Gestational Diabetes: Adjusting To The Journey

As many of you who read and follow the blog already know, a little over 2 weeks ago I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I had failed my 1 hour, went back for the 3 hour exam and failed that as well. Because of that, I was diagnosed. Here is an update on my journey so far over the past 2 weeks.

Accepting The News

I won’t lie, it wasn’t an easy thing to hear. I have a medical background from working in a nursing home and taking a couple of semesters of nursing at my local community college, but surprisingly I did not really know a whole lot about diabetes, let alone diabetes during pregnancy.

It was definitely a shock. I didn’t think that it would happen to me until it happened to me. I figured that failing the one hour was just a fluke, since I had only failed by just a few numbers. But nope, I was wrong. I have full blown gestational diabetes. I had to accept that a lot of things were going to change for me, and accepting that change was very difficult.

Picking Up My Machine & Tools

Once I got the diagnosis, I was told that there would be a perscription waiting for me at my local pharmacy, and that I could head down there in about an hour to pick it up. I was there a LOT sooner than that though because I was so anxious. How was this going to work? I wanted to read the instructions. Was it going to hurt bad? I wanted to get my machine as soon as possible so I could test it out for myself instead of just worrying myself sick over it.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I also have anxiety. Pregnancy does not help that fact either. Either way, I went up to the counter and picked up my machine. It included the meter, the lancets, lancing device, test strips and instructions on how to use it all, as well as a handy little carrying case.

Of course, I brought it home and unwrapped and unboxed everything right away. I was eager to learn, but even more eager to see what all I was really in for. I was anxious to know. I think that I probably read over the entire manual three or four times just to make sure I REALLY knew what I was doing before I took it all apart and tried it out for the first time.

Pricking My Fingers

Okay, I will admit it. This was the part that I was the most nervous about. Would it hurt a ton? Would I still be able to type and get work done? Would my fingers be sore? Would they bruise or get swollen from the constant pricking? These are all questions that ran through my head.

Of course, I simply had to find out for myself. Everyone is different. Some people get sore fingers. Some people have soreness when typing. Some people do get some small bruises. Others have said that it is pretty painful, but this is my experience. I hope that it is helpful to you!

When I pricked my finger for the first time, it was more of an anxiety issue than an issue of the actual pain. To be honest, it did not really hurt all that badly to me. On my lancing device, there is an area that allows you to adjust the depth setting of the needle. The depth setting controls how deep the needle goes when it pricks you. The lower the number on mine, the less it hurts to prick my finger.

Because I had read the instructions a million and a half times over like a madwoman, I pretty much knew what to do after I pricked my finger. I collected the blood onto the test strip, waited for the meter to tell me the results and recorded what I got. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I played it out to be in my head.

I have been pricking my fingers 4 times a day now for two weeks, and I can safely say that I am writing this blog post right now without any discomfort or slowing down in my typing. My fingers are not bruised, sore, or anything like that. I would definitely consider that to be a WIN!

Meeting With The Diabetes Specialist

Because of the diagnosis, I had to meet with a diabetes specialist to discuss my diet and how to use my machine properly. Of course, because I am an anxious person and already read cover to cover of the instructions 5x over, I already knew how to use the machine. I was excited to see what she had in mind for the diet though.

When I got there, Andy and I checked in and she took us back to her little meeting room. I sat down at the round table and she began her little speech. She told us about the risks associated with having gestational diabetes. She told us that not only do I have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on in life, but I also have a very high risk of developing gestational diabetes again in any future pregnancies.

That was some pretty shocking news to me. Nobody wants to be told that. Of course, she did mention that keeping a healthy diet and exercising often after I have the baby will decrease that risk significantly, and I have absolutely no problem with that. I love to exercise. I was on the right track health wise before I got pregnant, and I plan to go back to that as soon as I can do so safely after having little baby Wesley. I miss my runners high. I miss my skinny, toned and sexy body.

Adjusting To The Diet Changes

Okay, I will admit that this part really SUCKED in the very beginning. I absolutely hated the thought that I could not eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, simply because I wanted to. Pregnancy cravings are very very real, so coming to the conclusion that my midnight bowls of ice cream and mid day shells and cheese snack binges would become a thing of the past. Come on Lia, do it for the baby! I had to remind myself often, and still do when I get those cravings.

At first, I really struggled to the adjustment. I felt like I had absolutely NOTHING to eat, and felt like the things I was able to eat were either not tasty enough, or did not fill me up enough. Then, I discovered a few little tricks that work for me personally.

Protein smoothies in the morning always keep me in my range when I go to test my sugars. I will get into the recipes for those later on in another post so you can make them too. I discovered that chicken salads are both delicious and filling, and that watermelon does NOT raise my sugar levels enough to go over the limits my nutritionist set for me. The watermelon has been a big win for me, as it not only soothes that sweet tooth craving that I get, but it also keeps my hydrated since I decided being 8.5 months pregnant in the heat of the summer was a good idea… LOL.

Regulating My Numbers

After the first week of testing my sugars and following the diet, my numbers were still a little bit too high for the doctors liking. Because of that, she decided to start me off on Metformin to help regulate my blood glucose levels. I am just happy she did not move me straight to insulin! I am not too fond of needles.

I have been taking the Metformin every night with dinner for a little over a week now, and I have noticed a drastic improvement in my sugar levels after meals. That makes me happy because I know if my numbers are healthy, baby is healthy. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that baby boy stays as safe and healthy as he can possibly be. That is our job as mothers.

The Influx Of Doctors Appointments

Because of my diagnosis, my doctors decided that they want to see me more often for more monitoring. They want to see me two times a week now for non stress testing and ultrasounds. Basically, they want to make sure that #1 the baby is not getting too big for me, #2 that the baby has enough amniotic fluid around him, and #3 that I do not have any signs of Preeclampsia or preterm labor.

I had my very first appointment today. They did an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid around my little guy, as well as a non stress test to measure any contractions and keep track of his heart rate. Overall, the appointment took about an hour, and I have to go back every Tuesday and Friday until he is here.

It’s Hard, But So Worth It

Although I have all of these complications and have been in and out of the hospital with some severe symptoms, I do have to stop and remind myself how truly blessed we are to be welcoming this little guy into our lives. We wanted a child for a while, and I have wanted one basically since I was a little girl.

The road might be difficult, rainy, trecherous, dark and scary… But I know that on the other side of it is a rainbow with my little pot of gold.