just a question

[momma5]

Hello I was just wanting to know I was told about 3 weeks ago that I have gestational diabetes and tried very hard to control it with just my diet by my doctor said I was having a hard time since my blood sugars where like a roller coaster some high and others low. So last week at week 33 of my prenancy my doctor put me on insulin 20 units twice a day and it seems to be working since she wants my levels to be lower than 135 but I need to ask what is the normal level for the lowest. What is a normal level? I am a little nervous being that my dr. has said she is going to induce me on April 1 which is just about 2 weeks shy of my original due date. I just hope and pray that everything turns out fine. Thank you for your time.

[JDRF-Team-cb]

I just read your question and thought I would make you feel better by telling you the same as the other two girls that two weeks early is pretty routine with diabetes.  I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 24 years went through two pregnancies and have two healthy toddlers.  They both gave you the same advice I would have I just wanted you to know there are many out there with diabetes who have had healthy babies, good pregnancies and deliveries!

[JDRF Team SGG]

I am a type 1 diabetic who has been through two successful pregnancies. Your doctor is doing what most doctors do in the given circumstances, it seems to me. The normal glucose levels that you want to aim for are between 70-126. If you drop below 70, you will start to feel pretty bad (I can even start to feel icky when I drop down to about 80, so sometimes your body warns you a little early that the glucose levels are dropping). As long as you are taking insulin, you probably will want to test your glucose levels fairly often, just so you can catch any severe lows BEFORE they cause you to feel bad or to not be able to function. Better to test and be OK than to be taken by surprise.

And in your case, this will only be for a short while, and then your life can go back to normal. Inducing the baby's delivery a few weeks early is the norm for a diabetic mom, so don't worry. The doctor will test your baby's lungs to make sure that they are developed completely and will schedule to induce labor when the timing is right. This is done to protect your baby from any damage that high glucose levels do to the placenta, for diabetic moms sometimes have problems with the placenta losing its condition at the end of the pregnancy if glucose levels are high. So the baby is safer if induced a little early.

Don't worry. it sounds as if you have a great doctor who is looking out for both you and your baby's health. Hang in there for just a little while longer, and things will return to normal. Gestational diabetes, by the way, is caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy that cause the mom to become insulin-resistant. In the majority of cases, from what I have read, the mom returns to normal after the baby is born and the hormones return to normal. We do wish you the very best!!!

[JDRF-Team-cg]

Hi momma5,
I am a volunteer here not a doctor but I can share my own experience being a diabetic from the age of 14. I have a beautiful daughter and my pregnancy and delivery went without any problems. My doctor also had me deliver 2 weeks before my due date. The reasoning was that as soon as the babies lungs are developed and can breathe on its own there is less risk to baby and mother to have an ealry delivery. There is a blood test that they will do to determine if the babies lungs are developed. You may want to ask your doctor about it.

Normal blood sugar levels range between 80-120. Every person is different so the level that works best for you should be discussed with your doctor.

I wish you all the best with you pregnancy.