Gestational Diabetes and Nausea

How did you get diagnosed with gestational diabetes so soon? I'm 7 months pregnant and just took the test yesterday. I'm afraid I might have messed up the results because I got my blood drawn too early. The place was closing.
Are there symptoms that will point to it?
I hope you feel better. That morning sickness is the worst. Not much really helped me but time. I hope you find relief with some treatments people are recommending.

Hi M.,
When I was pregnant with my son someone told me to eat candied ginger. It can be found in some international markets. I found it in China Town Oakland.
Hope it helps. It helped me.

Hi M.,

My doctor gave me the RX Reglan. It worked wonders. I took it for both my pregnancies.

All of this advice is great. Different things work for different women. I didn't have GD, but I was borderline. With GD you already know that juice, crackers/cookies, ginger ale, and candy all have lots of sugar. I got sugar-free lemon drops at the drugstore. I have also heard of women using motion sickness wristbands.

Hope you feel better soon!
Angela

I am very sorry to hear of your nausea. I was sick the entire time I was pregnant with my son. Yes, all nine months. At first the doctor would say it would go away, but it never did. I was hospitalized for dehydration because I couldn't keep anything down and ended up taking meds (Zofram is one) through most of my pregnancy. I stayed alive and have a very healthy baby boy by drinking LOTS of juice w/ sparkling water - a 1/2 and 1/2 combo. I also drank some of the tart Jamba Juice offerings. Don't worry if the teas, preggo pops, crackers etc don't work for you, they didn't work for me, but I got through it (with much complaining) and have a beautiful & healthy little boy who is now driving me crazy as a precocious three year old! Take heart!

Sometimes smelling lemons helped my nausea when i was p.g. Try that, i always carried a 1/2 a lemon w/ me.

Hi there my name is M., I am 30 weeks pregnant with my 5th. I to was so sick that the doctor perscribed me meds. They don't hurt the baby and it will make things so much better for you. Just tell your doctor that you can't take the nausea any longer and your doctor should be able to prescribe you something. Good luck and congrats.

Hi M.,
I had terrible nausea for the first 3-4 months. It was so bad that my doctor put me on Zofran, which worked very well. When I was entering my 3rd trimester I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to monitor my blood sugars and limit carbs. What a pain! EVERYTHING has carbs! I would talk to your doctor about meds if your nausea is REALLY bad, I almost ended up in the hospital due to nausea. If it isn't that bad you can try making ginger tea. I have heard acupuncture really helps and some insurances pay for it too. Of course making sure your tummy is never empty helps with nausea AND diabetes. I feel for you, between the nausea and the gestational diabetes I don't know if I'll have another one. My doctor told me to be happy I was SO nauseated, it means the pregnancy is strong. :) Congrats!
~L.

Hi M.!

It has been some time since I was pregnant, but I did have gestational diabetes and nausea with my twins (they're now 8). Your nausea should start getting better now that you are 18 weeks along.

I remember being advised to eat more often, like every 2 hours or so. Just small, mini-meals, would help the nausea. I can't remember if that actually worked, though.

What I do remember that helped me was sucking on sugar-free Jolly Rancher candy. I seemed to always have that taste of metal in my mouth.

Good luck to you. I hope your nausea gets better soon, M.!

L.

Peanut butter sandwiches were great to hold my tummy over. I wasn't diabetic until hte 5th or 6th month, though. You would probably be better off using a grain bread (my brother, also diabetic, likes Milton's brand). I do know thqt if you have a protein with the carb (like peanut butter) it slows down the sugar into your bloodstream so hopefully that will work for you.

I found that I was nauseous especially when my stomach would start to get empty. Good luck!

hi
congrats, my friend has same problem talk to your doctor and ask if vitamin B6 is helping please talk to your doctor first but i know it helps my friend
food luck and please let me know if your doctor said a same thing
N.

I had to take Zoffron for Nausea. I didn't throw up all the time, but I felt like I needed to all the time. It is safe to take when your pregnant and it was the only thing that worked for me.

I was pregnant with twins & threw up constantly for the first 3-4 months. I was taken off work & put on disability. Along with this, I had gestational diabetes but controlled it through diet & exercise & never had any medication for it. I found if I kept heartburn under control I was less likely to throw up. I took papaya tablets (you can buy them at a health food store). I tried the seabands, motion sickness bracelets & ginger but ultimately to prevent dehydration, my dr prescribed some meds. To stop the vomiting, they prescribed a suppository. It worked well for vomiting but made me sleepy. There was a tablet, zofran (worked for the nausea but side effect is that it blocks seretonin & may cause depression, I experienced the side effects & stopped taking it). There was another med but I don't recall the name. Prenatal yoga seemed to help. It focused my mind on something other than the nausea.

I am not pregnant but I have been three times and I had morning sickness and nausea the whole time. I always ate saltine crackers every morning or when I felt like I was getting sick.they always seem to help and always eat what you crave.

Good Luck.

L.

With the fear of oversimplying, I will say "protein". Add protein to your diet - check with OB about how much protein would be too much protein, and then make sure you get protein all day long. Protein digests more slowly and stabilizes your body's need for more food, which is good for both g.d. and nausea. I got this great advice when I was pregnant and struggling with vomiting. I vomited for 5-6 months during 2 of my pregnancies.

And get outside. Being in the fresh air was a huge help to me.

Your nausea will go away when it's time. There is no magic solution that, if you're like me, you are hoping for.

Stay away from people's suggestions about medication solutions for nausea.

I had a friend that swore up and down about a medication remedy for nausea. I talked to my OB about it. He even said there is no evidence of any problems with that particular combination, but he encouraged me (THANKFULLY) to avoid any medications. It just so happens that my friend's child has a variety of developmental problems, and the causes are unclear. I am so glad that I was encouraged not to take medications during pregnancy because I was really tempted.

Dear M.,

So sorry to hear you are sick!! I had "morning" sickness all day for 3 1/2 months, but the best thing ever invented was preggy pops!! (or drops if you don't like sucking on a lollipop) I LIVED off of those! Check out the website. And they might recommend only so many a day, but I ignored that and always had one in my mouth or I was throwing up!! They are all natural and tasty. The website gives the ingredients and everything!! I didn't want to take meds, I didn't even take aspirin while I was pregnant.

GOOD LUCK!

Girlfriend, I am 15 weeks pregnant and have been vomitting since week 5 with all day nausea. I feel your pain. I am wearing the Sea Band wrist bands on both arms. You can get them at the drug store. They sort of help. I eat a small meal every two hours. Ginger cookies sometimes help me. 7-up and water sometimes help. I finally went to my primary care doctor and they perscribed a soppository called Promthazine. I use it every six hours and it has been a life saver. Promethazine is totally safe for the baby. I hope this helps. Take care!

I had GD with both of my kids, and had nausea 24/7 with both of them for the 1st 3 months as well. I never threw up, but ALWAYS felt like I had to, which did make me miserable. One morning, I woke up, and it was GONE, and I was thrilled. So hang in there. On the plus side, I lost 7 (needed) pounds with my 1st and gained 0 pounds with my 2nd during that time, and it made the GD easier to deal with, plus I didn't have any "baby weight" to lose after the births.

I also had horrible nausea for the first several weeks. I am 17 weeks and it is just starting to subside. Making sure that I eat something every 1-2 hours helps A LOT!! Also sucking on Altoids Citrus drops or Jolly Ranchers helped. I know you'll have issues with sugar and I didn't really like it either (but it was what helped the best). Find out from your doctor is there is a sugar free candy or throat drop that would safe for you to suck on. It made a big difference for me. Good luck!

I found that peppermint works well for nausea - either a little candy, or peppermint oil in hot water or tea.

I just found out at 31 weeks that I have gestational diabetes. I am on my 3rd pregnancy and was borderline with my first two. I am not sure if it is related to the diabetes or completely independent of that, but I have had horrible nausea with this pregnancy from the first month. With the first two pregnancies I had an hour or two a day, with this one it was from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep at night. And it lasted through most of the 2nd trimester. The third trimester has been a bit better, but I still have days that I am very nauseas. In my case, I have been lucky that I don't actually get sick, but just feel like I am going to and would rather so at least I might feel better for an hour or two afterwards. The snacks should help with the blood sugar levels. I also tried Ginger Altoids, which helped take the edge off a bit. You could look into the prego pops also, but I am not sure of the sugar content. Best wishes to you... I know it is difficult, but I have been trying to keep it all in perspective and remember that it is a small price to pay for the miracle you are growing!

I was gestational diabetic with both of my kids, even to the point of needing to give myself insulin shots. Once the diabetes started, my nausea subsided. However, for the first 20-25 weeks of my pregnancies I had awful nausea and was throwing up all the time. Usually sucking on jolly ranchers worked the best, though as a diabetic you will have to find a sugar-free substitute. I tried the bracelets, and they didn't really work long-term. I was also given medication for a while, because I could not keep any food down. You may want to check with your doctor if it gets that bad.

Hi M.,

I had great success with acupuncture. I had nausea for several months before I sought treatment. I had tried everything, preggo pops (which I had to stop once I was diagnosed with GD), ginger, crackers, pretzels, you name it. Acupuncture was the ONLY thing that worked. It took 2 treatments about a week apart and then I finally felt so much better. I don't know of any acupuncturists in your area, I live in the east bay. My suggestion would be to do a Google search or look in the phone book. If once you find some acupuncturists, call several and ask them if they specialize in pregnancy issues. All acupuncturists will have had some training in dealing with pregnancy nausea, but it would be good if you went to someone who treats lots of pregnant women. Here's the name of the clinic I went to, call them, maybe the know if someone in your area: Jade Clinic: ###-###-####
Also here is a link to an on-line directory of U.S. Acupuncturists, this may help you in looking for clinics in your area: http://www.acupunctureoffice.net/

I hope this helps! --L.

I looked up gestational diabetes because i was going to suggest massage but you would have to get it okay by your doctor before you can recieve massage. I had nausea throughout my whole pregnancy and what I did was eat small meals and kept gingeral right by my side. if gengeral is too much sugar try having some fresh genger with you meals it will help calm your stomach. Also there are some pressure points about two fingers from your wrist on both sides of you arm that you can press and rub which help to relieve nausea, hold them at the same time. Look online for some pictures that can show you what I am talking about

Dear M.,
I had severe nausea with all my pregnancies for the full 8 1/2 months (they came a little early), and gestational diabetes diagnosed at 5 months each time. I did not take any medications, I was just too worried about them. I tried my best to stay hydrated throughout all the vomiting and when I could, would have a handful of peanuts. Even sucking on ice all day is better than nothing. Fresh air also felt wonderful and I kept a fan going on me when lying down in the house. My family got used to wearing sweaters all the time! Good luck, keep up your spirits, remember the suffering IS worth it in the end. L.

No, not experiencing this, but thought that maybe if you try orgainic red raspberry tea, from a health food store, might help. This also helps with labor if you use through your pregnancy. If you google pregnancy and red raspberry tea you can get info.
L.

I know that I had nausea when I was pregnant and I hated it. Lots of peppermint and saltine crackers. I like peppermint candies to suck on and peppermint tea. I know also if you search online you can find some remedies. Good luck with your pregnancy. Try and remember, it will end soon.

Talk with your doctor. I also had GD and nausea. I never actually vomitted. My doctor prescribed Regelan which is an antinausea drug. Worked wonders. After the first trimester, things got better. Make sure you eat often and include a protien whenever you eat a carb.

sparkling water, crackers... lots of fluids.. i've heard there are teas out there that help. were you nauseas with your first child or is this something that comes along with the diabetes?

I had both GD and nausea. The nausea went away at about 4 1/2 months. Most of the time I just felt sick, I only actually got sick a handful of times. I ate lots of crackers, got tired of those and ate pretzels instead. I used the bracelets they have for motion sickness, they hit on your pressure points and will work for a while. I also ate the preggo pops. Just find something that works for you to subside the feelings. Unfortunately, it's all part of the game. When it's all over, you will have a beautiful baby to hold and play with!

I am pregnant with my first and also have had morning sickness. I am only 9 weeks, but I refused to let this sick thing get me down. So I am trying a pill called "Mommies Bliss" and also wearing the PSI bands for nausea. I was becoming very ill for a couple weeks and am now virtually symptom free at this point. It took about 4 days for the pills to start working, but i strongly believe in them, anything is worth a try! You can get them at most herbal stores. I hope they work for you like they are for me!

I don't know much about the diabetes part, but the nausea and vomiting continued throughout both my pregnancies. I tried everything. ZOFRAN- was a life saver for me--it didn't take the nausea completely away but made it better. Accupunture also helped a lot, I went weekly. All the other remedies didn't seem to work much for me--small frequent meals, ginger products, pepermint tea. Good luck, just know you will have a beautiful baby at the end of this misery.

Hi M.! Congrats on the 2nd addition! There is a wonderful Moring sickness blend out there that cures Nausea in a heart beat!! At leat it has for myself and so many of my girlfriends. It did come from a special store in Calistoga that my Mother in-law runs. I'm sure that you could find it elsewhere or on-line though! It's called--"Baby's Bliss Morning Sickness Magic" I have it in peach and the Ginger--( because Ginger really helps with Nausea as well). So even any tea with Ginger would help, baths, etc!! Hope that helped some, and let me know if you want me to figure out where you could get that!! Good luck!

I completely feel for you! Im not experiencing it currently, but when I was pregnant with my daughter, who is now 5, I had it SO bad!!! For me, it hit me dead on 6 weeks along, and ended at the end of my first trimester. As far as it being "morning sickness", no such luck. I had all day sickness, asnd for that period, the only thing I could stomach was saltine crackers and cereal. Try eating something starchy and sweet, maybe like a low-cal cookie or something cake-like. Im telling you anytime I felt nauseaus, I ate something like that and it made me feel 100% better. You should be coming to the end of it since you are right at the end of your first trimester. Hang in there, girl, it'll get better. You can email me if you'd like to talk. :) - Laura

I found a few things that worked for me: ginger (I like the candy, but also made fresh into tea, etc); peppermint (tea, etc); reflexes on wrists (they sell "sea-sickness" wrist bands, etc) and eating (even when I thought it sounded terrible) fresh mango, peaches, tomatoes, etc

I realized (too late) that it was Vit B I needed, but since I was nauseous, it was hard to take Vit B Complex after the fact... after my 3rd month was the first time I could.

I didn't have GD but I had horrible morning sickness for a while. I found that ginger was really great for setelling my stomach. I mostly drank ginger tea but there's aslo a really good diet ginger beer (it's soda so no alcohol) that you can get at bevmo. It's made in Austraila and has a yellow label with a black kangaroo on it.

good luck and I hope you feel better.

My first pregnancy with my daughter was just like that and I ended up being nauseated and sick the whole nine months..to the point that I lost 50 lbs just for every thing from water, my saliva, to solid foods but what I found to work out side of all the wives tales you could here.. Was 1.lemonaid and I could only tolerate the (pink) and 2.sourdough bread or pizza crust..These things saved my life because like you I was miserable.. I couldnt even take my prenatal pills because I would gag from nausea… by the time I was about 5 months pregnant I could only eat top ramen noodles and dole’s 100% juice bars by the box..
also try to eat something small and light about every hr. to hr.1/2(like fruit, frozen juice or crushed ice, jamba juice ,smoothies maybe with your prenatal mixed in., yogurt) what ever your baby will tolerate. Just to prevent your sugar from dropping. That also contributes to your nausea
Hope this helps

L. B.

G.D., no. Nausea, yes, big time! This has been my most nauseating pregnancy (this is #6). It is up and down and nearly always all day. Trying to eat things or take remedies to quell the nausea helps little or not at all, so I feel your pain. Of course, I am only at twelve weeks, now, which means I still have some time to deal with this. However, some moms get to be the "lucky" recipients of longer-term nausea and some for the full pregnancy, I have a few friends and family that experienced that and I am keeping my fingers crossed and my head bowed in prayer for God's mercy in this area, that the nausea come to a halt. Talk to the doc, for sure, because it is only supposed to last fifteen weeks. I have tried Preggie Pops, usually sold online and different mom 'n' baby stores. I live near Sacramento, CA, so I go to Goore's on Marconi Avenue in Sacramento, but a lot of these companies have websites and store locators in their websites to locate a store nearest to where that person lives. I also drink lots of water and lay down and rest, but I am a student and have more open slots to do that than a working person so, if you work, you may not get the time to do this. So, try what I did and contact your doc.

If you need to talk, feel free to email me at ____@____.com.

I wish you the best.

Jenni

I'm 16 weeks pregnant, and was nauseous up until a week ago. It really is miserable. My only advice is to find a few foods that don't make you feel sick, and then just stick to those foods. Also, try taking your prenatal vitamins before bedtime - sometimes that helps.

Ginger helps some women; sour things help others. You basically just have to experiment to find out what works for you. Be sure to drink enough water. If you can't stand it by itself, try squeezing a bit of lemon juice in it.

Best wishes to you for a healthy pregnancy! I hope you feel better soon!

Hi M.,
Sorry to hear about your nausea and about the GD. I have GD, but wasn't diagnosed until 28 weeks; however, I have had minor nausea problems all pregnancy long. When I eat, my stomach gets upset, when I don't eat, my stomach gets upset. I'm just taking it as a sign of pregnancy (this time) and dealing with it.
I hope that you're seeing someone about the GD... I know Sutter has Sweet Success (the program I'm in) and I know Kaiser also has a program (the program my friend was in), and I know they're both very different. So, whichever program you're in, make sure you talk to them about what you can try to help with your nausea.
Personally, I was told I could eat all the cheese I wanted... and I really like cheese, and it's always helped me with stomach upset. But check with your program. On the GD diets I've seen, there are always "free foods" so maybe one of those can help you too.
You should also make sure that your OB knows about the nausea (if she doesn't already). Your OB might be able to recommend something that won't affect your GD, but might not be medicine either (if you don't want to go that way).
I hope for you that the nausea goes away soon. Good luck!