You may be given medication if your blood sugar levels are still not stable for 1 to 2 weeks after changing your diet and exercising regularly, or if your blood sugar level is very high when you are first diagnosed. These can be tablets (usually metformin) or insulin injections. Metformin is taken in tablet form. It makes the body respond better to insulin, which is the hormone that lowers the level of glucose in the blood.
The treatment of gestational diabetes aims to keep blood glucose levels the same as those of pregnant women who do not have gestational diabetes. Treatment always includes special meal plans and scheduled physical activity, and may also include daily blood glucose tests and insulin injections. If diet and exercise aren't enough to control blood sugar levels, you may need insulin injections to lower your blood sugar. A small number of women with gestational diabetes need insulin to reach their blood sugar goals.
Some healthcare providers prescribe an oral medication to control blood sugar levels. Other healthcare providers believe that more research is needed to confirm that oral medications are as safe and effective as injectable insulin in controlling gestational diabetes. Although insulin remains the cornerstone of gestational diabetes treatment according to the strongest data, there are subgroups of patients for whom oral drugs may be suitable and effective alternatives, provided that doctors are willing to abandon the use of these medications in favor of insulin when glycemic control is not achieved or to use a combination of these oral medications with insulin when necessary to improve glycemic control. Home > PregnancyHub > Pregnancy Complications > Gestational Diabetes > Taking medication and insulin for gestational diabetes. It's hard to know if these women have gestational diabetes or if they just started developing it during pregnancy, but they will need to continue treatment for diabetes after pregnancy.
If you have gestational diabetes, you'll need to control your blood sugar level and keep it that way to protect your health and that of your baby. They'll probably recommend that you stop taking diabetes medicines right after your baby is born. If you're at high risk of diabetes, for example, if you're overweight or obese before pregnancy; if you have a mother, father, brother, or child with diabetes; or if you had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy, your healthcare provider may test you for diabetes early in your pregnancy, probably at your first antenatal visit. There seems to be a relationship between the tendency to have gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes, since both involve insulin resistance.
IN SUMMARY, many professional societies recommend the oral drugs glyburide and metformin for the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The program is in its tenth year and more than 90% of babies from these pregnancies are born at a weight appropriate for their gestational age. If you're at average risk of developing gestational diabetes, you'll likely be screened during the second trimester, between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. If you have a blood glucose test, the American Diabetes Association suggests the following goals for women who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy. If your blood sugar level is higher than expected, you'll need another glucose tolerance test to determine if you have gestational diabetes.
Up to 1 in 5 women with gestational diabetes will need to take pills or receive insulin injections to control glucose during pregnancy. Oral medications are attractive options for patients, given their ease of administration, lower cost, comparable efficacy, and better adherence (. If you have gestational diabetes, your chances of having problems during pregnancy can be reduced by avoiding excessive weight gain and trying to keep your glucose levels in the ideal range.
