Controlling weight gain in pregnancy is a challenge. Weight gain is normal but too much carries more risk for a large baby, for gestational diabetes and maybe even long term risk for obesity in the offspring. In a previous blog we have looked at what amount of weight gain is normal but for many the pounds just … Continued
People with Type 1 diabetes have to take insulin and although no one likes insulin injections or shots in fact they are not the major irritation in the handling of diabetes. Certainly when I was caring for people who had islet transplants and these people had come off insulin, it was the freedom from the … Continued
Managing Type 1 diabetes demands a lot of work. At meal times the quality and quantity of food has to be dealt with, the glucose measured, forth coming activity considered, the dose of insulin calculated and administered. Sometimes I think the amount of work diabetes engenders is about the same as a two year old, … Continued
The older name for type 2 diabetes is Maturity Onset Diabetes reflecting the fact that it usually develops over the age of 50. As we grow older our pancreas seems to make less insulin. This is just at the time of our lives when we exercise less and gain weight, so the amount of insulin … Continued
Gestational diabetes in someone who is lean Typically we think of Gestational Diabetes (GDM) as due to an imperfect pancreas that cannot cope with the extra insulin needed in pregnancy. This need is there because the hormones from the placenta cause insulin resistance so one needs extra insulin just to keep the same glucose. The … Continued
Gestational diabetes is typically a milder diabetes so does not have much in the way of symptoms or complaints. Most of what people feel that may be symptoms of diabetes, going to the bathroom frequently, tiredness, feeling warm or hungry relate much more to the pregnancy itself and not the diabetes. Because of this we … Continued
Months of hard work controlling your blood sugar and now it all comes down to some hours of labor that still needs good glucose control for the baby. If the sugar levels are high in the mom just prior to delivery this gets carried into the baby causing its pancreas to make extra insulin. If … Continued
With the treatment of gestational diabetes we are trying to control the blood sugar levels so that they will not go into the baby. The sugars rise after a meal and peak between one and two hours and so most centers ask women to check their glucose levels at either one or two hours after … Continued
There are many points of discussion around Gestational Diabetes (GDM):- how to diagnose it, when to use insulin but a thorny issue is the timing of the delivery. In the clinic I am sometimes asked “Do I have to be induced early?” I feel this is more an obstetrical than diabetes related decision and I … Continued
Testing one’s blood glucose with meters has been a great boon to managing diabetes. The glucose testing meters are fairly accurate and they let us know what is going on. But they are by no means perfect (See Research GDM 25th Mar 2011) and if you are a stickler for detail they can drive you to distraction. … Continued
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