Primal eating while pregnant - failed glucose tolerance test

[berry987]

I am 28 wks pregnant with my 4th child. I took my 1 hour glucose tolerance test yesterday and today I found out I failed (my number was 190). 

I basically eat primal - high fat/low carb. I eat meat, fish, fruit and veggies and occasionally a slice of sprouted bread. I've only gained 15 pounds this pregnancy which is awesome because I tend to gain A LOT and I was already about 20 pounds overweight when I got pregnant (I ate "healthy" with all my other pregnancies, but more along the low-fat, whole grains and lots of veggies route).

So...I am pretty certain I am doing well, the baby is healthy, etc. I told me OB before that I'm eating this way and so when the results came back she said it might be because my body went into shock from the load of sugar since I pretty much don't eat sugar at all. I mean, they give me a syrupy sugar drink that I would NEVER drink it real life to see what my body does 

But I'm worried about the 3 hour test - if my body is not used to sugar now, won't I just fail that test? And since I already eat a low carb diet, I'm basically already treating GD. I'm just worried I'll fail and be asked to test my levels 4x a day and be labeled high risk of some sort. I realize a lot of people fail the 1 hour and pass the 3 hour, but I'm just worried/curious about the connection between eating low carb and shocking the body with glucose.

Anyone have any experience with this??

[paleohailey]

Hi berry987,

I haven't been through this myself (only 11 weeks!) but I have heard from other primal/paleo moms that failing the glucose test is quite common... it's a huge hit of sugars, and your body isn't used to it! And you are correct, the GD diet is pretty close to how you're already eating. Can you buy/rent a cheap blood sugar monitor to check yourself after meals for a couple of days? That would probably give you a more reliable picture and reassure you that things are okay.

[sacredpresence]

That happened to me to, and I went on to pass the three hour test, although I did start eating more carbs before that, I don't know if it affected it or not. 

Robb Wolf has written quite a bunch about this subject, here is one of his posts: http://robbwolf.com/2008/06/25/gestational-diabetes/

[gardenmommy]

How do you feel about refusing to take the 3 hr. test?  If you talked with your OB, told her what you are planning, and why, and how you are planning to eat the rest of your pregnancy, how would that go over?  How will she treat the rest of your pregnancy if you were to fail the 3 hr. test?  

[JMJ]

I would also consider asking if you could substitute an A1C test instead. This tests what your blood sugars have been like for the past few months and is a much better indicator than the GTT. Also, it doesn't involve consuming something you don't want to put into your body.

ETA: I should have read the link before posting.  That's the same recommendation as the one Robb Wolf makes above.