So it turns out, I may be elderly, but despite what my ultrasound report says, I am no primigravida.
"elderly" = older than 35
"gravida" = number of pregnancies
(and "para" = number of births after 20 weeks)
In shorthand, I am a G7P0 (7 pregnancies, 0 births). A more detailed way to write it is G7P0060 (7 pregnancies, 0 term births, 0 preterm births, 6 "abortions" -spontaneous and elective counted the same, and 0 living children.
Also, when you've been pregnant more than once, you go from being a primigravida to a multigravida
However...I should officially be labeled an elderly GRAND multigravida (because "grand" signifies being pregnant 5 or more times. I'm a little like Michelle Duggar, only way less successful).
So I suppose I'm an elderly grand multigravida with poor obstetrical history.
Ah hem, just felt the need to clarify. Even if the "grand" makes the "elderly" sound even older than it does by itself...
If I'm going to be labeled insensitive medical labels, let's at least get them right, you know?
Big thanks to Shannon and My Two Lines for the endocrinology-related comments on the last post - very VERY helpful. I've found what I think is the original HAPO study from the New England Journal in 2008...and if I'm reading it right, my numbers are really not good. Which is what I thought - that my fasting numbers are too high. Shannon, as you suggested, I've been eating a cup of ice cream before bed (full fat low carb ice cream) and it's not helping (this morning's fasting was 99 after a cup of this ice cream right before bed last night)...ugh!
Hopefully my regular OB will be responsive when I see her next week. Or at least will agree to let me consult with an endocrinologist even if she thinks the numbers are no big deal.
It feels like we are so close! I am a pretty active coper, as you may have noticed. I am not about to get passive or sloppy now if there's anything I can do to help be sure we have a good outcome - with a live and healthy Magpie at the end of this.
Stay tuned.
Mo
P.S. I promise - promise! - to post a belly shot soon. And to update on the insanity that is our apartment as we try to prepare for the arrival of a little person...all without jinxing anything by erring in assuming we are having a baby. Tricky business, I tell you...
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Try plain old regular ice cream, not the low carb stuff - I frequently see it does better. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. The doc I learned from actually had all her patients do a regular Klondike bar (seriously) and swore by it, but I've never had success with that.
ReplyDeleteI will try it tonight. Can I possibly have chocolate instead of vanilla?
ReplyDeleteHi Mo long time reader 1st time commenter, have you tried peeing on the Keytone sticks/strips to figure out if you are not getting enough carbs? My nutritionist had me do this the 1st 2 weeks and it really helped me understand a lot. The days I thought I ate a great dinner I would wake up with fasting levels about 95 and my Keytones would be dark. Basically I wasn't eating enough carbs so my body was compensating by throwing more sugar into my blood strem. I was shocked at when my keytones were off. I started eating a regular cup of ice cream before bed, no low fat the good stuff it seemed to help. I go to bed late so I ate it around 9 PM and went to bed around 11PM and when I took my fasting at 6:30AM they were a tad better. Just something to try. Hope you figure it out, it was hard for me too.
ReplyDeleteI also can't spell today they are Ketone strips. Also I had chocolate and vanilla depending on the day, both seemed to help. :)
ReplyDeleteSo I love your sense of humour despite all those pregnancies but no births. It's so alarming to see it spelled out like that. BUT Miss Magpie is a special one and YES< she will make her arrival so get your apt ready!
ReplyDeleteI'm suprised you are not in a diabetes management program. The minute I got GD I was wisked away to a nazi-like monitoring program where I had to send in blood sugar and food journals to my nurse every week and go to an appt every week. When my diet could no longer control it alone...I had to go on a mild oral medicine for the last few weeks of pregnancy. If I did not go to this program and follow it...I could be turned into Child protective services for neglect to my unborn baby. Yikes. Granted...this is CA and they love to put their nose in all your business...but once I saw the average clientelle in the waiting room...I understood why they needed such strict monitoring. My first indication that I could not manage it by diet alone was the high morning levels and not being able to control my sugars early in the day. I hope you can get this sorted out.
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I was also sent to a GD specialist for a diet plan as soon as I was diagnosed and had to report my daily numbers (resting and after each meal) to her every Friday. I only had trouble with my resting numbers and subsequently a little trouble with after breakfast. I tried eating a snack late before bed at the recommendation of the nurse, but that didn't help. The nurse had the maternal fetal specialist doctor put me on a low dose of glyburide when my resting levels weren't always under 90. They were only borderline at around 90-92, but it was enough to get put on the meds, which really helped. You should definitely ask for a second opinion and try to get an referral to a GD dietician.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for that belly shot and commentary on the transformation of your apartment. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteIf a Klondike bar works for most people, I'm sure chocolate would be just fine. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your parsing of the language ...
ReplyDeleteMy experience was that if I didn't get my dinnertime postprandial glucose up "enough" (while obviously of course seeking to avoid "too much") then my fastings were too high, which is I think what the bowl of icecream is seeking to achieve. As I recall, I used an apple in its place but don't get my wrong: ice cream, good (obviously the truly important thing is figuring out what works for you, whatever that may be. And I think it has to do with the sugar/fat balance (in particular) and how your body reacts, so I can't imagine why chocolate and vanilla wouldn't be interchangeable...).
I'm eager to hear what your experts tell you. I had "high" fasting numbers too (+/-100, when it should have been 90 or less), consistently. I also had a little trouble with my 1-hour-after-breakfast levels. But the rest of the day was as though I didn't have GD at all (for pregnancy #2. With #1, no problem numbers once I got my diet squared away). After 11 am, I could eat almost anything and my glucose was fine. I used to have the prescribed apple with peanut butter snack before bed each night. I peed on ketone sticks for a couple of weeks, but they never showed anything so I stopped. I have some left if you want them.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, in spite of my slightly high morning numbers, none of my medical professionals batted an eyelash or recommended additional steps to try to control my glucose levels. In the end, my daughter was an appropriate weight for her height (22 inches, 9 pounds 6 ounces, five days past due date).
I know, "Elderly"? What the hell. That's right up there with "habitual aborter."
ReplyDeleteAfter this post, I now think of you as the Grand Dame of Pregnancy.
What we'd cal you is an "essential prime". Meaning, not first pregnancy, but first live baby. But however you say it, you're having a baby Mo! How awesome is that! I continue to be thrilled for you guys.
ReplyDeleteAw...thank you, Laura! So essential prime it is! (sounds like a really great steak!). BTW, I have tried multiple times to add you to my blogroll and for whatever reason, blogger will not allow me to. Not sure what the problem is, but it persists over time : (
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Well, well well look at all the super cool activity over here. Very happy for you guys. Its nice to see the buzz in your posts.
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