I had GD in my first but not second pregnancy - how I avoided it

[Joojeh 10]

Hi All

I thought I would share my story in case it may help other people who are going through the same thing.

 

In my first pregnancy I was diagnosed with GD at 26 weeks with a GTT. My mum is type II diabetic. I was never overweight.

My after meals levels weren't too bad but my fasting level was always high. By 30 weeks I was on insulin.

 

I was very frustrated with the way my OBGYN was treating me because of my GD and the fact that I was on insulin.

 

My sugars returned to normal 6 weeks after baby was born. By the time baby was about 7 months old my fasting levels were back to how they were during pregnancy.

When planning my second pregnancy (first baby 2 years old by now), I asked advice from my specialist who recommended I start insulin before getting pregnant again because it is really important to have normal sugars in early pregnancy. Also 5mg folic acid (really important).

 

For first five weeks of my second pregnancy I was using insulin to control my fasting sugars. My GP recomended a vitamin D level be taken with the other routine blood tests. It turned out that my levels were low and I started supplements.

 

I also read an article (link below) that said changes in the bacteria of the intestines affect the mothers blood sugar so I started taking probiotics (acidophillus).

 

Pregnant mothers' gut changes may support fetal growth | BabyCenter

 

 

I know that low vitamin D can cause diabetes and treating it can help insulin release.

 

I am now 32 weeks pregnant with second baby and my sugars have been normal ever since I stopped insulin at 5 weeks.

I strongly believe that probiotics and treating my vitamin D deficiency are the only reason I now have normal sugars and I am really looking forward to the rest of my pregnancy!!

 

I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who may want to try this and who may benefit from it.

[mother_2_3 10]

I also had gestational diabetes in my first pregnancy. I am glad someone else can relate. Thankfully it cleared up shortly after my daughter was born. Did anyone else here have their gestational diabetes lead into full onor pre-diabetes when their baby was born? I am doing every thing I can to try and prevent it the second time around.

[Magenta 10]

Did anyone else here have their gestational diabetes lead into full onor pre-diabetes when their baby was born?.

 

I have PCOS and was told that GD and diabetes were very likely in my future. I was diagnosed with GD after failing my 1 GTT so badly. My OB didn't even have me do the 3 hour test. I had to restrict my carbs to 50g and was on insulin 3x a day. My sugars returned to normal post-birth, but started creeping up over time. My LO just turned 3 and I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a couple weeks later. I don't even know if #2 is a possibility now. I'm not sure which is more depressing - the diabetes or the possibility of not being able to have another child (I have fertility issues as well due to the PCOS).

[Kathryn10 13]

I think the vitamin D and probiotic parts of your story are very interesting. There was another thread recently that discussed diabetes and bacteria, and I had put a link in that thread to an article that related intestinal flora to diabetes. Very, very interesting stuff.

[ornam 10]

Thanks for your post - it seems directly relevant to me. I am 29 weeks pregnant and have been diagnosed just over a week ago with gestational diabetes due to my fasting levels (92 mg/dL - exactly on the threshold), my post-glucola levels were normal. In my previous two pregnancies I wasn't diagnosed with gestational diabetes because I passed the one hour glucose test with flying colors (no fasting). But now the recommendations have changed and everyone has to do the two hour test (at least at the medical practice I'm at). My previous pregnancies had no complications and babies were born vaginally with weight 7lb and 7lb 6oz, respectively, so I probably wasn't diabetic during their pregnancy. Since my diagnosis with this pregnancy I have been following the diet+exercise regimen recommended by the dietician, and while my post-meal glucose levels have remained normal, I haven't been able bring my fasting levels below 90 (they have been between 93 and 103), and I was hinted that I would soon need to have the "insulin talk". If possible I would like to avoid medication (including insulin). I was told that since only my fasting levels are high this doesn't affect my baby but does increase my risk for pre-eclempsia. After reading your post I have written to my obgyn to request testing of vitamin D levels (and have started to take a probiotic).

 

So, I was wondering, how long after you started taking the supplements (vitamin D and probiotics), did your fasting glucose levels start to lower? What dose of vitamin D did you take?

[Amooliakin 10]

I also had GD during my first pregnancy (19 years ago) and not during my second (15 years ago). I could not really believe the results so I figured it was just odd testing. I think I was just over the line the first time and I don't think either one was fasting. The second time around I made sure to eat a lot of protien before the test and, as I said, they did not flag diabetes. I was never actually aware of what my numbers were - I didn't ask and either they didn't tell me or (more likely) I was not really focused on it.... Maybe now that I have type 2 (recently developed in my mid 50's) I should go back and look at the old pregnancy labs. Interesting...

[Joojeh 10]

Hi Ornam

The dose of vitamin D will depend on what your blood level turns out to be and your doctor can advise accordingly. If your Vit D isn't low then taking supplements probably wouldn't make any difference to your blood glucose. Unfortunately it can take many weeks to correct a vitamin D deficiency if you have one. The probiotics will be beneficial for overall general health as well as blood sugars. I'm not sure how long it took for my levels to improve because my sugars dropped when I started getting morning sickness early on (I think blood sugars naturally drop at that time of pregnancy) and then I started treating vit D and they never rose again as per last pregnancy. I am now 38 and 1/2 weeks and my sugars are still really low. I would be interested to see how you go.

[ornam 10]

Hi Joojeh,

 

So, it turns out I don't have vitamin D deficiency (in fact my levels are 95 - above normal), so I will not be supplementing for that. I had an appointment today with my obgyn, which I hadn't seen since I had the glucose tolerance test two weeks ago. He was actually not concerned with my numbers and didn't feel I should be closely monitored by the nutrition department or labeled as having gestational diabetes (I see my obgyn and nurse practitioner intermittently and the NP was the one who referred me to nutrition). He basically said that in the case of my numbers (i.e. normal post-meal values and fasting values in the 90's) he doesn't feel there is much benefit in close monitoring my levels, especially given the stress it was causing me, which is not good for blood sugar levels or baby. We agreed that I would continue to follow the diet+exercise program and check my blood glucose levels from time to time (although not 4 times a day), and if I see the levels are rising I would then contact the nutrition team. This has been a relief for me, because the whole GD business was causing me a lot of stress, especially since the dietician said that if my fasting numbers would continue to be in the 90's they would suggest insulin. My two kids were born in unmedicated natural births and I really wanted to continue this way with our last child, but was afraid that with the GD label there would be too many interventions. Anyway, it seems that for now I'm off the hook - I am currently 30 weeks, so hopefully I can continue to control my blood glucose levels naturally in the next 10 weeks or so. Good luck with your delivery - you're really close!

[kiranchandra 10]

For first five weeks of my second pregnancy I was using insulin to control my fasting sugars. My GP recomended a vitamin D level be taken with the other routine blood tests. It turned out that my levels were low and I started supplements.

 

I Dont think VITAMIN D can be taken with routine tests

[bmcguire 10]

What type of probiotic did you take and how much vit D? I was also not overweight prior to pregnancy and my mom/sister have type 2. I was able to control my first pregnancy with diet. Did anyone experience high blood pressure after about 34 or so weeks?

[cottney 1]

I had high blood pressure from 34 weeks on. The concern was preeclampsia, but blood tests and urine tests showed no other risk factors. They wanted to induce me at 35 weeks, citing a 'big baby' as the risk factor. I held my ground, researched, drank lots of water, exercised, sought other opinions and compromised at being induced with prostaglandin gels on my EDD. Baby was 6 lbs 9 oz. I couldn't imagine how small she would have been if I had given in at 36 weeks.

I was in the midwife/OB office 3 times a week for the last 5 weeks.