My gestational diabetes has taken another fun turn- my body no longer appreciates bread. I had a sandwich for lunch yesterday and had a blood sugar of 135. It is supposed to be under 120. So ouch! The day before a sandwich got me a 129 and the day before that a 125. I should have cut bread sooner but I was in denial.
See I love bread. I could live off of bread rolls and biscuits and sandwiches.
But that is all over for the next two months.
So this is my farewell to bread.
You will be missed. I will see you again in June.
And I may eat an entire loaf of bread for lunch the day this little one arrives.
And I will have no shame at all.
Showing posts with label gestational diabetes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gestational diabetes. Show all posts
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Gestational Diabetes
(word of warning, much of this post is me venting)
I have gestational diabetes. I have had it for all three of my pregnancies. It is a fact of life for me. However there are many many misconceptions about gd due (I think) in part to all the warnings about Type 2 Diabetes. You often hear that type 2 diabetes is reversable and that there are many things you can do to avoid developing it as well. Gestational Diabetes is NOT the same thing. I have been visiting a birth board for moms due on June like me. Many are getting ready to go through their glucose tolerance test (gtt). I read the posts about getting ready for the test and how to aviod being diagnosed with gd.
Here are the most common misconceptions I have heard:
1. gd is caused by eating a diet high in sugar and carbs
2. eating a gd diet is "eating healthy" and will help you be a healthier person
3. if you eat right when you have gd you will not need medication to control it
4. a gd diet is the same thing as a low carb or no carb diet.
5. fasting before the gtt will prevent you from being diagnosed with gd
6. gd ALWAYS results in big babies
I am sure there are more but these are the ones I come up against most frequently. Here are my responses to the incorrect assumptions:
1. First of all gd is not caused by eating to much sugary foods. Foods high in carbs elevate blood sugar levels but do not cause your body to be unable to produce enough insulin.
2. There is some truth to the fact that if you follow a gd diet it can be healthier. But that is not simply it. A gd diet can still be high in fat if you want it to be. Trust me I gained 50 lbs with Madeline and it didn't all come on before I was diagnosed with gd.
Added to that there is a lot of stress on the diet. You have to eat on a schedule in order to keep you blood sugar levels from dropping. It doesn't necessarily help you be a healthier person. You can eat perfectly healthy wihtout counting carbs at every meal and every snack. I eat fairly healthy when not pregnant. Plus there are a lot of foods with no sugar added, you can eat candy and junk food as a diabetic.
3. It is not a person's fault if their body needs medication to help with gd. I tried everything with pg #1 to diet and exercise control it. But I still ended up need medication. It was not my "fault" and I did nothing wrong to cause the need for medication. For me it was my fasting (overnight) number that I could not control. Many epople try everything they can to control their day numbers but still need insulin because their body simply does not produce enough insulin for them.
4. agd diet is NOT the same thing as a no carb or low carb diet. A no carb or low carb diet is being followed simply to lose weight. As a diabetic you NEED carbs. you cnanot simply cut back or out wihtout regard to how many you take in. Your body and baby still need the carbs, but it is about portion control.
5. Fasting before a gtt will not prevent a failing level if you are in fact gd. If you are not gd sometimes you can get a false reading. But if you are honestly gd no matter what you do your body will not correctly process the dugary drink and your blodd sugar levels will be high.
6. Gd does not always mean a big baby. First of all plenty of women without gd have larger babies. Just becuase a baby is big does not mean the mother had gd or that she didn't control it properly. I had gd and had babies on the bigger side but they were not nearly as big as the babies my sil had and she didn't have gd!
The misconception that I hate the most is that it is caused by something the mother is doing or has done. If you read the risk factors, you will see that some are lifestyle factors. But for MANY of us it is caused because we are pregnant. That is what it is called GESTATIONAL diabetes. One person commented on how much sugar foods I ate with my first pregnancy and how that may have caused my gd, because I gained so much weight so quickly. If that were the sole cause then I would not have developed it with my second pregnancy since I gained a lot less. The fact is that they have some ideas on what causes gestational diabetes, but for some women it is simply the pregnancy that causes it.
There are a lot of misconceptions about gd. Obviously I am not a medical expert. I have had three pregnancies now with gd. And I have two healthy children and another one on the way. So I am just speaking from experience and the reading I have done. If you want to learn more medical information about gestational diabetes you can try the following sites:
American Diabetes Association
Google Health
Babycenter
I have been trying to find books that someone who has had gd has written but I have been unsuccessful. If I were a writer I would attempt one, but since I am not hopefully someday somone will!
I have gestational diabetes. I have had it for all three of my pregnancies. It is a fact of life for me. However there are many many misconceptions about gd due (I think) in part to all the warnings about Type 2 Diabetes. You often hear that type 2 diabetes is reversable and that there are many things you can do to avoid developing it as well. Gestational Diabetes is NOT the same thing. I have been visiting a birth board for moms due on June like me. Many are getting ready to go through their glucose tolerance test (gtt). I read the posts about getting ready for the test and how to aviod being diagnosed with gd.
Here are the most common misconceptions I have heard:
1. gd is caused by eating a diet high in sugar and carbs
2. eating a gd diet is "eating healthy" and will help you be a healthier person
3. if you eat right when you have gd you will not need medication to control it
4. a gd diet is the same thing as a low carb or no carb diet.
5. fasting before the gtt will prevent you from being diagnosed with gd
6. gd ALWAYS results in big babies
I am sure there are more but these are the ones I come up against most frequently. Here are my responses to the incorrect assumptions:
1. First of all gd is not caused by eating to much sugary foods. Foods high in carbs elevate blood sugar levels but do not cause your body to be unable to produce enough insulin.
2. There is some truth to the fact that if you follow a gd diet it can be healthier. But that is not simply it. A gd diet can still be high in fat if you want it to be. Trust me I gained 50 lbs with Madeline and it didn't all come on before I was diagnosed with gd.
Added to that there is a lot of stress on the diet. You have to eat on a schedule in order to keep you blood sugar levels from dropping. It doesn't necessarily help you be a healthier person. You can eat perfectly healthy wihtout counting carbs at every meal and every snack. I eat fairly healthy when not pregnant. Plus there are a lot of foods with no sugar added, you can eat candy and junk food as a diabetic.
3. It is not a person's fault if their body needs medication to help with gd. I tried everything with pg #1 to diet and exercise control it. But I still ended up need medication. It was not my "fault" and I did nothing wrong to cause the need for medication. For me it was my fasting (overnight) number that I could not control. Many epople try everything they can to control their day numbers but still need insulin because their body simply does not produce enough insulin for them.
4. agd diet is NOT the same thing as a no carb or low carb diet. A no carb or low carb diet is being followed simply to lose weight. As a diabetic you NEED carbs. you cnanot simply cut back or out wihtout regard to how many you take in. Your body and baby still need the carbs, but it is about portion control.
5. Fasting before a gtt will not prevent a failing level if you are in fact gd. If you are not gd sometimes you can get a false reading. But if you are honestly gd no matter what you do your body will not correctly process the dugary drink and your blodd sugar levels will be high.
6. Gd does not always mean a big baby. First of all plenty of women without gd have larger babies. Just becuase a baby is big does not mean the mother had gd or that she didn't control it properly. I had gd and had babies on the bigger side but they were not nearly as big as the babies my sil had and she didn't have gd!
The misconception that I hate the most is that it is caused by something the mother is doing or has done. If you read the risk factors, you will see that some are lifestyle factors. But for MANY of us it is caused because we are pregnant. That is what it is called GESTATIONAL diabetes. One person commented on how much sugar foods I ate with my first pregnancy and how that may have caused my gd, because I gained so much weight so quickly. If that were the sole cause then I would not have developed it with my second pregnancy since I gained a lot less. The fact is that they have some ideas on what causes gestational diabetes, but for some women it is simply the pregnancy that causes it.
There are a lot of misconceptions about gd. Obviously I am not a medical expert. I have had three pregnancies now with gd. And I have two healthy children and another one on the way. So I am just speaking from experience and the reading I have done. If you want to learn more medical information about gestational diabetes you can try the following sites:
American Diabetes Association
Google Health
Babycenter
I have been trying to find books that someone who has had gd has written but I have been unsuccessful. If I were a writer I would attempt one, but since I am not hopefully someday somone will!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Pregnancy Update
I had my second doctor's appointment today. I can't believe it has been another month already. As of this Friday I will officially be in my second trimester. Bring on the energy!
My mother in law watched the kids so I could go alone today. I tried to get Jon to take part of the morning off and go with me after last's month stressful appointment. Even though I know in my heart that everything is okay (the growing belly helps me to know as well), I will still afriad to go today. But everything is going well. The appointment which lasted all of ten minutes (not a lot of questions to ask the third time around) had only one flaw. When my doctor went to find the heartbeat the little stinker was hiding. So she called for the portable ultrasound machine. And just as it arrived she found the heartbeat. On the very rightest side he/she could be on. I will say that those two minutes of looking were a long two minutes (especiallyafter last month's experience). My theory is that this kid is really going to keep me on my toes!
Thankfully I am pretty much eating normally again. I gained 1 of the 5 pounds that I lost back. So I am going in the right direction. It is so nice to have an appetite again. The gestational diabetes are being monitored and I am already giving up some of my favorite foods (good by ice cream and cookies...see you in June) and getting used to eating three small meals and three small snacks every day. Making sure I eat every two hours is realy important to keep my blood sugar levels normal. It is time to say good bye to normal clothes and hello to maternity again. Thank goodness for larger winter clothes, I was able to hold out this long!
It was a good start to the week!
My mother in law watched the kids so I could go alone today. I tried to get Jon to take part of the morning off and go with me after last's month stressful appointment. Even though I know in my heart that everything is okay (the growing belly helps me to know as well), I will still afriad to go today. But everything is going well. The appointment which lasted all of ten minutes (not a lot of questions to ask the third time around) had only one flaw. When my doctor went to find the heartbeat the little stinker was hiding. So she called for the portable ultrasound machine. And just as it arrived she found the heartbeat. On the very rightest side he/she could be on. I will say that those two minutes of looking were a long two minutes (especiallyafter last month's experience). My theory is that this kid is really going to keep me on my toes!
Thankfully I am pretty much eating normally again. I gained 1 of the 5 pounds that I lost back. So I am going in the right direction. It is so nice to have an appetite again. The gestational diabetes are being monitored and I am already giving up some of my favorite foods (good by ice cream and cookies...see you in June) and getting used to eating three small meals and three small snacks every day. Making sure I eat every two hours is realy important to keep my blood sugar levels normal. It is time to say good bye to normal clothes and hello to maternity again. Thank goodness for larger winter clothes, I was able to hold out this long!
It was a good start to the week!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Extreme Makeover: Me Edition
This is my first full week of doing extreme makeover: me edition. This week Amber asked us what inspires us.
There are a few things that inspire me. One is my mom. She is 51 and is in better shape than I figure I can ever be. She goes to the gym at least 3 times a week. She walks every day with her dog. She lifts weights and does cardio at the gym. And she was WAY more willpower with eating than I can manage on a good day. If I can be in as good of shape as she is I will be thrilled.
Another thing that inspires me to be healthy is my kids. If I am not trying to exercise and eat right than how can I expect them to be healthy? I want to be healthy for myself, but I also want to set a good example for them as well.
I also have to be diligent because of my increased risk of developing diabetes later in life. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. Becuase of that I have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes as I get older. Exercising and developing healthy eating habits now is extra important to me. I want to be healthy for my kids and Jon as I get older.
The final thing that inspires me is how I feel when I am eating right and exercising. I feel better about myself which makes me happier. I also am more fun to be around and Jon likes that as well! I struggle with self esteem and being self conscious, but when I am trying to be healthy I feel less enxious about those things. I think it is because I know I am at least trying to do the right thing, even if I am not at my ideal weight or body image.
This week has not been a great one eating or exercising. I have been pmsing something horrible. During that week of the month I am exhausted. Getting up early to go to the gym is very difficult. I have been better about eating this week that in previous pms weeks, but it is nothing to brag about! The one good thing I have done is go for walks with Jon, the dog and the kids the past few evenings and even this morning with the kids and the dog by myself. I also have been drinking more water which makes me feel better (and pee a lot more!) and is a good idea in the summer anyway.
There are a few things that inspire me. One is my mom. She is 51 and is in better shape than I figure I can ever be. She goes to the gym at least 3 times a week. She walks every day with her dog. She lifts weights and does cardio at the gym. And she was WAY more willpower with eating than I can manage on a good day. If I can be in as good of shape as she is I will be thrilled.
Another thing that inspires me to be healthy is my kids. If I am not trying to exercise and eat right than how can I expect them to be healthy? I want to be healthy for myself, but I also want to set a good example for them as well.
I also have to be diligent because of my increased risk of developing diabetes later in life. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. Becuase of that I have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes as I get older. Exercising and developing healthy eating habits now is extra important to me. I want to be healthy for my kids and Jon as I get older.
The final thing that inspires me is how I feel when I am eating right and exercising. I feel better about myself which makes me happier. I also am more fun to be around and Jon likes that as well! I struggle with self esteem and being self conscious, but when I am trying to be healthy I feel less enxious about those things. I think it is because I know I am at least trying to do the right thing, even if I am not at my ideal weight or body image.
This week has not been a great one eating or exercising. I have been pmsing something horrible. During that week of the month I am exhausted. Getting up early to go to the gym is very difficult. I have been better about eating this week that in previous pms weeks, but it is nothing to brag about! The one good thing I have done is go for walks with Jon, the dog and the kids the past few evenings and even this morning with the kids and the dog by myself. I also have been drinking more water which makes me feel better (and pee a lot more!) and is a good idea in the summer anyway.
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