Have GD and morning spikes

[Pinemom]

I have had GD with my ohter two pregnancies and was able to control it with diet. This time I have been doing the same until now. I have reached the third trimester about 28 weeks, and now I have had some mornings with readings in the 7.0 mmol to 8.5 mmol. Should I be worried? Do these kind of reading if it continues mean that I will have to go on insulin? What are the magic numbers? I understand the risks of not controling this in pregnancy, but when should I get worried that controling this by diet is just not enough? Can anyone help???

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

According to most sources, the normal range of numbers for glucose is between 4-6%. However, your numbers may be due to hormonal changes as well as other factors and I would encourage you to call your doctor and discuss this worry with him or her.

Furthermore, the comment by Dr. Johnson is a good one, for lowering your carbohydrate intake will probably lower your glucose readings and mild exercise even while pregnant is wonderful for you and can greatly reduce glucose levels (I have two children, and kept active throughout my pregnancies... you may not feel like doing exercise, but mild exercise will actually help increase your energy in those last months and will make you better fit for your upcoming delivery).

You may do well to check your glucose levels about 3 hours AFTER eating a meal, and perhaps also in mid-afternoon and evening a few times to see whether the morning elevated numbers are carrying through all day long. If you see a pattern of high numbers that aren't coming back down during the day, then I would call my doctor. The real danger is if glucose levels are STAYING high all day. If this is happening (and you can tell by doing more frequent testing for a few days at random times), then you probably need your doctor's help in lowering the daily average so that your baby's health is not at risk. I would expect that most doctors would try all of the simple helps before putting the expectant mother on insulin, so don't worry too much about that yet.

The important thing right now, from just my volunteer's perspective (I am not a doctor) would be to see what the pattern is. Are you running high just in the morning? Are you running even higher after meals or do the numbers stay fairly steady? Are you dropping low at any point during the day? Those kinds of things are important for your doctor to know before deciding how to help you. We do wish you the best and we wish you a healthy and beautiful baby.

[B_Johnson]

It is possible you might need insulin.  However, I would take a closer look at what you are eating. Try to lower your carb intake.  Remember that starches are eventually converted to sugar.  I would also look into mild exercise such as walking.  These small changes could make a big difference in you blood sugar.

Once again speak with your doctor regarding specific foods to avoid and what exactly you are eating.