Anyone else got gestational diabetes?

I found out I had it on Friday! Waiting for my appointment tomorrow with the diabetes midwife but hoping to be able to control through diet - understand how you’re feeling! It’s a little overwhelming! Hope you get on okay x

Hope you’re ok. Have you had it before?

I had my test Monday. How long do you have to wait for the results? Do you have any symptoms? I think I may have it as I keep having dizzy spells and I’m sooo thirsty.

Did you have any symptoms? I’m so scared of the test/ result

nope none, I’m still surprised!

no none at all 😬

I understand how you’re feeling and I felt the exact same way when I found out I had it during my first pregnancy. I have my test next week to find out if I have it this time (I suspect I do) the gestational diabetes midwives were amazing at putting my mind at ease and helping me through the process, so I would really recommend you speaking to them about the way you’re feeling. The most important thing is it can be managed well - either with diet and/or medication. Sending lots of love. X

I love sweet stuff too much I dunno how I’m gonna cope, gonna have withdrawals 😐🤣

Yeah, I found out Friday I had GD. It’s been a little overwhelming if I must say. Finding things to eat that doesn’t spike my sugars is incredibly hard. I feel like I just look at food and they’re high. I have a group on Snapchat for mams / mams to be if you want to join. Or even just add my Snapchat to have a chat. X

I seen my midwife today she said it’s not actually the sweet stuff that cause a sugar spike it’s carbs! I ate 4 pieces of dark chocolate last night to test it as I’ve heard it from other GD mams. It didn’t spike my bloods at all. Xx

I did last week. It’s stressful and unfun, but I will say that the diabetes midwifery team are ON it. Super available, super supportive. I’ve already got my monitor, I’ve attended an online class on diabetes diet, and they’ve chased for me about scans and an iron infusion I need.

My current problem is I find it very easy to cut all the carbs, but actually you aren’t allowed to, you still need a certain amount, so finding carbs you can eat without spiking is the tough one!

oh wow they’re on ball with you then. They literally gave me my machine and told me a dietitian would be in contact within 2-3 weeks like that’s no good. So I’m having to speak to a friends parent to help me with foods to eat. Shouldn’t have to be this way but it is x

So I was recommended an app called Carbs and Cals. It’s got most foods on there or you can add by scanning a barcode. It lets you see what amount of carbs you’re having.

Eg I’ve been feeling really smug about cutting my carbs down and then in this meeting yesterday I was told ‘you still need 130g of carbs a day’ and realised I’ve gone too far the other way, so I’m trying to adjust.

It’ll also show you how likely a food is to spike your glucose, which is helpful.

I’m sorry not everyone is getting the same experience. I’m obviously not medically trained AT all but happy to answer any questions from what I’ve been told so far!

thank you so much, just even telling me this app has helped!!

I’m exactly the same, I love a bit of chocolate! I’ve read that if you balance a little sweet treat with protein and fat it stops a blood sugar spike, so it’s not all doom and gloom! I hope you get on okay though when you meet your diabetes midwife :) x

my midwife told me yesterday it’s not actually the sweet stuff that causes a spike it’s just carbs. Dunno if that’s a 100% true or x

I don’t think it is, I’m sorry! You can absolutely have some sweet stuff if you balance it, but most sweet things will immediately spike your sugar because they are putting sugar directly into your bloodstream. Carbs break down into sugars, which is what gives you a spike after eating them. It’s just slower, so you can offset it with adding fats and proteins so there’s less of an immediate jump in glucose.

At the carbohydrate diet session I went to the emphasis was you still needed to eat starchy carbs as you need the energy, but cutting out sweets, cakes, biscuits etc was best.

Most sweet things ARE carbs, they’re just a form of it. If you look at a nutritional label on anything it’ll say, for eg ‘carbohydrates: 20g’ and then you get another line saying ‘of which sugars: 5g’. Sugars are a type of carbs. Even some fruits are likely to cause a jump in sugars.

Sorry, I’m not trying to be annoying!

I’m gonna find it extremely different. I eat a fair amount of sweet stuff and carbs. I don’t really like much healthy food (salads, etc) and I’m allergic to nuts too. I may have to have medication. 😭

that does sound tough. I’m living on nuts at the moment, I can’t imagine them not being an option!

My midwife said that basically it’s 50:50 whether you end up on medication or not, no matter what you do, so don’t beat yourself up if that happens!

you aren’t being annoying dw! The midwife I seen I don’t really get along with anyways so she was probs chatting shit. Like per! 🤦🏻‍♀️ but she said it’s only carbs that spike it especially if you don’t exercise after. But thank you for explaining and going into depth about it. X

I was wondering, does anyone know whether to test an hour after starting eating or finishing eating?

I was told starting! I don’t think it has to be exact but I start the timer within the first few bites.

I was never told, I do 2 hours after finishing the meal.

Thanks both :)

I was told an hour too, sorry, missed that bit. On my app that goes with my monitor, the recommended ranges are for after an hour

yeah my midwife said the same about it being an hour too, I love the app, getting a green tick gives me a buzz 😂

I got 8.9 after dinner and 3.9 after breakfast… what’s that about?

I’m not sure! I’d guess maybe too many carbs at dinner and not enough at breakfast? 3.9 is quite low! Using ChatGBT to help interpret the results might be a good idea, I use it quite a lot

I sometimes have low breakfast values but then I tend to be cautious with breakfast as I’m told it can cause the biggest spikes. 3.9 is low though, the lowest is meant to be 4.0. What did you eat?
On the other hand 8.9 is quite high. Was that carb heavy? I think it takes a while to get the knack, I don’t understand half my figures. Except I’ll say they’re always way better if I manage a 20 minute walk within that hour.

I’ve been finding the carbs and cals app really useful to get a breakdown of the value of everything as adding it up in my head is… less than accurate

I had Frosties and toast 😐

8.9 was chicken & rice, I don’t understand it at all 🫣

That sounds like it should be the other way around, how confusing. I’m sorry, maybe check in with your team?