“A forkful of hotbar
helps the sugar drink go down….
the sugar drink go dooooooown,
{Source <—I couldn’t take my own pic since I was being watched like a hawk}
the sugar drink go down.”
Today I had the often dreaded and infamous gestational diabetes test.
The verdict?
Yes, it sucked.
The hype is there for a reason, my friends, but I will say that it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.
This morning, I had a high-protein bfast, since the last midwife I saw told me to avoid simple carbs the morning of the test.
[2 eggs, spinach, mustard and goat gouda]
I drove down to the clinic, checked in, and when they called my name to go back, I had to give them a urine sample.
“Sorry, I didn’t know I had to do this.. I just went about 5 minutes ago.”
“It’s ok, I just need a little. I just need to make sure I can give you the test”
What does that even mean?
#1: A little? What would be classified as a little? And #2: Why? To make sure I’m not hopped up on something before my gestational diabetes test?
Anyway,
I returned the sample,
she checked it,
and then gave me the bottle of orange sugary drink to chug.
“You have 5 minutes to drink this.”
5 minutes? I didn’t think it would be a big deal since the bottle was fairly small.
It took me the entire 5 minutes…..
At first, I didn’t think it was so bad- even for 50g of sugar, it still had a nice, artificial orange flavor to it. But by the time I had finished a third of it, I had to slow waaayyyyyy down. It got a little intense. The drink does taste like flat orange soda, but sweeter, and with the same tangy flavor that sports drinks have. The tech was watching me for the entire 5 minutes, so I chatted with her while I was drinking it, or it just would have been awkward.
After I finished the drink, I had to sit in the lobby and wait until I could get my blood drawn. It’s weird because as much as I didn’t like the drink, it didn’t make me feel as sick as I was expecting. I think it’s safe to say I usually don’t have 50g of sugar in one sitting –which makes me wonder about the validity of the test since they’re abnormal circumstances- and I wondered if I’d get sick or dizzy. [<– sentence was edited because before it said “never”, which in fact, I indeed have. I’m kind of a frosting monster, haha] I felt gross, but not sick. I actually kind of felt drunk, but not the “buzzed- it’s party time!” kinda drunk, the “I need to have a piece of toast to soak it up, and lay down” kind.
The baby, however, was a huge fan.
I couldn’t concentrate on my book because she was doing sugar buzz flips and victory kicks in my belly. Watching my belly jump around was great entertainment for the hour- I didn’t even need a book. Little lady certainly has a sweet tooth.
They took my blood an hour later –3 vials- and then Tom met me for the midwife appointment I had afterwards. Seeing him in his flight suit was enough to make me forget that I had to sit and wait for an hour to get robbed of blood 😉 [And two of the nurses were asking him if he had any older single friends, haha]
I was happy he could make the appointment since we could hear the baby’s heartbeat together. It never gets old… that sweet, strong thump is the best sound in the world. The appointments are every 2 weeks now that I’m in the 3rd trimester, but are fairly short: weight, temp, blood pressure, measure my belly, hear the baby, ask questions, leave. She’s measuring at exactly 28 weeks and I’ve gained 21 lbs so far.
It will take a week to get the results back from today’s test- fingers crossed I won’t have to do the 3 hour one. Apparently you have to drink MORE of the sugary drink, and then wait 3 hours, at the doctor’s office before getting your blood taken. Ehhhh, no thanks.
The best way to wash it down:
HOT BAR <3
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Ugh – I remember that test very well. Only I had a choice of cherry or orange and I think I picked orange. Thankfully, I didn’t have to to do the 3 hour test. I’m not a patient person and waiting that long would have been torture 🙂 You would think there would be a better way to test for GD. And why does it have to be bright orange? Can it not be clear and give the same result? Anyhoo…
She will be here before you know it 🙂 So excited for both of you!
exactly! i looked at the ingredients and they creeped me out a little. red 40- yum!
“I never have 50g of sugar in one sitting”: then you have never eaten an entire slice of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake! LOL!
hahah! ok, i have done that.
let’s change “never” to “usually” then 😉
Done and doneee 🙂
the hot bar settles any day 🙂
Ugh!!!!!! I had the 3 hour test today… it was awful. But I passed, which is awsome!!! had GD during my last pregnancy which totally stunk. I can’t believe you have to wait a week to get your results, I was able to get mine the same day with both test. Different ways of doing things I guess.
I am really enjoying following your blog along with your pregnancy, we are just a few days apart… I’m due Jan 7th. January is coming up fast!
we’re due 1 day apart!! so exciting! please send me a pic of your little one when he/she arrives 🙂
YAY for January babies…I am due January 1st!!
I remember getting my glucose tolerance test done. My midwife always made sure to get her clients booked in with the lab for first thing in the morning, as fasting overnight and then having that as your first source of carbs gave a more accurate result. I had the lemonade one, which didn’t have anything artifical, just a crapola of glucose, citric acid and water. My son also went a bit loopy when the glucose hit him, and got kicked in the bladder quite a few times :-S
Luckily only had to wait 1 day for my results and they came back fine, in fact my midwife commented that mine were the best she had ever seen. I was one of the few clients she had that didn’t have cravings for sweets and cakes; my cravings were for fresh fruit and almonds (I was vegan when pregnant and still am).
that’s awesome! i crave fruit more than sweets or junk food, but am crazy for chocolate right now 🙂
I’m a nurse 🙂 we usually only need a few drips believe it or not
Also, the test is based on a relative spike in your sugar, so it is accurate. Of course that much sugar will make your blood sugar go up, but for some people it can go up to a dangerous level.
Hope that helped make a little more sense!
yes it did- thank you!
I would say that I have –> “I think it’s safe to say I never have 50g of sugar in one sitting “. I am thinking something like a rich, fudgy brownie with a layer of rich buttercream frosting or birthday cake, x2 for the second piece that I went back for because I just love frosting and cake that much. That type of thing 🙂 LOL
I remember the test well. I drank it at home, actually. They let me bring it home, drink it whenever I wanted and then report back to the facility a certain amount of time later. So I remember refrigerating it, drinking it in the a.m. and then driving to the place to get my blood drawn. All was well.
And I am sure all will be well for you and Princess 🙂
i had to change that sentence because i’ve totally had more than one piece of bday cake before 🙂
Yuck, I’ve had GD with all 3 of my pregnancies. I didn’t have the orange, mine was lemon flavored, Yuck 🙂 Good luck with your test results 🙂
I had to dothe 3 hour test.it sucked. They take blood every hour for 3 hours. I was getting so sick they had to fimd me a bed to lay down. “If you throw up you”ll have to come back and do it again”. No way! I was not doing that again. But results: no diabetes. Thank god!
good news!
I still remember that drink, *shivers*, it was so sweet it burned my throat! Ick! My doc didn’t let me eat at all before, so you can imagine how starved I was. I stopped and got 2 bagels on the ride home! Hahaha! Good luck, I’m sure you will be fine! I was worried too, luckily I had no issues.
haha i don’t blame you! from not having any carbs with breakfast, i was definitely hungry afterwards. during the hour wait, i asked the desk if i could have a snack but they said no. the second they took my blood, i munched a larabar so quickly 🙂
I HATED my glucose test too. I felt off all day after it. Boo.
I am sure you did just fine on it!
Blech. I had to do that twice. The first time my test was at 2pm and I had oatmeal for breakfast [protein overnight oats with chia which are supposed to be good for blood sugar nonetheless]. Dumb move. I should have known better. My results came back literally on the borderline number. The 3 hour was brutal. They take your blood on the minute every hour. M next test came back with amazing results. I made sure to do it first thing in the AM with no food. Blech Blech Blech just thinking about it!
I am sure you will be fine!!!
LOL at practicing for simple sugars. 🙂 Good plan.
Isn’t it funny what a man dressed for the job can do to us? Maybe it’s some evolutionary thing. When I meet my guy for lunch, it always makes me swoon to be lunching with him looking all high-power exec. When I took my niece along she hardly knew what to make of Uncle Jase in a suit. She asked him why he didn’t look ‘normal’ today. 😀
that’s true- there’s nothing like a man dressed for the job 🙂
I took my glucose test a couple of weeks ago. Since I’m a huge sugar-holic, I thought it would be no big deal. Holy cow, the sugar buzz was intense! Gotta love the ingredients … and this is distributed by health professionals!
I’m due Jan. 6th, so I think we’re pretty close!
we’re due on the same day! that is so exciting!
Those drinks are gross! I have my blood checked at least 3 times a year to monitor my progress with pre-diabetes. And I eat right, run a lot, but still my sugar and insulin levels are crazy odd. But yes that drink is very sweet, and you do feel awful later, not only do they take so much blood, they also make me check my levels on my own to see if the numbers match.
And that hot bar food looks yummy.
I totally denied the test!
you said you didn’t want to take it?
I always had it done first thing in the morning all 3 times. The first time though they didn’t have orange. It was this fruit punch type thing that reminded me of the sports drink we had to chug in basic training, took me a long time to force myself to drink it down. The second time they had the orange and it tastes much better than the old style/flavor, drank it down a lot quicker but still wasn’t a fan. The third time the nurse set her timer and said go, I drank that sucker down in 15 seconds and slammed the container on the counter. I was glad to be done with that part of pregnancy forever.
i love that you chugged it and slammed the container down! that’s what i wanted to do.. but i couldn’t
Thanks for showing you edited the post. Minor, but shows that you get it. 🙂
i get it 🙂
I’m actually waiting for my husband to come home in his flight suit right now. Gotta love it!
best.ever.
My OB offered 2 options, drink the orange drink of death or eat 28 jelly beans. I tried the drink….and then opted to switch to the jelly beans 🙂
Trooper! I wish you all the best with the results!
I’m like why are they bothering mah gurl lol? The tech was “watching you for the five minutes”… I am sure there is a reason for that. Gestational Diabetes Test cheaters!!! Perhaps people toss the icky drink in the fern when no one’s looking? Hmmm….
All joking aside, I know this is an important matter, and it’s so great to hear about the Prenatal Care and Birthing Classes. We (hubs and I) are family planning at this stage, so this is all educational, informational and interesting, just like everything else you write! 🙂
At the root of my reading, though, is my hope and knowing that all will be just perfect for Mommy, Dad, and Nugette. Thank you so much for keeping us posted!!! And you’re a Trooper Miss G.!
They check your urine for sugar before the test because if there is sugar in your urine beforehand you cannot take the test… glucose/sugar in your urine is an indication of prediabetes/diabetes.
ps: how was nordstrom rack??????
I’m glad that part of the pregnancy is over – it sounds like a doozy!
As a registered dietitian that has worked extensively with patients with gestational diabetes, the test is a valid test. Even if you typically do not consume 50 grams of glucose in one sitting you probably consume 50 grams of carbohydrate which gets converted to glucose in your body. The study is intended to measure whether your body can handle that amount of glucose load with the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
Gina! If you have Netflix watch-instantly, you should check out the first 15 minutes or so of Freakanomics–it’s got an interesting section on parenting, that kind of takes the edge off of making all the “perfect” parenting decisions 🙂
ohhh ok! i’ve read the freakanomics books and loved them 🙂
I am headed for my GD test this afternoon – thanks for the post! Now I don’t feel so nervous 🙂
The orange is the least awful flavor, definitely. I work at an office, eventually you have to taste the stuff. The cola flavor was pretty dreadful, the worst one I’ve tried.