Glucose Test

[lactavia]

I haven't posted in a while! So here we go!

I've been having a wonderful pregnancy. No health problems, no issues, feeling the baby just fine and I'm one healthy lady.

I have been booked for a one hour glucose test where I have to drink the sugar stuff and then they draw blood. This is not something I'm interested in doing.

The question is: do I really need to have this test done? Have other mom's, pregnant ladies out there refused this test? What are the pros and cons of this test?

Thanks!

[Shannie77]

I opted out. Last time I was pregnant I did it and it was negative. I just feel very confident that this is a test I can skip. Other then my grandfather who does have type 2 diabetes everyone in my family is very healthy. He was an alchoholic and his diet is terrible. One of my midwives didn't even bat an eyelash when I opted out. The other was fine with it but I could tell she thought I should do it. They test for glucose in my urine every two weeks and it has always been very negative. My baby is measuring spot on like DD and my diet is pretty healthy. Yes I do have sweets here and there but the staples of my diet and very healthy.

I posted a similar question in my DDC and several women were also opting out.

[CherryBomb]

I personally don't have a problem with it. I've had it done with all my pregnancies and it wasn't a big deal for me. It's pretty non-invasive, and while it's a higher concentration of sugar than I'd normally consume, there's no evidence that it poses a risk to the baby (afaik). Generally GD can be controlled by diet, which is why many women already eating a very healthy diet don't feel the need to take the test. But, occasionally some women do need insulin, and my diet isn't as healthy as it could be. So for me, I prefer to take it.

[CherryBomb]

Oh, I should add that diabetes does run in my family.

[umsami]

Diabetes does not run in my family and I eat a relatively healthy diet and exercise, yet I've had insulin-dependent GD for 3 pregnancies. IMHO, yes, there's a small chance that you may have GD, but if you do...and especially if it's insulin dependent... you need to know. You can't tell GD by looking at somebody, by their weight, or diet. I know plenty of thin people with no family history who have insulin-dependent GD. It's caused by the growing size of the placenta leading to increased insulin resistance. Beside macrosomia, there's an increased risk of stillbirth after 39 weeks, as well as early placental deterioration. I'll also add that I never spilled glucose in my urine.

Chances are you do not have it... but to me, the risks to the baby if you do have it are such that it's worth drinking some yucky goo and giving a bit of blood.

[evjolin]

i too am trying to decide if i should do it or not. leaning towards doing the test. our mw's will let you drink welch's grape juice instead of the yucky orange stuff, for what that's worth. might be worth asking about an alternative like that....

[is it puppies?]

I did mine last night (I really didn't want to but it was easier to do it than fight it) and it wasn't that bad- I hope I pass though because I don't want to have to sit in a dirty boring lab for 3 hours if I fail and have to re-take. The drink tasted like inky orange pop. I think it would have been fine without so much food colouring. I do eat a fair bit of sugary stuff regularly, and it didn't make me feel gross, which kind of surprised me after everything I've read. I did make sure to eat a couple of hard boiled eggs and some almonds before my 1-hour cut off before hand and that made me feel really full which probably helped me to not get the sugar shakes.

[mediumcrunch]

I've never been close to having GD in any pregnancy and doubt I ever will. That said, I have never declined the GTT. It makes me feel fairly icky, although this time my OB has you drink a regular caffeine free pepsi or coke or a sprite instead of glucola.
I see it as a 'pick my battles' situation. I'd rather save my 'veto' for something(s) that is really important to me instead of being contrary over every little thing. I do get that to some women the GTT is not a 'little thing', to me it is. I dislike confrontation, really dislike it, and prefer to only enter into it when I must, for me the GTT isn't a must.

[Coco_Hikes]

My midwives do a real-food test instead of the gross drink version (real breakfast of 2 eggs, toast, glass of milk and one of OJ), which I was happy with since these foods are close enough to what I generally eat. And because I ate at home, I didn't have to sit at the lab for an hour. I just went there about 50 minutes after I ate for the blood draw and then left. Maybe this is an option for you, too. Good luck!

[Adamsmama]

I didn't like doing them ... especially the last time ... I felt very shaky and jittery and anxious. The nurse told me that was normal but maybe it had to do with what I had for breakfast. Not sure. I've never had it and would like to avoid the test next time or at least do a real food version but I doubt the OB would go for it.

[Mama Mko]

I'm skipping it. I took the test with my last 2 pregnancies and was negative. If I come up with more risk factors, I'll consider it.

[triony]

I chose not to do it. We did the "finger-prick" test instead after a normal meal. I don't have any risk factors. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was that my midwife said that the diabetes ranges they use are based on non-pregnant women. So we don't really know what is "normal" for women who are pregnant. In this age of false-positives for all things pregnant, I decided not to add it to my list of worries.....

[Tiffanoodle]

I get incredibly ill when I do the 1 hour test. I have blood sugar issues (low, actually) so fasting and then pouring a bunch of sugar in makes me sick for days afterward. 11 years ago, they didn't require it. With ds, I did it and passed. With dd2, I did it and the number was "a little higher than [stupid OB that I fired soon afterward because of this] didn't like the looks of." She had adopted the lower GTT number. In lieu of the 3 hour test, I did finger pricking for a couple weeks. She still wasn't convinced, since I was bad at getting fastings and would take a sip of soda prior to getting up to settle my stomach. I switched to an AWESOME OB who said my numbers looked fine and told me not to worry. I'm back with her this time.

What the wonderful OB "let" me do this time was to have my blood drawn for a Ha1C test (3 month blood sugar number) early on. I will do finger pricks for about 2 weeks, some fastings and some 1 hour after meals, around 26 weeks. I will also do another Ha1C test then. My first one was 4.6, which is pretty darn low.

I know it's something I usually kind of blow off, but I really do think it's important to make sure you don't have GD. It can really cause a lot of problems for the baby. My OB did give me the option of eating a certain number of regular jelly beans, but it's not so much the yicky drink but how the amount of sugar makes me feel.

[AmyKT]

Originally Posted by Coco_Hikes

My midwives do a real-food test instead of the gross drink version (real breakfast of 2 eggs, toast, glass of milk and one of OJ), which I was happy with since these foods are close enough to what I generally eat. And because I ate at home, I didn't have to sit at the lab for an hour. I just went there about 50 minutes after I ate for the blood draw and then left. Maybe this is an option for you, too. Good luck!

I wish I could do that. I thought I had it easy because I get to eat jelly beans instead of the glucose drink.

[AmyKT]

Originally Posted by Tiffanoodle

My OB did give me the option of eating a certain number of regular jelly beans, but it's not so much the yicky drink but how the amount of sugar makes me feel.

Yeah, I felt a bit sick after the jelly beans, too. Sad, really, because I love jelly beans, but I don't usually eat 20 in 2 minutes.

[icy02]

Did anyone else not do the GD test with their 1st pregnancy. My DH and I have decided we are probably not doing this test. My OB didn't seem very upset when I told her I wasn't sure about doing it. I did ask if they offer anything other than the Glucola stuff. She said no She said that even if I had GD they would just put me on a strict low-sugar diet. Since I'm already following Brewer and take in very little sugar she was not worried. Anyways.... We don't really see the need to take this test and we try to be pretty natural. 50g of sugar seems like it would be a huge shock to my body and not a very good show of how I react to my "normal, healthy" meals. Anyone else out there, or any other opinions on the subject?

[Sileree]

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends testing based on risk factors, not universal screening as OB/GYNs typically do in the U.S.

NICE guidelines state risk factors as: having a very overweight BMI, a previous macrosomic baby, previous gestational diabetes, family or personal history of diabetes and a place of origin with a high prevalence of diabetes.

http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/inde...n=byID&o=11947

[pacificbliss]

I have known several women diagnosed with GD. Of the four three exercised regularly, were at healthy weights and ate healthy diets while pregnant. None had a history or family history. GD is an odd one and not as clear cut as type II diabetes. You can be seemingly healthy and have it. For that reason, imo, it's such a minor test and not really not worth the risk to skip. Foe the one hour you don't have to fast and that helps a lot. My body is definitely not used to the bolus of sugar. ick.

[olien]

with both pgs I took the one hr test & made sure I kept moving after ingesting the stuff to help burn off the sug.

Anyway, both times I failed. This last time it was by 2pts. I didnt actually verbally refuse the longer test, I just never scheduled it. Instead I went to the drug store & got a cheap diabetes test kit & took readings upon waking & 1 hr after eating for 7 - 10dys.

It was a PIA, but the drs had no prob with it at all.

[atpeace]

I agree that GD can be serious and can be undiagnosed in seemingly healthy people with no risk factors. But why not just test in a more realistic way? How about a few pre and post-meal tests, or an Ha1C (I'm not sure if that's what it is called)? That seems to make more sense to me...

Anyone know why the don't do this instead of the glucose drink?

I declined the test with DD and will also decline it with this pregnancy, but only because I can easily test my CBG at work (RN, hospital, lots of glucometers available). If I didn't have access to this method, I'd just request that my midwives fill out a few requisitions for blood tests for fasting blood glucose and after meals.