Strategies to pass glucose test if you "have to" take it?

[Spinifex]

Suppose that your midwife's insurance and agreement with the backup physicians demanded that she "risk out" people who declined or failed the glucose tolerance test, what could you do to increase your chances of passing it?

The accompanying pamphlet says that I can eat normally before the test. I'm supposed to show up, drink the syrup, and then go for the normal appointment in the hour before the blood draw.

Would any of these help?

• Testing at a certain time of day? Early afternoon?
• Eating protein, fat or fiber about 15 min before the test? I'm thinking 3 boiled eggs (gag) with a tablespoon of flaxseed.
• Walking up and down the stairs for 10-15 minutes before showing up to the appointment, or excusing myself early and doing the same right before the blood draw?
• Adjusting my diet in the weeks before the test? I don't eat a lot of white sugar or flour to begin with.
• Exercising more in the weeks before the test?

Except for this policy, I'm pretty happy with the midwife care I've received so far.

Thanks in advance.

[Arwyn]

I've frequently read advice that says if you don't normally eat a lot of simple carbs, you should "carb load" for the three days before the test. It helps eliminate some false positives from your body going "WTH??" at getting a huge load of sugar it's not used to.

You can probably find more info if you search this forum for GTT.

[pookel]

Cinnamon increases insulin production. There have been scientific studies done with diabetics that found a real benefit. I was taking it regularly before I got pregnant again; I'm not officially diabetic but I think I'm borderline, and I can tell when my blood sugar is too high. It helped. Unfortunately it gives me heartburn now that I'm pregnant ... oh well. I got it in capsules at a drug store, but you can also make tea from cinnamon sticks or just eat a spoonful of powder, if you can stand it.

[dakotamidnight]

Originally Posted by pookel

Cinnamon increases insulin production. There have been scientific studies done with diabetics that found a real benefit. I was taking it regularly before I got pregnant again; I'm not officially diabetic but I think I'm borderline, and I can tell when my blood sugar is too high. It helped. Unfortunately it gives me heartburn now that I'm pregnant ... oh well. I got it in capsules at a drug store, but you can also make tea from cinnamon sticks or just eat a spoonful of powder, if you can stand it.

pookel - where oh where did you find cinnamon in capsules?????? I can't find it at any of my local stores and my mother also takes it for diabetes.

To the OP - SO sorry to hyjack.

What I found helped with my GTT was to get up and move during the waiting time. I walked the hall, and noticed a great difference in results {they made me do the test 5 times : }

[pookel]

Originally Posted by dakotamidnight

pookel - where oh where did you find cinnamon in capsules?????? I can't find it at any of my local stores and my mother also takes it for diabetes.

I got it at Osco Drug, which is now CVS pharmacy here, and I think they still sell it. It was pretty cheap, like $5 for a bottle of 100 pills. Maybe you could get it online if your local stores don't have it?

[skueppers]

You may find the following web site helpful:

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/gd/gd_testing.htm

It explains that there's a lot of disagreement in the literature about what makes for a more accurate test -- eating 2 hours beforehand, fasting, etc.

Personally, I've always chosen to have it done first thing in the morning, and eaten breakfast afterwards.

Oh, and at my doctor's office, they have you drink the stuff before you come in, so obviously I was moving around in the time between when I drank the stuff and when I had my blood drawn. Don't know if that made any difference.

[MommytoTwo]

My mw has me eat a meal one hour prior: unsweetened juice, 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast and milk (more specific than that - she lists amounts etc) and I am hoping that will be more reality-based than that glucola crap.

[heathenmom]

deleted

[heathenmom]

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gttDiet.html

This link has instructions for carb loading.

[babsbob]

For the one hour, I was told to eat only protein for breakfast and took the test early in the morning.

Unfortunately, I had been eating way too much sugar the week before (Christmas goodies) so I had to take the 3 hour GTT.

I scheduled it for a week out and didn't eat any sugar or any processed/refined foods for that week, but I eat lots of starches and whole grains three days before the test. I passed the 3 hour test!

[KiwiZ]

Exercising regularly and eating healthily at regular intervals are the best natural ways to "even out" your blood glucose (makes you feel better too). You can also walk around while waiting for them to check your glucose, that also has the added benefit of making time go by faster

[heathenmom]

OP, when are you scheduled to take the test?

[JamieCatheryn]

GTF chromium can help, and capsules of a fruit called mangosteen

[Spinifex]

Thank you so much for your suggestions and links!

I think I'll go with the protein right before and try to walk the halls before the blood draw. I'm also glad to know about the carb-loading and the cinnamon, and will be planning that as well.

I am not scheduled to take the test for another 6 weeks, but it was brought up as a non-negotiable thing at my last appointment and it has been stressing me out ever since. Well, I was given the option of refusing, but then the midwife would not be able to attend my delivery at all, so it was basically non-negotiable.

(And it has not helped that I've not been able to exercise since then because of the snowstorm, and I keep irrationally thinking my pancreas will conk out entirely from the unaccustomed inactivity... :-) )

I'm really, really grateful for your help!

[mwherbs]

[QUOTE=Spinifex;7042228]

Would any of these help?
[LIST][*]Testing at a certain time of day?

AM and don't wait too long probably no more than 12 hrs of fasting- and fasting means only water-

[*]Eating protein, fat or fiber about 15 min before the test? I'm thinking 3 boiled eggs (gag) with a tablespoon of flaxseed.

NO, NO,NO any eating will raise blood sugar and give a false positive for the test no matter if it is a protein or not-
[*]Walking up and down the stairs for 10-15 minutes before showing up to the appointment, or excusing myself early and doing the same right before the blood draw?

exercise just before the test may also trigger your body to dump some glycogen to meet demands-


[*]Adjusting my diet in the weeks before the test? I don't eat a lot of white sugar or flour to begin with.

Just the opposite you will shock your body to eat low carb and then dump a bunch of simple carbs during the test-- the O'Sullivan studies showed that the tests were more accurate if done after 3 days of carb loading atleast 150 carbs/day -- if carb loading was not done false positives were between 25-40% so makes for a very inaccurate result if you carb fast in the days before the test.
[*]Exercising more in the weeks before the test?

exercise weeks before sure- helps to manage blood sugar - but continue to do that same level of exercise through out your pregnancy and life.

[mwherbs]

the other poster who said that they ate a protein breakfast had a Postprandial blood sugar test it- it tests how elevated blood sugar gets 2hrs after eating a meal- instead of taking OGTT - the glucola/sugar syrup test starts with an initial blood draw that is fasting, then syrup and a blood draw at 1 hr ,2 hrs ,3 hrs -


find out which test you are being sent for because if you eat before the fasting one you will have elevated sugars--

also do not smoke before the test- nor drink morning coffee, take tinctures or any pills