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Hello Linda99, I have been diagnosed with GD too and I am monitoring it and manging it really well so far without any insulin just with diet. You need your carbs for each meal but in limited amount. My breakfast is usually scrambled egg with whole grain bread, peanut b___ter on whole grain bread or a sausage with whole grains bread and I take a cup of milk. My lunch is same 2 servings of whole grains-either bread or wrap or pita with lots of vegetables and 1 serving of protein( roast beef, chicken b___st etc. ). After experimenting with different food i figured out for myself that if I keep carbs to 2 servings with protein I am able to keep my glucose levels in control. Only change I had to make was to take away milk from major meals and put it in between meals with the snack which is usually fruit for me. So I eat 3 snacks in between the meals -a fruit and and cup of milk. You can replace milk with cheese. I had gained all my weight in first 18 weeks about 20 pounds and from my 19th week to 32nd week I have gained only 7 pounds (in 14 weeks). I walk 10000 steps 5 days a week and go for aquatic fitness cla__ses twice a week. I think with proper exercise and diet both weight and blood glucose can be kept in control. I always have a bed time snack usually cereal with milk and nuts

Thanks for your reply Sandee. I did better yesterday with egg and cheese and a piece of whole wheat toast, but really didn't want to eat the egg. It was almost making me gag. I usually love eggs, but for some reason they are completely unappealing to me right now (probably because I'd much rather have that bagel!) Then this morning I had oat meal and some turkey sausage, but I had a cup of milk and at exactly 2 hours I was at 143, 1/2 and hour later I was 111. Maybe it is the milk pushing me over. I'll have tot ry limiting it to my snack times only. I LOVE milk and the thought of giving it up is torture! One other question, do you test at exactly 2 hours after you START eating or 2 hours from when you finish?

Hello Linda99, I was told by my diabetes educator to test for glucose 2 hrs after I finish my meal. I have also found out that If I go for a 15-20 minutes walk an hour to hour and a half later after eating blood glucose levels come really down, but walking immeidately after meal within 1st hr doesn't help. So I guess it takes sometime for food to be converted to glucose. My diabetes educator wants my levels below 130 2hrs after meals and i am able to maintain them between 90-110 by walking in 2nd hr but if I don't walk I find levels close to 130-still not bad but walk works like a miracle for me.

Hi Ladies...I was diagnosed with GD at 11 weeks. Been dealing with it for 21 weeks now - mostly diet controlled but I take Glyburide at night to keep my fasting levels down. Sounds like different docs have different rules - I test 1-hr after I START my meals (< 140). If I miss the 1-hr mark, I can take a 2-hr reading (< 120). It was recommended early on to not drink milk in the morning - lunch & dinner are fine. I added milk back at around 22 weeks when my Glyburide dosage was increased to 2.5g. In the early days, I would eat scrambled eggs and a slice of whole grain toast. Eventually, I got tired of eggs. My usual breakfast these days is a whole wheat quesadillas – low carb tortilla with 1oz cheese & 1oz meat. I vary the meat depending on what I have left over and throw in veggies whenever I have some. Strangely, I haven’t grown tired of them yet. For lunch, I’ll have a gla__s of milk along with a hot sandwich on whole wheat bread (< 30g carbs) if I can walk at least 15 minutes afterwards. Otherwise, I’ll eat a meat & veggie stir-fry. Stick to whole grain breads, pasta, & tortillas, brown rice, and waxy potatoes when eating starches. No instant hot cereal. Meat, cheese, eggs, and peanut b___ter are good protein sources. Eat every 2-3 hours. Never eat fruit alone. Eating protein with a carb will slow down the break down of sugar. Walk after meals as much as possible. I usually snack on some combination of yogurt, nuts, fruit, raisins, cheese, or crackers during the day. At bedtime, I usually have a heartier snack to last the night – half a hot sandwich (meat & slice of whole wheat bread or tortilla). Overall, GD isn’t that bad. It’s forced me to eat better and healthier for me and my baby. I feel better than ever. Good luck.

Thanks for your replies CaliTrish and Sandee. I wish I was able to walk after meals, but I'm still working right now, so it's not so easy to disappear for 15-20 minutes! Hopefully I won't be working much longer and then I''ll have use of the tread mill at home everday. My dinner meals have been no problem at all, it's mostly breakfast that gives me an issue, but I'm trying. I also had some issues this weekend with my ketones but I'm attributing it to having chocolate as part of my night time snack (birthday cake Friday night) So if I stay away from chocolate at night I think I'll do a lot better. I have to agree with you CaliTrish, I'm kind of looking forward to keeping my diet less carb oriented, I know diabetes runs in my family and I have now increased my chances of developing type 2 later on. Besides, I'm just a carb-aholic and it's better for me not to be. Hopefully by the time this baby gets here I'll prefer my new diet! How far along are you both? I'm 28.2 weeks.

Hi Linda - I just hit the 32 week mark this past weekend. Both my grandmothers had Type II, so I'm pretty sure I was on my way there hence the early diagnosis. Ketones mean you're using up fat stores which isn't ideal when pregnant. You need to eat more calories - eat more protein & veggies. Yeah, I was a two-HUGE-meals-a-day-carb-junkie. Dh and I actually prefer the transition to whole grain breads & pasta. Eating snacks have really reduced my meal portions - I'm never really hungry. If you can even walk 10 minutes after lunch, you'd be surprised. Take the long way to the restroom. They've got sugar-free chocolate if you can't kick the habit - it usually taste like dark chocolate. Wishing you a healthy & happy pregnancy.

I'm not having any ketones problems when I don't eat chocolate at night, I consistantly, (4) times had them only when I ate the chocolate. If I chose a differant snack I don't get them. As for the sugar free chocolate, I bought it but realized there is just as much carbs in it as regular chocolate, I can't figure it out! So I'm just allowing myself a little after lunch and sticking to non-chocolate snacks after dinner. It's taking some adjustment, but I'm getting there. I had actually switched over to whole wheat bread and pasta before I got pg and definitely have preferred it that way so that was not a hard change for me, it's the portion of the bread and pasta that has me cringing! I'm sticking to it though b/c I know it's better for me. Thanks for the support! Keep in touch!

CaliTrish..you know I had to scroll down to see if you were here! haha. Anyways, although they say I don't have GD...as CaliTrish knows..the doctors kept acting up and treating me like I did... blah blah blah...so i'm watching what I eat and have found that for breakfast I do really well with those veggie patties made by MorningStar. They are sooo good with a whole wheat muffin and a slice of cheese. It holds me well enough until my mid morning snack. I usually take that with a cup of soy milk and i'm good to go! I've also done the whole wheat tortilla meal like CaliTrish does (thanks to her suggestion!) and haven't gotten tired of it either. : )

Thanks for the suggestion KLT. It must be frustrating to have someone treat you a certain way when it's not warranted. Well not only have I learned I cannot have milk with breakfast I can't have oj either. I tried the oj sweetened w/ Splenda this morning and I didn't drink too much, but it totally pushed me over and I tested 140 after breakfast. Otherwise I only ate whole wheat toast and 2 eggs so I know it MUST have been the oj. Yesterday I had regular OJ (and a lot more of it) and I only tested 123 so I'm not sure what about the Splenda Oj didn't agree with me, but it didn't. I'm literally taking this meal by meal as I learn what I can and can't eat. Only 2 days until my OB appointment. I hope they don't freak out for the few times I've been over...

Linda - as you get into the routine of eating snacks, you'll naturally cut back on the portion sizes at meals. I find I'm just not that hungry. My doc & dietician put juice off limits from day one. It's very high in sugar and will spike your levels. It's all about portion size - how many oranges do you think it takes to make a gla__s of juice? Considering, one small orange is 15g of carbs, you're far exceeding your serving allotment. If you don't believe me, try checking you sugar level 15 minutes after drinking a gla__s. I think you'll find it much higher than the 140/123 you got the other day. It's like eating candy. In fact, if my sugar levels bottom out because of the meds, I was told to drink a gla__s of juice or eat a piece of candy. Just wanted to warn you that you might be unintentally spiking your sugar levels with juice and not knowing it. Stick with it - you'll figure out what works for you - it does get easier with time.

Thanks for the supprt CaliTrish. You know I never considered how many oranges were in a gla__s of juice, how funny that you don't think about it. I've been researching diabetic recipes online to maybe spice up my menu options. I've been good with the Ketones w/o chocolate snacks and find that a bowl of cereal (low sugar of course) before bed is a good snack. At least I can have my milk at night, if not with breakfast! It is getting easier each day...

Hello ladies, I have a question regarding my fasting Bl glucose levels. For the last 3 days they are coming bit high(113-118) but 2hrs after meals are all fine always approx around 100. Although my diabetes educator is not concerned looking at the overall results, but is there something I can do to keep my fasting below 95. I have been trying different bedtime snacks to see if it makes any difference but nothing has changed. Any suggestions?

Hey Sandee, do you test for ketones in your urine at all? I thought my fasting was a little high, usually around 95, but when I looked it up it's not really. 113-118 is a little high, but how often has it happened? If they were isolated incidents I wouldn't worry. Also, do you know what the bedtime snack was on the mornings you tested so high? I've been going with a bowl of cereal or a 1/4 of a bagel w/ cream cheese as my snacks and that works for me...

Hi Sandee - First, make sure you aren't fasting more than 8-10 hours a night. Usually what will happen is that your sugar levels with drop pretty low in the middle of the night and then your body will start to overcompensate causing your levels to spike by morning. Try eating a heartier snack before bedtime - starch & protein - a small sandwich with meat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stablize my fasting levels, so they put me on Glyburide at night. It's done the trick, now I just need make sure my levels don't drop too much. Linda - you might want to check your sugar level after eating cereal. Once I was able to add milk back to my breakfast, I tried 3/4 cup of Oat Bran cereal (no added sugar) and my 1-hr after breakfast skyrocketed above 200. No cereal for me! Bagels were also put off limits for me cuz of the density - check the carb count. I never really tried eating a bagel, but I know white breads are bad for me. Snacks are a little tricky cuz you don't test after them.

You know I wondered about that CaliTrish. I know I can't do milk in the morning but I don't know what my levels are at night after that last snack. I'll test it out and let you know...

Hello Calitrish and Linda99, Thanks for your response. Calitrish I have nevver checked my ketone bodies on my own but at my doctor's appointment they always check my urine for ketone bodies and have never found any ketone bodies. I guess your theory of long fasting hours seems to be the culprit in my case. After some research I found out someting called Somogyi's effect where blood glucose levels fall at early hours in morning and body responds by rebound hyperglycemia. Another effect called Dawn's effect where certain hormones levels are released in early morning hours to repair and maintain the body and they have opposite effect on insulin. to check either phenomenon I have to check my Bl gluose levels at about 3am. If they are low I have somogyi's effect and if they are high I have dawn's effect. I will have to adjust my evening snack in either case.