Sugar... Aahhh, Honey Honey

Now that song will be stuck in your head all day... you're welcome :-)

For those of you who are not familiar, around 27-29 weeks, OBs require women to do a glucose tolerance screen to check for gestational diabetes. You have to drink this really sweet drink in a 10 minute period of time then they draw blood at exactly 1 hour after you finish the drink... I did mine on June 30th when I was 26 weeks 5 days. You are not supposed to have any sugar before the screen but I had a case of prego brain that morning and had a big bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast...

On July 2nd, I got a call from the nurse who told me my screen came back a little high and they wanted me to go on for further testing. I asked what I needed to do.

I would have to make an apt at a special lab. The night before, I can not eat or drink anything after midnight. The following morning (the earliest apt being 7:30), I go to the lab and they take a fasting blood sample. Then they make me drink the sweet stuff and wait an hour to take blood. I am not allowed to eat or drink anything during the hour... then they do this 2 more times for a total of 3 more hours of nothing to eat or drink... and they make you stay there in the office the whole time to make sure you don't sneak a drink or a bite of food... so basically, I will have nothing to eat or drink (with the exception of 3 containers of sickeningly sweet stuff) for about 11 hours. And if I throw up the sweet stuff at any point during the test, I have to start all over...

Sounds like fun, huh?

Me: Let me get this straight... you want me to go almost 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink?

Nurse: Well, you take a snack with you for afterward because you will feel pretty bad by then and you'll need to eat something as soon as possible after it's done. And you will probably feel bad the rest of the day...

Me: I can't go that long with out food or water. I eat every 2-3 hours no matter what... even at night when I get up to use the restroom I eat an apple or something...

N: Well constant hunger is a sign of diabetes.

Me: I never hungry... I eat so often so I WON'T be hungry... there's a difference...

So now I am shocked and appalled at the idea that a pregnant women would be forced to go so long without food or water... so I start thinking of what I can do to get out of it.

Me: What happens if I refuse to do the 3 hour test?

N: We treat you like a diabetic and you have to restrict your diet and test your blood sugar every 4 hours for the remainder of your pregnancy.

That doesn't sound fun...

Me: You said it was a little high... what does that mean?

N: Well the cut-off for the screen is 135, and yours came back at 140.

ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!?! Go through all that for 5 points?!?! When it was probably the Lucky Charms anyway?

Me: Then I want to repeat the 1 hour test.

N: We don't do that.

Me: Well I want to do it...

N: I will have to ask the Dr and she won't be back until the 7th.

Me: That's fine. You ask her and let me know what she says.

So I get a call on the 7th and the Dr agreed to let me repeat the 1 hour screen... but if it came back at 135 or above I would have to do the 3 hour test...

YES!!! I was not going to mess this up again... I cut all sugars out (even fruit) for the 24 hours prior to the test just to be on the safe side... and I did the rescreen on the 14th.

I got a call on the 16th... 137... POO ON A STICK!!!!!!!!!

I go in on the 20th for the 3 hour screen... If I never post again, you'll know it's because they killed me by dehydration....