So I went to the appointments and got tested for gestational diabetes. If you have never had this before it is a blood test. They tell you to fast the night before. This means that you do not eat after 9pm( you can have black coffee and water) and most likely you get a very early appointment in the opening hours. You go in and do you pee and charts etc. Then you get to drink this awful tasting stuff called Glucola. It comes in three or more flavors. They had coke, sprite, fruit punch and orange "soda" flavors at my OBGYN. If you want to know what it tastes like - leave your soda to get flat and then make it the consistency of maple syrup. It is like the fountain drinks syrup bags from restaurants. It is not a pleasurable taste. You have to drink it in 5 minutes. At this point you are free to go back in to the lobby. You are not allowed anything to drink or eat while do this test or you fail and have to retake it. You are not allowed to walk around or leave the building , so ladies if you have kids leave them at the sitter's and if you can't bring lots of entertainment. Reading material from your home is best otherwise you'll end reading those old magazines with clipped out coupons on the last page of the article you are interested in finishing. Then you wait your hour and go have your blood taken. Even though a diabetic can check their sugar with one drop they take vials of it. If your levels are 135 to 140ish they make you take the 3 hour test. They usually give you the results by mail or phone in a couple of days of your test.
3 hour hell
If you failed the first test then you take a 3 hour test. This means you fast the same as the one hour. You go in the same. The difference is when come in they take your fasting blood sample. Then you drink a larger bottle of Glucola. You then sit in the lobby for an hour , go get pricked. Sit again for another hour, do your blood again. Once more another hour and get pricked for your last time. After that you are free to go. They call you and tell you the results.
Most will fail the one hour test because they make money form it. If your levels are under 140 you do no need to go for the 3 hour. If your levels are over 140 then you will take the 3 hour. If you fail the 3 hour , which is unlikely for you too because only 4-7 % women have gestational diabetes, then you have to start a diet and etc. When they call you about your test on the first test ASK them what your levels are exactly, they do no give them to you unless you ask. They do not give them to you on the 3 hour unless you ask.
The FAIL Diet
So say you are like me and you fail the diabetes test. Which I expected to fail anyways because I already had one child with the same thing. You call and they call back and forth until they get you an appointment with a dietician. My dietician was really sweet, I hope you have one that way too. So what they tell you is carbs are the devil, Just because it says sugar free it does not matter, it has to be low in carbs (nice money maker for people who don't know eh) exercise more ( if you are overweight and your doctor says you can), and try not to break the diet. You get a nice little monitor and some strips and some lancets (needles). The dietician should show you how to operate your new little toy and give you pamphlets on everything. My diet is as follows
Carbs-
breakfast - 30
snack -15
lunch-60
snack-15
super-60
snack-30
You check your sugar levels first thing in the morning. Then two hours after each meal/snack. You record everything you eat for the first week. Then you record your times and levels on a different sheet for the OB. After the first week you only record your times and levels until the end of pregnancy. If you are diabetic, you feel thirsty all the time, you hunger for carbs, but you can't have them. Your wounds are slow to heal. Your weight goes up and down, you urinate all the time. This is with type 2 , some ladies have to take insulin shots if the diet doesn't work. Some ladies have to take a diabetes pill. If the diet controls your sugar then you wont have to take anything. My problem was I was eating too many fruits and vegetables out of proportions. Like a banana is 28 carbs by itself, I didn't think it was a big deal since I was eating fruit. Fruit and vegetables can raise your sugar as bad as ice cream and cookies. Breads and pastas are evil.
There are foods that are carb free and help you out. Then there are some low carb ones that are great too. Some of these are
meat-0
cheese-0
tea-0
coffee-0
eggs-0
sf jello-0
garden salads- usually about 3 per serving (without the goodies and dressing)
cottage cheese- 3 per serv
There are more. They should you a book and it has fast food in it as well. You can also Google the restaurants nutritional information, call them or ask for a guide when you go through the drive thru or inside the store. It's best to call ahead or do the internet way since most people don't ask and it takes them forever to find one. For me milk was raising my sugar beyond belief. I stopped drinking milk and switched to cheese and soy milk and yogurt for my calcium intake. It isn't the end of eating what you want - its just here and there and sucks at first. Once you get into it it's not that bad. Walking helps you lower your after meals significantly.
So I called the doctor about taking cinnamon chromium vitamins. I read online this was a way to lower your blood sugar, the ob said there is no studies proving it works, or studies showing it might be harmful , so best not to take it. He's been practicing longer than I have been alive so he's pretty experienced and well carried. I didn't take the vitamins, but I did try a little cinnamon in the diet and it has helped. I read you could take ACV- apple cider vinegar, I have not tired this but it works well when you are not pregnant for stomach related problems. I read green and decaf coffee work, this i tried, no fast results, so as time goes along it might prove otherwise.
THE BIG APPOINTMENT
The next appointment I had was the big one. I got to see if I get a little princess or another little prince. You go into your appointment as usual. I took my 3 year old so that he could see his new "sibling". Big mistake. They made us wait forever and went past his nap time which caused a cranky ruckus. When we got into the room he kept trying to touch all the equipment and was really loud when told NO. The lady came in and go her price scanner looking ultrasound scanner. I am glad she didn't use the horse one. It's not a drop drawers visit so little guy and my husband were invited into the room. She scans and takes measurements and makes sure it has all the limbs and heart size etc it should. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE SEX OF YOUR BABY, TELL HER BEFORE SHE BEGINS. She will say it at some point and if it's a boy sometimes you can see it before, if you are like me they look like little alien pictures. I wanted to know so she told me I am having a little girl! My son who was with us during this touching moment started crying in a jealous manner because it actually "hit him" that we were not making this up and that is going to be competition. She asked him if he wanted a brother or sister and he screamed JESUS, which made her jaw drop. As we were all teared up and for all different reasons the nurse concludes and you get a few print outs of the event. The last time I went I got to get a DVD of my son, this time I got a few postcard size photos of my daughter, I asked if there was a reason , the hospital and degraded expensive equipment. So don't expect the same thing as last time you had a kid. I carried a rw- dvd in my pocket book for nothing.
Now I have regular appointment, I just go pee in a cup and get pamphlets and the doctor asks me questions and that's it. So far, nothing new has changed or came about.
