucose monitor, work out (or at least walk) for at least an hour a day, and don’t eat sweets or processed food.

[Anonymous]

Don’t recommend the Nichols book. Her recommendations didn’t square with my OB or MFM said, nor the nutritionist, and she convinced me I was safe eating super low carb. When in reality I needed to be on insulin so I could eat a modest amount. I basically ate none to try and stay off insulin which she fear mongers about. She cherry picks evidence to suit her agenda and I wasn’t smart enough to realize that. Don’t follow her guidance.