Doctor appointment: Diabetic screening/glucose test

I failed my first glucose test. Dang! I thought I was going to cry I was so shocked. I was given the orange glucose drink (basically sugar water) at my last appointment and have been staring at it in our fridge until this morning came. Within a few minutes it was gone (it has to be within five) and an hour later I was at my clinic being tested. The woman who pricked my finger said that my hemoglobin looked good, so I suppose I assumed my glucose would too. Jeff and I waited for the nurse practitioner to come into the room to tell us the result, figuring it’d be a short and sweet conversation. She greeted us and then said, “Well, your test didn’t come back so good.” It was definitely not what we were expecting to hear and I wasn’t prepared for feeling so bummed out about it. “I guess I shouldn’t have had that chocolate cake last night,” I said to her, but was relieved when she told me it actually has less to do with my diet than it does with my hormones. Whew! However, if it turns out I fail the next test, my diet will have to change. Oh, and I gained two pounds since my previous appointment.

I haven’t had any sweets since my appointment this morning and I have been losing my mind a little. It’s not that I can’t technically right now, but I thought I’d give it a try. I have realized I just may do better if I was a crack addict giving up crack. How can a person, a pregnant woman nonetheless, give up sweets? On a typical day I can’t get cookies and cake and candy and ice cream and anything ooey and gooey and chocolaty off my mind, but now that I am trying to restrain myself, and even just as my own little test, oh my gosh! I can hardly stand it. I’m sick to my stomach and shaking a little thinking about sweets and worse, about possibly having to give them up!

I’ll go in for a second screening, a three hour glucose tolerance test (GTT), on Thursday (Thursday, January 28th) to see if I have gestational diabetes. I’ll have my finger pricked when I arrive at the clinic and then I’ll drink the glucose drink. I’ll carry a timer (I’m picturing Flava Flav--->) and wait there for an hour, have my finger pricked, wait another hour, have my finger pricked, wait another hour and have my finger pricked again. And I don’t even get a sucker? All kidding aside, of course our baby’s health is my main concern and I’m more than willing to do whatever it takes to bring him or her here healthy. Mostly, I’m afraid of the prospect of what gestational diabetes could mean for both our baby and me later on. About 50% of pregnant women who have it will develop type 2 diabetes after pregnancy and children are at higher risk for the disease as well. I’ll be given the results the day of the test, so hopefully my next post will be good news…