Gestational Diabetes and You
The rush of a lifetime, and the finger pokes that follow.
My first pregnancy, I was pleasantly surprised by what others called the “dreaded glucose test”—famed for making people either throw up or faint. Maybe all the Fireball shots I drank in life prepared me for it, but I chugged a beverage that tasted like Dimetap mixed with double-stuffed Gatorade and had the biggest rush I’d had in months. My heart was pounding while I did the crossword, ready to chat my doctor’s face off. I passed by one point, and went right back to my chocolate croissants, Easter candy and Moose Tracks ice cream regimen.
This pregnancy, I waltzed in ready for a similar experience without stopping to think:
-I only passed by 1 point last time
-I’ve been on restricted activity for 13 weeks and have not exercised (due to placenta previa)
-Diabetes runs in my family
I was shocked to find out I failed the test and had to take a more elaborate, 3-hour test the next day. Still, I was convinced this was a misunderstanding and I would be stopping at Rustica for pastries on my way out. Instead, I failed so hard they sent me home early.
Soon, I had picked up my glucose meter, and had a new dietitian friend. I started analyzing things like “how does a tortilla at 9 p.m. affect my blood sugars the next morning?” and the exact sugar amount in half a teaspoon of honey. These new math and science-based mandates caused me to mourn briefly—goodbye careless eating, Crumbl cookies, Cadbury Eggs, bagels, decadent lattes, fun, joy, sparkles, happiness.
Then I stumbled across a Reddit thread of all the low-key good things that had happened to people as a result of gestational diabetes. Apparently everyone’s dishwashers were now empty as a result of an after-dinner activity mandate. My favorite was the line “I used to waddle—now I walk.” This may not sound inspiring, but if you’ve been shopping in the Humpty Dumpty aisle for 3 months, it hits home.
Now I’m 3 weeks in, and have about 6-7 more weeks to go.
Here are a couple reasons I am feeling ok about it all:
-It’s kinda nice to have a mandate to exercise. This time in my last pregnancy, I had mostly stopped exercising and started living vicariously through “mother runner” influencers who push strollers in marathons and have impeccable pelvic floors. I use an app called Natal, and their workouts are surprisingly hard (IMO). I’m gonna leave that hospital pretty good at squatting.
-The gestational diabetes diet doesn’t really take away anything you fundamentally need. It’s not like when I tried to be “vegan before 6” in my 20s and just forgot to eat protein for a few days and felt horrible.
-It’s a helpful distraction. Pregnancy can feel long and sort of lonely. You can’t like … take a day off and make it someone else’s problem. It’s helpful to have a weird number to try to cultivate all day. It’s sort of like a video game featuring pricking my finger and drinking protein shakes.
And these are my tips for anyone who finds themselves in this situation:
Eat Vegetables and Exercise
This sounds so basic and straightforward, but it’s one of those things that I bet 40% of people just ignore cuz it’s like … that’s so basic and straightforward, I’m gonna skip that. But when you’re monitoring your glucose, you can see the actual proof that eating a bowl of spinach with 2 pieces of pizza leads to lower numbers.
I’m honestly stunned by the power of 10 minutes of exercise when it comes to dropping my blood sugars. Tiny bits of exercise matter—I have proof!
Find Random “Healthy” Packaged Foods You Like
Yeah it’s probably better to eat only produce and yada yada, and avoid artificial sweeteners. But I’ve been living on Mid-Day Squares, Core Power shakes and Yasso bars (dietitian recommended) and hitting my goals. Once I have this baby, will I never want to look at those products again? You bet.
Reddit and AI Are Your Friends
Redditors have made me feel way less alone in this time, and have tons of useful tips and patterns they’ve observed to help you know what to expect. I know using AI is still kinda ???? but I use Claude all the time to answer questions I forgot to ask my dietitian, analyze my blood sugar reports or make up a GD-friendly recipe for me.
Most people—including my doctor—tell me it’s unlikely I’ll develop Type 2 diabetes after this, and a lot of people are able to mainline sugar the second they’re done with labor. But this has been enough of a scare that I’ll probably play it safe and not eat the majority of a key lime pie the next two days like I did last time. Anyway, I hope this post finds some people who are also experiencing gestational diabetes. It can feel kind of lonely but it doesn’t have to be.