Gestational Diabetes Help - Wrentham,MA

Hi,

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/
http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/lex-rooker-usa/
http://www.paleofood.com/

Hope you're doing better soon,
: ) M.D.

Dear HappyMommy,

If you are testing moderate for ketones, you need medical attention NOW. (At "moderate," I know your blood sugar is testing at least 260 or more. This is not good for you and it's terrible for your baby's development.) Your body does not have enough insulin to convert the sugars (carbs, etc.) from the food you eat into energy for your muscles and tissues. This is one reason you feel like you are starving -- because your muscles and tissues are literally beginning to starve. At this point, simple manipulation of your diet alone will probably not be able to "fix" this.

Ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition -- please take this very seriously before your current condition gets any worse. PLEASE contact your OB or physician immediately -- call TODAY. Do this for your baby's health. And if you begin vomiting or become dehydrated prior to getting a hold of your Doctor, go to the Emergency Room immediately. Please keep us posted...I would like to know that you and your baby are healthy and doing well.

Ok, let's start with the fact when you become a gestational diabetic; it has NOTHING to do with how you are eatting. If you NEED insulin, it has NOTHING to do with how you are eating. It has to do with how your pancreas is working. YES some people are able to adjust diet and do just fine, but that is because the pancreas is still producing insulin in large enough amounts that the adjustment do it. If the pancreas starts to produce little to no insulin, then you can follow the BEST diet and STILL need insulin. SO NOTHING YOU AREE ABLE TO DO if this is the case besides take insulin. You can go down to ZERO carbs (which is not healthy for the baby) and still have high sugars. It is a problem of the pancreas.
I sure hope you have met with a diabetic educator and a nutritionist. These guys can get your carb choices/grams where they need to be based on what your blood sugars are running. What is your fasting levels in the morning and what are they after meals? Based on this and how many carbs they are telling you to take in, you should NEVER be hungry! You get 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. When one is gestational diabetic, it is almost a pain needing to eat every 2-3 hours. The reason he said no cereal for breakfast is because a 1/2 cup of cereal and a 1/4 cup of milk will through you over your carb numbers. Where is the protein? So that is the rason he said no. I could hlp give you suggestions of a sample menu but would need to know how many grams/choices are you allowed for breakfast, how many for AM snack, how many for lunch, how many for PM snack, how many for dinner and how many for bedtime snack? What are your AM fasting numbers and the numbers after each meal?
Aren't you connected with a diabetic team that is available at least 12 hours out of the day to call your numbers in to?
PLEASE do not fear insulin.... People give it such a bad wrap but with the new pens, taking your finger pokes is FAAARRRR worst than taking insulin. If your pancreas has decided not to work correctly and you and the baby NEED insulin and you are not taking it, it is sooooo bad for the baby. Each time your blood sugar is high, it takes from the baby and causes the babies to be low, which can cause effects on the liver, heart, brain and pancreas. So IF you are finding blood sugars that are still high, you need insulin for your baby's sake more than anything.... Also, if you are feeling hungry, then that actually is a sign that your blood sugar is high! It means those effects on the baby.
Also please note that a half of a cup of yogurt is not a half of a cup of the container, it is a half of a real cup. Get out the old mixing cups, you would be so suprised as to how much a half of a cup is. Read your labels! I know it is a pain, but please do. If you are counting yougurt as 1 carb choice, remember that 15 grams eagles 1 carb. What is your container of yogurt. Most snack choices are 1-2. For breakfast, do you have to eat the toast and egg together? Can you eat it seperate. Put the cheese inside of the egg. Or boil the egg and have a grill cheeses. Why are you not allowed but 1 1/2 carbs at breakfast? Why can you not have a slice of ham, a boiled egg, a slice of toast and a half an apple. Also up your fiber and that gives you the ability to eat more carbs. I can not believe your team has not walked you through this.
Yes, the candy thing is tough. It is almost over though. Just stick to your diet though and you should not be hungry. I am sorry I just need more information. JUST PLEASE PLEASE do not call and try to do this on your own. It is NOT what you are eating. PLEASE call and if insulin is needed, so bee it, it is short lived! BABY needs you now.

Don't be afraid of insulin. So many people avoid it longer then they should and end up with serious complications. Secondly, there is no such thing as a diabetic diet. You should see a dietitian and a diabetes educator. Check out www.diabetes.org

I suggest printing sample diabetic menus for ideas. It really helped me.
Breakfast for me was a slice of whole wheat toast with country crock spread, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a half an apple, and 4 animal crackers.
Lunch was something like a whole wheat tortilla with grilled chicken, bell pepper, and cheese or a salad. Dinner was a meat, brown rice, green beans, a salad.
Things to avoid- most yogurts, (filled with sugar), a lot of fruit, (check portion sizes on the sample menus for different fruits), corn, (starch), peas, (starch), potatoes, (starch), carrots, (starch), most 'white' things!
Things you can snack on without worrying- green beans, (I would go with on frozen or fresh and stay away from all canned veggies), salads without loading them down, (and most 'fat free' dressings are packed with sugars), celery, cucumber, pickles, (though my doc said no to sweet pickles), whole grain tortillas with cheese.
An important thing to remember is to stick to the serving size. This is hard to do, because in America we overeat so badly because we eat fast and don't check sizes.
Read labels, you will be surprised what has lots of sugar in it.
When I wanted to fill my temptations, I learned the 'sugar-free' candy was good. Again though, check serving size.
I will note, I was HUNGRY from the time I was diagnosed until the time I got to eat normal again. (Normal for me is healthy anyway, I just normally don't limit my starches so much! I am a pretty active person, so I need my carbs.) But, I did not gain one pound from the time I was diagnosed until I delivered. My sugars were always good, and my doctor was proud of me! My baby was healthy. I will say that even though I was hungry, I was satisfied. Weird, but, I was. It is a hard, strict diet, but, you can do it. Note that women who develop GD are at a higher risk of diabetes later in life, so, it was important to me to really do, (not try), my best.
As for drinks, I stuck to water or unsweet tea. I used lemon in both, and did not use artificial sweeteners.
I had GD during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was very easy to compromise. I made desserts off of diabetic websites. I had diabetic relatives who appreciated this as well.
As for the Halloween candy, just don't eat it. So not worth it. At our house, most gets thrown out anyway because I've trained my kids to eat healthy so, they have a few pieces and forget about it.
As for avoiding temptations all together, I made my family eat what I was eating. I let them have the carbs I wasn't allowed to have, (we're all active), but, sugary snacks and drinks just did not come in our house.
Good luck! Remember, if the temptation is not there, you cannot give into it. So, just don't get it, and you don't have to worry about it. ;)

Ugh! Doctors are no help whatsoever in helping you figure out what to eat with gestational diabetes. I actually lost weight trying to figure out what I still COULD eat after going home with my doctor's long list of no nos! If your insurance will pay for it insist on a referral to a nutritionist. It was incredibly helpful for me. Once you get on a proper diet for diabetes alot of the hunger problems will go away.
I can soooo relate to the temptation thing - hang in there it'll be over before you know it!

It looks like you have had a ton of responses, but can't resist adding my two cents too. If you are having moderate keytones call your doctor. You are not eating enough. It sounds like you need insulin. It sucks to give yourself a shot, but like someone else said - it is your body doing this and no matter how much you eat perfectly and even exercise, if your pancreas is not producing enough blood sugar your numbers will be bad. You need to eat! It is hard but doable!! You can do it! Call your doctor and get on insulin asap! I definitely second the peanut butter. You do not have to count peanut butter, or any nuts. I got to eat ice cream every night as my bedtime snack. I eventually had to have a glass of milk during the night at the end to fight off the keytones. Numbers tend to be higher for everyone in the morning, that is why you need to eat less carbs for breakfast. I eat slice of light wheat bread with peanut butter and half of a small banana with a cup of lactose free milk (7 carbs). This is 30.5 carbs. It is yummy and relatively filling. Cereal is not your friend!!! Jelly is not your friend! Good luck to you. It is tough but use the doctors and all of their resources to help you. It can be frustrating when you are being "good" and your numbers keep going up but that happens because the baby is growing and your hormones are going crazy. Doesn't mean you aren't doing a good job. GL!

I had GB with my three children as well. I also was on insulin for the first two and then gliburide with the third so it's not that scary as I have been through it. The first time was daunting - I started out with a lite whole wheat ham sandwich in the morning, a banana for snack, a salad heavy with chicken or some type of meat for lunch, and then chicken or beef for dinner with a salad, vege, and sometimes, small brown rice portion. Now I stick to a lower carb diet - having a lite multi-grain english muffin w/ peanut butter, still a banana for snack, low carb wrap or low carb frozen Lean Cusine or Weight watchers, nuts for afternoon snack, and then dinner - usuallly chicken, vege and salad. Good luck and try your best to balance the proteins and carb intake.

I would also spike anytime I had fruit (6 measly berries would do it) or milk. Shot me to the moon even with the protein with it. My doc put me on 5mg of gluburide 2x/day as the diet couldnt control spikes. It's the lowest dose and it did the trick. Also be sure you are eating protein (cheese, nuts, salami or other meat) EVERY time you eat.

Balanced meals are essential. I met with a nutritionist and this is the carb guideline she put me on. Be sure to meet with a nutrionist. Don't skip snacks, bottoms out your sugar. I was never hungry.:

Breakfast: 15-20 g carbs. I had an egg plus 1/2 c regular oatmeal (measure 1/4 c plus 1/2 cup water - use the natural oats oatmeal (can sweeten with a bit of stevia) and fyi, can buy an enormous one at Costco). If my fasting was 85 or less (my recommended target was 75-95), I would add 2 slices chopped apple. Microwave for 1 min, 40 sec. The egg can also be an omelet with cheese, cheese and veggies, etc. Mushrooms are yummy. I always had my coffee with cream (other than a bit of cream, was not allowed milk in the morning or after dinner; it was a trigger for me) and stevia with breakfast too.

Snack: 15-20 g: nuts, or Stoneyfield Greek Yogurt w Honey, or cheese, or granola clusters and 0 cal flavored water. Crystal Light usually. (I'm not big on water but I kept these and PureVia (brand of Stevia, which is a natural sweetener, nice size box from Costco) pkts with me at all times as they are all natural, easy to add to ice tea when out). (Tip: keep nuts in the car at all times and almonds are best; used to not like them, now I do.)

Lunch 15-30g: Salad with meat, cheese, lt dressing, nuts, berries. 1/2 c milk
or sandwich with lunch meat, lettuce with Light bread; Pepperidge Farm Light has several that are 17g. The oatmeal is my favorite.

Snack: 15-20 g: nuts or granola or cheese, flavored water. Snack alternates: Sugar free jello or pudding, crystal light popsicles.

Dinner: 15-30g. Steak, chicken, or shrimp, broccoli or other steamed vegetables. 1/2 c milk OR roll, not both. Most veggies are free and can eat as much as you'd like. Some bad starchy veggies: carrots, corn, potatoes. Don't eat them.

Snack: 15g Nuts or cheese. Water. Nothing sugary at night, shoots the sugar.

I also recommend the book "The Insulin-Resistance Diet". I am unfortunately pre, pre-diabetic (ie. 1 hr glucose after baby was over 200, 2 hr was 115), so even before I found that out, I've continued to follow these guidelines. I had to email my #s to my doc weekly. I found out my Contour meter had free software I downloaded and I called the company and paid $20 for a usb cable. It was awesome as all my numbers from the meter went into the software and I just emailed her the report! fyi, Walmart's diebetic supplies are less expensive than the prescription!

My baby was born extremely healthy, so yes, you can do it. High apgar. Just so you know and it doesn't scare you, it's standard protocol with GD that they will have a neonatal team on standby to check your baby. They will also do heel sticks every hour on your baby and take your blood pressure afterward constantly. They did put me on an insulin iv during labor as labor made my sugar higher. It really was fine. My worst problem was severe engorgement from all the iv fluids (I was also on an antibiotic as ended up with group B strep, joy, and had an epidural). So, make sure you have some medela lanolin, breast cool packs, advil, and cabbage as soon as you get home just in case!

I had GD with my second pregnancy...it was a real shock. No family history and I was not overweight. Luckily I was able to manage it with diet an exercise, but I was also diagnosed with asthma at the same time. I noticed that when I was stressed, or dealing with a cold, my asthma would kick in and that would mess up my levels.

I was diagnosed with GD the day before Thanksgiving, so that was a bummer, but I did get through it and my son was born healthy, full term at 8 pounds 14 ounces. I ate a lot of organic natural peanut butter on celery and apples. I also forced myself to eat more protein. I had never been great at eating breakfast so that was a struggle, but I did realize that if I ate a healthy, protein-based breakfast, that my numbers were much better throughout the rest of the day. Whole grains are important as well. Make sure you eat snacks (almonds, walnuts, cheese, veggies) throughout the day.

I was diagnosed w/ GD just before Halloween too...I really love those candy pumpkins so I was not happy to be restricted. Proteins are a great choice to help fill you without raising your levels too much. The dietician gave me a listing of what I should have for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack then I plugged in the things I liked into each slot, made a meal calendar and went shopping to be sure I had those things. Knowing what I would have each day made it a lot easier to stick to the diet. Stress also brings up you numbers so watch out for that too.

I had to eat 3 carbs for breakfast, 1 for snack, 4 for lunch, 1 for snack, 5 for dinner, 2 for evening snack.

Eat Peanutbutter.. When I had even a spoon full after I ate, my numbers were lower.

Kick up veggies and proteins. This will help you feel fuller.

I had a wonderful book called The Ultimate Carb, Fat and calorie counter. It had almost anything in there so you could tell how many carbs I was getting.

If it is not protein it is a carb and can change your sugar readings. Milk, too many veggies (like corn, carrots etc with higher sugar).

Send me a message if you want more details.

Good luck.

These are things my sister ate. Yogurt with stevia, string cheese, a couple cups unbuttered popcorn, whole grain toast with a tablespoon of peanut butter, a handful of almonds, a cup of veggies and hummus, omelet with veggies. I don't remember all of them, but she could have a cup or two of these vegetables "free": celery, cucumber, peppers, mushroom, radishes. I'm sure there are more then that, but I only remember those!
My sister ate sweet pickles, for a sweet snack. Her Dr. recommended and approved them. She also snacked on Crystal Light Popsicle, sugar free jello, and sugar free jello mouse.