Gestational Diabetes

[Jackie Pocock]

Hi, I'm new and just developed gestational diabetes in my second pregnancy.

I have to monitor my levels each morning when I get up and also 2 hours after starting a main meal i.e. 4 times a day.

I am really struggling to keep my levels after breakfast below 7 which is what I am supposed to do and wondered if someone could advise on what would be a good breakfast.

I started off eating porridge and this always took me above 7 and yesterday I tried scrambled egg and 1 slice of toast which was okay, but I don't really like cooked food first thing in the morning. Today I had muesli and again my reading was very high.

I have to go back to the hospital tomorrow to see the diabetic team but I am really struggling to find any information on what is good to eat and what is not good.

If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.

Thank you.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Jackie, welcome to the forum 🙂 Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on what is good and bad, as different people are able to tolerate different things to a greater or lesser degree. Probably the key thing to watch out for is the amount of carbohydrate you are eating, and also what proportion is 'sugars' - the higher the proportion of sugar, the faster it will 'spike' your bloodsugar levels i.e. send them high. As you have discovered, a relatively low carbohydrate meal, like scrambled eggs on toast, has much less effect, so if you can make a larger proportion of your breakfast protein based then this would help. It might be worth looking at the GL Diet - The GL Diet for Dummies is a good introduction - as this is a way of combining food so that it has a steady release of energy helping to keep levels stable and not go too high. Things like cereal and muesli can have quite a big effect, either fr their sugar content or because of the addition of things like raisins. The best porridge to eat is made with coarse oats and not the instant variety which is quite processed in order to cook more quickly. I've recently heard that the Belvita biscuits are quite good but haven't tried them myself yet. For bread, choose something like granary, or Burgen soya and linseed bread which is particularly good.

I wish you every success with your pregnancy! We have some members who have recently joined who are in the same situation as you, so hopefully will be able to share their experiences with you 🙂 Please feel free to ask anything that is concerning or confusing you - nothing is considered 'silly'! 🙂

 

[MrsCLH]

Hi Jackie

I'm type 1 but a friend at work was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes and she has had the exact same problem as you. Breakfast is notoriously more difficult when pregnant and I take a lot more insulin in the morning than I do in the evening even though I eat a lot more carbs at dinner than I do at breakfast!

My friend tried for a week and then they put her on a little bit of insulin in the morning's and 2 weeks later she is doing a lot better.

It will be trial and error in the beginning but you will find something that works. I have been eating the same breakfast now for about 4 months - 2 slices of hovis seed sensations and marmite! It's a bit boring but it's just easier than messing about and its all worth it 🙂 Oh and I do get bacon and eggs at weekend courtsey of DH so its not all bad!

xx

 

[DaisyDuke]

Hi,before I became a type 2 diabetic ,I had gestational diabeties.I had this 8 years ago now and my baby will be 8 in October.

I was diagnosed with GD at 15 weeks and I managed well until 20 weeks when I had to go on on insulin.

I used to have a piece of toast and a banana for breakfast,a sandwich and crisps for lunch and most of the time I had mash,meat and vegetables for tea.

I also used to have low fat yogurts.I mainly stuck to the same sort of meals as it was just easier that way.

When I really wanted chocalate I used to have a few choc buttons (which were probably taken from my first child).

I also used to snack upon huge amounts of celery (something I can't face anymore) and sugar free jelly.

I also found I lost over a stone in weight in my pregnancy,just from eating sensibly.

You should find that you will see a dietcian at the diabetes hospital ,I found I had lots of help while pregnant,and also you will have lots of scans which is always lovely.

Good luck

 

[staceyc]

hi im 29 weeks and have gestational diabetes i find breakfast my hardest time the best one i have found is ready brek though it still takes me over this is the one i have found the best . everyone is really good on here

 

[Finnsmummy]

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

im on my second pregancy with g.d (oh the joys)
Iv manage to keep mine in a good range so far but i am SO carfull what i eat as i want to keep my levels right so i dont need any meds.

Its not just about what you eat but the size of what you eat , i have two wetabix in the morning (usally gives me a range from 5.0-6.1 ) i tried poridge once and had a 7.7 reading . I have to be in a range of under 5 first thing when i wake up and under 7.8 after meals.

i only have to test 2x a week first thing in the morning too , but than again my morning readings are allways well in range.

🙂 WELcome to the group xxx

 

[Finnsmummy]

also just to add rice cakes tend to be good (brown rice salt free) great for lunch and if you buy chrisps get the small 18g bags to have with your lunch ,beleve it or not tesco value plain chrisps mean my readings dont seem to be effected after lunch.
Try whole brown pasta and limit your protion size , but dont go hungry!!!
i think the main thing is just to off set the carbs .
Eggs for me are great!! i can have two boiled eggs and 2 slices of bread (brown) and have good readings.
Its a trial thing to see what you can take

Its really starnge i can eat pasta carbonra and 2 bits of garlic bread and get a great reading but if i have a roast ( with 3 small rosties and one yorkshire) plus lots of veg and chicken i tend to have a high of 7.5

Also walking and moving about after a meal will really help, i take the dog out after my main meal every night and it really helps and also walking will help you and the baby 🙂

 

[Jackie Pocock]

Thank you for the responses. I went back to the hospital today and learnt that breakfast was one of the hardest to control, just wish they had told me that last week.

I have to keep trying to find out what works for me in the morning but other than that they are happy with the rest of my results. I go back in 2 weeks unless I can't control the morning readings in which case they will put me on medication.

Feeling a bit happier about it all now and know that if I have to take medication it's not the end of the world.

I also get to see my baby boy again in 2 weeks so very happy with that and have lost almost a kilo since last week.

Thanks for the reassurance, I really appreciate it.

 

[Northerner]

Stay positive Jackie, hope things continue well for you ?)

 

[Jackie Pocock]

Hi again,

My readings have been all over the place these past few days although I had a great day yesterday but have been on to the hospital and they have decided to start me on Metformin tomorrow.

I was wondering if anyone had been put on this before and how it made you feel. One of the Mums at school I was talking to yesterday said it made her really ill.

I have a sickness phobia and this has got me worried about how I am going to be over the next few days. I'm hoping any side effects will settle down after a couple of days.

Anyone have any advice?