Is the breakfast as accurate as the drink?

[FoxintheSnow]

The midwife I started seeing does the breakfast instead of the glucola. Is it as accurate? More accurate? same? The glucola is so nasty. Why dont OBs generally let you do the breakfast?

[Birdie B.]

I have no idea - I haven't read any research, but it makes sense to me to measure your blood sugar after a normal meal. I'm glad my midwife does that instead of making me drink glucola!

[finnegansmom]

I've had the breakfast test - cup of OJ, waffles with 1/4 cup syrup and black coffee.

No cream, no protien, no milk, etc.

Passed with flying colors.  Obviously fasted because I was sleeping before hand.

this midwife is making me take the drink test but I'm going to subsititute with jelly beans or something.

That drink is gross, and I know a few people who have vomited after drinking it.  Blech.

[kriket]

When you say the Breakfast, do you mean the breakfast you ate or is it a prescribed breakfast? Because I can see it would take a lot more time and energy and HC dollars to make everyone breakfast, where the little Quarter water jug of hyper sweetness can't cost more than a quarter.

The drink is strong, but it's not food, not really, it's not intended to be delicious and something you want to drink every day.

[apcanadianmamma]

My old OB always had me do a breakfast for the GD screening. Her opinion was that you wouldn't drink the glucose drink in regular everyday life so it was better to just do a complete meal. I actually did this with my last birth too (that was with a midwife) For that one I had to request this as their standard practice was the drink or jelly beans as an alternative. This time around I'm still with the midwife practice and have elected to not do the test at all. I would however say that if you have the option to do a breakfast then it absolutely would be a good option to take. I think a lot of OBs don't do it because it is hard to have a patient go out and trust that they will actually eat something proper for the test to be accurate. Frankly looking back I'm surprised that my OB actually advocated this type of test as she was *very* mainstream in all other areas.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by FoxintheSnow 
Why dont OBs generally let you do the breakfast?

LMAO, why do OBs do any of the crazy things so many of them do?

Originally Posted by apcanadianmamma 

I think a lot of OBs don't do it because it is hard to have a patient go out and trust that they will actually eat something proper for the test to be accurate.

Yeah, that would be my guess. & maybe also they can't "CONTROL" the situation the way they can with the drink. With the drink, they know exactly and precisely how many grams of sugar you are ingesting, but with B-fast, they have to trust the patient to measure out the food properly. You know how American OBs are with liking to control things...
 

My MW does the breakfast. I agree with others who have said it makes a lot more sense - it's more indicative of reality! & besides, the nasty drink could be hard on the baby too!

The drink was so nasty, but worse than that was the time I spent in the Labcorp offices with the RUDE workers there. The whole thing sucked. So I'm thrilled to have the breakfast & prick my own finger with the monitor my MW sent me home with. Friend of mine is a CBE/doula/& current MW student & she said most out-of-hospital MWs do food-based tests.

[MyFullHouse]

I would think that the only way to get an official "accuracy" comparison would be to have the same person do both tests. 

I've done the breakfast 3 times (hospital CNMs) and the drink 3 times (OBs, 2 one-hours and 1 two-hour).  The only time my results were out of "normal" range was with the drink.  The 3-hour follow up test came back normal.

The only time I've ever had sugar show up on a urine strip was after eating too much cotton candy.  ;-)  So I'm very confident in the breakfast results.

[Buddhamom]

I am curious to hear more about the breakfast because I do not want the drink as I don't take in a lot of sugar and certainly no preservatives and dyes.  However the breakfast may not work either as I am vegan.  So what usually do you need to eat in the breakfast?

[MyFullHouse]

Originally Posted by Buddhamom 

I am curious to hear more about the breakfast because I do not want the drink as I don't take in a lot of sugar and certainly no preservatives and dyes.  However the breakfast may not work either as I am vegan.  So what usually do you need to eat in the breakfast?

The menu my mws give includes eggs and milk, so there's that.  And I'm not sure where the bread would fit in.

Still, I've heard plently of variations on the whole thing.  The main key is to have 50g of carbohydrates, and the rest is more about balancing.  I'd definitely ask your hcp for input!

[finnegansmom]

Originally Posted by MyFullHouse 

Originally Posted by Buddhamom 

I am curious to hear more about the breakfast because I do not want the drink as I don't take in a lot of sugar and certainly no preservatives and dyes.  However the breakfast may not work either as I am vegan.  So what usually do you need to eat in the breakfast?

The menu my mws give includes eggs and milk, so there's that.  And I'm not sure where the bread would fit in.

Still, I've heard plently of variations on the whole thing.  The main key is to have 50g of carbohydrates, and the rest is more about balancing.  I'd definitely ask your hcp for input!

That's interesting, I was specifically told to NOT have any protein the morning of the test at all (not even half and half) because it can cause false positives?

I'm a veg but OJ and waffles and maple syrup can certainly be vegan.  (if you buy vegan waffles/pancakes at whole foods or make them yourself.)

The point of the test is a challenge so 50g of sugars seems to be a constant in the ones I've taken.

I would ask your MW or OB.  I think a variable as well is fasting before hand - if it's breakfast, it's not a problem.  If your blood draw is at 3pm, then it will be.

[Buddhamom]

The other thing is I hear about those doing finger pricks, I was told that wasn't an option.  I am a severe needle phobe.  My heart races and I start crying and can't breathe just by walking into the lab. I know, that sounds weird, especially from someone on her third pregnancy.  Needless to say I have them all natural with no sticks or pokes during labor/birth.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by Buddhamom 

The other thing is I hear about those doing finger pricks, I was told that wasn't an option.

Well, it's still a 'needle' I suppose when you prick your finger, but yeah, I'd say much less invasive than an actual blood draw.

There is no reason the finger prick shouldn't be an option for you. Actually, it makes so much sense, I'm kinda irritated I didn't have the option the first time around! As I wrote, I had to take time out of my work day to sit there in the lab, the workers were rude - and the finger prick is the same way diabetics monitor blood sugar! I'm using one of the same products I see advertised on TV all the time.

The only reason I would guess you were told "it's not an option" is simply because your HCP doesn't own the portable monitors. :( Bummer. Could you borrow one from someone else - another PG friend who has one from her MW or a diabetic friend? My MW sent me home with the monitor for 4 full weeks. I'm supposed to do the test at 28W, and right now I'm only seeing her every 4 weeks, hence me hanging on to it for 4 weeks.

I actually can't find my binder my MW gave me right now (bad client!) But I'm happy to post back with breakfast info I was given when I find it. I'm fairly certain it was whole wheat waffles with pure maple syrup, although I can't recall if it gave me a specific recipe. DH makes pancakes & waffles from scratch most weekends & I believe the recipes he uses have both milk & eggs, & maybe even butter - so there are certainly proteins & fats too. So I don't know if the info my MW gave me specifies a different, lower-protein recipe.

[Buddhamom]

Maple syrup isn't a problem considering we make our own here at our house every Feb/Mar. *LOL*

[Birdie B.]

My breakfast was 2 eggs, toast, a glass of milk and a glass of oj.  I think, it's been a while so I might not remember everything!

[LaurenAnanas]

Originally Posted by Buddhamom 

The other thing is I hear about those doing finger pricks, I was told that wasn't an option.  I am a severe needle phobe.  My heart races and I start crying and can't breathe just by walking into the lab. I know, that sounds weird, especially from someone on her third pregnancy.  Needless to say I have them all natural with no sticks or pokes during labor/birth.

I know there are lots of local midwives around me who do finger pricks over a week as an alternative to the GTT, or as follow-up if the 1 hour test results are borderline.

The practice I saw for my first pregnancy did a "post prandial" test, which is the fancy Latin medical term for all of the real food options. We were instructed to eat a high protein breakfast or lunch (which you could easily do vegan) and then an hour before the blood draw, we had to eat our choice from a menu of sugary/glucosey options. I think I had a certain amount of grape juice and a banana.

You should be able to google post prandial glucose testing (or something like that) and find alternative protocols. 

Is it an "option" for you to refuse the GTT entirely? It's definitely one of those modern medical things that are of questionable value.

[mra]

I did the breakfast. I had three choices. I choose 2 pieces of wheat bread, peanut butter and jelly (there was an exact amount of each), an apple and a cup of milk. The test was two hours later. It was nice to eat at home and then go in for the test instead of sitting around the waiting room for an hour.

[donutmolly]

I'm quite sure that eating normal foods is as accurate as the glucola drink... however, it is easier and more "controlled" to offer the same drink to patients... so I'm sure that is why most OB's use the lab provided drink.  My mw's info sheet on GD testing says: "there are many ways to ingest 50 grams of glucose/sugar.  She doesn't have the breakfast listed (although I know she does use it for the test), but does list these options: 63 Jelly Bellies, 10oz. Welches White Grape juice, 12 oz. Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice cocktail... I might not eat those in my real life diet, but they sound better than pure glucose from a lab...

[Jayray]

I have out of hospital midwives and they use glucola.  They give you the bottle to take home, so there's no waiting.  They also don't make you fast.  I don't know what the deal is.  I somewhat weakly tried to get out of it.  I did it during my last pregnancy and passed.  I also don't feel like paying for more tests.

[Buddhamom]

See that is part of my concern.  I wouldn't normally put that into myself due to it being unhealthy (the jelly beansm fruit coctail) so how could I possibly end up with GD? My MW said I could not get out of it but would talk to me more at next visit.  She also said the only thing that is an issue since my diet and lifestyle is very healthy is my age...40!

[MegBoz]

Found my binder! Here's what it says:

2 hour postprandial glucose challenge

3 days prior to testing:

• to prepare for this test, you'll need to "carb load" for 3 days beforehand. During these three days you should:
• avoid ALL refined carbs, including white flours and sugars and foods that include these ingredients.
• Eat about 150g complex carbs per day. (I'd use the site www.fitday.com to calculate)

• The night before the test - fast overnight - do not eat anything after you go to bed.
• The day of the test, test your blood sugar first thing in the morning, before you have eaten or drank anything.
• Begin timing your 2 hours at the beginning of your meal
• Eat a large breakfast of complex carbs and protein, such as whole wheat panckaes with real maple syrup, eggs and meat or veggie sausage. Only drink water, herbal tea, or 100% juice.
• Take a brisk 1/2 hour walk after your breakfast.
• 2 hours after your meal, obtain a 2nd blood sugar sample.

Hm, so there are no specifics on what to eat or how many grams of sugar to ingest.

Blah, if the weather is like it has been, I guess it's good we own a treadmill b/c it's been miserable here - freezing & windy. Although 30 min on a treadmill is torturously boring! Maybe I'll do some light aerobics (working at the same intensity at a brisk walk.)