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I'm sorry! I am in the same situation and got diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes from a blood test (A1C) at my prenatal intake appointment at 6 weeks. The test monitored my blood for the past 3 months and it showed that some of my glucose levels were elevated even prior to the pregnancy.

I was very upset when I got the diagnosis and blamed myself and cried... I thought there would be no way since I didn't have GD for my first pregnancy. I had some classes with a diabetes nurse and dietician that gave me a lot of information about GD. I'm sure your classes will help a lot!

I monitor my blood sugar 2-4 times a day and am following a meal plan that spreads my carbs out throughout the day. I am now at 11 weeks and sometimes I get annoyed that I have twenty something more weeks of careful eating but I realize I have to do this for my health(I don't want the diabetes to stick) and for my baby's health!

Good luck with everything!

@Pumpkinspice: I had both pre-e and GD (although the pre-e put a pretty quick end to my GD). I was bummed about the GD at first, but ended up really liking the diet and felt that it helped keep my weight down and made me physically feel really good. After my diagnosis I felt like I finally got the pregnancy "glow". I have been saying for the past 9 months since I had my baby that I would like to get back on the diet, but its so much harder to get motivated to eat well when the health of my unborn baby doesn't depend on it. If you do a search for "gestational diabetes", there are a couple of threads that have some meal examples. Its really very manageable and I enjoyed taking the time to prepare things that truly made me feel good.

No info, just hugs. That sucks so much, I'm so sorry to hear!

@Pumpkinspice: I don't have any specific GD anecdotes to share but I wanted to pop into this thread to give you virtual hugs - and reassure you that this is going to be nice and easy for you to manage. My mum has Diabetes and well, really, all it means is that you have to be a little more sensible with your food choices. Eat lots of lean protein, lots of lovely fresh veg, ditch the refined sugars and swap white bread and pasta for wholemeal. If you do have to test your blood sugar at home with one of those monitors, it's just a little finger-prick, that's all - the first time you do it, it's a bit weird but you'll get used to it really quickly. Honestly, if you follow the doctors orders this wont be a problem for you and baby at all, I'm sure of it.

@Pumpkinspice: I have regular diabetes, but what I do works for GD too. Start limiting carbs, cut out fruit juice, limit sugars. Start eating snacks every 2 1./2 - 3 hours. If you want the meal plan that I've been on during pregnancy, let me know. I've shared it with several bees. Pricking your finger to check your blood sugar isn't as dreadful as you think it will be. Walk after meals to lower your blood sugar (really helpful!). Don't be surprised if you actually lose weight. I'm 28 weeks and still down 4 pounds from my pre-baby weight. Fiber one bars and yogurts are my go to snacks. Get used to pairing carbs with proteins because your body processes the carbs better that way.

Let me know what questions you have and I"ll try to answer.

I was diagnosed at 16 weeks, and while it was hard to deal with, I think in the long run I had a much healthier pregnancy, albeit a more medically monitored one.
I only gained one pound (lost 25 in the first trimester and then gained that back plus 1 pound by the time I delivered at 40 weeks. 16 weeks later, I'm down an additional 35! My bloodwork came back, and I'm not diabetic.
I think it's a rough diagnosis to wrap your head around, but knowing that diet (and in my case, oral medication, insulin, twice-weekly non-stress tests beginning ar 32 weeks, and an induction) were necessary to give me a healthy (and relatively small) baby made it worth it.

@pumpkinspice I was put on a diabetes diet at about 30 weeks with my last pregnancy, and I was also really upset about it (partly because I felt like I was being called fat, but that isn't true at all). I had to monitor blood sugar (between 2 and 4 times a day) and be careful about my sugars (carbs included). It totally sucked because I couldn't do the whole ice cream and pickle thing, but it helped me not gain much weight! It did get easier as time went on, and in the end it is just a few weeks in your whole life. For a happy healthy baby (and once he or she is out, you can CARB load!!! start planning your first post-pregnancy meal now hahaha) Good Luck!

@PumpkinSpice - That's me, except it was at 9 weeks. To be honest, it came out of nowhere. My doctor thought I should take the one hour test based on a normal (although on the higher end of normal) Hemoglobin A1C test. I failed the 1 hour and was shocked, and then got 2 out of 3 abnormal results on the three hour.

I was angry, and I am a bit upset at my now old OB/GYNs (another story as to why I changed). I went to an endocrinologist to get some clarity. I've been to a nutritionist, and I now take my blood sugar levels 4x per day. The crazy part is that I've been "experimenting" as I call it lately with food, and I am still able to eat pasta, fruit, etc. without crazy results. That said everyone is different. I've been avoiding juices and sugar (although I did have a brownie the other day). I just have to read labels, and try to keep certain carbs intake within a certain range.

While I was upset, and I'm still not so sure I really have an issue, this has not been debilitating at all so far. The baby is doing fine, and I'm doing fine at almost 16 weeks.

Everything will be cool.