The sweet side of diabetes
This is probably not a post of high interest to anyone (or very few, at least), but since the topic has consumed MUCH of my time and energy over the past weeks... here's my official blogging precis for those who want to know "what's up with you?"
Nearly a month ago my dr told me I had "elevated glucose levels" for one of the routine pregnancy tests, which suggested that I had developed gestational diabetes.
She didn't explain anything, didn't talk it through. Just said "someone will call you". And I went home and FLIPPED OUT. Did a ton of reading on the internet and panicked: how would this affect my labor and delivery options? Was this because of my near-daily ice-cream habit? (I guess I have always mostly associated diabetes with people who make poor food choices). Did this mean I would have a "high risk pregnancy" and get flagged for even more testing etc? And most of all, did this mean I would have a giganto-baby?
Well, now I am a LOT more educated about gestational diabetes. Now I know that it is not my "fault", but really something attributable to pregnancy hormones affecting insulin production. And now I also know that all the "dangers" people scare you with about diabetic pregnancies are dangers associated with having uncontrolled glocose levels (i.e. diabetes which goes unmanaged), not just with the diabetes itself. In other words: if you can control the glucose levels (through diet and exercise, or if that's insufficient, with insulin) - there should be little/no elevated risk of having a giganto-baby, necessary cesearean section, future diabetic risk etc. Phew.
So now I'm on the "sweet success" program, taking my blood sugar a couple of times a day and eating a 6 meals a day, VERY controlled carbohydrate and high protein diet. It is not hugely different to how I ate before in that almost all the foods required were foods I ate anyway... just now at different times and in different quantities. Oh, and no ice-cream.
And it is going VERY WELL. For all my fears about this, this has been a positive experience. In an effort to try and count my blessings in all things, I thought I should take the time to write down why:
1) My children think I am AWESOME and AMAZING and SO, SO BRAVE because they see me voluntarily prick my own finger to draw blood several times a day. These little "owies" have earned HUGE respect from my band-aid-worshipping little ones.
2) I am, I am sure, going to have a healthier (and dare I say thinner?) me, and baby, as a result of this rigorous diet. The thought of having to deliver a giganto-baby is by far the biggest motivator for change I have ever had in the food department.
3) I have realized I really don't need ice-cream every day. Or every week. This is strangely freeing.
4) This has been a fascinating experiment in learning about my own body. I had read articles before about how regular, mild exercise is far more important for overall health than more sporadic heavier work-outs. But now I see the difference in my own blood!! A ten to fifteen minute walk after dinner lowers my blood sugar numbers by 20 points. And when you have a range of 40 you're aiming for, a difference of 20 is huge! I have learned a great life lesson: if you eat too much at dinner, don't say "oh, I'd better hit the gym tomorrow and do 450 crunches". Rather just go for a walk right now. Truly.
5) I am learning a lot about the benefits of eating protein with every meal. I have never felt less hungry than on this diet. I am eating by the clock, because I hardly ever get the "empty" feeling in my stomach as a cue to eat. SO INTERESTING!
6) I am getting to walk regularly, which I LOVE! I get outside with the kids a lot, but we always seem to move at the pace of finding the next dandelion or stopping to talk about traffic lights or take potty breaks. It is hardly perpetual motion. And I didn't feel like I could really ask for "regular time off" in the evenings to get out and walk by myself while leaving Jeremy with the kids. But now it's "doctor's orders", and all of a sudden I have a gift of 15 minutes of sunset hours after dinner to go outside, breathe deeply, think and pray. Wonderful!
I am thankful this is just gestational diabetes and not Type 1 or Type 2.
I am thankful I don't have to take insulin (so far). And even if I do, it will only be for a few weeks.
I'm thankful they 'caught it'. I had the test done a few weeks after I should have, and the first time I only barely "failed it". I think if I'd done it at the proper time (24-28weeks) instead of when I did (31 weeks, and again at 33 weeks), they may not have picked it up... and I could have had an undetected giganto-baby growing all this time.
I am thankful for all the lifestyle things I'm learning.
This was a really frightening thing at first, but it has turned out to be really good.
I love how God can do that: Work ALL things for good. Who knew that diabetes could have a sweet side ;-)
Nearly a month ago my dr told me I had "elevated glucose levels" for one of the routine pregnancy tests, which suggested that I had developed gestational diabetes.
She didn't explain anything, didn't talk it through. Just said "someone will call you". And I went home and FLIPPED OUT. Did a ton of reading on the internet and panicked: how would this affect my labor and delivery options? Was this because of my near-daily ice-cream habit? (I guess I have always mostly associated diabetes with people who make poor food choices). Did this mean I would have a "high risk pregnancy" and get flagged for even more testing etc? And most of all, did this mean I would have a giganto-baby?
Well, now I am a LOT more educated about gestational diabetes. Now I know that it is not my "fault", but really something attributable to pregnancy hormones affecting insulin production. And now I also know that all the "dangers" people scare you with about diabetic pregnancies are dangers associated with having uncontrolled glocose levels (i.e. diabetes which goes unmanaged), not just with the diabetes itself. In other words: if you can control the glucose levels (through diet and exercise, or if that's insufficient, with insulin) - there should be little/no elevated risk of having a giganto-baby, necessary cesearean section, future diabetic risk etc. Phew.
So now I'm on the "sweet success" program, taking my blood sugar a couple of times a day and eating a 6 meals a day, VERY controlled carbohydrate and high protein diet. It is not hugely different to how I ate before in that almost all the foods required were foods I ate anyway... just now at different times and in different quantities. Oh, and no ice-cream.
And it is going VERY WELL. For all my fears about this, this has been a positive experience. In an effort to try and count my blessings in all things, I thought I should take the time to write down why:
1) My children think I am AWESOME and AMAZING and SO, SO BRAVE because they see me voluntarily prick my own finger to draw blood several times a day. These little "owies" have earned HUGE respect from my band-aid-worshipping little ones.
2) I am, I am sure, going to have a healthier (and dare I say thinner?) me, and baby, as a result of this rigorous diet. The thought of having to deliver a giganto-baby is by far the biggest motivator for change I have ever had in the food department.
3) I have realized I really don't need ice-cream every day. Or every week. This is strangely freeing.
4) This has been a fascinating experiment in learning about my own body. I had read articles before about how regular, mild exercise is far more important for overall health than more sporadic heavier work-outs. But now I see the difference in my own blood!! A ten to fifteen minute walk after dinner lowers my blood sugar numbers by 20 points. And when you have a range of 40 you're aiming for, a difference of 20 is huge! I have learned a great life lesson: if you eat too much at dinner, don't say "oh, I'd better hit the gym tomorrow and do 450 crunches". Rather just go for a walk right now. Truly.
5) I am learning a lot about the benefits of eating protein with every meal. I have never felt less hungry than on this diet. I am eating by the clock, because I hardly ever get the "empty" feeling in my stomach as a cue to eat. SO INTERESTING!
6) I am getting to walk regularly, which I LOVE! I get outside with the kids a lot, but we always seem to move at the pace of finding the next dandelion or stopping to talk about traffic lights or take potty breaks. It is hardly perpetual motion. And I didn't feel like I could really ask for "regular time off" in the evenings to get out and walk by myself while leaving Jeremy with the kids. But now it's "doctor's orders", and all of a sudden I have a gift of 15 minutes of sunset hours after dinner to go outside, breathe deeply, think and pray. Wonderful!
I am thankful this is just gestational diabetes and not Type 1 or Type 2.
I am thankful I don't have to take insulin (so far). And even if I do, it will only be for a few weeks.
I'm thankful they 'caught it'. I had the test done a few weeks after I should have, and the first time I only barely "failed it". I think if I'd done it at the proper time (24-28weeks) instead of when I did (31 weeks, and again at 33 weeks), they may not have picked it up... and I could have had an undetected giganto-baby growing all this time.
I am thankful for all the lifestyle things I'm learning.
This was a really frightening thing at first, but it has turned out to be really good.
I love how God can do that: Work ALL things for good. Who knew that diabetes could have a sweet side ;-)
posted by Bronwyn at 10:47 pm
2 Comments:
I'm sorry your doctor did so little in terms of educating you!
I'm glad you've found out all these things, though. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and lessons learned. Amazing what a little walk will do for you, isn't it?
Last thing: gestational diabetes does indicate you have greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60731-5/fulltext), so just make sure to get screened regularly so that it can be caught/modified early, if that's the case with you!
Last last thing: I'm so excited about your baby!! Can't wait to see pictures, and actually see the little one once we get back to CA!! Here's praying for a safe, easy delivery. God Bless!
So glad to see that you are aggressively taking control of the gestational diabetes. After reading your blog, I accidentally stumbled upon CBS's 60 Minutes program online about sugar being a toxin in our modern day diet, and I found it quite interesting.
After all this reading about sugar and diabetes, I had a sudden craving for ice cream!!! I did not follow through with my urge to go out and buy some, and settled for a cup of hot chocolate instead. =)
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