What's the "Drink" appointment?

[justKate]

My midwife gave me a schedule of appointments that looks like this:
Midwife, cont, NOB (10 wks) July 22 @ 1:30
Midwife (15-17 wks) Aug. 28 @ 10:30
Midwife (20-21 wks) Sept. 23 @ 11:00
Midwife, Drink (24-26 wks) __________
Doctor (30-32 wks) _________
Midwife (34 wks) __________
etc....

What is the "Drink" appointment? Is it necessary? I'm as low-risk as you get....

Thoughts/experiences?

[Thursday Girl]

my guess is it's the GD appt. where they want you to drink this nasty sickly sweet syrupy soda stuff.Then you wait a bit and they test , gosh i can't remember. Pee maybe.

Anyways recently I have heard that you can do it by eating at a certain time. I am going to be looking into that. That sryup stiff is N A S T Y

[MomtoXane]

I'm "at risk" so I had to do the drink test at my first visit. It's 50g of glucose and a blood draw an hour later.

[nighten]

There are three other options I'm aware of for the GD test. One is eating a big breakfast and getting tested a set number of hours later. Another is eating a set number of jellybeans (27 or something? I forget) and the third I know about is declining the test, if you're not spilling sugar in your urine.

I tried the jellybeans last time, they tasted terrible so I gave up after a few and declined the test because I wasn't spilling sugar in my urine anyway so there was no point to the test in my mind anyway.

If there was sugar in my urine, I'd have pressed on with the test. But I still wouldn't have drank the syrup. I'd have vomited it right back up for sure.

[Citykid]

I drank the syrup and it really wasn't so bad. It was like the syrup they use to make orange soda, before they add the seltzer. And it was just a little bit. I took it like a shot. It made me a little jumpy, but it was just for a little while.

You can pick your battles. To me, drinking a dose of sugar is not so terrible.

[alison_in_oh]

Originally Posted by justKate

What is the "Drink" appointment? Is it necessary? I'm as low-risk as you get....

Risk factors for gestational diabetes include such benign things as being over 25 years old, being non-white, being "overweight". The 1-hour GTT (glucose tolerance test, you consume a measured amount of sugar and then find out what it's done to your blood sugar levels a measured amount of time later) is considered a non-invasive way to screen out the women who might need actual testing for gestational diabetes (the 3-hour GTT), so it's routine procedure for all pregnant women. Routine can, of course, always be refused.

Here's an interesting article by Henci Goer on gestational diabetes: http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregna...,,9z3m,00.html

I did the GTT last pregnancy after carefully arranging my meals for the day in order not to overwhelm my poor body with sugar and falsely increase my reading. I passed with ease, and with my midwife's urging went straight to have a nice high-protein dinner to cushion the blood sugar crash.

I'll probably accept it again this pregnancy, just because I don't feel like rocking the boat over something that really is non-invasive (if a bit annoying.) But I think each woman should definitely make her own choice.

[AllyRae]

Is the jellybean thing just a midwife thing? I would love to do that one (I have a huge drink aversion--for some reason, even non-pregnant, drinking anything makes me a bit queasy), but I've only had OBs around the time of the GTT and they all make me gag down the nasty drink. I'd love if one understood enough to let me do the jellybeans.

[Larissa]

I am actually struggling with this one this time around. I have always done the 1 hour in the past with no problem. I agree it is a non invasive test. However, in the past couple of years I have eliminated sugar from my diet. (except for sugar in it's natural form, from fruit) I am very concerned about what 50 grams of sugar after fasting all night long is going to do to me and my baby. So, I'll be talking to my doctor about it at my next appointment. I am hoping that we can come up with an alternative plan. I already eat a whole foods, super healthy diet. I grind my own grains and make all of our bread, etc.

[njbeachgirl]

Crashing your DDC

I declined the test this time but my midwife will do it with just plain old OJ, maybe yours will too!

[an9elkatie]

During my first pregnancy, my OB had me eat a full-sized Milky Way bar for the GD test in lieu of drinking the nasty stuff. I know Milky Way bars are by no means healthy, but it was nice treat/splurge! I am going to ask my midwife if I can do that this time around, to.

[nighten]

My midwife wrote down something like I was unable to tolerate the jellybeans because of nausea and thus had to decline the test. So it was worded a little nicer than just me refusing it.

She didn't care so I wasn't making waves at all by refusing it. She said she'd have pressed it if there were sugar in my urine.

[BathrobeGoddess]

My MW doesn't even do it unless you are already showing sugar in your urine already. I haven't done it since I was preg with my eldest in 1994...

[mommy2one0326]

It is a pretty routine test. Everyone (that is know of) is tested. the drink doesn't taste too bad. I had to have the test done twice because I failed the first time. I had to do a 3 hour test after the first one. They give you the drink then take a blood sample.

[mamamillet]

Yes it is a "routine" test, but like many of the "routine" tests done by OBs it is not needed unless indicated (ultrasounds are another)--by sugar in the urine. My midwife doesn't do the test unless there is an indication for it...

[Larissa]

I agree it's not necessary unless indicated! I am hoping that my doctor will work with me on this one. I can't see why he wouldn't.

[Thursday Girl]

Originally Posted by Citykid

I took it like a shot.

man i had to drink a whole little bottle of it, 6 oz or something.
If i can eat 27 jellybeans or a candy bar I am totally down, i do that occasionally anyways.

[nighten]

Originally Posted by Thursday Girl

man i had to drink a whole little bottle of it, 6 oz or something.
If i can eat 27 jellybeans or a candy bar I am totally down, i do that occasionally anyways.

Yeah the drink stuff was not a shot at all. It looked huge from what I remember. Though I have a great midwife who suggested the jellybeans or the big breakfast as being a much easier way to go about it. I don't remember why I didn't opt for the big breakfast (because I'm normally a big breakfast kind of person), but I didn't. The jellybeans were nasty though. Really. Now I could see maybe being able to do it this time because our local natural grocery sells organic jelly beans. Which seems very silly to me, but handy, if I start spilling sugar and need to do the test.

[pattigirlny]

Instead of the 'drink'.....for both of my pregnancies....my midwife told me to eat 2 pieces of french toast with syrup,drink a glass of OJ,and i think,eat a banana.....then I went in to her office like 2 or 3 hours later for the test. Yum!

[alison_in_oh]

Originally Posted by Thursday Girl

man i had to drink a whole little bottle of it, 6 oz or something.
If i can eat 27 jellybeans or a candy bar I am totally down, i do that occasionally anyways.

Yeah, and I heard that if you stretch it out (I was told I had 5 minutes to drink it) and drink lots of water with it, it hits your blood sugar a little easier. I had a little sip, then a big gulp of water, until it was gone.

[justKate]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to see how the midwife responds to me asking about OJ or a candy bar, or forgoing it entirely, and play it by ear from there. I definitely don't want to be a PIA so soon, so we'll just see how it goes, I guess. Thanks for the info!!