Anyone familiar with gestational diabetes?

[Catdancer]

I had blood work done today, I am 29 weeks pregnant, and my glucose level was at 160 and 140 is the norm. So now I have to eat alot of carbs for the next 3 days and go back to my OB on Friday for a 4 HOUR LONG glucose test!!! I have to stay there for 4 hours while they take blood every hour! This will deterine if I have GD or not.

 

I'm a little freaked out. I've done some research online and it's scaring me now. I guess I shouldnt have looked online...lol!

 

Anyone else have any experience with this??

[Hope75]

Cat,

 

GD is caused by the placenta, which produces hormones that are antagonistic to insulin, making it less efficient and rising your blood sugar. Many women fail the 1 hour test and pass the 3 hour test- so don't sweat it just yet.

 

Cure for GD is delivery of the baby, and most woman's sugar drops back into the normal range within hours of delivery- it's that dramatic. Many women who do have GD can control it with diet but some do have to use insulin. It most commonly occurs around or after 28 weeks gestation, when placental hormones peak.

 

Women with a family history of diabetes are more likely to develop GD, women 30 and older are more likely to develop it, overweight women are more likely to develop it. Getting GD does increase your chance of developing Type II diabetes within 7 years by about 40%.

 

When is your 3 hour GTT? Try to relax until then, there is a good chance you will pass, especially given your 1 hour GTT results were borderline.

 

Good luck!

[shes2smart]

gestational diabetes, no.

 

4 hour glucose test, yes.

 

All I have to say about that 4 hour glucose test is this:

 

take the whole day off, don't plan on doing anything else

go as early in the morning as possible to get it out of the way

the glucola tastes like crap..gulp it down fast and don't think about it

you're probably going to feel crappy and crabby and very annoyed, I sure did

bring a book...or two

 

and don't go wandering out of the office looking for a restroom or water fountain....I did that and one of the nurses hunted my butt down and gave me a very stern lecture about not drinking any water and not leaving the office.

[Hope75]

Oh I should add that personally 3 of my friends in the last 18 months were diagnosed with GD and 2 used insulin, 1 controlled it with diet, and all had healthy babies. (the main risks for babies of moms with GD are macrosomia, or BIG babies causing difficult deliveries, and a drop in baby's blood sugar after birth, so they usually watch that very closely for the first 24 hours.)

 

 

But don't put the cart before the horse- there is a good chance you will pass your 3 hour GTT.

[Catdancer]

Thanks Hope! The 3 hour test is Friday. Since I'm 29 weeks, they wanted to do it ASAP. I had the one hour test at 12 weeks and it was 135, so no problems. This time, though it was high. I guess I'm just freaked out because it can have adverse effects on the baby.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

The good news is the cure for GD is having the baby... so once you have the baby your sugar should return to normal.

 

But most likely, regardless of what they find, once the test is complete you might do well to try to eat less sweets and junk food and only complex carbohydrates (in controlled amounts) throughout your pregnancy. try to eat smaller, more frequent meals with adequate protein and less sugar/carbs.

 

GD can also show that you might be predisposed for diabetes type 2 as you get older, so you might want to work on losing weight and controlling sugar intake a bit even after the baby.

[Catdancer]

gestational diabetes, no.

 

4 hour glucose test, yes.

 

All I have to say about that 4 hour glucose test is this:

 

take the whole day off, don't plan on doing anything else

go as early in the morning as possible to get it out of the way

the glucola tastes like crap..gulp it down fast and don't think about it

you're probably going to feel crappy and crabby and very annoyed, I sure did

bring a book...or two

 

and don't go wandering out of the office looking for a restroom or water fountain....I did that and one of the nurses hunted my butt down and gave me a very stern lecture about not drinking any water and not leaving the office.

 

My appt for the test is Friday. I go in at 8 am, so hopefully I'll be done by noon. Do you really think that I should take the whole day off? I had a really hard time keeping down the drink for the one hour test, is this one worse? What if I throw it all up??

[Catdancer]

Thank you to all of you for answering so quickly. I've been really sick during this pregnancy, but this is the first time that I've encountered anything that has the potential to effect the baby in a bad way. He looks so perfect in the ultrasounds and I just want him to stay that way...perfectly healthy!! If I have to get shots, diet, or stand on my head for 4 hours a day, I'll do it just to be sure that he's ok.

 

At my 6 month ultrasound he was 2.13 pounds and one of my OBs said that he might be a "big" baby and he was a little concerned about that. I thought that weight was somewhat normal for 6 months. Now this?? Having a C-section doesnt concern me, again I just want my baby to be ok.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

It is the same nasty stuff, they just keep taking your blood several times during that four hours... it used to be at half hour, one hour, two, three, and four, so the worst part is being a human pin cushion.

 

They're watching how your blood sugar rises and falls to see how high it gets to determine whether you will need insulin or a pill will do...

 

So it's no worse than what you got, other than you have to hang around and get stuck multiple times... try to relax and take a book and an iPod or something to distract you.

[shes2smart]

My appt for the test is Friday. I go in at 8 am, so hopefully I'll be done by noon. Do you really think that I should take the whole day off? I had a really hard time keeping down the drink for the one hour test, is this one worse? What if I throw it all up??

 

I didn't feel like doing anything the rest of the day when I had that done. What with you being pregnant, I'd want to err on the side of caution -- if you have nothing else you have to do that day but you feel up to doing something that's better than having other things planned and not feeling up to doing anything.

 

It's probably the same stuff you had to drink last time -- really sweet syrupy flat soda-like stuff...maybe just more concentrated or larger quantity.

 

As for what they do if you throw up...dunno. I'd defer to Hope75 or some of the other medical professionals on the board on that one.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

When i had it done, it made me nauseous and shaky (common result since you're ingesting so much sugar), but once it was over and i ate a little normal food i felt fine.

 

i wouldn't worry about your baby... most of the risk of gestational diabetes is to the mother not the baby and if you control it you and the baby should be fine. it can be controlled by diet if it is mild, or by pills or insulin if it is much worse... that is why they are testing, to see how bad it is and hence which course you need to follow.

[Hope75]

Thanks Hope! The 3 hour test is Friday. Since I'm 29 weeks, they wanted to do it ASAP. I had the one hour test at 12 weeks and it was 135, so no problems. This time, though it was high. I guess I'm just freaked out because it can have adverse effects on the baby.

 

There are risks to the baby, but they can be minimized with tight glucose control by diet and sometimes insulin, and close monitoring of your blood sugar several times a day. But again, wait until you have the 3 hour GTT first- I wouldn't be surprised if you pass.

[unabashed]

I had GD with my second pregnancy. I'm sorry, I don't recall the particulars of the test. But, I do remember frequent finger sticks for the rest of the pregnancy. It was well-controlled by diet, so I never needed insulin.

 

I was told that, since diabetes runs in my family and I have a history of being overweight, the GD makes it statistically more likely that I'll have diabetes in the future. I'm not sure what the current thinking is on that--it was 18 years ago. So, far, fortunately, I've not had any problems with blood sugar.

 

Good luck with your pregnancy and the new baby!

[Mythical_Suicide]

Just wanted to let you know , not sure if it has been mentioned on here yet as I didn't read the rest of the replies but alot of women fail their first glucose test but go on to pass the second. I failed the first one, did the 3 hour failed it and then did it again a third time and passed this time. I had severe morning sickness so I think that may have thrown something off somewhere.

[Hope75]

Just wanted to let you know , not sure if it has been mentioned on here yet as I didn't read the rest of the replies but alot of women fail their first glucose test but go on to pass the second. I failed the first one, did the 3 hour failed it and then did it again a third time and passed this time. I had severe morning sickness so I think that may have thrown something off somewhere.

 

Yep- this was mentioned several times and it's good to see another example of it being true!