pregnancy diabetes

Back on Track Tuesday: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Thanks for all your well wishes. I am making a good recovery. 

We bring you back to your regularly scheduled programming (Old time radio announcer voice here) , "Gestational Diabetes".

My suspicion that we see more of this every year is substantiated. Gestational or pregnancy-related Diabetes (GDM) is on the rise. It seems to track right along with the obesity epidemic. However, it is a cloud with a very silver lining. In many cases, the women I see who receive a diagnosis of GDM see me as their primary doctor, and, like many others, come in regularly only when they are pregnant. As such, it is golden opportunity for effective lifestyle intervention. 

GDM patients receive a whole package of nutritional, fitness and lifestyle advice, treatment and monitoring which I think, in the final analysis, will add years to their lives. They learn about the pleasure and ease of good nutrition, about personal organization, and about optimizing health. They do this through learning to craft meal and snack plans with the diabetic educator and my office. They learn to structure their days to a very high degree as a result of having to have blood sugar checks, medication and meals and snacks at just the right time. They are also introduced to mild regular exercise or at least physical therapy, which they uniformly enjoy. They report weekly for monitoring and feedback. Most of the time they achieve great results and feel good about themselves. 

And here's the cherry on top: If patients keep up the nutrition and exercise after baby is born, their weight and body composition drift naturally toward the optimal. And that's worth its weight in gold. 

Learn more HERE on our page about Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.