After four days of being on this bizarre diet with worse and worse results, I called the doctor. The numbers are supposed to be under 140 and they well consistently 150-180. Every time I tested my blood, Daniel and I would let out a disappointed sigh. Very discouraging, and worse, I was getting really worried about the baby. The doctor completely agreed that the numbers were out of whack and controlling the diabetes with diet alone wasn't working. She also explained that when the blood sugars were that out of control, exercising wouldn't do any good either. So much for all those walks I took to try to lower the numbers.
So they prescribed me an oral medication that lowers blood sugar. Glyburide. I guess they don't like to prescribe insulin for gestational diabetes because gd IS almost always temporary and having to inject insulin is so traumatic. I'm not complaining. There are possible side effects to the oral med though. The baby could be born with low blood sugar and need an IV. I'll be having a more in depth conversation with the doctor next week about this.
However, my blood sugar stabilized immediately! Thank God! Oh, I still have to continue with the strange diet and blood testing. In fact, it's time to test now, so I'm signing off. :)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
A "complicated" pregnancy
Sometimes I wonder, "How will I remember this pregnancy in the future?" Or, I imagine friends and family talking about it five years from now. "The first half of her pregnancy went well," you all say, "but she had a rough time of it in the second half." It isn't how I want to think of it, but, well, right now it certainly feels like the truth.
Waddle, Waddle, Waddle.
That's what Daniel and I like to say when I get my walk on. It's quite a sight to behold. Let me tell ya, it takes a LOT of work to waddle. Very tiring.
I'm still struggling with SPD (Symphisis Pubic Disorder), in which my joints have become too relaxed, too soon, and have made my whole pelvis very unstable. It is really surprising to learn just how much work your pelvis really does and how many bits and parts are attached to it. The condition is pretty rare, occuring in about 0.3% of pregnant women which adds another layer of difficulty because not every one knows much about it, midwives and doulas included.
Imagine having to do everything with your knees tied together. That's where I'm at. I have trouble getting in and out of the car, putting pants on (yes, really), walking up or down stairs, getting out of bed (which I have to do 5 times a night to pee), off a couch or a deep chair, and if I drop things (which I do a lot because the joints in my fingers have also relaxed), I have to just leave them or ask Daniel to pick them up. Now, as I'm getting even more ginormous, I also don't last long in supermarkets and stores, or just standing up to cook dinner. Lately, I've been wondering just how I'm going to actually deliver the baby.
So, yeah, SPD is kicking my ass. I just finished my last physical therapy appt on Wednesday, and now I have to schedule some pool time. The pool exercises are bizarre. I've never been so exhausted from trying to hold still. There's no laps or heart-rate increasing activities. Just a lot of, "move your arms and try to keep your body from swaying in the water". It's all designed to increase stability around my pelvis. Yoga, walking, swimming, or basically any form of exercise is not allowed.
What Yoga Really Is...
I've been lamenting not being able to go to prenatal yoga anymore. I really, really miss it. I've thought maybe I could go and just do the exercises that wouldn't stress my SPD, but that would be about 5% of the movements considering that most pregnant women are trying increase the flexibity of their joints. And then I would just be a distraction. So, I'm sad about yoga. But it only hit me recently what I was really missing. It's the community. Prenatal yoga isn't like regular yoga. You spend 20-30 minutes of each class going around the room with same women week after week, sharing your trials and tribulations with your pregnancy. The women who gave birth would come back and share their birth stories. It was very educational and I even made some friends. That is what I really miss. The community of women. I haven't figured out a way to get that back.
And then...
One of the tests you have to take at about 28 weeks is a glucose tolerance test. You drink this nasty super sugar water and an hour later they take your blood. I had been worried about diabetes early in pregnancy, so I asked to be tested at about 16 weeks. It was negative so I breathed easy. The recent test didn't go so well. I have to admit I felt a little shell shocked about it. Other than a brief stint of craving crap, I've eaten pretty well, I was exercising regularly... Oh wait... that's right, I had to stop exercising a few weeks before. (This is me blaming the SPD.) Anyway, I was told that I needed to take a three-hour fasting glucose test. No, not fasting for three hours. Fasting for 12 hours (no small feat for a pregnant lady), then they take your blood, give you the glucose, and test your blood every hour for three hours. I was reassured that most people's tests came out fine even if they didn't pass the one-hour test.
Not. My blood sugar was so high BEFORE they gave me the glucose that they couldn't even give me the test. The woman frowned at the result and tested again to be sure, and then had to call my doctor. I had a mini-breakdown while she was on the phone (hormones + not eating + scrary implications) and had to go get Daniel from the lobby.
So, there it is. Wham. I have Gestational Diabetes. Welcome to a whole new set of complications. I've had to meet with a diabetes councelor and start this strange new diet and learn how to prick my finger to test my blood four times a day. And I have to do it all on a very strict schedule. Test when I wake up. Eat. Test 2 hours after eating. Eat every two hours. Test. Test. And I can't just eat. If I have a sandwich - it can only have one piece of bread. But I have to eat a contolled amount of carbs at every meal. Milk. Milk has carbs. That counts as one whole carb serving. My max at meal times is two carb servings. Snack times it's one carb serving.
But I've been doing it. I'm not the first person to have gestational diabetes. I have eight weeks left. I can do this. But I won't lie. It's really tough. And, my blood sugar is not getting under control. Of the twelve or so times I've tested, I've had one, just one, score that was within the normal range. The midwife yesterday strongly suggested that it's likely I'll have to take medication. I'll know next week.
The worst part is trying so hard again and again and again, and then getting a blood sugar score that is too high. Again and again and again. It's like studying your ass off and failing the same test repeatedly.
Now, in my defense (because I feel the need to defend myself for some reason), all pregnant women have spikes in their blood sugar in the third trimester. It's why the testing is routine. The hormones make your blood more resistant to insulin and your body needs three times the usual amount of insulin. My body just can't produce that much extra. Exerices is a great way to use up blood sugar. And there is my Catch 22.
The good news is that it will likely go away within 6 weeks of giving birth. I don't want to get into all the horrible implications for both me and the baby, but suffice it to say that we are both at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later on in life. So, I need my pelvis to heal. Because the only way I can see staving off the onset of diabetes is exercise. Obviously, we'll have to be careful with our son too, and make sure he develops a healthy lifestyle.
So that's where I'm at. I'm trying to manage day to day and get through the next eight weeks. We have a shower planned for the 18th of October (which is lamentably close to my due date). And I'm starting to ease off working now because I have a lot on my plate and I'm just so damn tired all the time.
Have I ever mentioned how amazing Daniel is? He has stores of patience, endurance, and generosity that truly amaze me. The man does everything and still tries to make me smile. I am a lucky woman. This is a lucky baby. And I don't know how I would get through this without him! <3
Waddle, Waddle, Waddle.
That's what Daniel and I like to say when I get my walk on. It's quite a sight to behold. Let me tell ya, it takes a LOT of work to waddle. Very tiring.
I'm still struggling with SPD (Symphisis Pubic Disorder), in which my joints have become too relaxed, too soon, and have made my whole pelvis very unstable. It is really surprising to learn just how much work your pelvis really does and how many bits and parts are attached to it. The condition is pretty rare, occuring in about 0.3% of pregnant women which adds another layer of difficulty because not every one knows much about it, midwives and doulas included.
Imagine having to do everything with your knees tied together. That's where I'm at. I have trouble getting in and out of the car, putting pants on (yes, really), walking up or down stairs, getting out of bed (which I have to do 5 times a night to pee), off a couch or a deep chair, and if I drop things (which I do a lot because the joints in my fingers have also relaxed), I have to just leave them or ask Daniel to pick them up. Now, as I'm getting even more ginormous, I also don't last long in supermarkets and stores, or just standing up to cook dinner. Lately, I've been wondering just how I'm going to actually deliver the baby.
So, yeah, SPD is kicking my ass. I just finished my last physical therapy appt on Wednesday, and now I have to schedule some pool time. The pool exercises are bizarre. I've never been so exhausted from trying to hold still. There's no laps or heart-rate increasing activities. Just a lot of, "move your arms and try to keep your body from swaying in the water". It's all designed to increase stability around my pelvis. Yoga, walking, swimming, or basically any form of exercise is not allowed.
What Yoga Really Is...
I've been lamenting not being able to go to prenatal yoga anymore. I really, really miss it. I've thought maybe I could go and just do the exercises that wouldn't stress my SPD, but that would be about 5% of the movements considering that most pregnant women are trying increase the flexibity of their joints. And then I would just be a distraction. So, I'm sad about yoga. But it only hit me recently what I was really missing. It's the community. Prenatal yoga isn't like regular yoga. You spend 20-30 minutes of each class going around the room with same women week after week, sharing your trials and tribulations with your pregnancy. The women who gave birth would come back and share their birth stories. It was very educational and I even made some friends. That is what I really miss. The community of women. I haven't figured out a way to get that back.
And then...
One of the tests you have to take at about 28 weeks is a glucose tolerance test. You drink this nasty super sugar water and an hour later they take your blood. I had been worried about diabetes early in pregnancy, so I asked to be tested at about 16 weeks. It was negative so I breathed easy. The recent test didn't go so well. I have to admit I felt a little shell shocked about it. Other than a brief stint of craving crap, I've eaten pretty well, I was exercising regularly... Oh wait... that's right, I had to stop exercising a few weeks before. (This is me blaming the SPD.) Anyway, I was told that I needed to take a three-hour fasting glucose test. No, not fasting for three hours. Fasting for 12 hours (no small feat for a pregnant lady), then they take your blood, give you the glucose, and test your blood every hour for three hours. I was reassured that most people's tests came out fine even if they didn't pass the one-hour test.
Not. My blood sugar was so high BEFORE they gave me the glucose that they couldn't even give me the test. The woman frowned at the result and tested again to be sure, and then had to call my doctor. I had a mini-breakdown while she was on the phone (hormones + not eating + scrary implications) and had to go get Daniel from the lobby.
So, there it is. Wham. I have Gestational Diabetes. Welcome to a whole new set of complications. I've had to meet with a diabetes councelor and start this strange new diet and learn how to prick my finger to test my blood four times a day. And I have to do it all on a very strict schedule. Test when I wake up. Eat. Test 2 hours after eating. Eat every two hours. Test. Test. And I can't just eat. If I have a sandwich - it can only have one piece of bread. But I have to eat a contolled amount of carbs at every meal. Milk. Milk has carbs. That counts as one whole carb serving. My max at meal times is two carb servings. Snack times it's one carb serving.
But I've been doing it. I'm not the first person to have gestational diabetes. I have eight weeks left. I can do this. But I won't lie. It's really tough. And, my blood sugar is not getting under control. Of the twelve or so times I've tested, I've had one, just one, score that was within the normal range. The midwife yesterday strongly suggested that it's likely I'll have to take medication. I'll know next week.
The worst part is trying so hard again and again and again, and then getting a blood sugar score that is too high. Again and again and again. It's like studying your ass off and failing the same test repeatedly.
Now, in my defense (because I feel the need to defend myself for some reason), all pregnant women have spikes in their blood sugar in the third trimester. It's why the testing is routine. The hormones make your blood more resistant to insulin and your body needs three times the usual amount of insulin. My body just can't produce that much extra. Exerices is a great way to use up blood sugar. And there is my Catch 22.
The good news is that it will likely go away within 6 weeks of giving birth. I don't want to get into all the horrible implications for both me and the baby, but suffice it to say that we are both at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later on in life. So, I need my pelvis to heal. Because the only way I can see staving off the onset of diabetes is exercise. Obviously, we'll have to be careful with our son too, and make sure he develops a healthy lifestyle.
So that's where I'm at. I'm trying to manage day to day and get through the next eight weeks. We have a shower planned for the 18th of October (which is lamentably close to my due date). And I'm starting to ease off working now because I have a lot on my plate and I'm just so damn tired all the time.
Have I ever mentioned how amazing Daniel is? He has stores of patience, endurance, and generosity that truly amaze me. The man does everything and still tries to make me smile. I am a lucky woman. This is a lucky baby. And I don't know how I would get through this without him! <3
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