Gestational Diabetes

After failing my 1 hour glucose tolerance test last week, I had to do the 3 hour fasting test yesterday. I stuffed myself with chicken and some rice the night before hoping the protein would keep me from starving the next morning. I don't think anything can counter the ill effects of drinking 10 oz of glucola on an empty stomach, but I didn't feel overly hungry at least.

On the first blood draw, the woman jabbed me pretty hard and I flinched. I've had blood drawn lots of times and I don't flinch easily. Most times, I hardly feel the prick. But this woman made me flinch and to add insult to injury, when my arm moved she said "Don't move. I don't want to miss it."

The 3 hours passed fairly quickly considering I felt sick from the glucola. My appointment was at 7:15am so I was done by 10:30. My OB's nurse called me the day after the 1 hour test so I was expecting results today and was surprised when my OB called me himself yesterday just before 5pm. He said I have mild gestational diabetes. Three of the 4 tests were elevated. (2 abnormal test levels diagnose GD. With Aaron, just one of the tests was elevated.) Here were my results (and the levels that he told me were considered normal):

Fasting: 83 (under 100 is normal)
1 hour: 197 (under 190 is normal)
2 hour: 192 (under 165 is normal)
3 hour: 148 (under 145 is normal)

(In an article on BabyCenter, they list the cutoffs for fasting through 3 hour as slightly lower: 95, 180, 155, and 140 respectively. I think different labs have different standards, but I'm not sure why.)

He said it was mild and he wasn't worried, mostly because my fasting level was fine. But also because the 1 hour and 3 hour levels were only slightly elevated. He doesn't think I'll have any problem controlling it through diet. He is enrolling me in a program they have for gestational diabetes. Someone is going to call me by the end of the week with details. But he said there would be a class I need to attend where I will learn about GD as well as how to use a glucose monitor to test my blood sugar levels at home. When I asked if I'd have to test my blood on a daily basis, he said probably at first, but then it would probably just be a few times a week. I had read online that some women with GD had to check 4 times a day, so this was a relief.

He said the baby doesn't have diabetes and shouldn't suffer any problems. But he said he would probably do a few extra ultrasounds and that they would test the baby's blood sugar after birth. My glucose tolerance should return to normal within a few weeks after the baby is born.

I'm a little disappointed, but not overly worried. The hard part is that my appetite has never returned, even though I only occasionally get nauseated. But without an appetite, the things I tend to eat are high in carbs and sometimes sugar. So I think I might have to make some significant changes to the way I eat, including better meal planning.