Tips for 1-hour glucose screening?

springbeduk2

Good morning,

Looking for any tips on 1) not getting grossed out/nauseous/fainty from the glucola drink for the 1-hour glucose screening, and 2) avoiding false positives.  Any ideas from your experience?

I still have a few weeks before that test but am feeling wussy and stressing about it already ... I HATE sweet beverages (except milkshakes or egg nog ... why can't the drink for this be a milkshake?  or just have us eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's?) - never drink soda or gatorade; even apple juice is too sweet for me.  Lemonade and limeade are nice in really really hot weather but I always add extra lemon juice or lime juice to make them less sweet.  Too much straight sugar (without some fat or fiber) generally makes me not feel good.  I have had some tendency to hypoglycemia in the past.  

My appointment is for after school/work so I definitely won't be fasting for it.  They told me to eat normally that day (just maybe don't eat anything sweet on the way there).  I was figuring to have a high-protein, some fat, high fiber snack on the way (it's an hour from my work and I'm always in need of a snack that time of day) like some cheese and/or hardboiled egg and wasa (really high-fiber, whole-grain, cracker - sort of thing) so that I'll have something good in my stomach to hopefully not get nauseous or shaky from the drink, and also maybe to help tone down the insulin reaction to avoid a false positive.  Of course, if I actually do have GD I want it to get caught and managed, but I'd really rather avoid doing the 3 hour test unnecessarily.  Does that snack plan sound reasonable?

Any flavor advice if there's a choice?  I generally don't mind artificial citrus-flavors as much as others, but maybe this drink is different?

Thank you!

QOTR

I haven't done the test yet, but my doctor advised me that when the day comes that I should not fast, but eat a protein based meal, for example - eggs instead of pancakes w/ syrup.

I hope it goes well for you!

CaraH

During my first pregnancy, I took mine after breakfast. The nurse recommended eggs and cheese or an egg mcmuffin without the English muffin. (She thought even grains tended to skeew the test. Though, true whole grains probably won't.). As for getting the drink down - I just asked the techs which was least gross and they had a definite opinion. I followed their advice and it wasn't bad at all. I'm sure there are different brands, but mine tasted like that fruit punch you used to get at summer camp. Not something I'd choose, but not terrible. And, though sooo many people warned me about the sugar crash, I didn't have one. I think it was because I followed instructions and ate protein beforehand.

CheezeFace

I'm like you - I drink water, coffee or wine and that's about it.  It's not a lifestyle choice, I swear.  I just don't like sweet drinks.  

The drink is gross  I felt gross after drinking it. I really don't think there is a way around it.  I'm not normally one with this kind of advice - I usually try to be more helpful- but I think this is one of the things that you just have to suck it up and get through.

As far as the meal planning, I'm not sure.  It seems logical that you would eat your normal meal because if what you are eating causes higher numbers, you'd want to know that, right? There was a lot of talk on my BMB with how to "get around" the test and I didn't understand that logic.   I'm not a doctor, though, so I'd go with the medical advice

I also had GD and am so thankful it was caught.  The three hour test is brutal but you can cross that bridge if you get to it:)

FX everything is normal.

dannie2011

I was told not to eat anything for at least an hour before the test. With Alexis I failed the hour test because I ate a yogurt with fruit not thinking. I was told that would do it, so this time I stuck with proteins and passed. 

Melissa72777

I had mine in the morning. The nurse told me to eat healthy the day before and avoid all sweets for 24 hours. Day before the test I had cereal in the morning, a salad for lunch, and chicken breast with a veggie and salad for dinner. For breakfast the day of I had scrambled egg and toast with only butter. They also told me to avoid heavy carbs...in other words no fettuccine Alfredo within 24 hours of the test.

In regards to the taste of the drink to me it tasted like flat orange soda but I didn't have any problem with it. Then again I don't mind sweet drinks. I was stressing a ton before I went through it based on what I was reading but I didn't find it bad at all and I passed with flying colors. I have heard some people say that eating a certain number of jelly beans will do the same thing as the drink so maybe ask your doc about that. For me jelly beans gross me out so that definitely would have been worse than the drink in my opinion.

obscurereference

I've had GD both pregnancies so I've done a bunch of GTTs. I really don't think there's a way to prepare for the test. The drinks don't taste good, but it's not a big deal. And seriously, I don't get why people get worked up about the 3 hour. The only bad thing about it is that it's super boring.

For what it's worth, when I did my 2 months postpartum GTT, my endocrinologist wanted me to eat a hefty amount of carbs in the 4 days leading up to it so the drink wouldn't shock my system. Sometimes people who follow a low-carb diet full time can't handle the intense sugar intake and that can cause false positives. Good luck!

ETA: You should probably go for the lemon-lime flavor if you like that flavor in general!

Beachgal72

Everyone scared me about the drink and it was no big deal for me. No, it is not delicious, but I wish I had not wasted any time worrying about it at all. Mine tasted like flat orange soda -- I kept it in the fridge which helps (don't try to drink it warm). My doctor just told me no carbs for 12 hours before the test. My test was in the morning so it was pretty easy to do. I never felt sick or had any problems during or after and I passed the test.

Luna C

Mine is coming up soon: How much do you have to drink, and how quickly? 

Is it like a colonoscopy where you have to drink like a gallon of that crap? Do you have to chug it? I just realized I have basically zero information on what it entails. 

Melissa72777

Luna C said:

Mine is coming up soon: How much do you have to drink, and how quickly?

I'm not sure if mine was even 12 ounces. I think you have to drink it in like 10 minutes. I downed mine in 3 or 4 gulps within about 30 seconds. I seriously did not think it was bad at all and wasted too much time stressing about it.

brachysira

Luna C said:

Mine is coming up soon: How much do you have to drink, and how quickly? 

Is it like a colonoscopy where you have to drink like a gallon of that crap? Do you have to chug it? I just realized I have basically zero information on what it entails. 

No No No--if that is a 10 horrible, this is a 2.  It is really just like having kool-aid, and no more than you would get out of a soda machine.

Stillharbor

I've read that several other liked/disliked the citrus taste of the glucose, like it tasted like sweet Sprite. Which was pretty much the only thing I couldn't stand. So when I went it for the test, I was given a bottle a little bigger than one of those little water bottles. I held my nose and had the nurse open the bottle (what you can't smell, you can't taste) and jugged. The hardest part was the sitting and waiting. I wasn't allowed to leave because the blood draw had to be done in exactly an hour. ( The nurse told me to keep an eye on the time and in 1 hour to come back to her, to interrupt even if she was in the middle of someone else.). I was bored! Take something that will keep you busy.