Post # 1
Member
517 posts
Busy bee
Hi Bees,
So I am going to be 27 weeks shortly and have my gestational diabetes test booked. I am really not looking forward to it. I have been nauseous all pregnancy, don’t do well with having to drink very sweet things (like I can’t even drink a regular coke because of how sweet it is) and I generally feel very ill all day when I have too take these kinds of tests and in combination I usually faint when having blood drawn especially if I have an empty stomach.
I am 27 years old, no real risk factors, no symptoms of it…does this test really NEED to be done or is it just a precaution? Thanks!
Post # 2
Member
7651 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
missjewels: You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but GD in pregnant women is a real concern, and if you do have it, you’re going to want to have help making sure the rest of your pregnancy and delivery go as smoothly as possible. If you don’t have prior risk factors, it may be worth considering skipping it. Anyway I did it just because my doctor recommended it, but I know someone who opted out. She is still pregnant, and elects for c-sections anyway so in her situation it probably doesn’t matter much anyway.
Post # 3
Member
327 posts
Helper bee
missjewels: You dont HAVE to do the test. One of the other girls in my December birth group opted to not take the test so her doctor has her testing her blood 4 times a day to track and see if there is any issues. I would discuss this with your doctor.
Post # 4
Member
3697 posts
Sugar bee
You don’t have to consent to ANY procedure you don’t want – your provider cannot force you to take the test.
That said, there is good scientific evidence that testing for GD is a wise thing to do. Here is some information about it:
http://evidencebasedbirth.com/gestational-diabetes-and-the-glucola-test/
One thing you might talk about with your provider is working out an alternative to the glucola. There are other ways to measure your glucose tolerance, as long as you consume something with a known amount of an appropriate sweetener. Sometimes people eat gummy bears … I am sensitive to food colorings, so I didn’t want to do glucola or gummy bears, but my midwife suggested a better option: I took my glucose test by drinking green tea with a huge dollop of honey dissolved in it. It was still kind of gross because it was *so* syrupy-sweet, but for me that was way more tolerable and at least there is some redeeming nutritional value in the green tea!
Post # 5
Member
4521 posts
Honey bee
I’m sorry you’re still dealing with nausea. To be honest, the GD test might be a little bit difficult for you if you are feeling nauseated and can’t drink sweet things. From what I emember from my test, I had to fast for 12 hours, so no breakfast before test, which might be hard if you’re nauseated. Then you drink the sweet drink and wait either an hour or 2 (depending on the type of test they order for you) and they draw your blood to see how you did.
The good news is it’s only a relatively short period of discomfort, but it really is an important test. I wouldn’t skip it if I were you — you want to make sure you don’t have GD. YOu probably don’t, but you never know for sure without the test.
I also battled nausea throughout my first pregnancy, but the GD test wasn’t bad for me. The worst part was that I had to miss a morning of work while I waited the 2 hours between drinking the drink & the blood draw. It really wasn’t bad. Hope it goes well for you.
Post # 6
Member
517 posts
Busy bee
I am more against what it could mean. I have been doing research on the tests and it has a decently high false positive rate…it said 24 in 100 women will be diagnosed with GD when they don’t actually have it. ANd this has huge implications for birthing and your treatment. So combine that with how I know I will feel awful doing this test, my husband knows how bad I am with blood tests etc and he is like “this is gonna wreck you, your going to keep passing out”…like it knocks me out for a day or two because for some reason whenever I get blood drawn I get excessively light headed and pass out of almost pass out. Combine that with not have being able to eat and feeling sick from the drink and I know it will be quite bad for myself. And then if it comes back borderline of I get caught in that percentage of false positives it can really effect my birth plan for no reason.
So to me, I am trying to see if there is an alternative at least.
Post # 7
Member
4521 posts
Honey bee
missjewels: I would discuss this with your doctor. S/he will be the best one to advise you (although his/her bias will obviously be in favor of the test).
Where did you read that 24 in 100 get false positives? I am just curious; I hadn’t heard that, but I haven’t done much research into it, so I’m interested to hear where you found that.
Post # 8
Member
4194 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: July 2012 - Baltimore Museum of Industry
Is this your first GD test, or second? If it’s just the first one, you shouldn’t have to fast- I didn’t. I had breakfast (OB recommended NO O.J., sticking with proteins), and was able to drink water up until the time I took the drink.
Post # 9
Member
517 posts
Busy bee
stillme: From a medical journal summation on the topic.
Post # 10
Member
517 posts
Busy bee
rebwana: My midwife said just go for the straight 3 hour one…not even the first one cause she is like chances are it will come back positive or borderline and I will just have to send you again cause she said its very high false positive. So she said if your okay I prefer you just go right to the 3 hour test which is more accurate but still not as accruate as I myself am comfortable with now finding out what exactly is involved.
Post # 11
Member
5818 posts
Bee Keeper
missjewels: Do it to be safe. Better to be safe than sorry. I know it’s a pain, but honestly, just because you don’t show symptoms doesn’t mean you may not have it. Many people fail the 1 hr, but pass the 3 hr. I really didn’t want to do it, but I sucked it up and did it. Did I have it? No, but did it harm me to do it? No.
Post # 12
Member
606 posts
Busy bee
I had the same fears as you before the test and it wasn’t that bad at all. I actually think that all that sugar will prevent you from fainting (when I was in a hospital once and close to fainting the nurse gave me a sugary drink – it does help). The taste is not as bad as one might think – you can ask for more water to dillute it a bit more and you can drink afterwards. They put me into a reclining chair and I had a book so the two hours went relatively fast.
Post # 13
Member
7311 posts
Busy Beekeeper
- Wedding: October 2011 - Bed & Breakfast
If you really don’t want to do the test, then buy the supplies to do 4x daily monitoring at home for a few weeks. You can buy your own glucose meter and testing supplies, and your midwife can look at your test results for the month at your next appointment to make sure your sugar levels are staying where they need to be. But you will need to be willing to prick yourself multiple times a day. Can you do that? Also, you can replace the sugar bomb drink with real food (honey, bananas, jelly beans, etc.), as some PPs suggested.
Post # 14
Member
3039 posts
Sugar bee
missjewels: I had it done a few weeks ago (the first step of the test, so no fasting and I only had to wait an hour for the blood draw) and it really wasn’t too bad. I have been struggling with MS as well, was on medication until week 26, and don’t really do sweets either but the liquid wasn’t as sickening as I had thought. Also, while I didn’t do this, I’ve had friends put a wedge of lemon into their drinks to make it a little easier to drink. Perhaps you could do the same if you talk to the staff ahead of time?
Post # 15
Member
44 posts
Newbee
I will most likely not be doing it. My midwife said that it is optional & will only recommend it if I start developing risk factors.
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