Gestational diabetes can be a very trying and difficult disease to manage during your pregnancy. If you let it go untreated and unaided, it can cause serious harm to your baby during development and after it is born.
However, if you find that you are diagnosed with this disease, it is not too late to do something about it. The first step to taking control of the issue is really understand what is going on with your body.
Gestational diabetes is a condition characterized by high blood sugar levels that are first recognized during pregnancy. It occurs in about four percent of pregnancies.
Almost all women have some degree of impaired glucose intolerance as a result of hormonal changes that occur while they are expecting. That means that their blood sugar may be higher than normal, but not high enough to have diabetes.
During the third trimester, these hormonal changes can place you at risk for this disease. Increased levels of certain hormones made in the placenta help shift nutrients from the mother to the developing fetus.
Other hormones are produced by the placenta to help prevent the mother from developing low blood sugar. They work by stopping the actions of insulin.
These hormones lead to progressive impaired glucose intolerance. To try to decrease these levels, the body makes more insulin to get glucose into cells to be used for energy.
Usually the mother's pancreas is able to produce more insulin to overcome the effect of the hormones on blood sugar levels. If, however, the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to overcome the effect, blood sugar levels will rise, resulting in this problem.
High risk women should be screened as early as possible when they find out they are expecting. All other women will be screened between the twenty fourth and twenty eighth week.
To screen for this, you will take a test called the oral glucose tolerance test. This test involves quickly drinking a sweetened liquid, which contains fifty grams of sugar.
You will absorb the sugar very quickly, causing your levels to rise within thirty to sixty minutes. A blood sample will be taken from a vein in your arm one hour after drinking the solution.
A level greater than or equal to one hundred and forty milligrams is considered to be abnormal. If your results are abnormal based test, another test will be given after fasting for several hours.
In women at high risk, a normal screening test result is followed up with another screening test at twenty four to twenty eight weeks for confirmation of the diagnosis. To manage the problem after it has already occurred, you will need to monitor your levels four times per day.
Monitoring urine for ketones is another option that could help you. You can follow specific dietary guidelines as instructed by your doctor.
You will be asked to distribute your calories evenly throughout the day. Exercising is another thing your doctor will probably recommend.
You should try walking on a treadmill, keeping your heart rate from going over one hundred and forty. This is a good way to get things under control in your body.
You may need to take insulin, if necessary. Insulin is currently the only diabetes medication used during pregnancy.
Testing your blood sugar at certain times of the day will help determine if your exercise and eating patterns are keeping you under control, or if you need extra insulin to protect your developing baby. Your health care provider will ask you to maintain a daily food record and ask you to record your home sugar levels.
You may need to prick your finger with a lancet device. You then put a drop of blood on a test strip, recording the results in a log book.
Bring your readings with you to your doctor appointments so your doctor can evaluate how well you are doing. They will be able to tell you if any changes need to be made in your diet or your exercise program.
The whole process may be a little strange and upsetting to you at first, but you can manage the issue without too much of a problem. The most important thing is that you take care of yourself, and take care of your baby.
Author Resource:-
Tommy Greene is an accomplished expert in health and fitness. He recommends the best treadmill reviews you can find on the internet.
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Tommy Greene
TommyGreene09@gmail.com
www.treadmilldoctor.com/Treadmill-Reviews/Treadmill-Review-Brand-Index
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