Tell me all about gestational diabetes

[Deleted]

I did my 1 hr test and failed. Now I have to go do the longer test. If I do have gestational diabetes what do I do or not do? Should it be something to worry about? Should I eat all the cake possible today?

[TrudyCampbell]

I wouldn't even think about it until you fail the 3 hour.

[orriskitten]

Try not to worry till you fail the 3 hour. In the mean time, eat normally. Don't try to "prep" for the 3 hour.

If you want it, I can give you a crash course here, but don't want you to stress before you may have to.

A LOT of people fail the 1 hour and pass the 3.

[jg183]

Don't worry unless you fail the 3. If you do most people can control it with diet. If it's hormonal diet doesn't control it and medication is used (pills or insulin). I actually felt better after my GD was controlled it was contributing to the hyperemesis

[lauranicole91]

I failed the 1hr with Pey and passed the 3hr with flying colors. So I agree with PPs. Wait it out and don't stress just yet! Good luck!

[mabillon]

I have it. If you come out of your 3-hour with a diagnosis, I'm happy to share the random knowledge I've accumulated. That said, you will probably pass the 3-hour. I ate normally between the two tests (pre-GD normal so carbs and sugars to moderate amounts). If you don't have your favorite treat in the house though, I'd definitely splurge on one more time, just in case. The test itself wasn't really a big deal but I was bored waiting in a lab so long. The drink was bigger and more sugary (gross) but I had no trouble keeping it down.

Definitely don't stress.

If you get a diagnosis, try to get to a nutritional counseling session (my local hospital puts them on) because they teach you a lot about food pairing and stuff. Mine has been entirely diet controlled and while I have to be very careful in the evenings, I can have chocolate or a cupcake or something if I'm eating a protein-rich lunch. For most people, it's not complete deprivation, just a lot of careful planning. I am actually pretty pleased with the GD diet and my nutritionist has given me target carb numbers for when I'm breastfeeding and eventually weaned so that I can continue on a similar path.

[browneyedhunni85]

I'm being screened twice for GD this pregnancy because I probably had it with C. They said it probably developed later in my pregnancy and wasn't detected. He was born at 37w4d weighing 9 lbs 9 oz. My dates were correct because I was charting. I'm eating a lot healthier this pregnancy.

The doctor I work with has it but it's probably mostly due to her diet and the way her body processes carbs. She's a vegetarian. She has this little alarm that will go off and she has to check her blood sugar. She is having to eat more because apparently she wasn't eating enough food and not gaining enough weight.

[sunshineluv]

Ditto the others, don't worry too much until you take the three hour. My good friend had it, she had to restrict her diet, monitor her sugar levels, and had lots of ultrasounds. She also was induce a tad early, like 39 weeks. It was annoying to her, when she was hungry and couldn't eat whatever she wanted and having lots of apts. but other than that, it wasn't a huge deal to her. She credits it to not gaining a ton of weight in the end.

Full disclosure she is one of those annoying people who looks like a model without effort and had a basketball belly while pregnant. I would hate her if I didn't love her lol.

I hope you pass the three hour with flying colors.

[jnoellee]

May 23, 2015 16:10:32 GMT -5 @chelsmonster said:

I wouldn't even worry yet! I failed my 1 hr, and passed the 3 hour. I had 2 of my numbers that were off instead of the 3 that shows you have GD, so because of that and my weight, they sent me to a diabetic nutritionist to give me tons of info. I also monitored my blood sugar. I never had any issue with it, they just told me to watch what i ate (carbs mainly). L was born late and big, but his sugars were fine when he was born. If you have it (which is a big if) hopefully it is diet controlled.

I have a question- my hospital is super strict regarding GD, but I think because they're pretty relaxed about everything else. Anyway, they make everyone do the 2 hour because they say the 1 hour is not valid. When I did the 2 hour I only failed the middle number by 2 points. Because it was the 2 hr there was no second test. They diagnosed me off that and I had to prick my finger 3x a day and report my numbers.

I honestly felt like if I really had it, I would have failed three numbers. So I guess my question is, based off what you were told you didn't really have it unless all three were off? I feel like my office is just super strict regarding this, because they're so lenient in other ways. Won't induce until you've reached 42 weeks unless there's a problem, allows breech deliveries, vbacs, allows labor to go on longer without intervention, etc.

Even with my diagnosis, and having to test my numbers all the time, they were always in normal range even without having to be super careful- I did follow the diet but it was mainly just not eating obviously bad things anymore. But when I did occasionally, my numbers were fine! The girls were 6.14 and 7.8 at 37 weeks, but they didn't have any problems with their sugars and I only ended up gaining 30 pounds with them.

So just curious your opinion on that haha, sorry for the big backstory! I always thought if I really had it, more of the numbers would've been off.

[charmediamsure]

I've heard of a lot of people who failed the 1 hour and passed the 3 hours without any issues. I wouldn't stress about it until you have the results of the second test. A friend of mine ended up with GD and just had to test her sugar. She and her baby are happy and healthy, she didn't have any complications.

[jnoellee]

The diet is pretty just standard healthy eating, you can still have carbs just not more than what is recommended daily. So I was super bummed when I was diagnosed, but found that the diet wasn't that hard to follow. Because my numbers were easily controlled, I was still able to have a treat here and there without it making my numbers go over. So if you do have it and it's mild or in the low range, you might not even notice much of a difference.

And lots of people fail the 1hr and pass the 3 hr so just wait till then GL!

[rxbeth]

May 23, 2015 20:06:29 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

May 23, 2015 16:10:32 GMT -5 @chelsmonster said:

I wouldn't even worry yet! I failed my 1 hr, and passed the 3 hour. I had 2 of my numbers that were off instead of the 3 that shows you have GD, so because of that and my weight, they sent me to a diabetic nutritionist to give me tons of info. I also monitored my blood sugar. I never had any issue with it, they just told me to watch what i ate (carbs mainly). L was born late and big, but his sugars were fine when he was born. If you have it (which is a big if) hopefully it is diet controlled.

I have a question- my hospital is super strict regarding GD, but I think because they're pretty relaxed about everything else. Anyway, they make everyone do the 2 hour because they say the 1 hour is not valid. When I did the 2 hour I only failed the middle number by 2 points. Because it was the 2 hr there was no second test. They diagnosed me off that and I had to prick my finger 3x a day and report my numbers.

I honestly felt like if I really had it, I would have failed three numbers. So I guess my question is, based off what you were told you didn't really have it unless all three were off? I feel like my office is just super strict regarding this, because they're so lenient in other ways. Won't induce until you've reached 42 weeks unless there's a problem, allows breech deliveries, vbacs, allows labor to go on longer without intervention, etc.

Even with my diagnosis, and having to test my numbers all the time, they were always in normal range even without having to be super careful- I did follow the diet but it was mainly just not eating obviously bad things anymore. But when I did occasionally, my numbers were fine! The girls were 6.14 and 7.8 at 37 weeks, but they didn't have any problems with their sugars and I only ended up gaining 30 pounds with them.

So just curious your opinion on that haha, sorry for the big backstory! I always thought if I really had it, more of the numbers would've been off.

I'm not who you asked but she did the 3 hour.  It sounds like you had a 2 hour.  Those are different test with different standards.  The point of the 2 hour is that it is a one step.  I believe the diabetic associations actually recommend the 2 hour tests now.

[jg183]

May 23, 2015 20:06:29 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

May 23, 2015 16:10:32 GMT -5 @chelsmonster said:

I wouldn't even worry yet! I failed my 1 hr, and passed the 3 hour. I had 2 of my numbers that were off instead of the 3 that shows you have GD, so because of that and my weight, they sent me to a diabetic nutritionist to give me tons of info. I also monitored my blood sugar. I never had any issue with it, they just told me to watch what i ate (carbs mainly). L was born late and big, but his sugars were fine when he was born. If you have it (which is a big if) hopefully it is diet controlled.

I have a question- my hospital is super strict regarding GD, but I think because they're pretty relaxed about everything else. Anyway, they make everyone do the 2 hour because they say the 1 hour is not valid. When I did the 2 hour I only failed the middle number by 2 points. Because it was the 2 hr there was no second test. They diagnosed me off that and I had to prick my finger 3x a day and report my numbers.

I honestly felt like if I really had it, I would have failed three numbers. So I guess my question is, based off what you were told you didn't really have it unless all three were off? I feel like my office is just super strict regarding this, because they're so lenient in other ways. Won't induce until you've reached 42 weeks unless there's a problem, allows breech deliveries, vbacs, allows labor to go on longer without intervention, etc.

Even with my diagnosis, and having to test my numbers all the time, they were always in normal range even without having to be super careful- I did follow the diet but it was mainly just not eating obviously bad things anymore. But when I did occasionally, my numbers were fine! The girls were 6.14 and 7.8 at 37 weeks, but they didn't have any problems with their sugars and I only ended up gaining 30 pounds with them.

So just curious your opinion on that haha, sorry for the big backstory! I always thought if I really had it, more of the numbers would've been off.

No clue but my numbers were all really high compared to the cutoff
I had the one hour then the 3hr

[jnoellee]

May 23, 2015 20:47:52 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

May 23, 2015 20:06:29 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

I have a question- my hospital is super strict regarding GD, but I think because they're pretty relaxed about everything else. Anyway, they make everyone do the 2 hour because they say the 1 hour is not valid. When I did the 2 hour I only failed the middle number by 2 points. Because it was the 2 hr there was no second test. They diagnosed me off that and I had to prick my finger 3x a day and report my numbers.

I honestly felt like if I really had it, I would have failed three numbers. So I guess my question is, based off what you were told you didn't really have it unless all three were off? I feel like my office is just super strict regarding this, because they're so lenient in other ways. Won't induce until you've reached 42 weeks unless there's a problem, allows breech deliveries, vbacs, allows labor to go on longer without intervention, etc.

Even with my diagnosis, and having to test my numbers all the time, they were always in normal range even without having to be super careful- I did follow the diet but it was mainly just not eating obviously bad things anymore. But when I did occasionally, my numbers were fine! The girls were 6.14 and 7.8 at 37 weeks, but they didn't have any problems with their sugars and I only ended up gaining 30 pounds with them.

So just curious your opinion on that haha, sorry for the big backstory! I always thought if I really had it, more of the numbers would've been off.

I'm not who you asked but she did the 3 hour.  It sounds like you had a 2 hour.  Those are different test with different standards.  The point of the 2 hour is that it is a one step.  I believe the diabetic associations actually recommend the 2 hour tests now.

Yeah, I know the requirements are different for how high the numbers can be because they give you different amounts of glucose to drink. Like the 1 hour is less then the 2 hour. Is that how the 3 hour is as well? I think the 2 hr was like 75 and the 1 hr is 50. So I know the 2 hr number scales are a little higher because of the amount, but it gives you three total numbers and just one of mine was off by a small amount. Who knows, I hope it was only because of the twins. I'm trying to keep it in check though because I don't want to fail, not even by 1 point!

Eta- I would rather have the accurate results and know if I did have it even if it us only by a point, I was just always curious about those other numbers. I guess if it is more sensitive or accurate you'd only need to fail one of the numbers to get diagnosed, and that's probably why there's no need to retest.

[jnoellee]

I wish every place did the same tests. It seems most places do the 1 hr and then the 3 if needed. When I was first at sutter Roseville I had and passed the 1 hr then when I transferred to Sutter Davis at 31 weeks, I still and to do the 2 hr because they were so anti the 1 hr test. That was with Elias, and I passed then. Anyway, sorry for the rambling!

[rxbeth]

what I was saying is that I think with the two hour, you do only need one number to be off as opposed to the other tests. I would have to look up the ADA guidelines (I looked at the cda guidelines but that was last year when I was pregnant with Andrew)

The two step of the one hour and then the three hour is falling out of favour

[rxbeth]

jnoellee - a quick google search found these criteria.  It is possible your fasting was a bit high and then one of the other draws?


GDM diagnosis made when two or more PG levels meet or exceed:

Fasting: 95 mg/dL or 105 mg/dL (5.3/5.8)

1 hr: 180 mg/dL or 190 mg/dL (10.0/10.6)

2 hr: 155 mg/dL or 165 mg/dL (8.6/9.2)

3 hr: 140 mg/dL or 145 mg/dL (7.8/8.0)

[jnoellee]

May 24, 2015 15:53:19 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

jnoellee - a quick google search found these criteria.  It is possible your fasting was a bit high and then one of the other draws?


GDM diagnosis made when two or more PG levels meet or exceed:

Fasting: 95 mg/dL or 105 mg/dL (5.3/5.8)

1 hr: 180 mg/dL or 190 mg/dL (10.0/10.6)

2 hr: 155 mg/dL or 165 mg/dL (8.6/9.2)

3 hr: 140 mg/dL or 145 mg/dL (7.8/8.0)

Only the draw at the second hour was high, and I believe by 2 points. I am trying to log in to my health online now, to see all the numbers but it's not working. Im going to try when my H gets home!

[rxbeth]

jnoellee - wait! I posted the wrong values.  This is the one step values...

“One-Step” Strategy



75-g OGTT with PG measurement fasting and at 1 h and 2 h, at 24-28 wks in women not previously diagnosed with overt diabetes

Perform OGTT in the morning after overnight fast (≥8 h)

GDM diagnosis made if PG values meet or exceed:

Fasting: 92 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L)

1 h: 180 mg/dL (10.0 mmol/L)

2 h: 153 mg/dL (8.5 mmol/L)

I hope this helps.

[PatBenatar]

I failed my 1 hour by so much that they didn't bother to send me for the 3 hour. I had to meet with a nutritionist 1x week and I was able to control it with diet.

I didn't find the diet too bad though. I was still able to have small indulgences (ice cream is lower carb than a lot of other desserts)

[orriskitten]

May 25, 2015 6:54:27 GMT -5 PatBenatar said:

I failed my 1 hour by so much that they didn't bother to send me for the 3 hour. I had to meet with a nutritionist 1x week and I was able to control it with diet.

I didn't find the diet too bad though. I was still able to have small indulgences (ice cream is lower carb than a lot of other desserts)

This for me, too, but I wasn't diet controlled. And it never went away. The diet was quite easy and I've maintained it basically ever since I started it, with treat meals and less strict at times.

But my most successful snack before bed was usually 2T of melted peanut butter and 1/2c ice cream

[jnoellee]

May 24, 2015 21:21:32 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

jnoellee - wait! I posted the wrong values.  This is the one step values...

“One-Step” Strategy



75-g OGTT with PG measurement fasting and at 1 h and 2 h, at 24-28 wks in women not previously diagnosed with overt diabetes

Perform OGTT in the morning after overnight fast (≥8 h)

GDM diagnosis made if PG values meet or exceed:

Fasting: 92 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L)

1 h: 180 mg/dL (10.0 mmol/L)

2 h: 153 mg/dL (8.5 mmol/L)

I hope this helps.

I just dug up this thread because I found my results!!

The first number was 76

Second number was 186

Third was 106

So I failed the one middle number by 6 points but the other two were well below the limit. But I received the diagnosis from that and had to do the sugar testing 4x a day and I never had a problem with the levels after that. Hopefully this time I don't fail at all!

[jnoellee]

Smudgee did you do the 3hr yet? I might have missed the update. Hope you passed and this isn't a concern!

[carawestt]

I know a lot people that failed the 1 hour and passed the 3 hour.

[Deleted]

Jun 9, 2015 17:40:41 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

Smudgee did you do the 3hr yet? I might have missed the update. Hope you passed and this isn't a concern!

I did get my results and all is good
You all were right. Except that my hip locked when i was called at the lab and I bit it hard. In front of at least 50 people. Not one helped me up. Not one.

[mabillon]

I am liking the good results, not the hip lock. Ouch! Hope you feel ok.

[jnoellee]

Jun 9, 2015 18:32:12 GMT -5 @smudgee said:

Jun 9, 2015 17:40:41 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

Smudgee did you do the 3hr yet? I might have missed the update. Hope you passed and this isn't a concern!

I did get my results and all is good
You all were right. Except that my hip locked when i was called at the lab and I bit it hard. In front of at least 50 people. Not one helped me up. Not one.

Whaaaat?! How did no one help you!! I'm so glad everything's okay!

[Deleted]

Jun 9, 2015 18:36:35 GMT -5 jnoellee said:

Jun 9, 2015 18:32:12 GMT -5 @smudgee said:

I did get my results and all is good
You all were right. Except that my hip locked when i was called at the lab and I bit it hard. In front of at least 50 people. Not one helped me up. Not one.

Whaaaat?! How did no one help you!! I'm so glad everything's okay!

Yeah. Lol. I was getting up from the chair and it had no arms or anything and my hip locked and bam! On my knees on the floor. Ridiculous. And no one asked me if I was ok or did I need a hand or anything. I just slowly got up and pretended nothing happened. So embarrassing lol.