August 25, 2000
Gestational Diabetes
Question from Kansas, USA:
I am 30 years old and 20 weeks gestation with my third pregnancy. With my last pregnancy, eight years ago, I was diagnosed with borderline gestational diabetes and my son weighed 10 pounds, 4 ounces, being 10 days overdue. This week my doctor said it was time to do the diabetes testing. I had some buttered toast and milk for breakfast. Two hours later, he drew blood. He called me with the results which were in the 140 mg/dl [7.8 mmol/L] range. He said anything above 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L] is gestational diabetes. and I had to cut out all sugar now. I am concerned that he did not find it necessary for me to do the glucose tolerance tests to determine the diagnosis. How can he get an accurate result? The next day my mother-in-law checked my blood fasting, it was 92 mg/dl [5.1 mmol/L]. One hour after eating, it was 116 mg/dl 6.4 mmol/L]. From what I’ve read, this seems perfectly normal! I’m a little confused and trying to cut out all sugar is extremely stressful to me. Please offer some assistance.
Answer:
Your fasting and post meal blood sugar are normal. However, given your history, I would recommend consultation with a dietitian to adjust your calorie intake. Just cutting out sugar may not be the best approach to a proper diet. Continue to check your fasting and 1 hour post meal blood sugar values once a week for now and report the results to your obstetrician. If the fasting exceeds 105 mg/dl [5.8 mmol/L] or the one-hour value is greater than 130 mg/dl [7.2 mmol/L], then insulin needs to be considered.
OWJ
