Dr. Tom Brewer used to say that there was never a case of GD that developed the awful complications that the mainstream medical obstetricians are fond of listing for pregnant mothers. He used to say that the only times that we see those complications are when Type 1 Diabetes mothers have extremely uncontrolled diabetes.
I also believe, as you may have seen in my article, that a "failed" Glucose Tolerance Test (either 1 hr or 3 hr) is not a sign of a misbehaving pregnant body, but rather a sign of a faulty test.
One reason that the GTT has such a high rate of false positive results is that it is so easily influenced by the "fight or flight" mechanism, which causes mothers to release high levels of glucose which is stored in their livers, and at the same time causes the pancreas to inhibit the release of insulin. One of the triggers of this "fight or flight" mechanism is the fear of needles. So I have little doubt that the sole cause of your "high" results was your fear of needles.
In case you haven't seen it yet, here is my list of suggestions from the website cited earlier....
Suggestions:
My first suggestion is to ask for an alternative screening test, instead of the GTT. The test that I would suggest is the Hemoglobin A1C. That test is one that measures the level of blood sugar that the red blood cells have been exposed to for the past 3 months. Since it is a test that shows what has been happening for 3 months, and not just in the past 12-15 hours, no fasting or carb-loading is required, and it shows what the mother's body usually does, with the food and lifestyle that is normal for her, AND it is not vulnerable to the "fight or flight" mechanism or any adrenaline surges.
If your midwife or doctor is not open to using the Hemoglobin A1C, then you can do several things to try to avoid triggering the "fight or flight mechanism" and getting an adrenalin surge immediately before, or during, your GTT.
1) Check the "GD: Myth or Metabolism?" article mentioned above for info on what kind of diet to eat for the 3 days before the test.
2) Schedule your appointment so that you are fasting the bare minimum of time necessary and not one minute more.
3) Schedule your appointment during a time when there is likely to be less traffic on the roads.
4) Leave any children that you have with a baby-sitter or relative at home.
5) Take a friend with you who can drive you there and sit with you during the test (choosing a friend who usually has a calming effect on you).
6) During the time before and between blood draws, do something very relaxing--listening to relaxing music, reading something relaxing, drawing, sewing, cross-word puzzles, meditation, yoga, or whatever relaxes you.
7) In the 5 minutes before each blood draw, have your friend help you with a guided relaxation--visualizing your favorite safe place, or your favorite vacation place, such as lying on the beach, or in a hammock in the woods, etc. Take deep abdominal breaths, and focus on helping all of the muscles in your body go completely limp. Ask your friend to name all the muscle areas of your body, head to toe, as you visualize making them release and go limp: "All the muscles on the top of your head, all the muscles at the back of your head, all the muscles in your forehead, all the muscles around your eyes, all the muscles in your cheeks, etc, etc..."
When I have done this with clients of midwives that I worked for, as I recall they "passed" the test every time.
I also agree with the suggestions for walking between blood draws and for asking for a hep-lock instead of repeated needle sticks. I think that there are some places, however, which will not allow you to walk between blood draws. But if they do, that would certainly help, in addition to taking the last 5-10 min of that hour to do some visualization and intentional relaxation.
Best wishes,
Joy
