Ep. 10 - A personal GDM experience with Hayley - Share Your Story

Our second GDM personal journey shared. Hayley shares her experience with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes given at around 33 weeks when bloods were taken for other reasons. Little education & even less information around why her baby had low glucose levels at delivery leaves Hayley feeling confused. Diabetes took a back seat as other health complications took priority during pregnancy. Hayley shares this as she looks back & wonders if things could have been different if she was given more information & education. Would her baby of needed supplementary formula & multiple heal pricks? She kindly shares how she didn't truly understand the importance of diabetes management in pregnancy at the time.

Diabetes in pregnancy is an area we are very passionate about in the hope of helping women to feel more empowered, less guilty, & with the opportunity to make informed decisions. 

Please get in touch via our social media accounts on Facebook or Instagram, or email diabetesintheraw@gmail.com if you would be willing to share your diabetes and pregnancy story. It may be Type 1, Type 2 or Gestational Diabetes. Diabetes in the Raw is all about helping others feel less alone, more informed, and more empowered.

Please share and rate our podcast to help us reach and help others. Thank you. Jaimee & Hayley.

Transcript

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 0:18

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another Diabetes in the raw episode with Jamie and Haley. Hi Haley. Thanks for joining me again.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 0:26

Hey, Jamie. Glad to be.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 0:28

This is a good one today. I'm a bit excited, well, not excited, excited, but Hailey and I have been wanting to share our stories to help others feel less alone. That's what diabetes in the raws all about, right? Hailey?

audioHayleyMason11656278397 0:40

100.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 0:42

And so today Hailey has volunteered to share her gestational diabetes story. The last episode we had Chloe on who, is over halfway through her pregnancy now. So we'll probably get her on again and just see how the journey went. But today Hailey's gonna talk about her experience, which I believe is gonna be quite different to, so we hope to get more women on and just share the. And maybe we'll reach healthcare professionals and other women to help maybe change things that might need to be changed or do things a little bit differently in the future. So we get started?

audioHayleyMason11656278397 1:17

Let's go for it, Jamie.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 1:19

All right, so I guess the first thing I'm keen to find out is how you found out about your diagnosis and at what point in the pregnancy you were tested. Can you remember

audioHayleyMason11656278397 1:30

Hmm. You are testing my memory now cuz it was, so, it was with, uh, master J, who's just turned 10. So if I remember correctly, I definitely had the oral glucose tolerance test at your scheduled 26, 28. I just can't remember if I had an early one or not in that pregnancy be as well because of, um, the increased risks a way or, and a family history of type two. I'm gonna say, I think I had the early one or was fine, the oral, oral glucose tolerance test at the 26 week mark Spine. Um, at around 31 weeks, my obstetrician decided I had an hospital for a little stint. I, I, I'd had a migraine, rang it in, he wanted to check everything out, put me in to check out, um, blood pressure and the light. And I have a bit of an issue with my blood when I'm pregnant and it's my platelets. Don't keep. The, um, increased, um, volume of blood. So I don't clo but that's what I, he had me in hospital for. I was in there five days, came home and then two weeks later went back in again, blood pressure issues and it was just at that time a random. A glucose test in my, um, from, yeah, blood, a blood test, a random test of my glucose levels there that showed the elevated levels, and then I was told, yep, you have gestational diabetes. So I would've been around 33 weeks at that time.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 3:05

So you were clear you were negative for that 26 to 28 week. It's normally somewhere between 24 and 28. So for, in your case, 26, you were clear on that one.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 3:14

I was clear on that one.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 3:16

Wow. This is interesting because usually you wouldn't be tested again unless there was good reason, whether it was be a larger baby or something. But it seems that it was just routine bloods that was

audioHayleyMason11656278397 3:27

I, I think it was because I, I, I wasn't measuring big for my number of weeks or anything at that time. And as I say, the hospitalization was for, um, blood pressure rising, um, concern of preeclampsia. So it, it, it really wasn't anything else that was indicating. That, that I should even be tested and I wasn't even aware I was being tested. It was just, oh, hey, your results have come back.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 3:51

Will Pree clamp

audioHayleyMason11656278397 3:52

with diabetes.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 3:53

Yeah, I mean, diabetes put you at increased risk for preeclampsia, so I can understand why they possibly did, whether it was just a random glucose test or, yeah, it sounds like that. That's very interesting. Well, this is gonna be a different story again. So then what happened from there? Did you feel supported? Were you, were you told and then there was focus on the diabetes, or was the focus elsewhere because you weren't in for diabetes kind of.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 4:21

I, I'm gonna say, and some of this is a little bit, I suppose, uh, influenced by hindsight. don't, looking back, like I say, with a lot of things, you don't know what you don't know. I didn't realize gestational diabetes was more serious than I thought it to be at the time. Um, I. I was visited by, I believe, a dietician while I was still in hospital cuz uh, and I said that it could have been an educator, I'm not sure, because she just ran through the blood glucose monitor testing and went to test what they were looking for. Levels was. And then, um, spoke to me a little bit about diet. I didn't have any contact specific really. With the gestational diabetes. After that I would, I was on weekly visits to the obstetrician and I was also under a general physician for the blood issues. And he did check my levels cause I had to record them in a little logbook. And he would, he would look at them. But yeah, no, there was no other contact. So really now I'd. No, I don't think I was that supportive because it was literally just the information in the hospital and then that was it.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 5:37

Yeah. And, and I don't think that's really uncommon either. And so the one, whether it was a dietician or a diabetes educator, that's tricky because I'm a diabetes educator, registered nurse background, but there are dietician, diabetes educators as well. So, so she could have been, she, he could have been both. Um, and the fact they talked about diet, Potentially means they were dietician, but as diabetes educators, it's pretty tricky not to talk about diet when you're talking about monitoring glucose levels and things. So yeah, it could have been either, mm-hmm. um, but again, not uncommon to probably just get that initial little tiny bit of education and then be left solo. So.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 6:17

I think so, and I probably as well, I might have been more of the line of thinking, oh, well I've got my obstetrician and, um, the general physician, and you, you, you make assumptions about knowledge as I did in the early days of our boys being diagnosed with type one. I'd always assume. any doctor or nurse I spoke to fully knew about diabetes, I've since learned that's not the case. So I probably worked on assumptions then that, oh well, they're monitoring it. Whereas thinking back, I don't recall the obstetrician ever asking me anything about blood sugar levels or, or anything. I would also say in terms of support, what I have read since, and in researching for doing these podcasts about the impact of gestational diabetes, Not made aware of a single one of them.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 7:05

Which, which is a huge reason. I just wanna get more and more women on here to share their story, to educate other women, but also so you don't feel like you can't ask questions and that you should know things because you shouldn't know things if you haven't had to know things you don't. And yeah, there's diabetes educators for a reason and. They're in maternity services for a reason. But it's not to say that your obstetrician and your midwives and anyone else involved in your care doesn't know and wouldn't or shouldn't be looking over your levels either. So ideally it would be shared care, which it links into type one two, doesn't it? Type one

audioHayleyMason11656278397 7:46

Mm,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 7:47

as well. I mean,

audioHayleyMason11656278397 7:48

it does. And I think, you know, thinking back now, so after, um, baby was delivered, He, he had the pediatrician check and I was just thought, oh, well he's Ben to be on complimentary formula. And I was like, oh, why? Oh, well, that's what always happens when, um, mums had gestational diabetes. Oh. And we will do a hill prick blood test each time before you feed him. And it's just little things that you don't take in so well shortly after delivery. But then you start to think about them and. You're just not prepared for it because nothing well said. I was never told that that is what would happen or, or the reasons why. You know, it was never explained to me that I'm gonna be used for your insulin levels because they've been in you and now they're gonna keep producing the insulin to mat you know, their, their needs before. And of course they're not going, going to. My insulin and, and the risks of bl i, I think his blood sugars were on the lower side each time he had a feed. So just little things. I mean, when you've just delivered and you've gotta cry for a feed, you don't wanna have to call to have a prick.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 9:00

and you know what? It's not little things at all because if you, part of the education is going to motivate mom to make, like if you don't know the possible risks of having slightly elevated glucose levels in pregnancy, You are less likely to make potential changes that could make a difference to that, you know, by trying to keep those levels as into those target ranges. Can you remember where you told where your glucose levels

audioHayleyMason11656278397 9:26

yes. I was a, and I, I was given a sheet, so I think it was meant to be, before meals and two hours post,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 9:34

Okay.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 9:36

um, is when I was testing. Um, and I did find that I did have quite a lot of low blood sugars while I was pregnant, and I think that's something I just,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 9:45

Yeah.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 9:46

anyway, but with not having any specific appointments about the gestational diabetes, I never raised that with anyone. I, I was like, oh, my blood sugars are low. So no education about, what, what impact that might have. What were, um, the optimal food choices to make help avoid.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 10:06

Yeah.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 10:07

Um, yeah. Very, very little.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 10:10

And that that would be the most, oh, no. I wanna say the most basic, but probably not even the most basic, but the first place to go to help manage your levels would be food,

audioHayleyMason11656278397 10:23

Mm,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 10:23

exercise, or physical activity. You know, as we know now with Type one diabetes two are the most important factors and it's, it's different with gestational diabetes, but it's still the first line. To help manage glucose levels is food and physical activity. And yet, I mean, Chloe in our last episode has had not seen a dietician at 20 up to 24 weeks, and she was diagnosed at something like eight weeks

audioHayleyMason11656278397 10:50

Mm,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 10:51

pregnant. So, you know, it's just that she has gone and re researched herself and has asked others where to get some reputable resources.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 11:03

But not everyone has that level of confidence and that I was just so saddened hearing her story because without, um, yeah, without her strength of character or having other people to ask very, very different situation to her

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 11:21

Well, you know what you say? Strength of character. I mean, I know what, what that's taken from her and, and it wasn't easy for her either. Do you know that that was family? Supporting her in on that journey because she, she was in tears going to the doctor and you know, like she did feel guilty. She did feel, should I be questioning this? But it's, self-management is all about education. If you're not getting the education, you can't self-manage and you should be able to

audioHayleyMason11656278397 11:49

That's.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 11:49

professional.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 11:50

That's right. Just to do that analogy, cuz that is spot on what you said about self-managing, you can't do it unless you have the education. We've recently gone through the process of master 12 being self-managing at school. But to do that we worked with him on what he needed to know. The educator worked with him, questioned him on certain things, gave scenarios, what would you do? He cannot do that without the information. And like we say in, in a new diagnosis. You can't be expected to know, and let's face it, probably lots of myths out there too.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 12:23

Absolutely. Yeah.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 12:25

that information out, so everybody listening, please, anybody, you know, get them to have a listen to this. Get them to reach out and find out. Don't be afraid to question a medical professional. You can do it politely as simple. I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand. Or could you just tell me it is your body and enrich your baby too. You are entitled to have all the inform.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 12:48

Absolutely. And you know what? It's sad, but not every doctor, and not every midwife, and not every, not even every diabetes educator will know everything, about every type of diabetes, but. Definitely reach out to, to another, per another healthcare professional if it doesn't feel right. And please feel free to email or message us on here. We are happy to send link. There's, you can just watch a video, um, f you know, um, from Diabetes Australia or there's plenty of really good resources, accurate, reliable resources. We can just send you a link. More than happy.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 13:26

Hmm.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 13:26

up. That's what we are here for. I'm more than happy just to provide some information, and Haley would be more than willing to share her experience or emotional support.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 13:36

That's right. And I think you can tell everybody we are pretty passionate about this one. I think it's something Jamie and I very, very much, in sync on, is empowering people through knowledge. It's not about being able to go out and be a campaigner and change the world. It's about just knowing what's going on and, and how to best manage your situ.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 13:59

Yeah, and, and you are right because having been through pregnancy and type one diabetes, it's very different. But there's similarities in that I have been offended and in tears and all of that on, on that side of the desk as well. So, um, just wanna be those people you can. Reach out to and want other women to join in. So because women supporting women with this stuff is, is the way to go. Hailey, I was wondering if you were told, I don't think you were, cuz we've talked about this before and you were, you were, I felt guilty cuz you said, I didn't know that about the risks after pregnancy in terms of type two diabetes to you and then with your children, you know, future risks,

audioHayleyMason11656278397 14:38

I do rem, I do remember being advised, about the risk of developing type two diabetes or there being an increased risk of developing it, I think I was told within 10 years, and to have the routine blood tests. so I did do the, the follow up oral glucose tolerance test and I have um, had some follow up hba one Cs. I've been pretty lucky cause we've been with our GP quite a while. Sometimes she'd just say, have you tested yourself recently? Or a series of tests? Um, but then it was, no, we need to do your, um, H B A one C. So I've routinely had those and I've been good and it's all, it's all been good. There's no type. But in terms of potential impacts on the children in later life or, um, you know, master J No, no in whatsoever, nothing.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 15:34

Yeah, and I mean, I guess it's a difficult time. It's not when you wanna put more guilt on women to explain that, you know, your child's got an increased risk of DI diabetes type two diabetes and obesity later in life. But my take on it is you're educating on. Some dietary and some lifestyle things during gestational diabetes, and you're just promoting it postnatally to live a healthy lifestyle for your whole family, and then you can throw in there, which will help reduce the risk of your, to your child because they do have an increased risk of this. It doesn't have to be a big, I don't know, a big, um, chat to you about, you know, your child's now with increased risk of type two.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 16:14

Yeah, and I, I totally agree. So obviously the type two's not gonna be an issue for us now because we have the type one, but having a child who is overweight. then would it have made me be a bit more proactive and conscious what, what I feed him? Possibly, maybe not, but without having the information, I can't say.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 16:36

Yeah. Yeah. Knowledge is power and Empowering is about providing information to let people make informed decisions. So,, I feel like I'm starting to wrap it up, but throw in anything else you want to, I was just thinking is there anything positive you can take from your experience with gestational diabetes? Oh, and my other question to you would be how did it impact on your pregnancy after you found out? Because I know for Chloe, she, she felt that the diabetes has overridden any sort of enjoyment. That was a big part that came out in the podcast was, you know, it's, it's the food is the hardest part. What have you found the hardest? Did, did it take away from enjoyment? And is there anything you can take positive from the experience?

audioHayleyMason11656278397 17:23

hmm. To be honest, I'm not really sure I can add a positive in there. And I think my experience was a bit different given that I was in the hospital at the time anyway. Um, and knowing that there were potential issues with, um, Delivery because of the clotting factor, which was a major issue in the first, um, delivery. But, so I, I don't think I gave the gestational diabetes much thought. But with hindsight now that's, cuz I didn't know how serious it could potentially be. Um, and with, with the other issues I had, they probably.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 18:07

Yeah,

audioHayleyMason11656278397 18:07

not gonna say ranked higher, but the, the gestational diabetes probably sat second best. I, I wasn't allowed to drive. I wasn't allowed to be left on my own. There was minimal that I could do, um, because it was the threat of being hospitalized again and with a, you know, two year old and coming up to Christmas, I really didn't want that. So I think for me, the gestational diabetes really took a backseat and was just a bit of a passenger because the other issues were at the forefront. I'd started to develop quite a bit of anxiety about delivery because of the risk of bleeding

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 18:42

Yeah. And do you know what, that's a very justified taking a second place too, because that's life threatening, you know, as Yeah. And so maybe they didn't wanna put extra pressure on you. You know, we. We can't judge what those, yeah. What those healthcare professionals did or didn't do back then. This is more about sharing the experience so someone else doesn't sit back and think, ah, because I think those words, even I've got, you've got a little bit of diabetes or a little bit of sugar. and it's like a little bit in pregnancy makes or can make a big difference. You know, we are talking, there's target ranges and 0.1 is above the range. It's a difference between maybe medication and not, or trying to change. So yeah, I

audioHayleyMason11656278397 19:26

it's, it's a bit like saying a little bit of alcohol in pregnancy. We all know it. It's, it's a no. It can have a harmful effect. So a little bit of sugar. Well, you know, you've got it or you haven't. And if you've got it, you need to have the information to know for you to make your decisions about how you manage that for your health and the baby. Um,

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 19:50

And do you know what, if you were tested at that 26 week mark, you wouldn't have been tested again. So I guess the fact that it came up at, what did you say, 33 weeks? It wouldn't have come up if you weren't hospitalized and those bloods done. So that may be how they were also looking at it. Do you know is, is there anything that needs to be done now, but you knowing what you know now, could and would've changed a few things to potentially reduce the risk of that neonatal hypoglycemia?

audioHayleyMason11656278397 20:17

And it, and it does raise the question like, you know, why is it those weeks when they do the test? Is that cuz when you are most likely to develop it? Is, is, is

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 20:28

to your hormone levels.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 20:30

Is there a good argument for, for doing further random tests and look, may maybe practice some practitioners, obstetricians, whatever, do, do random tests at other times. But, um, yeah, I, I suppose in some ways it was lucky that it was picked up on because it then allowed for the follow up

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 20:49

That's right.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 20:50

and the awareness about the type two, uh, or, or the risk for type two.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 20:56

Yeah, it is the, it is the biggest growing form of diabetes in Australia and potentially worldwide. I don't know those stats to be honest, but, um, we've just gotta keep doing what we are doing, I think to. To help women because there is lots on social media, there are lots of groups, there are gps that think some of the cutoffs for the diagnosis are too tight and you know, they are being reviewed I think in, in some countries and some areas, and maybe the targets will change again. But health is, I like to think it's always about trying to protect. People and babies from risks and that sort of thing. And it's not all about making money and it depends what you wanna think, but I think if you can reduce the risks to baby and mom

audioHayleyMason11656278397 21:47

Oh, definitely.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 21:48

yeah, and management of gestational diabetes and minimize that emotional trauma that can come with it, that's, that's an area that I think needs improve.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 21:58

as Chloe said when she was talking to you, the, the guilt that you put on yourself because. Your body is, is it your body letting the baby down or how, however you think about it, and you know, pregnancy can be, can some be a highly emotional or anxiety provoking? I mean, you think of a scenario, maybe somebody who's on medication but needs to come off that medication for pregnancy. They're already fighting some battles there. And to then add. Without the appropriate information support, so a lot of that can be alleviated with that appropriate support, education, empowerment.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 22:42

And there's a way of delivering information. And I think some women choose not to monitor their levels and then they might be told You are doing harm to your baby. And that's not overly motivating, I don't think So again, you need to find someone. That's supportive to you on your journey rather than making you feel more and more guilty. Cuz again, on with the type one and pregnancy, I can absolutely relate to feeling the guilt of glucose levels impacting on your baby.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 23:10

Mm.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 23:11

yeah, thank you so much for sharing your story. I was actually thinking it was gonna be bit more of a positive story. Um, It's got

audioHayleyMason11656278397 23:20

it's not really.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 23:22

it's got similar sort of lack of education, lack of support, you know, not a whole lot of information about what you could

audioHayleyMason11656278397 23:30

And a little bit sad really, that these stories are 10 years apart and there doesn't seem to have been, I know we, we've got two, we could, you know, we could get 200 women come on who tell us really positive, um, experiences. But it's, it's a little sad to think that in 10 years we perhaps, possibly haven't moved. Too far in, um, in Perowitz dealt with.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 23:55

Well, the good news, I have a lot of very passionate, um, colleagues in this space. So there, there's, I think a lot of people working in this space are super passionate, so I'm hoping everyone can find someone that's supportive and I'd love to hear from other women. So we are gonna keep putting some, um, if you wanna let us know, we'll start. Creating a list we just record via Zoom. Um, we look at each other while we do it cuz it's easier to talk that way. But we only obviously publish the audio and we can edit it. It's not live. So if you say something that you want us to take out or if you even wanna come on as an anonymous guest, we can change your name, we can do whatever. But we'd love to hear some more stories because I think it is gonna help other women for sure. So let us know. Yeah. All right Haley. Thanks again

audioHayleyMason11656278397 24:44

Thanks, Jamie.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 24:45

chat soon.

audioHayleyMason11656278397 24:47

Bye.

audioJaimeePaniora21656278397 24:47

Thanks for listening everyone.