but, i didn't want to skip this week, because it had our first minor bump (pardon the pun) in the road.
at 28 weeks i was given the glucose screening, which measures your blood sugar. it involved drinking a super sweet beverage and having my blood drawn once. the cut off was 140, and mine came back 149.
this isn't a big deal, and it turns out lots of people fail the screening. those people are given a test. a much more sugary drink, and 4 blood draws (1 fasting, and then 1 per hour, for 3 hours). i was given this test as well. my numbers came back and i failed 2 out of 4. this means i have gestational diabetes.
i found out the day after christmas. we were all planning to go to powerline pass to look around and take pictures (aaron, his brother, paul, and paul's girlfriend, sara). paul and sara were in the car, and aaron and i were heading out when i got the call from the nurse. i think i took the news pretty well while we were on the phone, but immediately started crying when i got off. i couldn't help feeling like i had let our little guy down in some way. this, of course, isn't rational - but pregnant ladies are not always inclined to be rational. i quickly dried my tears and went to powerline pass as though nothing was wrong. in fact, i don't think paul or sara ever realized i even got this diagnosis.
i went to a dietician, who assured me that i did absolutely nothing wrong. gestational diabetes just happens. if left unchecked, gd can lead to much larger babies, and therefor c-sections, premature labor, and other complications. however, we caught it so all we have to do to avoid complications is to keep my blood sugar in check.
this surprisingly doesn't effect my diet too much. i don't drink sodas, juice, or eat fast food anyway. and i already exercise. basically i have to eat three meals and three snacks spaced out throughout the day. i also have to measure how many carbs i eat in one sitting (1-2 for breakfast and snacks, and 2-3 for lunch and dinner) and be sure to balance the carbs with protein. this requires a little thinking at times, and is sometimes inconvenient, but a small price to pay.
the other part of this is the actual measuring of the blood sugar. i was given a diabetes testing kit. i have to prick my finger 4 times a day until the end of my pregnancy (1 fasting in the morning, and 1 time after each meal) and using the test strips measure my blood sugar. i had heard horror stories on the internet about how bad the finger pricks were, but in my experience it was nothing. not bad at all.
i have been measuring my blood sugar for 4 or 5 days now, and can say that it has been completely normal. not one high reading, in fact, they are all relatively low. which means we have this in check. if we are unable to control my blood sugar with diet alone, then i would have to give myself insulin injections. it doesn't look like i will have to do that, thankfully.
basically, i wanted to put this out there, in case some other preggo lady runs across this, while frantically googling "gestational diabetes". you and your baby will be ok. it's slightly inconvenient, but not that bad. you did nothing wrong, promise.
I had gestational diabetes this last pregnancy. My doctor said it was probably due to the holidays and having to take the glucose test at that time. Pricking your finger will get better. I had to alternate fingers b/c one would get sore. Sounds like you're doing pretty well w/ it! I cried too. Don't beat yourself up about it. Good luck! I'm available to talk if you need to! :)
ReplyDeleteAwe, thanks so much, Megan. It's actually going quite well now. I have to make a larger effort to not have too low numbers. It's always reassuring to hear others have gone through the same thing. 😃
ReplyDelete