my story: gestational
I had gestational diabetes...
just. I was on the borderline,
but because of my age and
weight, she thought it best
I see an endocrinologist. I have
no history of diabetes in the
family, so I was flying blind and
relying on professional help.
It wasn’t just the hormones
After the first endocrinologist
appointment, I found myself
sobbing uncontrollably in my
car. It was likely the pregnancy
hormones that made me so
dramatic, but it would have been
classed as a terrible consult by
anyone’s standards. I left with
absolutely no knowledge of
what it meant to have
gestational diabetes for me
or my baby. I was just told to
diarise everything I ate and
register with NDSS (National
Diabetes Services Scheme), and
was handed a blood glucose test
machine with no information on
how to use it. I felt hopeless and
completely unsupported.
Trying to set up the blood
glucose monitoring machine at
home in between sobs and
shaking hands, I managed to
completely void the needles as
I tried to insert them into the
lancet. This resulted in more
tears. But I needed to check my
glucose levels, so I had to get
more needles. I drove to my
local chemist and ended up
sitting down with the
pharmacist and assistant
who could see how distraught
I was. They told me everything
I needed to know about the
machine, how to use it, and sat
with me as I did the first test.
They even quietly suggested
I think about changing doctors.
I gave the specialist one more
chance and assured myself maybe
the first appointment was just to
get to know me, and the second
would be better. I won’t bore you
with details, but it was more of
the same, including the sobbing.
This time it wasn’t the hormones,
it was definitely them.
I emailed my obstetrician, who
arranged for me to see another
endocrinologist, who was a little
further away but who, she
assured me, was very good.
The difference between the
two was like day and night.
After the first appointment
with the new endocrinologist
I had hand-drawn diagrams
explaining exactly what my body
was going through and how thisaffected my baby. I finally
understood I could potentially
manage it with just diet changes
during my pregnancy. We
worked out a management
plan and I had her mobile
number and every morning
I was to text her my readings
from the previous day. I even
saw her dietitian and learnt
about exactly what to eat to
keep my glucose level low.Monitor and modify
What I now know about
gestational diabetes is that
during pregnancy, your body
creates a hormone that, for
some people, can cause your
body to not process glucose
properly. As the pregnancy
progresses the hormone
levels rise, and so does your
inability to process glucose.
It didn’t help that as a food
photographer, I was working
on a couple of big projects in
the lead-up to giving birth
that consisted of cake,
pavlova and cookie recipes.
It was a sugar overload and
I couldn’t taste a single
recipe – talk about torture! I
modified my diet significantly
and, towards the end of my
pregnancy, even took walks
after dinner to help manage
my morning readings.A healthy finish. Or was it?
In my final two weeks, I had
insulin sitting in the fridge,
waiting for the moment my
levels rose too high. Luckily,
it never got to that point and
I was able to have my baby
insulin-free. Sierra was born
in November 2017 and, given
I was overweight before falling
pregnant, I actually got to the
end of my pregnancy lighter in
weight than before, thanks to aMy (^) work
revolves
around
food!
118 JULY/AUGUST 2019 diabetic living