Worried Mum...

[Rosi Glow]

Hello all

My daughter has just found out this week she has diabetes (she's due to give birth on 8th April) Im still trying to get my head round it all at the moment and am worried about her, she loves her food but she is finding it really difficult to find alternitave food for breakfast/lunch/dinners that she likes......she's living on toast and salads and dry baked potatoes/chicken and not much else....I know its early days but she feels like its the end of the world....I know nothing about diabetes whatsoever so please give me some advice to pass on please..

 

[Northerner]

Hi Rosi, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis - do you know what type of diabetes she has been diagnosed with, is it gestational? Is she on any medication for the diabetes?

The main thing to consider with diabetes is carbohydrates - so bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, anything made with flour, fruit, and of course sweets or sugary drinks. All these things will raise blood glucose levels to some extent, so it's important not to consume too many of them. Instead of having too many potatoes, it's better to have other veg like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beans etc. - they do not contain much carbohydrate but will still fill her up. Meat, fish, eggs are all largely protein so they are fine - they will have very little effect on her blood glucose levels.

I would suggest looking at The GL Diet for Dummies, which explains a good way of selecting foods that are 'diabetes-friendly' and will release their energy slowly and steadily.

Please do let us know if you have any more questions, there are lots of people here with lots of experience, including having babies when diabetic 🙂

This page should give you some more information:
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Living_with_diabetes/Pregnancy_and_diabetes/

 

[Rosi Glow]

Wow thank you so much well thats a start, mums are always supposed to have the answers but this is a little bit beyond me at the moment so Im trying to educate myself so I can help her....I think its gestational but not sure as she has said that she will have to go to the hospital for blood tests after the baby has been born for a year ....I have so many questions i want to know the answers to but for now you have been so helpful so thank you 🙂

Ps no medication but has to prick her fingers 3 times a day.

 

[Northerner]

Wow thank you so much well thats a start, mums are always supposed to have the answers but this is a little bit beyond me at the moment so Im trying to educate myself so I can help her....I think its gestational but not sure as she has said that she will have to go to the hospital for blood tests after the baby has been born for a year ....I have so many questions i want to know the answers to but for now you have been so helpful so thank you 🙂

Ps no medication but has to prick her fingers 3 times a day.

Try not to worry. It can be a steep learning curve, but diabetes can be controlled well and it sounds like she is in good hands. If it is gestational then there is a possibility that she may go on to develop Type 2 diabetes, but this is not bound to happen. This will be why they want to continue to monitor her after baby is born 🙂

 

[trophywench]

If it is gestational, it could easily stop about half an hour after she gives birth, but sometimes it doesn't.

But GD sufferers who recover quickly, have a MARKED tendency to develop Type 2 later on in life so after she gives birth, her GP will be required to test her blood annually for diabetes thereafter for the rest of her life. Which is excellent becaus eif she is unfortunate enough to get it, it should be spotted early whereas some of the people you read about who lose toes etc etc etc probably had it for years before anyone ever had a reason to test them and found out. (eg a friend was due a gynae op and they do a fingerprick as part of the pre-op - how long have you had diabetes? asked the nurse .... she got the D sorted and the gynae probs cleared up. See what I mean about it being a GOOD thing?)

I don't understand the 'dry' jackets? Is she overweight so fats are strictly limited or something? Otherwise, why is she restricting fats?

 

[Rosi Glow]

If it is gestational, it could easily stop about half an hour after she gives birth, but sometimes it doesn't.

But GD sufferers who recover quickly, have a MARKED tendency to develop Type 2 later on in life so after she gives birth, her GP will be required to test her blood annually for diabetes thereafter for the rest of her life. Which is excellent becaus eif she is unfortunate enough to get it, it should be spotted early whereas some of the people you read about who lose toes etc etc etc probably had it for years before anyone ever had a reason to test them and found out. (eg a friend was due a gynae op and they do a fingerprick as part of the pre-op - how long have you had diabetes? asked the nurse .... she got the D sorted and the gynae probs cleared up. See what I mean about it being a GOOD thing?)

I don't understand the 'dry' jackets? Is she overweight so fats are strictly limited or something? Otherwise, why is she restricting fats?

Not sure why she's not had fats? Can she eat fats? I think because of the salt in the butter maybe? She's not overly over weight at all obviously she has the baby weight gain but not nothing too much.

Can she eat things like eggs? like for breakfast? or Cerials? Which are the best kind to eat in the morning as she dont like porridge. 🙄

 

[LeeLee]

My lowest carb breakfast is egg, bacon, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes. No toast, or if it's truly necessary a slice of wholemeal from a small loaf. Another option is yogurt with berries (lower carb than other fruit). Cereal is a bad idea, because the body converts it almost immediately to glucose.