Backstory (long!)
I supposed it's fitting that I should start this blog on a day that is probably one of the biggest money makers for the candy companies. As I write this, there are several delicious pieces of chocolate sitting here beside me, taunting me.
As one of my favorite songs from The Sound of Music says, let's start at the very beginning. In this case, I'm referring to the beginning of why I started this journey, and ultimately this blog. It all started when I found out I was pregnant with Abbi. At my first appt, around 6 weeks, they discovered I had protein in my urine and high blood sugar. At that time I was diagnosed with a suspicion of Type II (but they weren't able to conclusively rule out early onset Gestation Diabetes, which my Mother had a history of). We wouldn't know anything for sure until after Abbi was born. I followed the American Diabetes Association diet, which was 30g carbs for breakfast, 45-60g for lunch, 45g for dinner, and at least 2 snacks of 15g carbs each. I tried that diet for less than a week before I was put on insulin because my blood sugar was still sky high. Knowing what I know now, I feel like a fool, but more on that later. When I delivered Abbi, I was so excited for that grilled cheese sandwich and regular coke that I had denied myself for 9 months. They checked my sugars a few times in the hospital, and they weren't bad, but pregnancy hormones were still present so they told me to continue to check and home and we'd see what happened.
When we got home, lots of lovely people wanted to feed us. Of course, much of what was brought was high in carbs and sometimes sugar, but I figured that'd be perfect because it would allow me to see how my body handled those things. I checked my sugars 1 hr after several high-carb meals and the #s were well within the normal range I'd been given, so I got excited that everything was going to be ok. At my 6 week follow-up, my OB asked about it, and when I told her the #s I had gotten were normal, she decided it had been Gestational Diabetes after all, and no further testing or follow-up was ordered. Once gain, knowing what I know now, I'd like to go back and kick my own butt, but we'll cover that later too.
Fast forward a few years. We were trying for #2 and not having much luck. It took forever, and we endured 1 early miscarriage, but then we finally got a positive. Once again, the 6 week appt showed protein in my urine and high blood sugar. I had done the whole GD thing once before, so I wasn't worried...until I met with the high risk OB group. Now, I have got to say that the lady I met at the HROC group was one of the RUDEST, most HATEFUL people I have ever met. I had dealt with her when I was pregnant with Abbi, and she wasn't my favorite person then, but this time she was awful. She called me before my appt was practically screaming at me on the phone about how I was ignoring my condition and how I was trying to kill my baby, and on and on and on. She told me that I knew I was Type II and I should not tried for another pregnancy if I was going to ignore that. Being newly pregnant, scared after a loss, and super hormonal, I went off on her when we had our first meeting. I told her that my OB had told me was I had GD, not Type II, that my numbers after delivery had returned to normal, and that I didn't appreciate the way she was accusing me of being ignorant and willingly doing things to hurt my unborn child. She tried to make it out that I had misunderstood her statements, but you could tell she wasn't genuine....I agreed to go back on insulin again because it gave me such control with my first pregnancy, but this time it didn't. My #s were all over the place, I'd give myself more insulin because my after meal #s were high, and then I'd have several lows each day that required me to eat carbs or take a glucose tablet to correct. At my 2nd appt, we found out that we'd lost the baby and I was scheduled for surgery. The OB on call was another example of how bad people in the medical profession can be. She actually told me, and later Chase, that I had most likely lost the baby because I was fat and chose to ignore my diabetes (and those were close to her exact words, it wasn't something she just implied). I tried to explain that her colleague (who had unfortunately moved and therefore left the practice by this time) was the one that told me I didn't have diabetes. Instead of trying to explain anything, she just kept telling us that I would need to loose "a lot of weight" and control my diabetes before we attempted to get pregnant again. We later found out that our loss was due to a partial molar pregnancy, which had nothing to do with my blood sugar or weight whatsoever. I tried not to take pleasure in watching her eat her words, but I secretly did.
Needless to say, I had pretty much lost all faith in the medical practice at this time. I was being told one thing by one doctor, and then others were blaming me for ignoring a condition I was told I didn't have. After some soul searching and praying, I decided to see a family doctor, who would help me sort things out and hopefully give me some truthful answers so I could do whatever I needed to do before we tried again for another child. I met with the family doctor my husband had been using, and she was great. I told her what all I'd been through, and she was very understanding and sympathetic. She apologized for the way I'd been treated so far, and agreed to help me get to the bottom of things. The 1st step was an A1C test to measure my average blood sugar for the past 3 months. Had I known what I know now, this is the test I should have asked for after my 6 week pp appointment with Abbi. Despite being symptom free, my results came back with an A1C of 7. Now, an A1C of 6.5 or higher is considered diabetic, so while my results weren't what I hoped, they also showed I definitely wasn't the horribly uncontrolled diabetic I had been accused of being (lots of people are diagnosed with A1Cs in the double digits!). The doctor decided I didn't need insulin as a first course of treatment, so we started with a pill and I went home to do my research and begin a journey to better health.
As one of my favorite songs from The Sound of Music says, let's start at the very beginning. In this case, I'm referring to the beginning of why I started this journey, and ultimately this blog. It all started when I found out I was pregnant with Abbi. At my first appt, around 6 weeks, they discovered I had protein in my urine and high blood sugar. At that time I was diagnosed with a suspicion of Type II (but they weren't able to conclusively rule out early onset Gestation Diabetes, which my Mother had a history of). We wouldn't know anything for sure until after Abbi was born. I followed the American Diabetes Association diet, which was 30g carbs for breakfast, 45-60g for lunch, 45g for dinner, and at least 2 snacks of 15g carbs each. I tried that diet for less than a week before I was put on insulin because my blood sugar was still sky high. Knowing what I know now, I feel like a fool, but more on that later. When I delivered Abbi, I was so excited for that grilled cheese sandwich and regular coke that I had denied myself for 9 months. They checked my sugars a few times in the hospital, and they weren't bad, but pregnancy hormones were still present so they told me to continue to check and home and we'd see what happened.
When we got home, lots of lovely people wanted to feed us. Of course, much of what was brought was high in carbs and sometimes sugar, but I figured that'd be perfect because it would allow me to see how my body handled those things. I checked my sugars 1 hr after several high-carb meals and the #s were well within the normal range I'd been given, so I got excited that everything was going to be ok. At my 6 week follow-up, my OB asked about it, and when I told her the #s I had gotten were normal, she decided it had been Gestational Diabetes after all, and no further testing or follow-up was ordered. Once gain, knowing what I know now, I'd like to go back and kick my own butt, but we'll cover that later too.
Fast forward a few years. We were trying for #2 and not having much luck. It took forever, and we endured 1 early miscarriage, but then we finally got a positive. Once again, the 6 week appt showed protein in my urine and high blood sugar. I had done the whole GD thing once before, so I wasn't worried...until I met with the high risk OB group. Now, I have got to say that the lady I met at the HROC group was one of the RUDEST, most HATEFUL people I have ever met. I had dealt with her when I was pregnant with Abbi, and she wasn't my favorite person then, but this time she was awful. She called me before my appt was practically screaming at me on the phone about how I was ignoring my condition and how I was trying to kill my baby, and on and on and on. She told me that I knew I was Type II and I should not tried for another pregnancy if I was going to ignore that. Being newly pregnant, scared after a loss, and super hormonal, I went off on her when we had our first meeting. I told her that my OB had told me was I had GD, not Type II, that my numbers after delivery had returned to normal, and that I didn't appreciate the way she was accusing me of being ignorant and willingly doing things to hurt my unborn child. She tried to make it out that I had misunderstood her statements, but you could tell she wasn't genuine....I agreed to go back on insulin again because it gave me such control with my first pregnancy, but this time it didn't. My #s were all over the place, I'd give myself more insulin because my after meal #s were high, and then I'd have several lows each day that required me to eat carbs or take a glucose tablet to correct. At my 2nd appt, we found out that we'd lost the baby and I was scheduled for surgery. The OB on call was another example of how bad people in the medical profession can be. She actually told me, and later Chase, that I had most likely lost the baby because I was fat and chose to ignore my diabetes (and those were close to her exact words, it wasn't something she just implied). I tried to explain that her colleague (who had unfortunately moved and therefore left the practice by this time) was the one that told me I didn't have diabetes. Instead of trying to explain anything, she just kept telling us that I would need to loose "a lot of weight" and control my diabetes before we attempted to get pregnant again. We later found out that our loss was due to a partial molar pregnancy, which had nothing to do with my blood sugar or weight whatsoever. I tried not to take pleasure in watching her eat her words, but I secretly did.
Needless to say, I had pretty much lost all faith in the medical practice at this time. I was being told one thing by one doctor, and then others were blaming me for ignoring a condition I was told I didn't have. After some soul searching and praying, I decided to see a family doctor, who would help me sort things out and hopefully give me some truthful answers so I could do whatever I needed to do before we tried again for another child. I met with the family doctor my husband had been using, and she was great. I told her what all I'd been through, and she was very understanding and sympathetic. She apologized for the way I'd been treated so far, and agreed to help me get to the bottom of things. The 1st step was an A1C test to measure my average blood sugar for the past 3 months. Had I known what I know now, this is the test I should have asked for after my 6 week pp appointment with Abbi. Despite being symptom free, my results came back with an A1C of 7. Now, an A1C of 6.5 or higher is considered diabetic, so while my results weren't what I hoped, they also showed I definitely wasn't the horribly uncontrolled diabetic I had been accused of being (lots of people are diagnosed with A1Cs in the double digits!). The doctor decided I didn't need insulin as a first course of treatment, so we started with a pill and I went home to do my research and begin a journey to better health.
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