[Matthias' mum]

I had my GD test last week, and my OB has just called me to tell me I have GD. Apparently I am just over, so she thinks it will be possible to control with diet and exercise, and hopefully won't require insulin.

I am freaking out though. I have to make an appointment to see a specialist and a dietician, but aside from that I really have no idea what I'm in for. My only experience of diabetes is from my dad's renal ward, where people were there due to massive complications from uncontrolled diabetes. I am petrified.

Can some please give me an idea of what this will mean? Should I stop eating sugar/refined carbs before I've seen the specialist? I am on a gluten free diet, so I'm not even sure what I should be avoiding. The specialists office is closed today, so I'm not sure when I will be seeing her. I assume if it was really serious, that I would have been sent to see someone straight away - my OB is pretty cautious.

[amoral lemur]

You should find the Australian Diabetes site helpful.

Put very simply you want to eat small meals and even out the carbs over the day. So not a huge bowl of pasta one meal and no carbs in the next meal. Low GI foods (google will help you with info) keep the blood sugar even rather than creating spikes which is what you want to avoid.

Exercise can help too.

No need to panic.

[fairyflossfart]

If you follow an LGI diet, you should be fine. Being just over is really nothing to stress about if you just watch what you eat. I had GD and even with a small treat here and there I lost weight and had a very healthy baby girl who was perfect.

[Rumply]

I had GD with my last pregnancy and have slipped under the radar with this one. I was so worried about it to, but the educators and dieticians were great.

If you wanted to start watching what you are eating now, aim for about 30 - 60g carb for your 3 main meals. Wait at least 2 hours before eating a snack that is about 15 - 30g of carb.

Like the other PPs said, stick to low GI foods as much as you can. And go for little walks each day. I found once I started doing this I didn't put any more weight on for the rest of pregnancy! (I have a lot of spare 'energy stores').

I wouldn't expect GD to be anything like the renal ward. It can be controlled if you are careful. These guys have probably not looked after themselves for years to get to that point.

Try not to worry too much and have a read of some of the websites.

[Matthias' mum]

Thanks for the replies. I saw the specialist today, and it looks as if I will be able to manage it with diet alone at this stage. I am feeling a little better about it today. I see the dietician on Monday. I will be missing my evening chocolate tonight....

[jupiter123]

I will be missing my evening chocolate tonight....

You don't need to miss your chocolate. In the health food section, you will find low GI chocolate with Goji berries in it and it's very yummy and shouldn't raise your BSL's above normal ranges as long as you only have a couple of squares at a time.

[Chelara]

There's a gd section on here you can join. I found out I had it about a month ago, so far diet controlled. You will have to test your blood suga levels probably 4 times a day, take a few days to get the hang of it. The diet sounds easy enough, actually quite a lot of carbs just spread out. I have found though I have to eat quite a lot less than was initially advised or I go over at dinner time. The time of day you might struggle will possibly differ to mine, everyone is different and you'll need to figure out wha your triggers are.

It is hard not eating fruit when you want to, not having juice. But I don't feel too deprived, have so much more energy, moods are better and generally feel the best I have so far his pregnancy.

You don't get a lot of leeway with your readings, you have to get everything in order and quickly or you'll most likely have to turn to meds or insulin to help you manage.

[~ky~]

I just wanted to say that it seems overwhelming at first but everything involved very, very quickly just becomes habit. Really, after a while you can relax into the new lifestyle and follow the diet without a second thought.

[peebs]

I just wanted to say that it seems overwhelming at first but everything involved very, very quickly just becomes habit. Really, after a while you can relax into the new lifestyle and follow the diet without a second thought.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I freaked at first and had a bit of a cry, but it's actually just more of a pain than anything, if handled properly. I did about two weeks of hardcore research when I was diagnosed and lots and lots of planning meals, recording etc, but after that I really settled in, got into habits and knew before taking my levels what they'd be (approximately) as I learned quickly what foods made my levels spike (it's different for everyone; for me the worst was potatoes, jam and mineral water but white bread and other things were fine).

I was strict with myself and managed to stay diet controlled for the duration of my pregnancy, but my levels went crazy at 38 weeks (generally it gets harder to control the further along you get) and I was induced at 39+4 (after being postponed from 39+1). DS was born approximately 50th percentile and his and my levels returned to normal within a few days.

Good luck!