From Gestational to Prediabetes—My Battle With Balancing Blood Sugar
An unexpected discovery during pregnancy revealed a much-needed tune-up for my metabolism.
As a lifelong movement enthusiast with a passion for healthy food, blood sugar was never on my radar as something to look out for.
Like many women, I am in good general health and maintain a healthy weight. I exercise regularly and do not have severe stress in my life.
But when I developed gestational diabetes in pregnancy, it marked the beginning of a more permanent metabolic shift toward insulin resistance. It soon became clear that I needed to pay more attention to balancing my blood sugar, something many healthy women may not be doing.
Short on time? Here are the key takeaways:
When I developed gestational diabetes during two back to back pregnancies, it marked the beginning of a trend toward insulin resistance.
Having learned how to identify symptoms of erratic blood sugar in pregnancy, I pursued a series of routine blood tests when these symptoms returned and I was diagnosed as prediabetic.
My doctor immediately prescribed lifelong medication, but I negotiated my way out with a promise to make a few preventative changes and retest my glucose levels in 3 months.
In that time period, I gathered data from a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and implemented a daily and phase-specific protocol to address insulin resistance.
Through this experience, I learned that I am indeed prediabetic, but only in my luteal phase.
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The guidance included in this post is intended for active women participating in some form of regular resistance training and exercise.
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Early Indicators in Pregnancy
While reviewing the results of a glucose tolerance test during my first pregnancy in 2018, I shared a sense of disbelief with my doctor. She playfully asked if I had a soda before taking the test or perhaps orange juice with breakfast.
She was admittedly shocked to see my medical history behind a 202 reading for the 2-hour blood glucose test.
The diagnosis was clear, I had gestational diabetes.
For the next 16 weeks, I pricked my finger 6+ times daily and diligently tracked every meal as a soon-to-be mama doing everything I could to protect my life-giving placenta. A temporary, albeit vital, organ, the placenta ages prematurely with prolonged periods of elevated blood glucose and becomes less effective at nourishing the baby.
Thankfully, with swift dietary action and more intentional exercise, I was able to keep my gestational diabetes in check. A challenge that was all but forgotten when I delivered a healthy baby girl.
A month after my daughter was born, I went in for another glucose tolerance test and came in at 140—the exact number that defines the lower limit for prediabetes. After months of careful carbs and post meal walks during pregnancy, I was in the clear. Even if just barely.
As a new mom, I became more relaxed about carbohydrate consumption and returned to exercising for enjoyment when it was convenient.
Another Round of Gestational Diabetes
When I found out I was pregnant with my son a short 10 months after giving birth to my daughter, the looming glucose tolerance test weighed heavily on my mind. Knowing that the likelihood of a second diagnosis of GD was high, I started paying closer attention.
At 24 weeks, with a reading well above the 140 threshold at 217, I found myself again discussing options for blood sugar management during pregnancy. The same approach worked again, but it was notably more challenging to keep glucose spikes under control.
After giving birth to a healthy boy in 2020, I felt like my finger-pricking days were behind me. My HbA1c came in at the high-end of normal at 5.3 and I naively thought it would stay that way.
Warning Signs & Diagnosis
Fast forward to the summer of 2022 when I was balancing two toddlers, a new business, and the ups and downs of stay-at-home mom life during a lingering pandemic. To say I was tired was an understatement, but I figured the unrelenting fatigue was circumstantial—pointing to a sleep-deprived mom approaching 40 with a lot on her plate.
Slowly, more symptoms joined the party—blurred vision, heaviness and heart racing after meals, dry skin, and unpredictable moods with mild dissociation. The feeling was very similar to pregnancy and led me to pursue testing my blood sugar again.
After a complete blood panel and comprehensive metabolic testing with my doctor, the only outlier was my HbA1c.
In just 2 years, it had jumped from 5.3 to 5.8 placing me in the prediabetic range. And I’m not yet 40. I’m not overweight. I do my best to eat healthy and exercise.
The Modern Medical Dilemma
Now out of obstetrics and back in primary care, I scheduled a zoom appointment with “my” doctor and within minutes she recommended the drug metformin…for life.
With little to no eye contact, she hurriedly offered additional guidance like, “limiting carb intake,” “reducing stress,” and “exercising more.” All of which sounded like a paradoxical nightmare—you want me to eat fewer calories from carbs, expend more energy, and still somehow reduce stress?!
For someone who was already physically active both in and out of workouts, any additional energy expenditure would have contributed to more mental, physical, and emotional stress to the detriment of my hormonal health.
I eagerly asked questions about natural remedies and herbs while sharing concerns about the long-term use of medication. Each hopeful suggestion was readily dismissed as not having sufficient medical evidence.
When it became clear I wasn’t going to get the personalized support that I needed, I exchanged my protest for persuasion and negotiated my way out of a lifetime prescription by committing to a recheck in 3 months.
This would give me time to implement a protocol that gave me greater agency and better aligned with my values. But I was going to need more data to get started.
Check out the next blog in this series for how I found out that I’m only prediabetic in my luteal phase… a new cycle syncing phenomenon that we as women have never considered before.
