Gestational Diabetes doesn't scare me any more!

   Last week I got a phone call that many moms-to-be are very fearful off; I failed my Gestational Diabetes test and had to go for Gestational Diabetes counselling at the hospital. The night before I was really regretting that I had to go at all, and I felt a bit sorry for myself. I just didn't understand where did it come from. I ate healthy, I have plenty of exercise a day (after all, I am a mom of 3 kids, there is no rest time for me), and I don't smoke or drink. So why did I have to go and learn how to have a healthy life-style?
   Grandma and Gramps came over in the morning to look after Monkeys. It was a chore waking them up as they were super tired and grumpy. But I managed to have a breakfast with them before I left. The hospital is about 30 minutes away from our home so I had a bit of thinking time. I almost forgot what it is like to be by myself, with my own thoughts, in the car. It really felt weird not having people talking to me from the back seat.
   I got to the clinic a bit late and was directed to the classroom where one other mom-to-be was in the middle of watching a movie. I was really glad that I didn't have to sit through the whole movie. Thanks to some of my wonderful friends and the internet I already got a lot of information about GD. And the movie was very cheesy and outdated, like one of these that we had to watch back in school.
I was just glad that there were only about 10  minutes of it left when I got there. Soon after the nurse arrived with couple of boxes. She introduced herself and she begun a conversation with both of us. She explained that the reason we were both here was that scored higher than normal on at least one marker during our GD blood test. I had scored high on 2 markers. They test your Fasting Blood Glucose, at 1 hour after sugar, and at 2 hours after sugar. Fasting level is supposed to be less than 5.1, and I scored 5.5, 1 hour levels are supposed to be lower than 10 and I scored 12.2, and finally 2 hour levels are supposed to be lower than 8.5 and I got 7.6. So only my 2 hour after sugar test was normal. The other girl failed only on Fasting level, but she still had to come to the clinic.
   Since we were both very surprised that even with great eating habits we both failed the test the nurse explained the mechanism of Gestational Diabetes. Pancreas is an organ in our bodies that produces insulin which helps with processing sugars that our bodies need as fuel. Normally, unless you have something wrong with your pancreas (as in Diabetes), the pancreas is able to handle the sugars without any problem. But sometimes, in pregnancy, when placenta produces all of the pregnancy hormones, it starts to compete with pancreas. As long as the pancreas is winning then there is no problem, but if the placenta is stronger than the pancreas then not enough insulin is produced and that's where the Gestational Diabetes comes from. The test doesn't prove that there is something wrong (as long as you have healthy eating habits), but since GD peaks at 35 weeks of pregnancy watching sugars early can prevent complications later on. She basically explained that as long as we were eating well balanced meals and being active the chances that we would need insulin is very small. She then gave each of us a box that contained our blood sugar monitor.

   The monitor was small and very compact, so that I can take it anywhere with me if I need to. The nurse quickly went over the testing method and had us do our first test with her watching. I was worried that lancet would hurt, but I barely felt it. The new monitors are very sensitive and they need very little blood so the amount that needed to come out was only the size of a pin-head. I only needed to squeeze my finger very gently to get the needed amount. Then I touched the strip to the blood on my finger and voila, the testing could start. The monitor only took few seconds and then it displayed my number. The testing seemed very straight-forward. We both received a start-up kit with a lancet and few needles for it, 15 strips, and the monitor. To start we were told to test our blood five times a day: before and after breakfast, before lunch, and before and after dinner. So the 15 strips would only last for 3 days. We also got a shopping list that needed to be filled soon. On the shopping list were the test strips, lancet needles, sharps container (for used up needles), and Ketostix.

   Ketostix are necessary to do a urine test first thing in the morning. The nurse explained that in Gestational diabetes there is a possibility that the sugars are not being metabolized because of insufficient insulin in the body. At this point the body goes into starvation mode (since sugars are the primary source of energy) and begins the digestion of protein (muscles) and fats (fat stores). The problem is that the body then produces Ketone bodies to feed the brain and the heart, but ketone bodies make body more acidic and are very harmful to a baby. So one thing they don't want to see is ketones in urine of pregnant women. One way to counteract that is to eat a well balanced diet and eat often. The nutritionist came in after the nurse to explain that in more details. Basically, women with GD have to eat 3 meals and 3-4 snacks a day. We also can't go longer than 4 hours without food (including at night), so late night snack is recommended. I was up for that. I was always told not to have anything after dinner, and now I can have snack before bed? And get this, the nutritionist said that if we find that we have ketones in urine in the morning we can have ice cream for our bed time snack! She said that the sugars in ice cream will prevent our bodies from going into starvation mode while we sleep. She did say that it has to be a serving only, which is only 1/2 cup, but I can live with that.

   The nutritionist then went over what metabolizes into sugars in our bodies (carbohydrates) and how much of it do we need. We need to have 3 servings of carbs at each meal, and 1-2 servings at snack time. Carbs would be starch products (past, bread, crackers), potatoes, yams, corn, milk and yogurt, fruits, ice cream, desert items. 15 grams of carbs is one portion. She also told us how to read Nutritional Values table on food. Total carbohydrates consist of fiber, sugars, and starches (starches are not labeled but if you subtract fiber and sugar from total carbs you'll get starch content). Since we don't digest fiber, then we get to subtract the fiber grams from total carbohydrates and that's the carb total. So if a slice of bread has total 18 grams carbs and 3 grams fiber, it counts as 15 grams carbs (or 1 serving). This is where it pays to eat high fiber foods over processed carbs foods. Both, slice of white bread and whole wheat bread, will have 18 grams of carbs but whole wheat will have fiber in it too that will help to slow down the sugar being released into blood stream. So eat whole grains more!
   I got sent home to test my blood sugars, and ketones in my urine, and keep a food diary for 7 days, and if it's good they will lessen the amount of times that they need me to test my blood sugars. I will still have to test them until the baby is born, but it won't be as often.

   So the thing that I am taking from all of this is that although we ate healthy as a family before, all the knowledge I got from the clinic has helped us to eat in a more balanced way. I am guessing that this was the lesson that I was meant to learn. Like I said before, there is a reason for everything that happens!