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How to Control Blood Sugar With Gestational Diabetes

During my twin pregnancy, one of the first things that my doctor told me was that I was at increased risk for gestational diabetes. Gratefully, I did not develop this condition, however, through the pregnancy I remained mindful of the risk factors and worked to stay healthy and avoid any complications. In today’s post I will share some of what I learned while researching gestational diabetes in hopes of helping other mamas-to-be to avoid it or manage it if it arises.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that gestational diabetes can result in you and your baby having health problems during pregnancy and after delivery. Also, according to them, 50% of pregnant women with gestational diabetes will have type 2 diabetes later in life.

Good control of your blood sugar level will lower your and your baby’s risk of having health problems associated with the condition. Let’s look at exactly what every woman should know when it comes to blood glucose levels with gestational diabetes.

What Is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is when you develop high blood sugar for the first time during pregnancy, usually during the second and third trimesters.

It occurs when your body cannot produce enough insulin to overcome the effects of some pregnancy hormones. These hormones, such as estrogen and human placental lactogen, are produced by the placenta and are known to have an anti-insulin effect.

Gestational diabetes can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy, delivery, or after birth. However, with proper management, you can expect a smooth and healthy journey… when expecting.

What Are the Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) does not have any specific symptoms. When symptoms occur, they are often mild observations like:

  • Tiredness
  • Dry mouth
  • Increased thirst
  • Having to pee more than usual
  • Being more hungry than usual

Because most of the early symptoms of GDM are often associated with pregnancy, they may not necessarily be considered signs of gestational diabetes. GDM is often tested for and diagnosed during the routine prenatal screening of every pregnancy. Two major tests are often used: the glucose challenge test and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). They involve taking a sweet drink prepared by your doctor to determine your blood sugar levels.

How Do I Control My Blood Sugar Levels if I Have Gestational Diabetes?

Like every other type of diabetes, the key to effectively managing gestational diabetes is to control your blood glucose level as much as possible. Having a normal blood sugar level will help you and your baby stay healthy throughout your pregnancy. To achieve this, your management plans should include:

1. Diet modification

Like other types of diabetes, eating a healthy diet will help keep your blood sugar level normal. Ensure that you eat fiber-containing foods such as wheat, brown rice, brown bread, and oats. In addition, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables and lean proteins such as fish, tofu, turkey, and beans would be best.

You should avoid taking sugary foods such as sweet candies, cakes, cookies, and other baked snacks. Also, reduce sugary drinks such as carbonated drinks, certain fruit juices, and smoothies. Instead, it would help if you replace these drinks with plenty of water.

You should aim to eat a well-balanced meal and watch your portion sizes. If you are confused about getting started, you should consult a dietitian for guidance. Diabetes monitoring apps like Klinio provide a personalized diet plan curated by certified nutritionists. You can also adopt the plate method of eating recommended by the American Diabetes Association to create your diabetes meal plans.

2. Exercise regularly

Physical inactivity is not good for your overall health, including your blood sugar levels. Therefore, regular exercise can help keep your blood glucose level within the desired range.

However, before you start working out during pregnancy, you should ask your doctor whether it’s okay to do so and what specific exercises would be suitable in the current condition. A common recommendation is to aim for at least 150 minutes in a week or 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercises for 5 days a week. This could include brisk walking, swimming, dancing, tennis, and running.

Also, before starting to work out, ensure you have a normal blood sugar level. You also should keep with you foods such as snacks that you can quickly eat in case your blood sugar becomes too low while exercising.

3. Monitor your blood sugar level regularly

One of the first steps to achieving good glycemic control is regularly checking your blood sugar level. You should do this multiple times a day. Your physician will teach you how, when, and how often to check your blood glucose level as well as what levels you should aim for.

You will be given a testing kit containing a glucometer, testing strips, finger prick, and lancets to check your blood sugar levels. Using this kit involves connecting the testing strip to the glucometer device. Then, you will prick your finger slightly with the finger pricker and use the lancet to put a drop of your blood on the testing strip. It will display your blood sugar level in less than 30 seconds.

However, if your management plans involve using some blood glucose lowering drugs such as insulin, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) may be recommended for you. With this, you can monitor your blood sugar level 24 hours a day. Klinio, a blood sugar monitoring app, can also help monitor your blood sugar level.

Medications

Changing your diet and working out may not be sufficient later in your pregnancy to achieve normal blood sugar levels. You may subsequently need to take blood glucose-lowering pills or even require insulin injections.

Metformin is the most common of these pills and is often taken 3 times a day with or after meals or as your doctor recommends. Insulin injection is often recommended if you have a very high blood glucose level or if metformin and other pills do not sufficiently lower your blood sugar level. The injection is like a pen. It has mechanisms to help you inject the right dose of insulin safely. Your doctor will tell you when and how to take these insulin injections.

Because these medications can result in low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), you should look out for the symptoms of hypoglycemia. This may include sweating, loss of focus, or loss of consciousness.

What Should Be My Target Blood Sugar if I Have Gestational Diabetes?

The American Diabetes Association recommends the following target blood sugar levels for pregnant women with gestational diabetes:

  • Before a meal: 95mg/dL or 5.3mmol/L or less
  • An hour after a meal: 140mg/dL or 7.8mmol/L or less
  • Two hours after a meal: 120mg/dL or 8.5mmol/L or less

To Wrap Up

Gestational diabetes is a common condition that affects pregnant women. However, it is treatable and can be well-managed. Eating healthy foods, regular exercise, and monitoring your blood glucose level will help you control your blood sugar levels.

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    Tired of Conflict Bringing You Down?

    Dealing With Conflict

    Conflict takes many forms—misunderstanding, frustration, ignorance, hatred, envy, and so on—but despite the cause, the result is largely the same: someone walks away with hurt feelings.

    The truth is, however, that this is not necessary. You can choose to be unaffected by conflict. It is not an easy thing to accomplish. You have, after all, lived your life believing that conflict equals pain. But with practice & patience you can learn to live above conflict in a place of true peace.

    “True peace can not be disturbed by gain or loss.”

    The reason that conflict hurts us is because we allow it to. Most pain comes from another person(s) or from our own minds. The key to being unaffected by conflict is to understand that anything that another person says to us (out of anger, frustration, etc.) is actually a reflection of her feelings about herself and is rooted in fear. Likewise, anything that our mind says to us (self-criticism, self-hatred, etc.) is also rooted in fear. All forms of discomfort—sadness, anxiety, worry, rage, hatred, envy, and so on—are rooted in fear.

    When you accept that angry words are actually reflections of fear, it makes them much less painful to tolerate. Even the angriest and most cruel of arguments is based in fear & insecurity.

    For example, you have a large project due at work. You bring it into your boss’s office an hour prior to the deadline. She notices that it is riddled with errors. Her face turns red and she begins to scream. “You idiot! How could you be so stupid? This is unacceptable. I can not believe I ever hired you. Get out!”

    On one hand, you are devastated. Her words have stung you at your core. You are insulted, sad, angry, afraid. But if you really stop to analyze the situation, why do you think she acted this way? Most likely, she is afraid. Most likely, she is terrified about the way that your “failure” is going to reflect on her. After all, wasn’t it her who hired you, gave you this assignment, failed to give you proper instruction, and so on? What will her boss think when she turns this project into him? Her explosion was based in fear.

    Another example, it is Saturday afternoon and you are sitting on the couch. Your husband comes in the door and notices that you have not swept the floors. He begins to speak angrily, “Haven’t you swept the floors? Didn’t you see this dirt? You’ve been so lazy recently.” You are crushed and devastated. How could he be so mean? But then again, you stop and analyze. The lawn is not mowed, the gutters are uncleaned, there are piles of crap strewn about the yard. Your husband is insecure about all of his unfinished chores and is projecting his self-frustration onto you. His remarks were based in fear and insecurity.

    If you take the time to truly analyze, you will find that almost every conflict is rooted in fear. Therefore, the vast majority of hurtful things that are ever said to you actually have absolutely nothing to do with you. This is an incredibly liberating concept (not to be confused with the rare scenario when you are actually wrong by the way). Still, just because the other person’s (or even your own self-inflicted) anger is based in fear, that still doesn’t make it right. Yes, perhaps both your boss and your husband were entirely out of line. It is alright for you to tell them so, but what is more important is the way that you process the conflict within yourself.

    Most people internalize the conflict. In any case, you take what was said and push it deep within yourself. Perhaps you believe the other person words. “Yes, I am lazy, stupid, ugly, etc.” The conflict turns into emotional pain and festers within you eventually becoming depression, anxiety, and so on. But as I mentioned at the start, none of that is necessary.

    You must accept the conflict (words) for what they are—someone else’s (or even your own mind’s) fears and insecurities. Fear is nothing to be afraid of or affected by. Most fear is completely unnecessary (read more about that).

    After the conflict, words, and judgments have passed, simply allow all of it to pass through and around you like water or air. Understand that it is something outside of you, that has nothing to do with you at all. It is not inside of you, it did not come from you, and you do not have to absorb it. Simply let it pass and then move on.

    Holding onto the pain of conflict is insane and unnatural. What do the birds do after the great storm has passed? They sing, of course! You will never hear the birds singing so sweetly and so loudly as they do after the storm has passed and the sun shines again. They do not mourn the broken nest, the wet feathers, or the lost supper. They simply sing and praise the light in gratitude. They rejoice that the sun has come again.

    In his book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle talks about his observation of duck fights. Two ducks approach one another. They squawk in anger for mere seconds. Then they turn away from one another, flap their great wings a few times, and swim on as if it never happened. This is true wisdom, true peace, in action. There is so much that we can learn from this simple observation.

    There is really no need to hold onto anger or discomfort. There is really no need to suffer. In life, you will find many reason to suffer. But a good reason to suffer, you will never find. Let conflicts pass through and around you. Do not hold onto them. You will almost always find that it never has anything to do with you anyway.

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