Monday, March 05, 2018

The unwanted guest called - Gestational Diabetes

I Gulped the sweetest water ever , had my bowl of cereal and toast and drove to the doctor’s office for my 1 hour glucose test. I was very very confident that I wouldn’t have any gestational diabetes as I never ate even a grain of rice in last 10 months, never ate sweets, chocolates, ice creams.. literally nothing because I was never fond of them. However, the next day, my Obgyn called and told me that I am very much diabetic and need not come for my 3 hour test but need to see Maternal fetal specialist as soon as possible. The next few days were stressful in making appointments with MFM, buying a test kit and wondering if I can eat anything or not and eternal search on understanding what gestational diabetes is and why I have it?

I am a very healthy eater. I never eat junk/rice/sweets, never drink sodas, sweet drinks. But how on earth can I have GD? After I met with the dietician as per my obgyn’s order, I came back home crying in the car as I was very stressed out from what I heard in the sessions. I have to check every bit of calories/sugars/proteins/carbs that I eat. I didn’t know what they all were. I have to test everyday multiple times and send in the reports. 

My journey with GD started from that day. Poking my fingers 4-5 times a day. Checking every piece of food that I eat. Wondering what went wrong when my sugar levels fluctuated. It was very exhausting initially for a month. To top it all, I was both hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic. So, anything that I ate either shot my sugars to nearly 200 or dropped below 45. It was very very stressful every single day with every single meal. I was put on pills as my sugar levels were not in the range. 

Then I realized, that GD is something that didn’t happen to me because I did something or will not go away even if I do something. It can happen to anyone irrespective of family history. None in my family ever had/have diabetes. 
I am not over weight. Instead I lost lots of weight due to healthy diet before pregnancy. 
I am a very good and responsible eater. 
But still GD happened! 

So, I was put on pills to regulate my sugar levels and I maintained a very well balanced diet for the rest of my pregnancy. It took me many trial and error methods to figure out what I can eat and what not. How much I can eat and when. Being an Indian, it is tough to figure out the calorie/carb levels in my food. For instance, if I ate 3 idlies, my sugar levels went upto 150+. But if I made a pancake out of idly batter, they were within the range. I gave in for cravings once in a while and sacrificed other food to maintain the sugar levels. The ordeal was real. 

Downside of GD is, I was nervous all throughout to take any bite and wondered what will happen to my baby. 
Upside of GD is, I ate a very controlled diet and didn’t gain any weight. However, the weight of the baby was fine towards the end of the pregnancy. 

But strangely, my GD went away the moment I delivered. I was told it’s all the placenta that does the trick. 

So, ladies, if you have GD, Dont get stressed. You haven’t done anything for it to happen to you and you can’t do anything for it to go away. Just maintain a healthy diet and follow your obgyn/dietician plan. After you deliver, you will forget everything that you went through. 

Hugs and love. 

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