The GD-GD

Diabetes Fail. I have the GD. No, for once, not swearing, it’s the Gestational Diabetes. Given the risk factors (family history, PCOS, weight coming into pregnancy, etc.) I am not overly shocked. The only risk factor that didn’t really apply to me was ethnicity (black and Hispanics have higher risk than Caucasians).  At first I was really bummed. I felt like I had failed baby poodle and I, and I was concerned about the health implications for him and I in the short and the long term. I immediately went to the drug store and bought a glucose meter and supplies and began religiously testing my sugars before and after meals. While I didn’t cut out carbs/sugars, I was very cautious with what I ate. I haven’t craved a lot of sweets or garbage during the pregnancy, but now portion control and reading labels becomes that much more important. My OBGYN office refers you to a consult/3 hour class with a dietician to go over the basics, since thankfully I haven’t had any diabetes training or need for it in the past. That was scheduled for yesterday (a week past diagnosis). I felt pretty prepared thanks to Dr. Google, and a basic knowledge already on nutritional choices. The paperwork had said there wouldn’t be space in the class for guests, but clearly the other participants don’t read and ¾ of the participants brought a child, husband or boyfriend with them. It made for tight seating, and I had to sit much closer to a loud chewing guest than I would have liked. I gave stink eye pretty hard, and eventually the other pregnant mom insisted the guest stop smacking (they didn’t) their food. Judgy Poodle was in full on judge mode for the first half of the consult. I was the only one measuring my sugar, I was the only one that seemed to know what type of healthy implications can result in uncontrolled GD, and I was the only one the dietician looked at for answers to her questions because clearly the rest of the group hadn’t taken their diagnosis that seriously. One girl thinks water tastes like poison –ummmm have you been drinking soda for the past 29 weeks as your only source of hydration? One doesn’t eat fruits or vegetables because she doesn’t like the way they look/taste (even pre-pregnancy) and didn’t seem swayed by the fact that you should probably suck it up for the sake of your unborn child. One couldn’t fathom why a hot dog (you’re supposed to limit the # of hotdogs you eat because of the level of nitrates anyhow) wasn’t the most nutritional choice and why it didn’t really qualify as a “lean” protein. Right about here though, the judgy turned off and I started feeling a bit sad. Were these group of women raised by wolves? Where were their parents to teach them about healthy choices? Did they never see a food pyramid in school? I mean the # of blank faces when the instructor asked “whether chicken fit into protein, veggies, or starch?” category was astounding. Diabetes “isn’t fair”. It’s not. I’ve been eating well and exercising, but I’ve got it and it is what it is. It’s difficult to not feel like some people “deserve” the situation, but to be honest in pregnancy, it doesn’t discriminate. In saying that, MOST gestational diabetes goes away within six weeks of delivery, and I am hopeful I will be one of the “most”. You have a 20-50% (depending on what study) of developing type 2 diabetes within 10 years of pregnancy if you had gestational diabetes, and that’s a scary statistic. Baby Poodle is worth every risk along the way, but I‘d still obviously like to avoid that if possible. Without monitoring, it can mean a risk of high birth weight (higher risk of C-section) and a risk of the baby having low blood sugar at birth and/or having jaundice (lots of babies have that anyhow). It can also significantly increase the baby’s chances of diabetes later in life, so nothing to be taken lightly.  In reality, my sugar during the day is spot on with how I’ve been eating, but higher in the morning than they’d like to see fasting. It’s a little more complicated than I am going to explain, but the basic is that your body puts out sugar overnight while you aren’t eating to sustain you, and mine is just kicking out a little too much. My doctor would like to see less than 90, the specialist less than 95, and right now I hover about 104. So it’s not waaaaaay high, but worth watching, as it often gets worse the later you get in pregnancy. Fortunately, it’s not a ton of changes for me. I will need to check sugar levels four times daily, once when waking up after not eating and then once an hour after each meal and I will need to be more consistent with evening walks or swimming. It means caution on portion control and white sugars (flour, bread, pasta, rice, etc.) but nothing unmanageable. In reality, it will likely make for less overall baby weight gained in the pregnancy, and if what they say is true and habits form in 21 days, long term healthier meal choices overall even post-pregnancy.

Followed that up with a cleaning at the dentist (all checked out). Really, what a fun day I booked. Dentist was fine, except who knew…pregnancy makes your gums bleed. As in, I look like a vampire that’s been sucking blood every time I floss. Oops. Apparently nothing to worry about, didn’t have gingivitis or anything, but I can thank the hormones once more. Last but not least in the day was regular OBGYN appointment. Had to meet a different doctor in the practice since who knows who will be on call when we deliver. I like our own doctor so much, it’s hard to accept that it might not be her on call that day/night, but at least I will meet several more in the practice between now and November. Snarky and my mom are throwing a shower for me down here October 11^th and then I will have a small shower in Tally (thanks to the mom I used to babysit for and one of my college gal pals) later in October. While I am pushing odds with later showers, it will be nice to see everyone from out of town! PC will drive up with me “just in case” something happens, i.e. we go into labor and best case just to ease me having to do the driving and/or make a boring drive alone. So there we are—29 weeks and change down and still cruising.