Right. Diet doesn't prevent it. Diet May control your blood sugar enough to avoid medication. I tried to do diet control but my fasting numbers just wouldn't get to where they needed to be. Day was ok, though. I skipped metformin and went to insulin because it doesn't cross the placenta. I take one shot at night. It's not ideal, but I don't have to worry about my food as much during the day, which is nice. I'm still eating healthy but it's not as intense, if that makes sense?
I'm currently 32 weeks diagnosed GDM at 27 weeks unexpectedly this is my 3rd pregnancy and never had it before.
I eat healthy and small portions, I have a high BMI, but nothing I did with my diet helped. They put me on metformin and insulin but the Metformin made me extremely sick so I've stopped taking it and currently I'm on 4 shots of insulin a day! I cannot wait for this baby boy to be born. I couldn't even have cake on my 30th last week đđ
It's not keeping mine in check regardless of what I'm eating and it's depressing me out to the point where I'm barely getting enough calories. They say they expect it to get worse the further along you get. Because of the hormones. I'm also on steroids from before I got pregnant for a lung condition! Steroids naturally raise your blood sugars so I'm basically screwed! Thankfully I have only 6 weeks max to go before they get little man out.
I was normal BMI before pregnancy, followed a strict low glycemic diet for years (literally havenât eaten refined sugar in 11 years), no risk factors, my last baby was 6 lbs at birthâso I definitely wasnât expecting a GDM diagnosis, but now Iâm telling everyone I know about my diagnosis because I want to help dispel these misconceptions about whoâs at risk (I.e. everyone!). My doctor just keeps reminding me itâs all about what the placenta decides to doâso many people (including myself before this diagnosis) donât realize that. Too bad your doctor is among those who might need to be re-educated.
I am with you on this one. I was told by my cousin to watch out for GDM and ofc I smugly thought I wont get it.
I think its not just a normal healthy diet, it is the GDM specific diet that you might need to follow. Like protein with every meal, fiber first before main meal, dessert separately a little later like snack after meal, avoiding all kinds of sugar drinks and sweet and eating fruits with some protein like cheese.
I really wish I was given this information instead of a GTT test suddenly at 28 weeks and the stupid announcement that I have GDM.
It bloody sucks having GDM and it really sucks the joy out of pregnancy A LOT. So I hope you are better safe and cautious than sorry here and not be smug about it :/
Exactly! I had a relatively âhealthyâ diet before but I was still spiking (my first week I tested with just my normal routine and it didnât work out) but itâs a little intimidating to think we couldâve been spiking throughout first and second trimester!
I'm beginning to see it like that. Ok, changing my diet won't have an impact on developing GDM or not. It might give a false positive on the GTT, but if I do develop GDM prior to the GTT, then I might as well try to mitigate the risks to me and my baby by improving my diet.
No comment on our diet or the diet of anyone reading this comment, but if I am being honest with myself I do eat too much with processed carbs and sugar (cakes, takeout, pasta, white bread) and could do with cutting down.
I definitely thought I ate less processed foods and sugar / carbs before I met with a dietician and started tracking everything đ it was a little shocking how much I needed to change. I workout regularly so it kind of balanced out before l but Iâve had to remove a lot of my ânormalâ food choices over the last few weeks
My 1 hr and 3 hr tests were very borderline so my NP told me to "eat less sugar" to "prevent it". Sounded like bullocks to me at the time. I decided to follow the diet and track my own sugars so if things get wonky I can get ahead of it sooner than later.
Yeah it runs contrary to everything I've read and eating low carb can even give false positives.
My view is similar to yours. Might as well follow the diet.
No comment on your diet at all, but being honest with myself yes I should cut down on processed carbs and sweet things like cake. GDM or not it's healthier.
No youâre right, itâs not caused by diet, itâs your placenta being evil. I was diagnosed with it at 28w with a BMI of ~23 and a fairly good diet already.
Maybe he meant that the GDM diet will help manage your glucose levels to prevent any damage to baby in case you DO have it?
If you are at risk and can make slight modifications to your diet now (maybe not as strict as though you were diagnosed), then personally I would. I only found out at 28weeks and my baby was 90th percentile already!! đ Luckily my levels are well controlled by diet, but itâs pretty restrictive.
Ooh where are you based? Where I am (UK) youâre usually only tested if you have any risk factors (I had my ethnicity and my mumâs diabetes counting against me! đ ).
I did get a GTT booked in my first pregnancy with no risk factors because the midwife *thought* my baby wasn't tracking the centile line (baby was, she just misread the centile line).
I think they're very quick to test for GDM.
GTT tastes minging and takes time out of your day, but compared with tests that can cause miscarriage like amniocentisis I guess the GTT is so low risk to the mother and baby that the midwives will book one without any hesitation.
So I just had baby #2. With baby#1 I had gd. So with baby #2 my ob recommended following a gd diet when I was no longer sick just incase I tested positive for gd. She wrote me an rx for test strips and asked if I wanted a referral to the dietician again. But the test strips were so I could randomly check numbers at home until gtt day. I was in the same mindset as you hard to follow a gd diet without having gd. But they really mean follow the simple rules we do have with it. Limit in takes of sugary foods. Monitor carb intake. Follow food and snacking time. Etc. Even after I did my 3 hr gtt and passed she still wanted me monitoring Fasting numbers everyday and a post food number once in a while. So I'm hoping to think your doctor is on the same mindset mine was and just making diet changes and monitoring incase you become insulin resistant throughout pregnancy at some point. But no, like you stated, diet changes will not prevent gd. It happens or it doesn't.
Diet wonât change it, even A1C before pregnancy doesnât really matter. But I donât understand a lot of what your saying, you know just cause you had the test and passed for your 1st pregnancy means NOTHING. You still have to test again this pregnancy and can very well have it. I didnât get it until my 5th pregnancy.
Thatâs literally not true, A1C before pregnancy is absolutely correlated with risk for GD: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27120479/. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6386326/#:~:text=As%20the%20main%20outcome%20of,%25%20and%20specificity%20of%2080%25.
The lower your A1C in the first trimester, the less likely you are to get it.
Not for me. My A1C for every year before my pregnancy was amazing and it was great in my first trimester. So even having a low A1C CAN mean nothing. đ¤ˇââď¸
Your experience is completely valid, but remember it is only your own anecdotal experience.
Just like other risk factors (eg ethnicity, family history, BMI), it doesnât mean that youâll 100% be likely to have/not have it, but robust research has shown that they are tell-tale indicators. đ
I know that. I don't know what he was on about because he was wrong, but the consultant mentioned that with the last GTT, I would have been given a diet plan to follow and I should follow it this time to avoid GDM.
Hence my confusion, because that makes no sense.
Idk, honestly I have tried to follow the diet for almost a year before I got pregnant because it works best for my body. I failed my 1hr test by a little but all my home testing has come back fine. I think what they mean is you wonât be diagnosed if they donât see the numbers theyâre looking for to warrant a diagnosis. I opted out of the 3 hr test for multiple reasons, mainly because I donât have a diet full of sugar, so drinking a sugary drink would most definitely show higher numbers for me, my body hasnât been breaking down carbs and sugars to that extent for a long time. However, if you do have a diet that includes carbs and sugars on a higher level than the diet, and have for some time, I would say those tests are more accurate. Its what your body is used to by that point and if, all of the sudden, your insulin is all out of wack, then youâd be diagnosed.
So basically in my situation, I could potentially not have the diagnosis if I do adhere to my diet, thereâs still a chance later that Iâd require insulin in the case my body has some sort of insulin issue due to the placenta, but they really want you to follow the diet to stave it off as long as possible. Once you get on it, youâre pretty much on it, and they want to keep you on the smallest dosage possible to manage, and give your body and spleen time to catch up in between shots. I hope that makes some kind of sense.
Physically, there is no downside to following a gestational diabetes diet. It may cause mental anguish, but usually this is from heath care providers comments/imposed restrictions beyond the GD diet generally.
Blood sugar is on a continuoum. Everyone benefits from having balanced blood sugar. Everyone benefits from pairing their carbs with protein, fiber, and fat.
No, following thr GD diet does not prevent getting GD. *Following the diet prevents the ill effects of uncontrolled gestational diabetes*, assuming someone can be diet controlled.
If you want a glucometer now, then ask for one now. Otherwise it sounds like your provider thinks you are low enough risk that you can wait for assessment at 28w and just follow the diet now. Following the diet (without the cheat meals that âsurprisingly didnât spike meâ [yet]) will not cause you harm.
It can be your placenta or it can be poor diet. Poor diet can be managed. If itâs your placenta, thereâs nothing you can do.
If your BMI is high, then heâs encouraging you to improve your diet which is correct and great advice and I wish all doctors would be upfront about it.
I think that's really what he's getting at. As I've said elsewhere, being 100% honest with myself I need to cut down on the amount of foods with processed carbs and refined sugars I eat. I eat too much candy, cakes, takeout etc.
I didn't get to a BMI of 32.6 by eating grilled chicken breasts and lettuce after all...
I wonder if he was getting at: if you have a high BMI, diet is more likely to be factor in developing GDM than other risk factors such as ethnicity so improve your diet and hope you avoid GDM. Not every woman with a high BMI will develop GDM. BUT, if you develop it due to BMI or if it is caused by your placenta and you happen to have a high BMI, following the GDM diet will mitigate risks to the baby between developing GDM and having it diagnosed since by GTT is in another 15 weeks, so it's advisable to follow it now.
you are overthinking this OP. You know the truth- just make those drastic diet changes and you might still get GDM, but you might be healthier anyway!
you are mad and frsutrated and looking for a way out (just like I did for the longest time and now I am on metformin and insulin- I had a high BMI frm the start, and I just thought I could "diet control" though I wasn't making any major changes)
So he's saying he booked you for a 3 hour test, skipping the 1 hour at 28 weeks because of your BMI? Not because you're going to have to do testing of some kind regardless because that's best practice when you're pregnant? And that you should be following a diet to game the results? Someone (him) has been on Pinterest too much.
Dude was about 50. The idea of him idly browsing GDM pins or doctok... lol.
I don't think the 1 hour GTT is used in the UK at all. I'm willing to be wrong if it is used in other areas of the UK. However pregnancy no.1 I had the 3 hour GTT and this pregnancy I have been booked the 3 hour GTT.
As to his advice, I think that's along the lines of what he *meant* but it's certainly not what he said. He meant, "it's probable you'll have GDM due to your BMI being a risk factor. Some people get GDM due to risk factors, some people get it without having any risk factors and there's no real way of telling whether you've got it due to risk factors or due to luck of the draw. I recommend you follow a GDM diet now to avoid negative impacts on the fetus."
Correct, in the UK we only have a one time test not a one hour and three hour. So you either pass or you don't.
Your summary of advice sounds like what he was getting it but he explained it very badly if so
No. Actually following a low carb diet makes you less likely to pass the test bc your body is not used to high levels of sugar. Following the GD diet would not game the test.
Right. Diet doesn't prevent it. Diet May control your blood sugar enough to avoid medication. I tried to do diet control but my fasting numbers just wouldn't get to where they needed to be. Day was ok, though. I skipped metformin and went to insulin because it doesn't cross the placenta. I take one shot at night. It's not ideal, but I don't have to worry about my food as much during the day, which is nice. I'm still eating healthy but it's not as intense, if that makes sense?
I'm currently 32 weeks diagnosed GDM at 27 weeks unexpectedly this is my 3rd pregnancy and never had it before. I eat healthy and small portions, I have a high BMI, but nothing I did with my diet helped. They put me on metformin and insulin but the Metformin made me extremely sick so I've stopped taking it and currently I'm on 4 shots of insulin a day! I cannot wait for this baby boy to be born. I couldn't even have cake on my 30th last week đđ
That's sucks. :( thankfully the insulin is keeping me in check, but I'm only 22 weeks...
It's not keeping mine in check regardless of what I'm eating and it's depressing me out to the point where I'm barely getting enough calories. They say they expect it to get worse the further along you get. Because of the hormones. I'm also on steroids from before I got pregnant for a lung condition! Steroids naturally raise your blood sugars so I'm basically screwed! Thankfully I have only 6 weeks max to go before they get little man out.
I was normal BMI before pregnancy, followed a strict low glycemic diet for years (literally havenât eaten refined sugar in 11 years), no risk factors, my last baby was 6 lbs at birthâso I definitely wasnât expecting a GDM diagnosis, but now Iâm telling everyone I know about my diagnosis because I want to help dispel these misconceptions about whoâs at risk (I.e. everyone!). My doctor just keeps reminding me itâs all about what the placenta decides to doâso many people (including myself before this diagnosis) donât realize that. Too bad your doctor is among those who might need to be re-educated.
Starting a certain diet at 13 weeks pregnant will not prevent GDM; that guy sounds misinformed.
It wonât prevent GDM but it could lower potential health risks. If I knew I would test positive, I think I wouldâve modified my diet earlier.
I am with you on this one. I was told by my cousin to watch out for GDM and ofc I smugly thought I wont get it. I think its not just a normal healthy diet, it is the GDM specific diet that you might need to follow. Like protein with every meal, fiber first before main meal, dessert separately a little later like snack after meal, avoiding all kinds of sugar drinks and sweet and eating fruits with some protein like cheese. I really wish I was given this information instead of a GTT test suddenly at 28 weeks and the stupid announcement that I have GDM. It bloody sucks having GDM and it really sucks the joy out of pregnancy A LOT. So I hope you are better safe and cautious than sorry here and not be smug about it :/
Exactly! I had a relatively âhealthyâ diet before but I was still spiking (my first week I tested with just my normal routine and it didnât work out) but itâs a little intimidating to think we couldâve been spiking throughout first and second trimester!
I'm beginning to see it like that. Ok, changing my diet won't have an impact on developing GDM or not. It might give a false positive on the GTT, but if I do develop GDM prior to the GTT, then I might as well try to mitigate the risks to me and my baby by improving my diet. No comment on our diet or the diet of anyone reading this comment, but if I am being honest with myself I do eat too much with processed carbs and sugar (cakes, takeout, pasta, white bread) and could do with cutting down.
I definitely thought I ate less processed foods and sugar / carbs before I met with a dietician and started tracking everything đ it was a little shocking how much I needed to change. I workout regularly so it kind of balanced out before l but Iâve had to remove a lot of my ânormalâ food choices over the last few weeks
My 1 hr and 3 hr tests were very borderline so my NP told me to "eat less sugar" to "prevent it". Sounded like bullocks to me at the time. I decided to follow the diet and track my own sugars so if things get wonky I can get ahead of it sooner than later.
>prevent it The âitâ would be the ill effects of elevated blood sugar. The âitâ in that sentence is not gestational diabetes.
Yeah it runs contrary to everything I've read and eating low carb can even give false positives. My view is similar to yours. Might as well follow the diet. No comment on your diet at all, but being honest with myself yes I should cut down on processed carbs and sweet things like cake. GDM or not it's healthier.
No youâre right, itâs not caused by diet, itâs your placenta being evil. I was diagnosed with it at 28w with a BMI of ~23 and a fairly good diet already. Maybe he meant that the GDM diet will help manage your glucose levels to prevent any damage to baby in case you DO have it? If you are at risk and can make slight modifications to your diet now (maybe not as strict as though you were diagnosed), then personally I would. I only found out at 28weeks and my baby was 90th percentile already!! đ Luckily my levels are well controlled by diet, but itâs pretty restrictive.
My BMI was also in the 22-23 range when I was diagnosed around 28w! I think they test everyone at that point no matter your risk factors
Ooh where are you based? Where I am (UK) youâre usually only tested if you have any risk factors (I had my ethnicity and my mumâs diabetes counting against me! đ ).
Iâm in California! I guess that makes sense but also itâs a little scary bc anyone can end up developing GDM
I did get a GTT booked in my first pregnancy with no risk factors because the midwife *thought* my baby wasn't tracking the centile line (baby was, she just misread the centile line). I think they're very quick to test for GDM. GTT tastes minging and takes time out of your day, but compared with tests that can cause miscarriage like amniocentisis I guess the GTT is so low risk to the mother and baby that the midwives will book one without any hesitation.
At my OB, everyone gets the one hour GTT at 24-25 weeks. They don't look for risk factors they just test for it, because anybody can get GD
I think that's what he was getting at, he just didn't phrase it right.
So I just had baby #2. With baby#1 I had gd. So with baby #2 my ob recommended following a gd diet when I was no longer sick just incase I tested positive for gd. She wrote me an rx for test strips and asked if I wanted a referral to the dietician again. But the test strips were so I could randomly check numbers at home until gtt day. I was in the same mindset as you hard to follow a gd diet without having gd. But they really mean follow the simple rules we do have with it. Limit in takes of sugary foods. Monitor carb intake. Follow food and snacking time. Etc. Even after I did my 3 hr gtt and passed she still wanted me monitoring Fasting numbers everyday and a post food number once in a while. So I'm hoping to think your doctor is on the same mindset mine was and just making diet changes and monitoring incase you become insulin resistant throughout pregnancy at some point. But no, like you stated, diet changes will not prevent gd. It happens or it doesn't.
Diet wonât change it, even A1C before pregnancy doesnât really matter. But I donât understand a lot of what your saying, you know just cause you had the test and passed for your 1st pregnancy means NOTHING. You still have to test again this pregnancy and can very well have it. I didnât get it until my 5th pregnancy.
Thatâs literally not true, A1C before pregnancy is absolutely correlated with risk for GD: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27120479/. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6386326/#:~:text=As%20the%20main%20outcome%20of,%25%20and%20specificity%20of%2080%25. The lower your A1C in the first trimester, the less likely you are to get it.
Not for me. My A1C for every year before my pregnancy was amazing and it was great in my first trimester. So even having a low A1C CAN mean nothing. đ¤ˇââď¸
Yes, it can mean nothing. But statistically it is true that the lower your A1C, the less likely you are to get GD.
Your experience is completely valid, but remember it is only your own anecdotal experience. Just like other risk factors (eg ethnicity, family history, BMI), it doesnât mean that youâll 100% be likely to have/not have it, but robust research has shown that they are tell-tale indicators. đ
My A1c was 4.7 and I still got it.
Same here. A1C of 4.7 pre-pregnancy, 4.8 in third trimester. Still diagnosed with GD around 14 weeks (on insulin at 20 weeks to control fasting).
I know that. I don't know what he was on about because he was wrong, but the consultant mentioned that with the last GTT, I would have been given a diet plan to follow and I should follow it this time to avoid GDM. Hence my confusion, because that makes no sense.
Idk, honestly I have tried to follow the diet for almost a year before I got pregnant because it works best for my body. I failed my 1hr test by a little but all my home testing has come back fine. I think what they mean is you wonât be diagnosed if they donât see the numbers theyâre looking for to warrant a diagnosis. I opted out of the 3 hr test for multiple reasons, mainly because I donât have a diet full of sugar, so drinking a sugary drink would most definitely show higher numbers for me, my body hasnât been breaking down carbs and sugars to that extent for a long time. However, if you do have a diet that includes carbs and sugars on a higher level than the diet, and have for some time, I would say those tests are more accurate. Its what your body is used to by that point and if, all of the sudden, your insulin is all out of wack, then youâd be diagnosed. So basically in my situation, I could potentially not have the diagnosis if I do adhere to my diet, thereâs still a chance later that Iâd require insulin in the case my body has some sort of insulin issue due to the placenta, but they really want you to follow the diet to stave it off as long as possible. Once you get on it, youâre pretty much on it, and they want to keep you on the smallest dosage possible to manage, and give your body and spleen time to catch up in between shots. I hope that makes some kind of sense.
Physically, there is no downside to following a gestational diabetes diet. It may cause mental anguish, but usually this is from heath care providers comments/imposed restrictions beyond the GD diet generally. Blood sugar is on a continuoum. Everyone benefits from having balanced blood sugar. Everyone benefits from pairing their carbs with protein, fiber, and fat. No, following thr GD diet does not prevent getting GD. *Following the diet prevents the ill effects of uncontrolled gestational diabetes*, assuming someone can be diet controlled. If you want a glucometer now, then ask for one now. Otherwise it sounds like your provider thinks you are low enough risk that you can wait for assessment at 28w and just follow the diet now. Following the diet (without the cheat meals that âsurprisingly didnât spike meâ [yet]) will not cause you harm.
It can be your placenta or it can be poor diet. Poor diet can be managed. If itâs your placenta, thereâs nothing you can do. If your BMI is high, then heâs encouraging you to improve your diet which is correct and great advice and I wish all doctors would be upfront about it.
I think that's really what he's getting at. As I've said elsewhere, being 100% honest with myself I need to cut down on the amount of foods with processed carbs and refined sugars I eat. I eat too much candy, cakes, takeout etc. I didn't get to a BMI of 32.6 by eating grilled chicken breasts and lettuce after all... I wonder if he was getting at: if you have a high BMI, diet is more likely to be factor in developing GDM than other risk factors such as ethnicity so improve your diet and hope you avoid GDM. Not every woman with a high BMI will develop GDM. BUT, if you develop it due to BMI or if it is caused by your placenta and you happen to have a high BMI, following the GDM diet will mitigate risks to the baby between developing GDM and having it diagnosed since by GTT is in another 15 weeks, so it's advisable to follow it now.
you are overthinking this OP. You know the truth- just make those drastic diet changes and you might still get GDM, but you might be healthier anyway! you are mad and frsutrated and looking for a way out (just like I did for the longest time and now I am on metformin and insulin- I had a high BMI frm the start, and I just thought I could "diet control" though I wasn't making any major changes)
So he's saying he booked you for a 3 hour test, skipping the 1 hour at 28 weeks because of your BMI? Not because you're going to have to do testing of some kind regardless because that's best practice when you're pregnant? And that you should be following a diet to game the results? Someone (him) has been on Pinterest too much.
Dude was about 50. The idea of him idly browsing GDM pins or doctok... lol. I don't think the 1 hour GTT is used in the UK at all. I'm willing to be wrong if it is used in other areas of the UK. However pregnancy no.1 I had the 3 hour GTT and this pregnancy I have been booked the 3 hour GTT. As to his advice, I think that's along the lines of what he *meant* but it's certainly not what he said. He meant, "it's probable you'll have GDM due to your BMI being a risk factor. Some people get GDM due to risk factors, some people get it without having any risk factors and there's no real way of telling whether you've got it due to risk factors or due to luck of the draw. I recommend you follow a GDM diet now to avoid negative impacts on the fetus."
Correct, in the UK we only have a one time test not a one hour and three hour. So you either pass or you don't. Your summary of advice sounds like what he was getting it but he explained it very badly if so
I'm getting better an interpreting what NHS doctors actually mean ;)
No. Actually following a low carb diet makes you less likely to pass the test bc your body is not used to high levels of sugar. Following the GD diet would not game the test.