24 weeks pregnant with possible gestational diabetes! please help!?

I'm 24 weeks pregnant .. and did the 1 hour gestational diabetes test 2 days ago. My doctor called today and said my level was 158 and needs to be below 140 and I have to go in next week (after 3 days of a special diet) and re-test doing a 3 hour glucose test.
Is 158 considered really high??
Has anyone else ever experienced this??
Is there a chance if I watch my carb and sugar intake and exercise more it will clear up??
Will it cause harm to my baby??

way stressed .. and would greatly appreciate answers from anyone who might have experience this. Thanks!!

I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes with my 4th pregnancy. While there are some risks, generally following a meal plan closely will get you through a pregnancy with Gestational Diabetes. Diabetes is actually not something that will clear up with diet and exercise, but rather is managed with diet and exercise. There is a risk of a bigger than normal baby which has potential for delivery complications, so you will be monitored more closely during your last weeks of pregnancy. You may also be transferred to a diabetic office for the remaining of your prenatal care. Truly, it is nothing to be stressed about. There will be some dietary changes to make and you will have to monitor your blood glucose levels, but nearly always after the baby is born, the diabetes goes away. You and your baby will have several tests in the hospital to be sure you are both fine. A mom who has had Gestational Diabetes has a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. I have recently been diagnosed with glucose intolerance which is also called pre-diabetes. I am under a doctor's care and working with a diabetic educator and a dietitian to develop a diet and exercise plan to help me not develop Type 2 Diabetes right away.

I had the same thing. They put me on a 1800 calorie diet. I got really bad headaches when my blood sugar went up. Just watch what you eat and take it easy. Your baby will be fine and it will go away after you have the baby.

My mom had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with me. I think it runs in the family because almost all of her sisters had the same problem with their pregnancies. My mom said she managed to regulate it by what she ate and had no complications. She was no longer diabetic once I was born. I think there is a risk that you will stay diabetic. Also, I was born healthy. Although I have a higher chance of becoming diabetic later in life...

You should watch your sugar and starch intake on a regular basis for your own health. Stop eating foods with bleached white flour and granulated bleached white sugar. Whole wheat flour and and whole sugar metabolize slower and don't spike your blood sugar. My son has a long history of diabetes on his dads side of the family. I have him eat sandwiches with wheat bread and I bake him cookies and muffins with the whole sugar and wheat flour. Things that have natural sugar in them like fruits are ok too. If you drink juice make sure it is the 100% fruit juice with no sugar added kind.

158 IS NOT CONSIDERABLY HIGH IF YOU ATE ANYTHING BEFORE THE TES OR IF YOU ARE GETTING A COLD IT CAN CAUSE YOUR LEVELS TO BE ELEVATED. I AM WORKING WITH A LADY THAT IS NOW 34 WKS SHE HAS BEEN MONITORING HER SUGAR FOR ABOUT 6-8 WKS NOW BECAUSE HERS WAS ABOUT THE RANGE OF YOURS. JUST WATCH YOUR SUGAR AND CARBS THAT TURN TO SUGAR AND YOU SHOULD BE FINE. IF YOUR NEW TEST ALSO COMES BACK WITH ABOUT THE SAME RANGE YOUR DR WILL HAVE YOU GET A GLUCOSE MONITOR AND HAVE YOU CHECK YOUR SUGAR ABOUT 4 TIMES A DAY

Hi Hun, My name is Millie, i had Gestational diabetes with both my pregnancy's. the first thing you should know is that it normally goes away after the birth of the baby, you just need a check up at about 6 weeks after birth where they repeat the glucose tolerance test. they will also just do a quick heel prick test on baby too just to make sure his levels are normal too.
To improve your chances i would eat a healthy diet, and cut out all sweets and junk food. I found that by limiting the chocolate, sweets, cakes and take out food it helped loads. i allowed myself one naughty treat a week, it was great because it kept the baby weight down too. I would avoid too much exercise as pregnancy is probably the worst time to be doing too much, just take gentle strolls. i used to window shop about 3 times a week for about 30 minutes, great fun....
another side effect is that gestational diabetics tend to have larger babies, my son was born a few days before his due date and he was 10lb 3/4oz and my daughter was 2 weeks early and she was 9lb 11 1/2 oz. i was monitored closely through delivery just to watch my glucose levels - the added advantage to this is that it helps to keep your energy levels up so i didn't tire out early on the labour.
If you just want someone to chat to, just email me, my IM isn't working at the moment though.
best of luck .

Many, many women fail the 1 hour test, so try not to stress. I failed all 3 of mine. Most of these women will pass the 3 hour test. 158 is elevated but not terribly high.

You can certainly control your sugar levels with diet and walking. I was borderline diabetic w/my first baby and just watched my starches and sugars. I didn't require any medication. My baby was 7 lbs., 8 oz. and completely healthy.

Be sure to take something to eat with you for after the test. You will be very hungry! You will need to fast the night before the test, so it's about 15+ hours without food. When you are pregnant, that is a VERY long time. I took a peanut butter sandwich and apple juice and I was given orange juice and cookies as well.

GOOD LUCK!

Hello, I can understand your worries, I was diagnosed with my first baby when I was 27, I was so scared. Good thing is it is totally managable. You do need to follow their instructions tho, because diabetics are know to have large babies. I made it just fine through my first pregnacy had a beautiful 7lb 8oz little boy. The downfall is that is came back 2 years later, to stay for good this time. Doctors all said probably wouldnt be back until I was in my 50's or 60's if even then. Well they were wrong. 2 years after that I had my second boy he weighed in at almost 10lbs lol and that was with my sugars under pretty good control. I dont mean to worry you because like I said if you do what they say you will be just fine and have a healthy beautiful baby, just remember even after your pregnancy try to take really good care of yourself (even tho its hard being a new mom most of your efforts go toward the baby) try your best watch what you eat, switch to diet soda if you drink any. Its now been 5 years since I was diagnosed as full blown diabetic, I am happily on a insulin pump, my children are wonderful, and we just try to watch what we all eat, because they are at risk now because I had it while I was pregnant. do you best, read up and know what your dealing with its the best way. Dont stress I know easier said than done but your not doing yourself or the baby any favors by stressing. Good luck I hope all goes well for you .... God Bless

Hello
I had this type of diabetes in 1986.I was 7 months pregnant and was admitted to the hospital.I had a Very Special Diet to follow along with having to take two injections a day.I took one in the morning and one in the evening.I had to eat every two hours.Do Not allow anyone to tell you that you can eat diabetic candies.This is not true in your case your are a total DIFFERENT Diabetic!My Daughter is FINE! My diabetes did vanish for several years and now has came back to be the type 2 diabetic.You Should Be Fine Along With The Baby.The Baby may have low blood sugar as soon as it is born but they can give the baby a sugar water bottle or I.V!The baby should not have anymore problems if this does happen.My Son Or Daughter has no diabetes and they are 19 and 20 years of age! Do not stress this.Stress can cause sugar levels to go up!
Good Luck For The Family!!!!!!!

First of all don't be stressed it will raise your blood sugar even higher. 158 is not bad(400 is bad so your doing good) but it needs to be lower. I had 3 babies and all are fine. Diabetes can cause your baby to be big and you could have trouble having natural child birth.Just watch your diet and blood sugars. Exercise is great, no sugar is better just follow your drs orders and do what he says and you should be fine.

Hi! Just like everyone else said, don't stress out! I too, had gestational diab. with both of my kids. Oddly enough, I was put on insulin injections late in my first pregnancy, but not my second. I want to assure you that I felt much better on the insulin at that point. We are lucky to be alive at a time when medicine is so advanced.

Find a friend or relative you can talk to--one that really listens, and lean on them a bit when stress/worry creep up. Also, repeat this three times, as often as needed, "Every little thing is going to be allright" and it will.

Hi there!

I am 37 weeks pg, and my midwife said my blood sugar reading on the 1 hr. test was one of the highest she'd ever seen. I was so stressed out! I am a really busy person and did not like the idea of having to change my diet - I don't have time to cook!!!

BUT - the good news is - I got it under control with way less effort than I was worried it'd take.

You should ask your doctor if he can perscribe you a glucometer, test strips, and lancets and do blood testing yourself (maybe even in place of the 3-hour glucose test - that is what I did, and I avoided the sick feeling from fasting and nasty tasting/textured drink you have to take for the test). Plus you will have a better idea WHAT FOODS exactly, are causing your high blood sugar. My midwife says for some people it is just white sugar and flour. For others it is potatoes. This will widen your variety of foods, rather than eliminating them all. 158 is very high blood sugar. It should be 120 or lower - preferably around 80 or 90 two hours after you eat a meal. It can harm you and your baby because he or she can get too big and cause a difficult delivery, necessitating an early induction (aka prematurity), c-section, and a lot of pain for you in recovery from the incision... also less choices in the future about births (once a c-section patient, always a c-section... scar tissue build up, etc. etc. etc.) You wanna avoid that! I just had to cut out sugary drinks and sweets (diet soda isn't all that bad!), cereal, and pasta. Also - eat more protein - sandwiches with meat, meat for dinner, and just genearlly smaller meals but more frequent. It wasn't near as bad as I thought to have GD - hang in there girl!!! If you have any q's you can message or e-mail me. angieandwallace@msn.com

158 is a little high, and if you need to start on medication for this, then please do so. I found out when i was 8.5 months pregnant that I had this and my child who is 11 yrs. old now, suffers from MR and behavioral issues and I will tell you to this day no matter what the doctors tell me, I know that by having the gestational diabetes that this is why this child has these problems. Have 2 other children and no problems with these pregnancies and they have no problems either.

Being pregnant, if they tell you that you have it, you will most likely start on insulin therapy have to eat 6 small meals a day and check your blood sugar like 5x a day and probably take 2 shots a day.

this is what I had to do and it is not that bad once you get used to the idea of having to do it. Also taking the medication prevents the risk of having the baby being born still-born which is what I was told would happen to me if I did not get to the hospital for theraoy and treatment.

You will get through this. Stress is a major key to causing your levels to be high too. Take care to rest, relax,a nd just be you.