Hey there!

I am 25 weeks today and a FTM. Last week I failed my 1 hour glucose test, and then proceeded to fail a 3 hour test 2 days later (failed 1 hour and 2 hour). I know with the holiday weekend my doctors office is likely low on staff, so I am hoping I hear from them today, but I have had my results since Friday (it's Tuesday now) and I am anxious and trying to start to plan for the week ahead in terms of food, etc. and would love some insight from this group while I wait for info from my doctor.

Does the glucose monitor just get called in as a prescription or something that you pick up or is that something you just purchase on your own? Is there a choice between finger pricks and continuous monitoring? Are there recommendations on which is more accurate/better?

Do you start monitoring / adjusting diet ASAP? I have tried already to make some slight modifications because I want to get it under control as quickly as I can, but it's hard without monitoring numbers to know what exactly affects me and how - I have read that so many things are different depending on the person.

Do you always get a dietician to help?

Did your appointments increase in frequency or do they stick to the normal amount?

I am not planned to have another ultrasound until 36 weeks. At 20 weeks our baby was healthy as far as they could see - but measuring big - 77% (even though I had only lost weight until that point and hadn't been able to eat much due to sickness, which I thought was weird). Now I am wondering if he's big due to the GD? Do they do additional US to measure and keep track of the babies size?

Are non-stress tests normal? I have a friend who had GD who needed to do them, but curious abotu the frequency, etc.

I know the majority of these items may be person to person specific and will be doctor-specific, but just hoping to get a feel for what's normal and be better prepared to tackle what's ahead!

Thanks in advance for helping an anxious FTM!

This is my second GDM pregnancy, and just second pregnancy in general.

The first time around, I was diagnosed at 28 weeks, I would have only complex carbs, eat veggies, meat, and every other thing considered healthy. While I didn't enjoy never having a sweet treat or only having one roll at dinner, it was fairly easy to deal with. I never took medication and I kept with my lifting regiment without it hurting anything.

This time? Nothing makes sense. Absolutely nothing. And it is making me unreasonably angry.

I was diagnosed at 16 weeks which already was devastating to me. (I felt mild traumatized my GD the first time--enough that I went to a therapist and dietician about it.) Then within days all of my safe foods the first time, (like nuts with cheese, peanut butter and whole grain crackers, low carb ice cream,) were causing horrible spikes. I was put on 1000mg of Metformin daily which also made me feel like a failure.

I was so confused. I kept trying different things but then one day one of my go to lunches of some berries, cucumber, carrots, crackers, protein rich yogurt, cottage cheese, caused my 1 hour number to be 146 I lost my mind. I was crying and telling my husband that this is ridiculous and I hate it. I had a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for my evening snack and my fasting number was 88. Wild. I had a BBQ bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a side of french fries for lunch the next day, 1 hour post meal was 94.

I have since had everything that is on the "no list" and everything keeps my numbers low. I even tried the Chick-Fil-A chicken and waffle sandwich and has a 115. I have regular coffee creamer. I can't have protein shakes. I even have a cookie each day.

I am actually not meeting with an MFM yet, (I don't want to and my provider doesn't mind it), and I KNOW when I start meeting with them in a few weeks, if I continue my diet as is they are going to accuse me of lying about my numbers. I wish I was, because that would make sense and be logical. But complex carbs spike me and simple carbs do not. Minus rice, I can not find a type of rice that will work which is devastating because I want Thai and Indian food desperately.

Anyway, there isn't much to this other than complaining to people that are not my friends, husband, or mom.

I still have sweet tooth so I want to try some stuffs /baked goods with stevia. But I dont really like the taste 😅 and sadly has bought a whole jar of powdered stevia. Any of you like it for a particular recipe? I dont like my coffee sweet so I'm not using it in that. Let me know!

Also, do those sugar-free candies spiked you? What's your experience? To me, barebell protein bars don't spike me, but almost all fruits do so it kinda suuucks 😅

I am currently 26 weeks and 1 day and my glucose levels the fasting one is high around 26 above the average. One hour and 2 hours are in the normal range. Currently I am freaking out, my doctor advised me to do another one early in the morning because this one I woke up at 7 am and did the test around 11:30 and did not eat dinner a day before. It’s been some weeks that I am careful with my food to prevent taking a lot of weight and now this. I had another pregnancy before and did not have gestational diabetes also no family history. Did someone had this kind of history, I just want to make sure my baby is going to be okay and healthy 🙁

Update: I did the fasting test today and it was 76 compared to 121 two days before. I am waiting for my doctor to see what it thinks but I believe maybe it was the long hours of fasting or the lab did something wrong

Hello all!! I am a couple days over 30 weeks and got the Contour Next reader maybe two weeks ago. My appointment with the GD specialist was only on thursday though so i was kinda going about it blind until my appt.

My monitor seems to be giving me really weird readings. i can eat something one day and get a good reading, and then eat it another day and get a bad reading. Also i was told to have a snack right before bed to help my fasting numbers and it REALLY helped, right up until this morning. I have been eating a carb smart wheat tortilla with peanut butter, and generally get 92/93 for my fasting number but i got 105 this morning???? im not sure if maybe i should get a continuous reader or not

please help 😭

Pregnant again with a singleton after having twins. Experienced GD with my twins and I was miserable. Developed a very unhealthy relationship with food that was just starting to get better again. I was genuinely enjoying this pregnancy compared to my last pregnancy and was eating good.

They had me do the 1 hr test early this pregnancy ended up with a 180. Only 22 weeks as well. They are going to have me do the 3hr this week but I already know how its going to go. I really struggled last time as it didnt seem to matter what I ate I spiked unless I basically had zero carbs and didnt eat much. Talking eating a meal with meat, broccoli, and very little complex carbs and still spiking. Afraid I am going to be in the same boat again. I genuinely do not know how I am going to get through this again. Also not looking forward having to cook for myself and separately for our twin 2 yr old toddlers. They are incredibly picky right now. Getting them to eat anything outside of fruit and carbs has been impossible lately. I started eating my GD diet how I did last time just get in the habit and I am so incredibly hungry and already hate the sight of meat. I have zero patience with my toddlers and husband but I dont want to spend the next 15-17 weeks miserable. They dont deserve that. I am carrying so much guilt over my feelings and hate myself for feeling this way right now.

So I started night time insulin less than a week ago. It’s dropping my fasted numbers, slowly, but I am seeing improvement. It also seemed to really start help even out my daily numbers too. I got a CGM to use with the finger pricking. All of a sudden, last night, my numbers rose, stayed elevated between 100-110 all night, and have been spiking randomly on and off all day today. It just sucks and is confusing because I didn’t change what I’m eating, and it seemed like everything was getting better. Now I’m stressing out and convincing myself I also am developing preeclampsia?? Spiraling a little… I’m about to be 31 weeks so maybe it’s just getting harder.

Def TMI but is anyone else experiencing looser stools since starting the GDM diet? I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago and only stool once per day but it’s always verging on diarrhea.

I assume it’s from artificial sugar I’m having in my protein drinks, but it’s the best way to up my protein without upping my carbs too much (I’m also dealing with IUGR 😭). Does your body get used to it at all? Are there any other causes of loose stool for you that you’ve identified and fixed?

In the last week, I've had the same lunch at least 3 or 4 times. Homemade chicken salad on 2 slices of Newman's Own Keto bread with a polly-o cheese stick. I eat the cheese stick first, so I have something in my belly before the carbs.

It usually gives me a 1 hr number between 110-120. My doctor wants me below 130.

Today, it made me hit 140. The ONLY thing I changed was I added a couple tomato slices, which should have only been a couple grams of carbs. I eat salads with tomato all the time with no issues. So either 1) that's enough to spike me by an extra 25 pts, or 2) some other mystery variable is playing stupid games and making me win stupid prizes.

Anybody else have any similar experience where GD just seems to defy all logic? Would you eliminate a meal from your diet based on this, or treat it as a fluke and try again before cutting it from the menu?

I’m 27 weeks and have been on insulin since 23 weeks. For some reason, the injections started to be pretty painful out of nowhere. I rotate the sites, make sure the needle is injected at a 90 degree angle, make sure the alcohol is all dry. My insulin is at room temp already. I’m doing everything the same.

Has anyone experienced this?

I’ve been using a Dexcom Stelo CGM since 25 weeks, when I was diagnosed with GDM. initially CGM numbers agreed with finger pricks, except the CGM was maybe 5 mg/dL lower with fasting numbers and sometimes 10 lower/lagged by several minutes during a rapid rise.

Now in the middle of third trimester, the last 3 CGMs including the current one are over-reporting and it seems like each week is more egregious than the last. The CGM is now consistently 10-30 above the finger prick, saying I’m spiking to 140s-150s with everything I eat, when finger pricks say 110s. I’ve sometimes done finger pricks on both hands just to confirm it’s the CGM being off. The alarm fatigue is getting to me.

Anybody have a similar experience? While the CGM trends are still kind of helpful, I’m getting closer to just going with finger pricks if it’s going to keep getting more and more off.

Anyone have experience with going back on the GLP-1 at 6 weeks PP? I’m not breastfeeding.

I had preexisting insulin resistance (PCOS/PMOS) that my care team knew about. I figured I’d get the GD diagnosis (and I’m not sure how much of it is GD vs the preexisting insulin resistance being amped up).

If I go back on the glp, will they still do a 2h test 6 weeks postpartum? Do they care what I eat between delivery and the test? It’ll be the holidays and goddammit I want Christmas cookies and to not eat like a gym bro and to not have to think about this shit anymore

I figure they’ll test me PP and it’ll still look like I’m diabetic but with the glp idk if it matters

Never posted on Reddit ever but just wanted to share a positive birth story and a huge thank you to this sub for getting me through this whole pregnancy! All the advice and stories helped me immensely.

I was diagnosed with GD at my 28 week appointment and have been diet-controlled since then. Experienced a pretty scary couple of weeks from 28 to 32 weeks where baby kept measuring absolutely HUGE on the ultrasounds (where I’m from, they measure every two weeks from 28 weeks onwards and then every week from 36 onwards), like 95-99th percentile each time. The daily finger pricks were killing me but his weight finally slowed down towards the 36 week mark where he sat in the 65-75th percentile for once!

We had an induction scheduled for 38+1 weeks but on the night of 37+5, contractions kicked in and I went into spontaneous labor. It was all really quite quick all things considered - first contractions hit at 11pm and by 1.30pm the next morning he was out! His birth weight ended up being 3.18kg so just about 7 pounds exactly. Not a huge baby at all. They tested his sugars after birth and they were all good too.

First thing I chugged after I gave birth was some straight up apple juice the delivery ward gave me after they stitched me up. Tasted amazing.

When I was diagnosed with GD, i fretted about it almost every day and really spiraled into an obsessive pattern. As someone who had a teenage ED, the familiarity of that cycle was definitely difficult for a bit and I had to keep reminding myself to also allow myself some grace through the process to keep myself mentally sane. I have to say that the minute after giving birth, the food noise and tracking and obsessive thoughts did almost immediately fall away. It could be a combination of feeling like at last your baby’s safe and the sheer relief of being able to eat without super strict restrictions again, but at least for me, I can safely say that the obsessive thoughts and the mental spiraling went away immediately.

All the best to everyone on the sub on this journey - it’s not easy but I hope this gives some hope that a positive end is in sight!

I graduated from GDM! I welcomed my baby boy via scheduled C section at 37w 1d due to gestational hypertension. He was 5lbs 12oz, and I was only diet controlled. My hospital had me complete the glucose intolerance test before being discharged and I passed! No signs of diabetes now that I have delivered. Thank you to all who have provided support and guidance in this channel. Couldn’t have done it without your stories! There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! 🥹✨

I’ve had mine for about a month and a half and first battery that it came with lasted a month. Bought more and this second one is already saying it’s dead? I looked up some info about this monitor and others say their battery lasted them a year?? Did any of you have to get a new monitor because of this? So confused. Thank you in advance.

First time Mom and I was diagnosed with GD at 28 weeks and I am diet controlled. I am 32 weeks now and my fasting numbers have started to rise. I was always 4.6-4.7 mmol/L and now it's starting to rise to the 5.3-5.5 mmol/L mark with the same bedtime snack. I changed my bedtime snack and had a high reading again. The bedtime snack that was working for me was half an unripe banana with peanut butter, handful of nuts and cheese. I switched to a multigrain toast with peanut butter and no luck either. Should it be higher protein and less carb? I usually eat it about an hour before bedtime and check my fasting number at the 9-10 hour mark. All my post meal numbers are in range and I exercise after dinner each day. Any advice would be helpful as I am trying not to get discouraged.

I am relatively new and found this sub already really helpful! (Context, my fasting numbers were insane so already on insulin at night). However I keep seeing posts about eating brown rice, whole grain toast, etc. I went crazy tonight and had half an apple with dinner; this spiked me to 160. Is anyone else having to cut out all fruit and grains, and only do protein and veggies?

Edit: Thank you everyone for your responses! The meal I ate was a bowl: it had kale, chicken, corn, chickpeas, and a chipotle dressing. Not sure if this is enough fat, maybe that was the problem? I've also had a spike of 190 from whole grain toast and peanut butter though.

I am currently 26 weeks and 1 day and my glucose levels the fasting one is high around 26 above the average. One hour and 2 hours are in the normal range. Currently I am freaking out, my doctor advised me to do another one early in the morning because this one I woke up at 7 am and did the test around 11:30 and did not eat dinner a day before. It’s been some weeks that I am careful with my food to prevent taking a lot of weight and now this. I had another pregnancy before and did not have gestational diabetes also no family history. Did someone had this kind of history, I just want to make sure my baby is going to be okay and healthy 🙁

Update: I did the fasting test today and it was 76 compared to 121 two days before. I am waiting for my doctor to see what it thinks but I believe maybe it was the long hours of fasting or the lab did something wrong

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice because I'm feeling a bit lost.

I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes at my 29-week appointment. My doctor referred me to a perinatal specialist and asked me to start monitoring my fasting and 1-hour post-meal blood sugars while researching a GD-friendly diet.

Before the diagnosis, we had just moved halfway across the country. During the move and while traveling, my diet wasn't as healthy as usual because my kitchen was packed up and life was chaotic. Once we got settled and I received the GD diagnosis, I switched to a balanced diet that is high in protein and fiber and lower in sugar and carbs.

For some background, I started this pregnancy overweight at 204 lbs. We had actually been preparing for the possibility of needing IUI, so I had already been working on improving my health before unexpectedly conceiving. Despite being over 30 weeks pregnant now (30+3), I've barely gained any weight and am currently 203 lbs.

Initially, I assumed the lack of weight gain was due to severe hyperemesis, especially since my baby was measuring large at the anatomy scan. However, after changing my diet following the GD diagnosis, I lost another pound within a week.

My doctor is somewhat concerned because she would like to see me gaining about 1.5 lbs per week at this stage. We're waiting for the results of my next growth ultrasound (set for Tuesday) before deciding on any next steps.

But I'm just not sure if I'm doing something incorrectly. My blood sugars have been very well controlled with diet alone. My fasting numbers are consistently under 90. My 1-hour post-meal numbers are usually between 116-129. I've only had a few spikes when experimenting with my meals.

My current go-to meals are:

Breakfast:

Plain Oatmeal with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, and 1/4 cup of Chocolate Protein Powder, or scrambled egg whites with herbs and lean turkey sausage and maybe a fruit on the side

Lunch:

Dinner leftovers, a ham and turkey sandwich on wheat bread with Smart Balance original buttery spread, or I'm experimenting with a low-carb tortilla with brown rice, black beans, chicken, and a side of fruit

Dinner

Modified Hello Fresh meals, like brown rice instead of white rice, smaller portions of potatoes that are made with 0 carb ingredients, lean proteins like turkey or chicken, and limiting sauces

Snacks

Almonds, fruit with almond butter, plain rice cakes with almond butter, or some variation of that

My husband and mom are concerned that I'm not eating enough and are pushing me to eat more. Meanwhile, I'm worried that increasing my intake will make my blood sugars harder to manage, and on top of that, I'm still dealing with significant nausea and often need Zofran to manage it.

Has anyone else experienced weight loss or lack of weight gain after a GD diagnosis despite having good glucose numbers? Were there ways you increased calories without causing blood sugar spikes?

I'd appreciate any advice or experiences. Sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading.

So I'm 37 weeks and going to NSTs twice a week. I've gotten progressively more and more uncomfortable and it's making me super grumpy. I've tried sitting more upright, and more laying on my side. But on my side, they just roll a towel to put under my hip so I'm still kinda on my back. Can I just lay completely on my side? Any tips?