My Thoughts of my Diabetes Diagnosis: Day 2

It has been less than 48 hrs since I got the phone call from my midwife.

Today is Saturday but you won't be reading this for a few days.

Blogging and documenting life events has to done in some sort of order, you know.

We can't just post things willy nilly, can we?

hahaha

Can you tell that avoidance is my forte? I'm good at avoiding things that I don't want to confront.

Unfortunately, some things cannot be put off and I am pretty good at tackling the important issues.

I ordered my glucose meter within a few minutes of talking to Christine (my amazing midwife). I needed the glucose meter to begin testing my blood glucose levels 4 times a day, once in the morning as soon as I wake up and then after every meal.

Yesterday I began testing.

And my numbers were low.

Well, all except my fasting number...which is what I test for as soon as I wake up. Christine wants me under 95. Mine was 97.

But the rest of the day, my postprandial (after meal) readings were excellent. Low to mid 90s...well below the range she wanted (she told me that I needed to be under 120).

And I didn't really alter my eating at all! In fact, I got angry about everything not too long before dinner and I ate a handful of Doritos and a small piece of chocolate cake with lots of frosting and sprinkles. Then I ate a normal dinner. My after meal glucose reading was 94!

I went to bed last night knowing without a doubt that I did not have gestational diabetes.

No way, no how.

A mom in my local "crunchy" parenting group had directed me to a research paper (or something akin to a research paper) on how your lifestyle diet can determine how your body handles that glucola drink. If you don't eat a lot of bad carbs, for example, your body just cannot truly process the overload of glucose that the glucola gives you. Thereby resulting in abnormal test results, not really indicative of gestational diabetes.

My midwife said that, yes, the daily finger pricks that she had offered would have been much more indicative to whether there was a problem or not.

But stubborn me still went with that damned glucola 1 hour glucose test.

So...last night I knew that was what was wrong. I did NOT have diabetes, it was just that my body couldn't handle that much sugar at once, since I don't eat sugary stuff that often.

I laid in bed and imagined how I was going to make the awkward follow-up YouTube video and corresponding blog post, apologizing to the masses (all 6 of you) for the mistake and that I, in fact, was not diabetic.

First thing this morning, I trotted into the dining room to set up my little testing station.

Had my pen all ready to record my low low numbers. After all, when I took my reading before bed it was only 94. Would the glucose meter even be able to register how low my number would be this morning?

I assembled the lancet needle into the doodad.

Locked and loaded.

Put my test strip into the meter. It powered to life, ready to show my non-diabetic numbers.

I mentally prepared myself for the tiny prick.

Pop!

Massaged my finger to get the blood to come out of the tiny puncture.

Let the blood seep into the test strip...the countdown began....5....4...3....2....1

My number flashed across the screen:

107

WHAT THE *UCK?!!!!

Oh, no...no....NO.

Reset the lancet, popped a new test into the meter, poked a new hole in a new finger.

Results: 104

Frustrated....reset the lancet again...inserted yet another test strip into the meter. Poked a finger on the opposite hand. Magical numbers appeared:

108

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON?!!

There has to be a mistake!! HOW is my fasting number HIGHER than the number I went to bed with?!!!

I angrily made my coffee. Carefully rationing out my creamer, using a measuring spoon.

Antonio cooked me eggs and warmed up some chicken from the chicken tacos I made the night before.

I set my timer for 2 hours. I have to test again in 2 hours. Two hours after every meal. Stupid finger pricks.

I sat on the couch and sulked.

Eventually, my timer went off.

I trudged to the dining room. Set up my supplies.

Glucose level reading: 96

::sigh::

I guess this isn't going to be as black and white as I thought.

My question is....I'm about to get all serious and nerdy on ya'll....and I am not sure if any of you can answer it...WHY are the set glucose levels ("you have to be under this number XX otherwise that means you have diabetes) for pregnant women LOWER than non-pregnant people?

Especially considering that the hormones released by the placenta in a pregnant woman automatically raise glucose levels???

Shouldn't that be taken into consideration? Shouldn't that raise the accepted level a bit?

What are your thoughts on this?? Do you think that the guidelines/satisfactory levels should be lower for pregnant women?