• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kids at Risk For Diabetes

Registered Nurse, Diabetes Educator, CDE, Obesity, Children, Youth, Lifestyle

  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Our Programs
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • FREE Resources
    • My Video Lectures

blood sugar

What’s Missing?

07/05/2018 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

What's missing from your gestational diabetes educational program?

What’s Missing from your Gestational Diabetes Program?

Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GDM) get lots of information on how to care for themselves, but many of you will still end up with preeclampsia or C-sections?

How successful is the diabetes training for pregnancy that’s been offered to you?

Could it be improved?

Read on to see My Solution…

The Current Program

Gestational diabetes programs vary greatly. Many areas do not offer support for the confusing disease.

Do you know what to do when your blood sugar is too high?

Do you have someone to contact for emotional support?

Do you know what it means when your blood pressure starts running too high?

Are you afraid of ending up on insulin?

What’s missing?

There are lots of educational resources available. Unfortunately, many of the programs are provided when it is convenient to the provider, for example, classes you need to attend at the hospital. And many programs are missing the emotional support so many women need.

When are Gestational Diabetes women ready to learn?

Whenever someone is diagnosed with a chronic disease like diabetes, their first reaction is shock.

After the shock of the diagnoses, they will progress through the 5 stages of grieving starting with denial.

  • Denial – trying to avoid the inevitable, “Do the test again”
  • Anger or frustration – the coming out of pinned up emotions
  • Bargaining with their provider or with God
  • Depression – the realization of the inevitable
  • Acceptance and finding a way forward in their life

I have heard so many women, who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes say, “How can this test be right? I must have eaten too much the day before the test.”

Unfortunately, gestational diabetes is 100% driven by the hormones produced during pregnancy.

It is critical that you understand that your condition will get worse before delivery.

Timing is everything!

When you are in denial, it is difficult to remember details.

When I taught our gestational diabetes classes, my patients were within two weeks of being diagnosed. Many of them were frustrated and feeling betrayed by their body. Their providers wanted them to start testing their blood sugar immediately multiple times a day.

For half of one day, I provided diabetes management techniques through a program at the hospital. Only a few of the women took notes. Many were in shock’s first phase of denial.

They knew diabetes caused “big babies” which placed them at risk for C-sections. But they had tunnel vision; they were focusing on the problems and not the solutions.

The Results

They did not know how to reduce their blood sugar when it was too high. In the end, many of our patients ended up with pre-eclampsia, in the hospital on bed rest, with induced labor when their baby’s lungs were developed enough to sustain life. The result was pre-term babies being delivered to save the mother’s life.

The Solution: Emotional support

These women needed a support system. A place where you can ask questions and get workable solutions from people who have had the same experiences. An on-line support system can be a great resource for finding solutions that work. But you must carefully check the source of your information.  On the web, everyone has an opinion.

Also, due to the pregnancy brain fog, women need on-going training. Many times, they are given information that they don’t need to put into practice right away. They forget important information. They need a place to store a resource of information.

Women need encouragement. In the beginning, their blood sugars are not too bad. They don’t want to test their blood five times a day because it makes their fingers hurt. Many of them stop checking because they are in denial. Unfortunately, as the pregnancy progresses, the blood sugars will get worse.

Many clients complain that they don’t know what to do if their numbers are high. They feel helpless! They need someone to answer questions.

My Solution

“Healthy Babies from Preconception to Birth and Beyond” is an online virtual program designed specifically to assist gestational diabetes patients and type 2 patients who are pregnant or want to become pregnant.

  • They will receive daily emails. (currently this is 27 emails)
  • They can store the emails in a file where they can refer back to them as needed.
  • The course includes tips and activities they can do at their convenience.
  • They will also join a private Facebook group where they can ask questions of each other, share stories, and offer support to each other. I monitor the content for accuracy and provide answers.

Join my mailing list right here and I’ll send you more details about the Healthy Baby course.

If you are curious, but not sure if this program is right for you or your loved one, schedule a free call with me and we can talk through it together.

Filed Under: gestational diabetes Tagged With: blood sugar, gestational diabetes, pregnancy diabetes

Prevent Unplanned Pregnancy

08/10/2017 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

Uncontrolled blood sugars can cause serious birth defects.

It is unfortunate that I find a need to present this information. I have experience working with thousands of teens and unfortunately many of them get pregnant. I am located in the American Bible belt. They encourage schools to teach “abstinence only” in sex education classes. In today’s society, it appears to not be effective in controlling unwanted pregnancies.

Never trust your schools to adequately prepare your children for pregnancy prevention.

All parents need to take an active role in the discussion of sex and the importance of contraception. Do not expect your child to be adequately informed by the school’s sex education classes.

Know your risks. Research shows, if the mother has gestational diabetes, the child is at increased risk for diabetes. There are a variety of risk factors that can be found on the CDC’s website on Diabetes. You can take their survey to evaluate your child’s risks.

Type 2 diabetics are at risk for the most serious complications in unplanned pregnancies. About 7% of embryos developed with high blood sugars also develop Spinal Bifida. There are other brain and heart malformations that are associated with uncontrolled diabetes.

Typically, babies born under gestational diabetes are over nine pounds. Doctors recommend C-sections due to the increased possibility of broken bones during birth (particularly the collar bone).

The most serious health issue is high blood pressure in the mothers. This can be life threatening to the pregnant woman. If the mother develops high blood pressure, she will often times be placed in the hospital on bed rest until the baby is developed enough to be induced. There is a risk of underdeveloped lungs in the newborn and high medical cost for intensive care for the newborn.

There is a wide variety of birth defects associate with high blood sugars.

All diabetics need to seek pre-conception counseling before getting pregnant.

If you are interested, I have a 30 day course for gestational diabetes.

Filed Under: Children, Diabetes, Motherhood Tagged With: birth defects, blood sugar, unplanned pregnancy

Children’s brains need 130 gms carbs daily

02/25/2017 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

Children's brains need 130 grams of carbohydrates daily for proper development. Read more and learn what you can do!

Children need carbohydrates for proper brain development. We should not be placing our kids on a low carbohydrate diet for weight control. Children need a balanced diet for growth and proper brain development.

What Information Is Out There

Much information on the internet today states that if you have high blood sugars, you should switch to a low carbohydrate diet. There is a ton of information about low carb diets. You could get the impression that this is a good way to control blood sugars. But in children, low carbohydrate diets can be harmful to their brain development.

Blood Sugar Is So Confusing!

I once had a lady come for consulting, complaining of unknown sources of blood sugar. She stated she had checked her blood sugar before eating her dinner. Then she ate a steak dinner with NO carbs. (She was very careful, no dinner roll, no potato, etc.) Then after dinner she checked her blood sugar again and it was much higher. She was so confused.

Have you ever gone to bed at night with one meter reading and woke up the next morning with higher blood sugars? I have had parents believing their child was eating during the night causing this rise in blood sugar. Poor kids were begging for my help!

The fact is, when you don’t eat what your body needs, your body will produce it. Your liver is a large reservoir for energy. When you don’t eat carbs and your body needs quick energy, your liver will release it. This causes your glucometer to read higher than expected.

Our Brains NEED Carbohydrates!

Your brain needs carbohydrates to function properly. The adult brain needs about 100 grams of carbohydrates every day for proper brain functioning. Children need 130 grams of carbohydrates every day just for proper brain growth and development. Imagine your children having a hard time concentrating in school because they are not getting the quick energy they need.

We know it is easy for kids to get a sugar buzz. But there are other sources of carbohydrates they need like fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, granola, whole wheat bread, starchy vegetables like corn and peas, plus many more.

Low carbohydrate diets are not the answer to prevent diabetes. In fact, many people turn to high protein diets which are usually high in fat (aka loaded with calories). They gain weigh causing insulin resistance. It really is about total calories. Living a balanced life is key, particularly in children.

What You Can Do

Are you motivated to make major diet changes like this? Are ready to teach your children to lead a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and increased activities? If you’re ready to make changes but don’t know where to begin, I have a 30 day virtual program that is perfect for the whole family! Click here for more info.

Always be careful when accepting information from the internet as truth. Unfortunately, not everything on the internet is correct!

Please check with your medical provider before making significant changes in your diet.

Making and maintaining lifestyle changes is very difficult.  If you need a coach, find someone who will work with you. I’m happy to chat with you if you have questions. Schedule a discovery call with me.

 

www.kidsatriskfordiabetes.com                                                  Julie@kidsatriskfordiabetes.com

Filed Under: Children, Diabetes, Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: blood sugar, brain development, carbohydrates, children nutrition, low carb, weight control

Primary Sidebar

Featured Posts

Back to school preparedness means having your children and their educators prepared to care for their diabetes and medication management. It can be scary to trust someone else to administer medication to your child! Are you prepared?

What Schools Need to Know: Children with Type 2

We need to educate our teens and ourselves on the effects alcohol has on our blood sugar. Did you know that low blood sugar looks A LOT like being drunk or hung over? Read more about it!

Alcohol and Diabetes a deadly combination

Children's brains need 130 grams of carbohydrates daily for proper development. Read more and learn what you can do!

Children’s brains need 130 gms carbs daily

Stages of Motivation refers to the process of deciding and then acting on your decision to make lifestyle changes, to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes...

Stages of Motivation

Before Footer

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer

Copyright © 2019 · Wellness Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in