Pregancy Bed Rest

I'm 39 weeks now with my 3rd child. I had the same problem from about 16 weeks to 36. I was told to eat, but eat PROTEIN and to take it easy/lay down when it started. I could just be sitting at a desk feet up working on the computer and it would drop. I had it drop low enough that a couple of times my fingers and toes went numb. Just don't overdue and you should be fine.

YES! I could not type this fast enough. Have them do a blood panel. I was fainting, and couldn't even ride in an elevator without almost passing out..and seeing stars daily after 29 weeks.. I was totally ANEMIC! After my c-section, the Dr. was in shock at how anemic I was.. please have them do bloodwork, and take a supplemental iron tablet if this is the case b/c it can get pretty scary. Just a guess, but you sound exactly like I did last year! Good luck!

Maybe your dr. means you shouldn't eat processed sugar, but things like carbs and fruits, foods with natural sugars. If you feel like your blood sugar has dropped, try drinking some orange juice or eating a piece of fruit like an orange, peach, nectarine, plum, etc.

The bed rest is not fun, starches turn into sugar in the system so even some crackers or heaven forbid french fries will make sugar. East small sandwiches 1/4 every little bit that may help also. Good luck.

I often eat an apple or other piece of sweet fruit for a quick refesher and pick me up. The natural sugars should be easier for your body (and baby) to gain benefits from.

I have not had this issue but I know from experience that if you are having a spell with low blood sugar that drinking juice can help. I wouldn't recommend eating unhealthy things like chocolate every time you are feeling badly. There are plenty of healthy things that contain sugar that will help you. Orange juice is particularly good! You may want to check with a dietician or ask your OB specifically what you can do to help these spells you are having.

Good luck and take it easy!

Hi, J.! I'm sure your frightened by all this, but there is a simple way to look at your blood sugar problem. First of all, how did you feel an hour after you ate the candy? I'm guessing that you were a bit shaky again. You should try to eat protein when you get light-headed. Of course, you could drink a little juice with it, just to get your sugar up a little quicker. The protein will help stabilize your blood sugar level and keep you from swinging back and forth between normal and low blood sugar (which is what eating sugar will do to you.)

What do I mean by "protein"? A slice of cheese (NOT processed cheese--that's full of junk), a piece of lean meat (like leftover roast chicken or even lean lunch meat), or some tuna (be sure to get "light" tuna to avoid a mercury problem which is found in solid white or albacore tuna).

Complex carbohydrates are better for you than sugar, but they eventually turn to sugar, so limit your intake of these, too. But cheese and crackers wouldn't be a bad choice.

Please bear in mind that I'm not a doctor or even a dietician, but I do have some experience with low blood sugar. Be sure to run all my suggestions by your OB before you act on them.

Best wishes to you--I hope you don't have to go into the hospital, but I've done it (was there for 6 weeks before my second child was born), but not because of my blood sugar. I had other problems. It was hard because of my little girl being at home and missing her so badly, but other than that, it was not a nightmare. You learn to enjoy the people who come to your room every day, and visitors are great!

I did low-impact aerobics right up until 35 weeks or so and occasionally had spells of dizziness that was attributed to low blood sugar. My midwife suggested light, frequent, well balanced meals meals to maintain a constant blood sugar--think complex carbs (grains, fruits), protein and fat. Everything you eat is essentially converted to sugar in your body...some foods just provide a more level and long-lasting effect.

Hard candy or chocolate are emergency measures that don't provide a lasting effect. If you miss a meal or snack, and end up having to use a little sugar push, you should eat a more substantial meal ASAP to maintain the effect.

Chicken or turkey on whole grain bread with some avocado, lettuce, and tomato are great easy ways to boost your blood sugar over time. Snack on almonds between meals. A spoonful of peanut butter a few times a day can also help prevent dips in blood sugar levels.

I was attentive to how I felt and never actually fainted.

If your blood work comes back normal for your blood sugar and you are still feeling this way, try drinking electrolyte fluid (pedialyte). I had a weak/dizzy feeling during my pregnancy, but my blood sugar tests came coming back normal. I prayed about it and felt like my electrolytes were out of balance. Then my chiropractor confirmed it as well. I felt better every time I made sure to drink a couple ounces a day.

Have you tried fruits with natural sugars in them? Bread and other starches should also help keep up you blood sugar.

Your sweet baby is taking what you put in your body so you need to eat more often when you are preggers. There is nothing harder to pick up than your blood sugar when you are pregnant but I used the diabetic route. Go to you local grocery (I went to the big red dot store that looks like a target) tee-hee and in the diabetic section you will find a tube of diabetic candy- they are big thick discs that almost resemble a large chewy sweet tart. Except these are not chewy- if you really feel yourself bottoming out suck on one of those. In the meantime the dr. mean boost your body with natural sugar. Fruit, juice etc... A banana and some orange juice are a better quick fix than cake because you won't bottom out again so fast. Also protein is a huge help. I myself would eat a piece of ham and a banana because I love the two. Peanut butter crackers are a great thing to carry around with you and don't forget your water. Good Luck!

You need a high protein snack every 3 hrs.!!! You'll feel much better....

i'm hypoglycemic and know exactly what you're talking about. i learned the hard way not to just eat sugar (snickers and dr. pepper were my favorite pick-me-ups when i was diagnosed). your body converts what you eat to various types of sugar for energy all the time. if you overload it, you're basically poisoning your system on some level, not fun and then you feel terrible. the key is to balance the sugars you feed your body with protein so they are metabolized properly and your blood sugar level doesn't end up dipping. my all time favorite snacks for dealing with the low blood sugar are:

peanut butter... awesome stuff, great on toast, crackers (graham or plain), fruit or veggies
kashi bars... these have lots of protein and fiber in them. my faves are the GoLean variety
cheese and fruit... apple or grapes are my one of my favorite combos (try pepper-jack cheese with red grapes, yum!)
turkey

when i was pregnant, i had peanut butter crackers and orange juice every afternoon which helped keep my energy steady. if you're feeling super low, drink orange juice, but follow up with some protein b/c orange juice is basically sugar. its a fast way to get it in your body, but you definitely need the protein to keep things steady so your levels don't just plummet in 30 minutes time. if you find yourself with an unexplained headache, even if you're not feeling hungry, eat a little something to steady out your blood sugar levels. just don't forget the protein component in your snack choices.

i hope this helps you, best wishes on the rest of your pregnancy!

Hi there,

I used to be insulin resistant and my blood sugar used to drop regularly. The best way of stabilizing your sugar is to eat lots of small meals often, making sure you have protein with every meal. When you have a piece of chcolte it will make you feel great for as little while and then your blood sugar will drop very quickly after that. Been there, done that. What worked for me was to eat the chocolate and follow it with a piece of cheese, a piece of low sugar fruit and a glass of milk. THis helps correct your sugar quickly but then ensures that it doesn't make a sudden drop when it has used all the chocolate. With your low bp, you may want to add a bit more salt to your diet so that it increases your blood volume therefore increasing your bp... I had th eopposite problem at 27 weeks in my prior pregnancy... I was eating a snack packet of lays salted chips once a day and that caused my bp to go way up high... i had to stop eating the chips... so my reasoning is....if it made mine go up it would probably help yours even just a little.

I was on bed rest for 10 weeks with my son who was born at 4lbs 5 oz... i didn't listen to the doctor and ended up in seriuos trouble.

PLease follow your doctor and burses advice. the best thing you can do for your baby is prevent the sugar drop by eating frequently.

Sorry I didn't mean to lecture but I hope you find some of this helpful :)

All the best with the rest of your pregnancy. I am currently 27 weeks with # 2 and so far no bp problems :)

C

If your blood sugar is low DO NOT EAT SUGAR, eat PROTEIN. I'm hypoglycemic (meaning I have chronic low blood sugar), and the WORST thing you can do is eat sugar. It will give you a momentary "high", but then you'll crash big-time. You even have to be careful about "natural sugar" (i.e. fructose, the sugar found in fruits and fruit juices) and starches (potatoes, peas, corn, etc.). Too much of that can make you crash, too. And always remember, "cane juice" is sugar, pure and simple. (I always wonder if the manufacturers of products with cane juice in them think we haven't heard of cane sugar??)

There are too many doctors who think sugar is the answer to low-blood sugar, but they have the wrong idea of how blood sugar works. I've been to doctors and nutritionists who have a clue, and I promise, staying off the sugar makes all the difference!

Hope this helps!

you need to call the doctor and find out which it is that you need. there are two different types of diabetics. one needs to eat several small healthy meals a day the other type needs to eat something sweet like oarnge jucice is the best to get it back up...still healthy but turnes to sugar quickly in the blood. find out more information on this before eating a bunch of yummy chocolate to make sure which you should be doing. you should have had your pregnancy diebetic test done (sorry i dont know the name of it)