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GD early, struggling :(

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LiseBrown

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Relationship to Diabetes
Gestational
Hello,

I posted on here a few weeks ago, very early into my pregnancy.

I was diagnosed officially with GD at 6 weeks, and I went into the hospital care system a couple of weeks later.

I'm now 11+3 (Yay!) and had a scan last week, which was all good, I've seen a million different people at the hospital, and I feel they are looking after me well.

At my last appointment, I was offered the chance to start Metformin now, I am currently controlling with diet only, but we decided it would be better to give it one last shot on diet alone. O'm doing mostly ok but struggling with some breakfast readings, which is common apparently.

I'm back at the hospital a week tomorrow to reassess, have another scan and see the whole team again.

I am struggling so much with food :( I feel constantly deprived, often hungry, and utterly fed up of having to be so restricted. Today, I just want to eat cake :( I haven't cheated since I was diagnosed, and have put every effort into getting good readings. I naturally have a sweet tooth and am a bit of a fuss pot so am finding this SO hard. I have found, through experimenting, I can tolerate a small amount of brown pasta/rice and a few potatoes with my meals as long as I include lots of protein, today for lunch I made a BBQ chicken breast, a few new potatoes, and veg. The pots were disgusting (God knows what I did to them!) so I ate chicken and veg. And now I am hungry, and feeling unsatisfied and annoyed.

My moods are all over the place, and I have been super stressed and fed up this weekend, resulting in my readings being all over the place. I cant bare to think I will have to struggle like this for another 6 months :(

Sorry to moan. I know no-one can make it better, but I dont know where else to vent where people will understand.

Lise x

PS I am a hobbyist cake baker and decorator, with 2 childrens birthday cakes to make this weekend, my cake mojo has totally gone! :/
 
I'd recommend getting some sugar-free jellies, a good snack. I buy the powdered stuff you make up yourself and make 5 yoghurt-pot-sized jellies from each sachet. Alternatively, nuts are a good option for snacking 🙂

There are some good suggestions in the Recipes section - you should try some of LeeLee's crustless quiches - they are delicious!
 
In addition to Northerner's suggestion of sugar free jellies...

Not so much now, as fresh berries aren't in season, but in the summer, handfuls of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries all taste sweet, but are lowest sugar of any fruits.

Also, fruit teas can be good for filling a rumbling tummy - if you need sweetness, then add artificial sweetener, not sugar nor honey.

Often, insulin resistance changes through pregnancy, so you and your team may need to change medications and review diet in coming months. It really will be worth it when you give birth to your baby, so do hold onto that thought.

In a way, it's good that your taste / appetite for cakes has reduced, otherwise making and decorating cakes could be much worse. I know mine is very different to your situation, but I used to organise children's activity birthday parties (den building, nature trails, pond dipping, orienteering, archery at a country park, up to 29 a year) for about 7 years until last summer when I moved to a new location. Families brought their own food to serve in the education block, so I got to know many cake makers, both private and professional over those years. Usually the host family gave me a slice or small cake, and sometimes excess food to take home. Fortunately I could adjust my insulin to cope with cake and 7 miles round trip on bike. I never had a child to go home to, but like to think the children had good experiences, and several families returned year after year, so they must have enjoyed themselves.
 
Thank you for your replies.

I don't like jelly :( So many people have suggested it to me...I have never liked it, its the set, wobbly texture! I hated it even as a child. My kids love it.

I'm not a massive fruit person either, but I like fruit in smoothies, but the dietitian said this isn't good, and not to do it.

I am definitely going to try the crustless quiche, I love eggs, I am just getting a little bored of them, so will be nice to try something new with them.

I have found, that after a meal, my evening one usually, I can manage 1 digestive, spread with choccy philli, and still come in around 7.0mmol.

X
 
congratulations on your recent scan news 🙂 , sorry to hear that you're struggling with the GD.... I think any type of diabetes and pregnancy is very challenging !

Would you consider going on metformin when you go to your next ante natal appointment ?.

I'm 32+3 and started getting insulin resistance (ESP in the mornings) around week 28 which is when I was put on metformin - it's working really well for me because it means I don't need to inject loads of insulin, and I can still eat the same types of things that I have been eating up until now.
 
Hi Cleo,

Yes I will definitely start the Metformin, if that's what needs to happen at my next appointment. I think I wanted to prove I could do it alone, and feel a bit like I am failing now. I also wanted to prolong it as long as possible so it will hopefully work longer! My consultant thinks I will need insulin around 28+ weeks as I have this so early on. Insulin honestly scares heebie jeebies out of me!

A Doc I saw last week was also convinced that as I had this so early, it must have been there before. But my hba1c was 32, which is good and indicates nothing there before.
 
LiseBrown said:
Hi Cleo,

Yes I will definitely start the Metformin, if that's what needs to happen at my next appointment. I think I wanted to prove I could do it alone, and feel a bit like I am failing now. I also wanted to prolong it as long as possible so it will hopefully work longer! My consultant thinks I will need insulin around 28+ weeks as I have this so early on. Insulin honestly scares heebie jeebies out of me!

A Doc I saw last week was also convinced that as I had this so early, it must have been there before. But my hba1c was 32, which is good and indicates nothing there before.
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Hi Lise,
Don't every think that you have failed because your levels have been difficult to manage without meds !! There are loads of factors during pregnancy that will affect your BGs - mainly pregnancy hormones !!!, and sadly there's not much we can do to control that. Also remember that with metformin you can increase your dose gradually as your needs increase. I started off on 500 mg / day and now I'm on 2000 mg/ day, so just because you have started it doesn't necessarily mean that you have "exhausted" an option.

It can be very frustrating seeing your resistance going up but the body is just doing what it needs to do in order to,support the well being of the baby and the functioning of the placenta 🙂

Remember to enjoy your pregnancy , and Good luck with it all !
 
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