Gestational Diabetes Take 2!

Last pregnancy, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD) at the end of my second trimester. I wasn't really all that shock, but I was in denial. After all, I have PCOS which causes some insulin resistance so I was already at a higher risk. Then add in the fact that I am heavier than ideal and you have a recipe for GD.

With my history of GD from the last pregnancy, they were super cautious this time around. My A1c was "borderline" and just .1 above normal range! I had brought it down through diet and exercise quite a few points right before we found out we were pregnant so I was thrilled! They immediately sent me over to the MFM and had me talk to the diabetic educator. I was told to check my numbers 4x/day for two weeks and email them weekly to her. She would go over it and see how they looked.

At first I was super disappointed. Seriously? I'm not even out of my first trimester and I'm already having to count carbs/protein and do finger pricks all day...WHY?! I can be slightly dramatic at times, but it is what it is. I ordered a new meter through my insurance company and started testing. I was a little upset to learn that their values are even more strict than my last MFM. Don't they know it's hard enough to control your blood sugars if you have an issue? Oh well, I tested and my numbers came back well in range!

Since I had been doing so well, they decided to let me check just twice per day! When those numbers continued to be in range, they had me just check my fastings every other day until they determined I no longer needed to be monitored. I was SO excited! I stopped checking and was told my OB would do a 1 hour glucose test at the normal time and we'd go from there.

I decided to do some "spot checks" with my fasting numbers along the way. Every few weeks I would check just to see what they were. I could see a steady increase in the numbers, but didn't think too much of it just yet. Then, yesterday I decided to do another check and was not happy to see a 104. I knew I had a problem at this point and that was so discouraging. I decided to go ahead and test after 1 hour to see if it was just a problem with my fasting number or overall. My after breakfast number was 23 points higher than what they wanted! So, I made the decision to check after lunch and the same thing happened again. I called in to the educator and my OB so we could get started and get an official diagnosis before the glucose test.

I now have an official diagnosis and have been monitoring for just over a day. I know it's not the end of the world, but GD has a way of messing with your emotions. Numbers can be deceiving and you can eat the exact same thing one day and be well in range and the next it can be high! I'm trying not to get discouraged and just deal with it.

There is a little bit of silver lining though! Now that I have GD and will likely be on insulin based on my fastings alone if nothing else, we know that our little girl will be here no later than mid-August! They won't let me go past 39 weeks with medication and that means that my mom and sister will get to meet our baby and get to spend time with her! For this, I am really grateful even if that means 14 weeks of checking numbers and watching everything I eat all day, every day.