Met with the nurse today at the Diabetic Center (I typed "fertility" instead of diabetic and had to correct myself - haha... once an IF, always an IF!)
Before getting to the discussion of how it went... I feel overwhelmed! I have cried my eyes out at least 4 times in the last whole week. I don't know what I am crying for (I am crying for anything and everything)! I know GD is not a super life threatening issue, but I feel like I have lost control over one thing I knew well - how to eat! I am scared to eat any carbs, and that's not how it should be... I need to eat carbs to keep functioning and for the babies to grow well, but I just feel like I don't know how much I need and how much I don't! On a general basis, I would have been able to control what I eat... but in this case, I just don't seem to figure out how much is enough!
Anyways, the appointment went well! It was pretty informative. We went over a few technicalities (the info that is generally found on the web)! I was given a diabetes monitoring kit (Accu-Check Aviva - yay for more poking)... I have to monitor: before breakfast and then 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner (total 4 times a day) and then I have to check for "Ketones" in my morning urine sample! This was the one which startled me a little bit. In the last whole week of not knowing what to eat, I have probably been eating less carbs! When one is deprived of carbs/glucose (instant energy supply), the body acquires the required energy from your fat reserves... fat is broken down, energy is released and the by-product is Ketones. This spills in to the urine... it can also pass through your placenta and reach the baby. It is suspected that excessive Ketones can lead to learning disabilities in babies (though this has not been completely proven either ways)... so they prefer not to feed the babies with Ketones. Typically, if one has not consumed enough Carbs (and does not have a sufficient glucose supply) during dinner... during the long fasting night period, the body will try to access the fat reserve and Ketones will be found in urine the next day (One could be gaining weight, while not consuming enough carbs... and then loosing some of the weight (fat reserve) and releasing Ketones in the system)! When we checked for Ketones at the center... it was detected in my urine sample (almost 1.5 hours after a cheese sandwich breakfast)!
With the whole insurance issue, we have decided that we are seeing a dietitian outside the diabetic center I went to today. This person works at another diabetic center (catering towards pregnant women, infants and children), but also runs her private practice/service and will cost us almost 1/4th of what we would be paying at the diabetic center I went to today. She seems experienced, knowledgeable and approachable... so hopefully we will be satisfied... and if we are not we can always pay 4 times more and go back to the diabetic center. So the appointment is on Thursday, October 29th! Hopefully this will ease my mind. My DH is accompanying me and hopefully he will grasp everything that I loose by being overwhelmed! Hopefully with all the monitoring and diet control... we should be okay in the long run!
Also, October 30th is my first Cervix check! Hoping and praying that everything looks okay! I will also get to have a quick peak at my babies! :)
Before getting to the discussion of how it went... I feel overwhelmed! I have cried my eyes out at least 4 times in the last whole week. I don't know what I am crying for (I am crying for anything and everything)! I know GD is not a super life threatening issue, but I feel like I have lost control over one thing I knew well - how to eat! I am scared to eat any carbs, and that's not how it should be... I need to eat carbs to keep functioning and for the babies to grow well, but I just feel like I don't know how much I need and how much I don't! On a general basis, I would have been able to control what I eat... but in this case, I just don't seem to figure out how much is enough!
Anyways, the appointment went well! It was pretty informative. We went over a few technicalities (the info that is generally found on the web)! I was given a diabetes monitoring kit (Accu-Check Aviva - yay for more poking)... I have to monitor: before breakfast and then 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner (total 4 times a day) and then I have to check for "Ketones" in my morning urine sample! This was the one which startled me a little bit. In the last whole week of not knowing what to eat, I have probably been eating less carbs! When one is deprived of carbs/glucose (instant energy supply), the body acquires the required energy from your fat reserves... fat is broken down, energy is released and the by-product is Ketones. This spills in to the urine... it can also pass through your placenta and reach the baby. It is suspected that excessive Ketones can lead to learning disabilities in babies (though this has not been completely proven either ways)... so they prefer not to feed the babies with Ketones. Typically, if one has not consumed enough Carbs (and does not have a sufficient glucose supply) during dinner... during the long fasting night period, the body will try to access the fat reserve and Ketones will be found in urine the next day (One could be gaining weight, while not consuming enough carbs... and then loosing some of the weight (fat reserve) and releasing Ketones in the system)! When we checked for Ketones at the center... it was detected in my urine sample (almost 1.5 hours after a cheese sandwich breakfast)!
With the whole insurance issue, we have decided that we are seeing a dietitian outside the diabetic center I went to today. This person works at another diabetic center (catering towards pregnant women, infants and children), but also runs her private practice/service and will cost us almost 1/4th of what we would be paying at the diabetic center I went to today. She seems experienced, knowledgeable and approachable... so hopefully we will be satisfied... and if we are not we can always pay 4 times more and go back to the diabetic center. So the appointment is on Thursday, October 29th! Hopefully this will ease my mind. My DH is accompanying me and hopefully he will grasp everything that I loose by being overwhelmed! Hopefully with all the monitoring and diet control... we should be okay in the long run!
Also, October 30th is my first Cervix check! Hoping and praying that everything looks okay! I will also get to have a quick peak at my babies! :)
Hang in there, girl! You are going to breeze right past this hurdle and all 3 of you are going to be just fine in the end. The dietician (sp?) sounds like a good choice and I'm sure you can get some peace of mind when you meet beyond just dietary guidelines/ideas.
ReplyDeletePrayers for your appointment Friday!!
It's too bad you have to deal with all this, but it sounds like you're in good hands. Good luck with your appointments this week!
ReplyDeleteGD is a serious downer. I had it with my pregnancy, and reading this post brings back so many familiar feelings. For me it was only rough the first week after meeting the dieteician, and then it got a lot easier. I hope it goes the same for you. Its just a matter of getting your head around all of it.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes with your appointments.
GD is something that I fear for if/when I get pg and stay pg. It runs in my family (most of the women on my dad's side had it). I found this post interesting, because for all my worries about it, I really don't know that much about GD.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have got some great medical care to help you through this. Blessings on you as you continue down this road!
ICLW
Hang in there! GD, while no picnic, is completely manageable! Enjoy your pregnancy! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteHappy ICLW!
your dietitian sounds like a good choice, it's so important to get someone hat you really feel has your best interests at heart and can help you and it sounds like she's going to be great. I hope the appointment went well!
ReplyDeleteGood luck for your cervix check tomorrow.
I am sorry about the GD, but I am sure you will do just fine. As for my favorite things/doubles thus far... double snap n go, two swings, 4 swaddling blankets, hospital breast pump, play gym, skip hop duo double diaper bag, front pack, and two boppy pillows. I am sure I will have more ideas as time goes on.
ReplyDelete