Then I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The diagnosis was a complete shock to me. I didn't have any of the symptoms: rapid weight gain, swelling, etc. In my picture of health, I was second trimester and had only gained four pounds! FOUR POUNDS. I was eating no more than I was pre-pregnancy. Sure, type 2 diabetes runs rampantly in my father's side of the family--in that everyone has it--but it was going to skip me because I am normal.
GD is the most inconvenient of diagnoses. There's nothing truly wrong with you: your placenta just makes your pancreas a little sluggish. It's temporary. All you have to do is CHECK YOUR BLOOD SUGAR 4 TIMES A DAY AND FOLLOW THIS SUPER SIMPLE DIET THAT INCLUDES NO FUN AT ALL. Remember using pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever you want? Well not you, missy.
Long-story short: I rocked it. I followed the diet to a T and remained in my assigned blood sugar levels, which I would like to add are way below type 2 diabetes levels.
Me: Hey Dad, what does your fasting level have to be in the morning?
Dad: Anything under 130 is good for me. Why, what does yours have to be?
Me: (grumbles) 95.
Dad: What a conspiracy. I wouldn't even have diabetes if my fasting was 95.
I'm now including a list of food I haven't eaten in the last 80 days because of this bullshit diagnosis because it makes me so sad:
- Hamburgers
- French fries
- Pizza
- Milkshakes
- Ice cream
- Chinese food
- Chips, any kind
- Cupcakes, at any baby shower, including my own
- Cookies
- Rice
- Cereal
- Hot dogs, not that I've wanted to eat them, but I can't
- Pasta, any kind
- Fruit, FRUIT
- Milk, MILK
- Juice
- Smoothies, any kind, including the gross vegetable kind
- Tonic water
- Gatorade
- Muffins, including English
- Bagels
- Pastries, including doughnuts, which has made me cry more than once
- Pumpkin coffee
- Any holiday drink at Starbucks
I would just like to point out that this is in addition to the pregnancy diet, so no sushi or alcohol or deli meat, rare steaks, etc. This is basically the biggest pain in the ass, and I am really unhappy about it. What have I been eating? A lot (A LOT) of breaded chicken. Chicken wings, chicken fingers, chicken nuggets. Some potatoes. A little Chex Mix. I am single handedly keeping the Greek yogurt business alive in Georgia, spending about $20 a WEEK in yogurt. A lot of cheese sticks, which I don't even like. If I never eat another peanut butter cracker, it will be too soon.
But my levels have been great and the baby isn't measuring giant-sized, which is the goal. The doctor complimented me last week, telling me that I've done really great this pregnancy, and it felt like winning an award, I was so proud of myself.
A lot of people want alcohol brought into the hospital. I asked for champagne, a milkshake, a hamburger, and a box of doughnuts.
I can understand the high sugar carbs, but milk and fruit just seem ridiculous. At least give you a list of low sugar fruits, like berries.
ReplyDeleteWow. I had GD when I was pregnant and they told me to restrict things, but did not give me a list of food I was not allowed to eat. I had to take my blood sugar regularly, which sucked, and I ended up with pre-eclampsia on top of GD, which also sucked, but I was able to maintain a relatively normal diet. Those restrictions just seem like overkill, but at least it's almost over (or possibly already over by the time you see this comment)!
ReplyDeleteA lot of it I couldn't fit into my allotted carbs per meal. I was told not to drink any carbs, which meant juice, milk, smoothies, Starbucks, and cereal. The one time I had a bagel, I could only eat 3/4 of one half and it didn't seem worth it. If I couldn't eat it properly, like a hamburger, then I just cut it out because it made me too sad.
ReplyDeleteThose doughnuts and hambuger are going to be really delicious.
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously delinquent and just now saw your July announcement and I kinda smiled a big warm smile to myself:-). Many, many congrats and I'm happy to hear that (terrible diet aside), things have gone smoothly.
ReplyDeleteAnd you will have earned that hamburger!!!