Failed Glucose Tolerance Test

I think that it is crazy that he would just dismiss you as a patient.... However as a mother if there is something that you could do to make your baby healthier, would you not do it?????? It may be just a huge inconvenience, but it may be something you are glad you did later. Talk to the lab where you would have it done.... they may allow you to take the kids for a walk or something as long as you are committed to be there at the necessary times.

1 mom found this helpful

I failed my one hour test by a couple of points during my first pregnancy. My doctor said that it was no big deal. He said that I had a "sugar intolerance", and I just needed to be careful not to eat too many sweets. Frankly, your doctor sounds like real jerk. I would talk to the doctor directly about your wish to skip the next test and why. It's not really up to the nurse what happens next.

I don't think your doctor is a jerk. Do you have any idea how many OBs are no longer delivering babies because of all the liability and malpractice costs? They have tests that they need you to take and they need to make those rules across the board. As much as he might like to in your case and I'm sure he realizes you would be fine, he just can't do that. If something went wrong later and it turned out you did have gestational diabetes, that would put him in real trouble. I understand why you don't want to do it, taking kids wouldn't be fun. Go ahead and talk to him directly and hopefully I'm wrong. But if they insist, it makes sense. If it is a test they normally don't put under the "optional" catagory, they wouldn't have waivers on hand for you to sign. They have to cover their behinds and that is totally understandable. Congrats on the fourth!

C., yes this happened to me as well. i do feel though that it is important to do the second test. gestational diabeties can happen at any time,(with any pregnancy),so, although it would be tough to bring "the crew"with you,i think this is important enough to deal with the hassel.

T.,mom of toddler son.

I agree with the previous posters that said yeah, it's inconvenient, but necessary! Your doctor would be right in dismissing you if you refused the test because that would put him at a huge liability risk. I had GD with my last baby and I'm currently pregnant with my third. I'm hoping not to have it, but I've insisted that they test me earlier to make sure. GD is serious stuff that needs to be dealt with ASAP. And nothing that you're doing - your diet or healthy weight - would prevent you from getting it. You can't give it to yourself, no matter what you're eating or how much you weigh. Trust me, I asked these questions when I was diagnosed last time. I KNOW how hard it is to take little ones with you. I'm dealing with that myself these days. But you'll make it. Just pack lots of activities and snacks to keep them busy. You may want to ask if there's any way you can get the drink ahead of time so you can save yourself that first hour of waiting. That's what I'm doing for the 1 hour next week. I have the drink in my fridge and I'll drink it on my way to the office so I won't have to wait quite so long once I get there. Good luck. I really hope you DON'T have GD. It's no fun to be THAT careful about everything you put in your mouth. But it's totally worth it to have a healthy baby.

Hi C.
Sorry you have to go through this...I did too. With my first, I failed the 1 hour, then passed the 3 hour. With the second, I failed the 1 hour and failed the 3 hours. Nothing was different about the pregnacies up to that point.
What I learned, is that they are really liberal on the reading of the results. Many ppl pass, who should have failed. Normal blood sugars are between 90 to 120. When measuring for gestational diabetes, they give you up to 140. So really, a fail by a few points is really a fail by over 20something points. I don't know why they give the higher range on the test, if you fail you have to keep it under 120 through eating habits or they will put you on insulin.
When I found out I had gd with my second, I was devastated. It wound up being the best thing that could have happened to me. It forced me to eat correctly during the pregnancy. While I have never been overweight, I used to be really athletic, I never understood how the body uses food. The class really taught me how to eat correctly and monitoring my blood ranges showed me exactly how food was affecting me.
After having it dx w/my second I am convinced that I had it with my 1st as well...that the test was too broad. I felt so much healthier at the end of my term with my second. I still had energy, I was breathing easier, the 3rd trimester was just sooo much easier.
As much as it sucks to go in for it, I have fasting and getting pricked, its probaly for the best. Even though you are a healthy weight, you are getting older and your body might be reacting differently. I understand why the practice wants you to get checked. If you were to have it, and not taking the proper measures to monitor it, the baby's health would really be at risk.
If you do have it and you need someone to talk with or help figuring out the diet, please feel free to contact me
P.

Hi there,

I never took the glucose tolerance test with either of my 2 pregnancies. They have a high false positive rate, plus I am hypoglycemic and fasting is very uncomfortable for me.

I believe there are other ways to tell if you have gestational diabetes (like sugar in your urine) without the glucose tolerance test.

If you are really worried, (but since you are tiny and your baby, I assume, is not measuring large), you can follow the diet recommended to moms with g.d. (which is all they would have you do if you failed the test anyway). Of course, since you already eat healthily, it's likely a moot point! My vote: skip the test.

During my last pregnancy, I opted to go as natural as possible. I took the position that this is my body, my baby, my pregnancy, and my right/responsibility to make informed decisions. When presented with the "option" to have the glucose test done that standard way, you know the drink glucose (sugar) stuff and see how I react, I asked if there was an alternative. My midwife said yes. My options were to sign a waiver of the test or to do a modified test. The modified test was that I would fast from bedtime the night before until my 9:00 a.m. test appt. done at their office (didn't sound too unreasonable) and they would do a "fasting glucose test". Same "test" on their end, different prep on mine. This worked very well for me. I don't know if your dr will allow the same. I highly recommed Labor or Love Birthing Center, as they allow you to make the most of your pregnancy and feel that their role is to educate, inform, guide, nurture and support you. They hold a very dear place in my heart after assisting me in the best possible birth imaginable after two really difficult experiences with standard dr/hospital senarios. I hope this information has helped.

hi. i'm a mother of two. with my 1st. i was told i had gesational diabetes. with my 2nd, i passed only by 1 or 2 points. same with the 3 hour test. my md. told me i was in the clear, i didn't have it. come to find out at the birth of my baby i did have it. she was 10lbs. 5 oz. and was hypoglycemic and had to be in icu for 5 days in order to get her sugar levels regulated. i only gained 18 pounds with each pregnancy, but i wasn't as stict with my diet with the 2nd. just be careful. my gut told me i had it, but my md said i was in the clear. good luck.

I am writing you to let you know my experience. I have two childresn and with both pregnancies I failed the 1st test as well. With my first pregnancy I went in for the hour one and ended up getting very ill only 10 minutes into it due to not eating and drinkin that awful stuff. So after my second one and I failed again I refused to go for the second test and I did what they allowed me to do with my first was to test myself everyday. I got a glucose monitor and test strips. They gave me a log from there office and every day for usually 2-3 times a day I would draw my own blood (just a very, very small amount from a prick in the finger tip) and test myself and write down my numbers and every time I went to my appointment I just brought my sheet and they made a copy for my records. It worked great and I could monitor myself better. Maybe your doctor would agree to the same thing. Good Luck.