When You Get Sick And Have Gestational Diabetes

Aside from the morning sickness that many women suffer from in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, you may catch a cold or the flu before your baby is born. In of itself, this isn’t a fun experience but when you have gestational diabetes and are on insulin it is very important that you take extra good care of yourself.

It is important to remember that no matter how you are feeling, you need to take your insulin. Your body relies on the external source of insulin and needs it to keep functioning properly. But what do you do if you have the flu and are vomiting or don’t have any appetite to eat. As a short term solution, take your insulin and drink a soda that is not diet (you want the sugar in this case). If you are able to, nibble on crackers or dry toast. All the while, you need to keep a very close eye on your glucose levels with your monitor.

You need to balance the insulin you are taking and the food you are consuming so your blood sugar levels do not drop. If you are unsure of what to do, contact your doctor. A better plan is to have this discussion with your doctor before you get sick. Your health care provider will give you guidelines to follow when you become ill and when you should contact the office or go to the hospital if things are progressively getting worse.

Getting sick is never fun but being pregnant and sick isn’t just about you. You have to still take care of your baby and yourself. Be aware that when you are sick, your blood sugars may not act as they normally do, test more often to keep track of what the results are.