Gestation Diabetes and INSULIN

Hi All IL's :

Hope you all are doing great. Well as i had mentioned in one of my previous posts that i am diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, was on a blood test all the past 2 weeks. But my sugar levels seem to be out of control at nights and some times afternoons. I tried indian diet.
So now i have been asked to inject insulin, both in the afternoon and night just before i eat. It did upset me a little initially, but again consoled myself by saying, must be there's something good behind it too.

Has anyone faced the same situation ? what are the after delivery effects of this whole process ? Does this medication save the baby and me from any diabetic form now or in future ?

Thanks!
MAYA.

Hey Maya,

Sorry to hear about the insulin. I know how mentally challenging it is to inject yourself with insulin, even though the needle is quite small and does not hurt much. My docs put me on insulin early on in my pregnancy (12th week) because of impaired glucose tolerance and they were quite sure I would get gestational diabetes. I think I injected myself for 3 days before my friend who is an accupuncturist/naturopath told me to stop.

My doctors had told me insulin will not affect you or the baby in any way. But my friend told me that injecting insulin makes you insulin dependent even after delivery, raising your chances to become diabetic permanently. Ofcourse, it does not harm the baby at all to take insulin injections. At the most, as soon as your baby is born, he/she may need a dose of sugar water if his/her blood sugars are low. That's it.

Due to my refusal to take insulin, my docs switched me to a medication called glyburide and that has helped me keep my sugars under control. I go to a dietician every 2 weeks with my log of daily blood sugars and on the last visit she tells me I think it is time to shift you to insulin cause you had too many highs. Since I was only on 1/2 the maximum dosage of glyburide allowed in pregnancy I did not agree with her. I asked her to check with the doctor and he agreed with me. Infact, he did not even want me to raise the glyburide dosage!

So definitely ask your doc about taking glyburide instead of insulin.

Cheers!

Pooja

Don't worry,insulin will do no harm.I was on insulin (2 times a dayfrom my 7th month)for GD in my first pregnancy.I had high BP too and was on tablets for that too.Because of BP,I delivered normally (induced labour)after the 36 th week ,but it was surely not due to insulin or GD.Now my son is 5 1/2 yrs old and he has no problems.Neither did I have any problem because of insulin.My GD disappeared after delivery.

For my second pregnancy,I again had high BP and GD but I could control sugar levels with a carb-restricted diet itself and so ,no insulin or tablets were given.Now my second son is almost 5 months old and he is fine too and so am I.

Best of luck..just follow diet properly,exercise for 30 minutes a day and you will be fine.

Thanks Pmahensa and sunita for your support and sharing your experience.
Well i was kinda gonna settle with the insulin idea, but Thanks to you pmahensa, coz of your reply i diverted and decided i will not take insulin. So the past week i started following the diet chart given by the Dr. I forced myself to eat meat, it kept my sugar levels low. Now i have substituted meat with indian diet. Some how things are working so far.

But my quantity of food is way too much reduced. I am feeling weak these days. Scared if i will be left with any energy to push the baby out. Sleeping at nights has become a problem as well. Hope this diet thing does not affect the baby in anyway.

Thanks.

Hi Maya and All,
I am also detected having GD in my 30th week. Till now i am trying to control it with the diet. results are fine. But still doc has told that we have to watch it for 1-2 weeks and if there are any highs then we start Insulin !
I have one more question. Has your gynae asked you now to take any steroid "Betnesol injection" . My gynae has. According to her GD mother's baby's lungs may not grow as expected so they have to give this. And after taking this , at least for 3-4 days the sugar levels go for a toss ! I tried to search on the net etc but could not find any such info. Now I am going to my hometown for the delivery. and i have not yet taken this because of the travel plans.
But please tell me if any of you have got this or done previously? And is this really required?

Hi Monsi,
Babies born to mothers with GD have a higher risk for immature lungs (something called hyaline membrane disease or respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn) after birth. But it is still rare for a baby born at term (after 37 weeks) to have it and very very unlikely in a baby whose mother's blood sugars are well-controlled. Betnesol is a steroid given to mothers IF the baby has a high risk of immature lungs (usually in mothers who might go into preterm labour and in GD mothers with uncontrolled GD). Every mother with GD does not need it. (I had GD myself and never took it). Since you will be going to a different OBG for your delivery it will be better to keep a strict watch on your blood sugar and ask that OBG if you really need it.

Vanathi.

Hi Vanathi,
Thanks alot for your reply. I will ask my new gynae about it. All this time I was trying to be all happy and was enjoying this pregnancy but this new thing is creating worries
Will try to be positive anyhow !

Hi Monsi:

I guess Vanati has replied to your Q. As for me, i have not heard anythg about GD and its effect on baby's lungs. I was told that the baby will have low blood sugar when bron, for that they give the baby a glucose drink. And at times when GD is uncontrolled, the mother might be forced to deliver before her term, by inducing labor. The mother is at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life. The child too might grow up to be over weight and might develop diabetes laterr or sooner in life.

I know it all bogs you down. Dont ask how woried i was too, and am still. Just hoping that the baby is fine. All the above has lots of IF's and Mights in them, so we cant really say what will happen.

So for now, i am just trying to keep my calm and waiting to deliver. feels like i have been there all my life.

You take care!
MAYA.

Monsi and Maya,
Its very easy for other people to say it I know - but as someone who has been there - stay as positive as you can and try your best to keep the sugars down - good luck to you both and I know you will have healthy babies in just a few short weeks!

Vanathi.

Hi Friends...

I am 34 W & 4 days. I am also joining the GD category now. My baby is measuring bigger and my mother has Type II diabties so my chances are high. My Ob/gyn suspects I have a GD as I could not hold the sweet drink and throw up. Yesterday I had an appointment with my nutrionist and she gave me information how to plan my diet chart. It is confusing because the most of the diet chart has american food.

I started checking blood sugar level since yesterday after afternoon and dinner meal blood sugar level was slightly higher. It was my first day so I have to work out on my diet chart. This morning before breakfast my blood sugar level was below 90, which is good because it has to be below 100. Now I am thinking what should I eat in the afternoon and dinner so I can have good controlled diet. Yesterday I ate less, I was so hungry. This is really overwhelming for me. I was worried that anything I will put in my mouth will increas my sugar level. Is it ok to eat snacks anytime or do I have to fix time for those too?

I checked Chitvish diet plans, but its all about regular pregnant diet plan, not for GD diet plan. And other thing basically its a south indian food, which is hard for me to understand, Can someone post the link or North Indian restrict diet plan for the GD. Thank you