Going Low on Sugar

The appointment for the Diabetic Clinic was yesterday and i was nervous as hell. I kind of expected it to be pretty depressing especially since the appointment is at 9.10am. Lol

I was out at 7.45am but only reached NUH about 8.50am cos of the traffic jam. So i was left with 20 mins for a quick breakfast. Especially cos i was already feeling nauseous. Not sure if it’s because of the cab ride or the morning sickness is kicking in again.

Grabbed my favourite Cheese Bagel for breakfast and Toffee Nut Latte. Because i somehow know if i don’t drink it now, i won’t be able to drink it nanti once i start recording my sugar levels. Hahahahaha Perangai buruk seh.

Managed to finish up everything and go up to the Diabetic Clinic by 9.10am and i don’t know why, but i kind of expect the Clinic to be small but it was huge and there were so many people waiting for their turn! Obviously not everyone there is pregnant lah. Waiting time for Registration was quite long but other than that, it was quite a breeze but the whole appointment took a while cos i had to go through so many rooms and meet so many different people!

1) Blood Pressure & Urine Test 
I don’t know why my BP was slightly higher today at 132. It is usually at about 110 and never exceed 120.
But maybe cos i was rushing and i was all flustered and hot. God, really really hot. Everywhere i go, i feel like the aircon is not working!

2) Blood Test 
After that, it was the finger prick test. My test result came back as 5.1, which is normal by their standard. I was secretly hoping my OGTT Test result was a fluke. Haha. Fat hope!

3) Diabetic Doctor Consultation 
Met Dr Pradip & Dr Claudia. Both doctors are so likeable! They reviewed my case and also enlightened me more about Gestational Diabetes. Both told me that if we treat it and keep my diet under control, a natural birth is possible. As of now, they will not put me on Insulin jabs unless my sugar level spike three days in a row. If that happens, it is an indication that controlling my diet no longer works for me. I asked Dr Pradip more about GD and it seems that the cause of it is not mainly because of what the mother feeds her herself during pregnancy but partly because of the extra hormones and how our natural Insulin is unable to cope with the extra hormones.

For example, in the office, you have 10 Customer Service Officers to handle phone calls. Suddenly, you hold a promotion and lotsa people start calling in to place their orders and obviously the same 10 CSO won’t be able to handle the surge of calls right? That’s how the insulin feel. Suddenly my extra hormones is too much for them to handle so they only process what they can.

However, with Gestational Diabetes, it’s hard to pinpoint when exactly things will go haywire as in, they won’t know how “hormonal” i would get hence the need to test for glucose level 2 times a week until i safely deliver my baby. If i have a surge in glucose levels for the day, i’ll need to do back-to-back test for 3 days in a row and if all three days indicates high level of sugar in my blood, i’ll need to call the clinic asap and arrange for insulin jabs.

What happen if we don’t keep Gestational Diabetes under control?
1. Baby would be too large for Natural Birth and C-Section would be the best option for the mummy. I have no problem with C-Section. Although it is not a preference because i would prefer a quicker recovery so i’m more inclined to Natural Birth. But if i have to do C-Section, then so be it lah. As long as the baby is safe.

2. Baby would get too used to having too much sugar while she’s inside me, so naturally, her body will produce more insulin while she’s in my womb. However, when she’s born and only taking breast milk etc, her extra insulin would still be present in her body and later on when she does not have that much sugar intake and her insulin is so active breaking down all her sugars, obviously she’ll have low sugar levels. This is dangerous because it causes jaundice and difficulty in breathing and to be really honest, this is the part where i’m scared. I’m ok with going through C-Sect if it needs to be done. I’m ok if i have to take time to recover but i think i’ll blame myself if baby have low sugar levels when she is born later on.

So i guess it is my responsibility to ensure that my GD is treated and under control.

6 weeks after delivery, i’ll have to do another OGTT. If my numbers are normal, then i’m cleared of Diabetes. However, if my number is high, it is possible i have Type 2 Diabetes and would have to receive treatment for it.
So i’m making a conscious effort to keep my sugar levels as low as possible!

What i have to do currently: 
– Monitor glucose levels with the finger prick test twice a week.
– I can choose any two days i want but there will be 7 tests a day.
Pre & Post Meals for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner and also a Late Night Test before i go to bed.
So in total, there will be 14 tests a week. Phew.

I loaned the Accu-Chek Active from NUH but would have to get the test strips and needles myself and the test strips are so expensive ok! About $30 for 25 strips and that’s excluding the needles! 25 strips should be able to last me only 2 weeks since i need 14 strips per week. So i got my Father-in-Law to buy it for me instead since he also have Diabetes and get his from Polyclinic under subsidized rate cos of the Pioneer Generation scheme. heehee.

The next person i have to meet is the Dietician but i’ll do a post on it separately because this post is getting too wordy and really, there’s so many things to write about my meeting with the Dietician, it was the most depressing part of the entire appointment. Hahaha

Imagine being told to only eat 1/3 cup of rice per meal. *nangis*