Hi everyone,
Today I want to share how I experienced ups and downs when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
I was about to complete my 28 weeks of first pregnancy and as a routine check-up, I was being called for Glucose Tolerance Test(GTT). I went to the antenatal clinic without having any clue of what lies ahead. After few days, I was being informed that I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It came as a shock to me as I have a history of low blood sugar since childhood.
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Although it’s very common these days to get gestational diabetes but believe me it’s a challenging task too. One cannot eat much at a time because everything and anything you eat contains sugars, which would eventually elevate the blood sugar levels. On the other hand, you need proper nutrition for the normal foetal growth. Any instance of elevated blood sugar levels can cause foetal deformities. Hence managing one’s diet can be bit mind boggling. Doctors normally suggest several mini meals spread throughout the day in such cases. Normal meal size can again increase the sugar levels, hence one cannot eat to satisfy hunger, all at one time. This is also a challenging task as during pregnancy you feel hungry all the time, so you tend to eat more than normal.
Anyhow, I was put on insulin right after the diagnosis. I used to prick myself 11 times a day, 3 times for insulin intake and 8 times for testing blood sugar.
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But the insulin intake can cause the episodes of low blood sugar. My blood sugar levels used to fall suddenly anytime, in a blink of an eye. This made me unconscious and I had black-out episodes many times. My husband made it a point not to leave me alone anytime as much as possible. Even the low blood sugar levels can affect the normal foetal growth. Despite the insulin intake, I was not able to control my blood sugar levels due to which , doctor was continuously increasing my insulin dosage. For the first few weeks after diagnosis, I suddenly became so weak that I was not able to get out of bed..may be because I wasn’t taking any sugars at all and wasn’t eating to my full capacity. Due to all this, I used to be scared and tensed all the time which, in turn increased sugar levels. I was worried about my baby’s growth and was feeling trapped and helpless. But then my doctors and husband counselled me to be happy and stress free if I want a healthy baby. During last 3 months of my pregnancy, I could not eat anything nutritious not even fruits but only Indian porridge made from
semi-crushed wheat (Daliya).
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This porridge is great for diabetic patients. Because of it’s
semi-crushed nature, it takes time to break down in the stomach and release carbohydrates very slowly which doesn’t elevate the blood sugar levels instantly after the meal. I must admit that it was a saviour for me because I could eat it as much as I wanted, in one go, to satiate myself and could still maintain normal blood sugar levels. This
helped me to get through gestational diabetes.
Finally, I delivered a beautiful baby girl at the end of 9
months and magically everything goes back to normal. She is healthy and everything is normal by god’s grace but it was
definitely a roller coaster journey for me. But as they say… “ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”
Many thanks for reading my post.
