I was referred to a special program a couple weeks ago because my OB finally decided that my fasting blood sugars put me in the "gestational diabetes" category. Great. Not what I wanted to hear. So, last week I met with three other women for a class about diet and nutrition and got my own fancy Glucose monitor.
My new diet consists of limiting my three meals a day and three snacks a day to < 30 carbohydrates per meal/snack. Remember the Atkins diet? So, this isn't designed to help me lose weight but rather to ensure that my body is processing sugars that I intake each day so that they aren't in excess. We don't want excess sugar and here's why...
From what I understand, when I intake sugar, my body produces insulin to help the body absorb, but because I'm pregnant, the placenta and all the hormones it's creating to help safeguard the baby blocks my own insulin production, thus resulting in higher sugar levels. These higher sugars then get passed onto the baby. This CAN lead to a large baby at term, making delivery hard on me and the baby, could cause heart defects in the baby, hypoglycemia of the baby once born, and underdeveloped lungs. No good.
This past week I've been monitoring my sugars 4 times a day. Yep, I have to prick my finger(s) all day long and record it. The program requires me to turn in my glucose numbers on a weekly basis which get analyzed and sent to my OB for further monitoring. Today I met with my dietician who didn't like that my "fasting" sugars, first thing in the morning before breakfast, were higher than they should have been. She said the dreaded words, "it's time we put you on insulin." My heart sank.
I asked a bunch of questions, wondered how she could make that determination after only monitoring for a week, and wondered if we should get a better sample before jumping to conclusions. She tried to make me feel better by telling me it's not about my diet or anything I'm doing wrong....clearly if my numbers are high before I eat, it's not my food intake. So, I told her I would call my OB and discuss pros and cons.
I walked out of the office with a lump in my throat. "What have I done?" I called Calvin, "I don't want to hurt the baby," I said, "I'm scared." We decided I would talk to my OB and get another opinion.
This evening I spoke to my OB who assured me that going on insulin would be best for the baby. So, being a mama in training, I'll do what's best. I'll be attending a medication class on Thursday to learn how to give myself shots each day. Joy.
Our bodies are truly remarkable; Sometimes a let down, sometimes things don't make sense. But, to think of my little miracle growing inside me, I can't help but tell myself that my body was made for this. This diagnosis and treatment is common and is just a set back but I'll be monitored closely the whole way and all the professionals involved want us to have a healthy baby. Sure, my pre-existing curves and genetics have contributed to the diagnosis, but that's not WHY I have it.
I'll pay close attention, will count my carbs and will prick my fingers daily and will jab a syringe of insulin into my body if that's what it takes to keep this baby healthy. I'll even do the chicken dance in the middle of an intersection if I have to. But, I AM going to have a piece of cake at my baby shower!!!! Just saying!
