A Visit With My PCP

On Friday afternoon I had a visit with my primary care physician (PCP) regarding the results of my 75 gram glucose tolerance test.  Since the hospital where I had the tests done, my OB-GYN, and my PCP are all in the same health system it was as simple as pulling up my records on the computer, which makes it super convenient for me.

After quite a long wait Dr. S came in and we had a pretty long discussion about where things stand.  My blood glucose was 164mg/dL after two hours.  He says that while this does show a slight glucose intolerance it's not something that they would really treat with medication - that typically is for those with a blood glucose of 180mg/dL or higher with anything over 200mg/dL being considered diabetic.

So as of now, he wants me to check my blood sugars once per day - either before breakfast, before dinner or before bed - alternating the time each day when I check it.  I'll go back in six weeks and show him the results.  It's interesting that he wants me to check it BEFORE I eat as typically the test is done after eating.  But he really wants to know what they are before I have eaten to know what my blood sugars are like then.  He also had blood drawn in order to have a Hemoglobin A1c done and try to get a baseline number.  If you remember from this post, I had one preformed before I got pregnant with Q and the results weren't so great.  I'm interested to see what it will be this time around.

UPDATE:  Heard from the doctor's office.  My A1c came back as 6.1, before getting pregnant it was at 7.2.  6.1 is definitely an improvement but not yet target range (4.0-5.9) but at least it's not too far off.  He wants me to come in again in 3-4 weeks to have the test run again and see where we are at that point.

The Results Are In (Again)

When you have Gestational Diabetes you have to then be tested for Diabetes about 6 weeks after you deliver your lovely new bundle of joy!  I went in early Saturday morning to do my test, the 75 gram glucose tolerance test.  Basically I had to go in fasting, have my blood drawn and tested.  After the fasting results returned (about 30 minutes after the draw) I then had to drink the Glucola, wait 2 hours, and then have my blood drawn one more time. 

Testing this time was done a bit differently from the previous time, after my pregnancy with Y.  That time I only had to go in for a fasting blood sugar and didn't have to drink the Glucola.  However, with the testing we had done before my pregnancy with Q seemed to indicate that I was in fact already diabetic so Dr. L wanted to run a test which would give a more clear result than just a fasting blood sugar.  While fasting blood sugar is one of the most important indicators of diabetes, my fasting sugars are always excellent, but not so much for my evening blood sugars.  So he needed a test that would show my fasting number as well my blood sugar level shortly after so as to be totally clear about my status.

I called for the results yesterday in the early afternoon but they couldn't find them.  Later in the evening while we were out, Dr. L called and left a message with the results.  The results are not as bad as they could have been - I'm NOT diabetic.  The results are not as good as they could have been - I have a glucose intolerance.  According to the National Institutes of Health a normal fasting blood sugar should be between 60-100mg/dL, mine was 85.  After 2 hours a normal level would have been anything less than 140mg/dL, anything above 200mg/dL is considered diabetic and everything between those two numbers (140-200mg/dL) is considered impaired glucose tolerance - mine was 168.  So there you have it, I have a glucose intolerance.

So what's next?  I have scheduled an appointment to meet and discuss it with my primary care physician on Friday.  Dr. L's recommendation was medication but now that I'm no longer pregnant, it's not really his call anymore.  I've only seen my primary care physician twice, regarding my blood pressure, and his opinion on whether to medicate or not was vastly different from Dr. L's.  Will this be the same result, I guess I'll find out on Friday. 

The one question that I asked Dr. L was if glucose intolerance is reversible.  The answer:  with proper diet, weight loss, and exercise it is totally manageable and reversible.  But then again we've already seen proof of that.  I've had two pregnancies where I had to follow the diabetic diet and I ended up losing 26 lbs and 30 lbs respectively during those pregnancies.  But this time I can't afford to relax and put that 26 lbs back on.  It's so easy for me to follow the diet while pregnant, my decisions could directly affect the health of my child.  When I'm not pregnant it only affects my health.  But I have to change my thinking on that because I may not be pregnant but my decisions could still affect my children in a very different way.

I have a long family history of diabetes and I've seen what it can do.  In my family, at least on my father's side, the minority are those that die of natural causes.  The majority die from diabetes related complications.  From amputations, to heart disease, kidney failure, loss of eyesight, diabetic neuropathy, you name it and my family has probably seen it.  I had resigned myself to "one day" having diabetes but I always envisioned that being when I was 50 or 60...not 30!  But the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get with myself.  Why would I ever resign myself to having diabetes?  No one on my mom's side of the family has it, so why should I throw in the towel and just assume I'll one day get it. 

The truth is, I have no way of knowing what will happen in the future but I'm making the decision now that I'm not going to help "it" along, I'm not gonna sit idly by and wait for diabetes to "happen" to me!  If I do end up with it one day, it will not be because I didn't fight hard enough to avoid it, it will definitely be due to genetics and not due to my lack of action to fight it.

 I've set some goals, I've spent a nice chunk of change, now the only thing left to do is take action.  But more on that in another post!

Another Awesome Appointment

Today was our 16 week appointment and it was awesome. My blood pressure was great, 126/81! My blood sugar levels were pretty decent. So much so that it is kinda leaving him unsure of whether he should order certain tests.

When we went in for our initial visit with him we discussed it and agreed that we'd treat me as a diabetic since one of the tests he ran before we were pregnant gave him cause for concern. One risk of being a type 2 diabetic and being pregnant is the increased risk of the baby having a heart condition and so a test called Fetal ECHO is typically ordered. That way if there is a heart problem the necessary plans can be made quickly after the child's birth to correct it if possible.  This is what has him a bit undecided on treatment; whether to order the test or not.  In the end it was decided that I should go and have the procedure which will be scheduled for sometime between 20 and 24 weeks.

So yeah that was pretty much the appointment in a nutshell.  And on March 23rd we'll have our ultrasound to find out what exactly I'm carrying in this belly of mine!!!!

Progress. (If That's What You Want To Call It)

So yesterday was another lovely appointment with the doctor. No major news except to say that I am a ½cm dilated. That also explains the name of this post, because some will think of it as progress. As for me, I like to think of 3cm as progress. (This is my impatient self speaking). He also took the culture so that they can test for the Group B Strep. Other than that it was a typical appointment - normal blood pressure, still no weight gain, blood sugars are still looking good, she decided to cooperate with the NST so I only had to stay hooked up to the machine for about half an hour and my amniotic fluid levels are still great.

On another note, life is generally good. Last week I had a really tough time with Braxton-Hicks contractions but have been doing pretty good since. Most days are pretty good but my energy levels are way down lately especially on Sundays when I have to get up early and go to church. Now that I think of it, I have no idea how I have managed to gain no weight at all because aside from watching TV on the couch and playing on the computer, I really don't want to do much else. Fortunately I have plenty of people giving me pep talks, telling me that it's within reach. But honestly to me it seems like an eternity away, again, my impatient self speaking.

Well that's all for now, I'll keep you guys updated if there is ever anything to update. Until next time...

News From Today's Visit

So I'm 30 weeks, woohoo!!! Today I had a doctor's visit and I must say I'm very happy with everything. I'm down a total of 5 pounds now, blood pressure was 149/91 when they checked it using their electronic machine but only 130/75 when they checked it manually. Of course the manual method is far more accurate so that is the number that they used which is much more normal that the first number. My sugar levels are excellent as well and both myself and the doctor have concluded that when I don't cheat and eat what I shouldn't then my numbers are fine! So since everything has been going so well lately, I asked him if he still predicted that he would be inducing me really early. He said that all the factors that would give him cause for concern and lead him to induce (large baby, excessive weight gain, high blood pressure, high sugar levels) seem to be under control (whew) so as of right now he predicts that I will probably definitely go full term (which is 37 weeks). He did say though that if after that, say 39 weeks, he checks my cervix and it seems ready then he would go ahead and induce me at that point because he wouldn't want to risk my blood pressure increasing. Needless to say, I can definitely live with that!

I also had a friend tell me something that I kinda found a little gross so I asked him about that. She told me that during labor, you're pushing so hard that you can poop, so not to eat anything prior to labor that would cause me to have loose stools (gross I know, but I was curious), so I preceded to tell the doctor this and ask if it was true. He then explained the physics of it to me and well now it makes perfect sense. He told me to imagine 3 tubes that are side by side with no give whatsoever. Then imagine that a abnormally large object is squeezing through one of those tubes. Then he asked me what I thought would happen to anything that was inside those other 2 tubes. Honestly, I found it extremely humorous at that point. B says that if that happens he's leaving the room. I laugh even harder when I picture his face. It's classic!

So yeah, now that I've stopped laughing, I'll end this post by saying that I had a great Dr. appointment today! And you'll get to have more of these updates because now I'll be going to the Dr. every week with NSTs (non-stress tests) starting every week after 32 weeks. I'm looking forward to it but for now I have to get back to packing...ttyl.

Let's Play Catch Up...

Okay, so it's been almost a week since my last post so I'm going to try to catch you up on all that has been going on since then (Warning: This may be a super short post).

On Friday I had another doctor appointment. He asked about my weight gain, which has been up 2 lbs, up 1 lb, down 3 lbs, up 1 lb. So I am officially one pound heavier than when I got pregnant and I have absolutely no complaints about that! He looked at my blood glucose levels and he actually said that he was surprised that they are still at the level that they're at (meaning he thought they'd be higher by now) because with gestational diabetes the farther along in the pregnancy you get the more hormones are produced and therefore more of your insulin is blocked. So he's very surprised that the numbers have pretty much remained the same even without medication. He said that probably means I was eating LOTS of carbs before, and he is completely right! I LOVE my carbs!!!! So anyway, I go back again on the 23rd and then probably again a week later because he wants to see me twice before I leave for NC on the 31st. They are also going to schedule my 28 week ultrasound which will fall sometime around June 20th.

In other news...On Thursday I started painting Y's name (and as you'll discover in a minute, I'm nowhere near finished). When I bought the letters they were primed in a white paint and it said for best results to sand a little before painting with acrylic paints. So I sanded and then I started painting on the base coat, which is lavender because I'm not one of those girls that likes pink. I spent upwards of 5 hours painting with just lavender paint. Then I got to draw the polka dots on in pencil which took another 3 hours (because I'm a perfectionist). So on Friday before my appointment I started to paint in the polka dots on the "I." I will just mention that the "I" is the smallest letter with the least number of polka dots and it took me 2 hours just to paint them in. It's a tedious task. So 1 letter down, 7 more to go. With the next kid I'm just gonna keep it simple! If you're wondering when I chose polka dots, it's because it matches the crib bedding that we're going to get.

We spent this past weekend in Canada with the family because it was Mother's Day and because it was C & Å's last weekend before they fly back to Norway. It's always so much fun when we're all together because the stories and the laughs just seem to go on forever.

So that has pretty much been our week! Now I've gotta go and get some cleaning done which I've been putting off because I hate it so much. ttyl. Oh yeah, I guess I was wrong about this being a short post. Ah well!

Not My Will...

Okay, so I have finally reached a point where I am at peace enough to share my latest pregnancy woes (if I can call it that). Just when I felt that I had adjusted to being labeled a gestational diabetic, I go to my doctors visit on Wednesday to find that I am now labeled a chronic hypertensive gestational diabetic. Well if any of you are unsure of what that is, it basically means that I have high blood pressure as well as the diabetes. As you can imagine, I was devastated. After talking to the doctor and asking a million questions and having him waste his precious time telling me not to worry, I leave the doctor's office and make it to the car before the sky opens and my tears start to flow for what seems like an endless amount of time. I cried out of fear, out of extreme sadness, out of helplessness - knowing that I have very little control over things from here on out. I was previously not emotionally prepared to share this because the simple thought of it would bring me to tears. There are still a lot of unknowns out there but I feel as if I am more able and prepared to accept what happens, despite of what happens. I have had the prayers of close family members, I have had these same family members fast on our behalf, and I have spent time in the temple praying and listening and I can truly say that I am more peaceful than ever. I do not suggest that I know how things will turn out but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will be prepared and able to accept the outcome. I am now willing to accept Heavenly Father's will for our family which was a huge struggle for me because I always feel the need to be in complete control of my life. Don't get me wrong, the possibility of having preeclampsia, stillbirth, miscarriage and the host of other potential problems stills scares me but I have faith that things will turn out the way that they should.

An Update

Well I am adjusting to my new eating habits (or should I say limitations) fairly well. As far as my glucose levels are concerned I can tell a difference in the numbers since I've been following the diet that was given. My only complaint is having to eat breakfast at 7am every morning. It's not a big deal on the days that I'm at school because I'm up by 6am and leaving the house by 7 anyway. But on those days when I have no school and nothing to do, those are the days that really suck to get up and eat. Most people suggest that I just go back to sleep after I eat, well that would work if it weren't for the fact that at 9am I have to get back up to check my glucose level and then eat again at 9:15am. I suppose this is just preparing me for when the baby arrives! But other than that gripe I think I am adjusting fairly well.

My next doctor appointment is on Wednesday so I am pretty interested to hear what the doctor has to say and hopefully hear the baby's heartbeat again. It's always very reassuring whenever I have the opportunity to hear the baby's heartbeat or see an ultrasound. Last night while getting ready for bed, B and I were feeling how hard my stomach is getting though people still comment that I am not showing at all. I'm sure one day a baby bump will pop up outta nowhere. I kept telling myself to take pictures so that I can see the difference from week to week but I never get around to it and before you know it another week is over. Such is the life of a procrastinator. The only thing that I seem to do on time is post to this blog...but then again there is no due date here. On that note...I'm out!