I have my test tomorrow. Can I ask you ladies what you had for breakfast, and how long it was before the test? And then did you pass or not? I won't start the test until 10:30 or shortly thereafter. I normally have an everything bagel for breakfast, and they have a good amount of protein, so I'm thinking if I eat that at 7:30, it shouldn't affect the test really...three hours later should be okay, right? What are y'all's thoughts on that? I was in France for my last baby and they had me fast for the test. Thanks!
Lab results came back today. I passed my glucose test! But failed the hemoglobin/iron test miserably.
It was a 30.1 - They require a 35. I'm already taking a prenatal with 150% of my iron in. Apparently my taking it at breakfast with milk (cereal) AND the fact that it already has calcium in means that my body may not be absorbing it. Fantastic! We'll retest at 34 weeks. Until then they've put me on a separate iron supplement in combination with my prenatal AND have instructed me to start drinking "Molasses Tea", which is molasses, coconut oil, and hot water. *gag*. But the iron benefits are apparently profound.
If I don't bring my iron up to 35 by 36 weeks then I risk out of the clinic and have to transfer to a hospital for birth, which is terrifying because I won't know any of the nurses or doctors and they won't know me.
To prove to myself that I'm capable of pulling up my iron levels, I just ate an entire bag of broccoli.
@Bibliobebe Congrats on passing your glucose test! I also passed and learned I am anemic too but not really as low as I have dealt with in the past. My hematocrit is 32.1. I am also taking a prenatal which has iron in it. One thing I wanted to mention that always works for me is to eat cereal fortified with iron in it. So think shredded mini wheats (any flavor, I love the chocolate). There are a few different cereals with 90% fortified iron in it and it is a really easy way to get your iron in (I eat it dry as a snack). Try that and add in cooked spinach into your diet (your body absorbs more iron when the spinach is cooked). And vitamin c to help you absorb it like a squeeze of lemon or fresh strawberries for dessert.
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
@pizzaandwine I would actually advise you not to eat a bagel the morning of the test. I am no doctor and they say you either have GD or you don't, but if you really want to increase your odds of passing the first time and not having to take the 3 hour test, I recommend protein only for breakfast. I enjoyed 2 fried eggs the morning of my test and passed with my glucose levels being at an 89 (normal range is 70-139). Good luck!
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
I did mine yesterday. 2 hour here, and my fasting glucose was 100 and normal is <95. The rest of my numbers were great. I cried the entire day... My blood sugars today have been low or perfect. So disappointing.
Sorry to hear about your results. How long did you fast for @racklerooo ? I fasted for 12 hours before my 2 hour test. My fasting number was 70 (65-91 was a pass). Maybe you can keep and eye on it and ask your doctor if your numbers stay normal?
@rock1cherry, i fasted for more than 12 hours. ive gained 6 pounds... I think it may be easier to take of I had failed by more than 5 points and I had gained more weight. I understand that it's not just based on that, and I honestly don't know why I'm taking it so personal! I ate relatively normal today, and my highest blood sugar was after lunch 79. I have my next OB appointment on Thursday, so I'll talk more with her about it then.
@blondie080300 Thanks for the advice! The strawberries with lemon sound yummy! I like uncooked spinach a lot, don't normally try it cooked but I'm up for almost anything if it'll get my levels up!
@Bibliobebe Raw spinach is still good for you! You just get more iron released from it if it is even wilted a little. I usually eat a raw spinach salad with fresh strawberries in it, blue cheese, slivered almonds and white button mushrooms (drizzled with Ken's Steakhouse Raspberry Pecan dressing- YUM!). You can Google a list of foods high in iron to help you too. I am a vegetarian so I tend to get really creative such as with the cereal and eating fruits and nuts with the highest amount of iron in it, etc.
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
@blondie080300 I'm a vegetarian too. *high five* I was actually anemic before I became a vegetarian and then I evened out and wasn't anymore for years, but now that I'm pregnant I guess my body's going back to its old ways. That salad sounds great! I'm gonna hop by grocery tomorrow and pick up some dried apricots and raisins and another bag of spinach and try to start eating a salad everyday for lunch. And I'll keep a lookout for that raspberry pecan dressing too, yum yum yum.
@Bibliobebe I have had the same struggles and was doing alright with my iron levels too until this month. I stopped eating my cereal though and not very strict with my intake of iron due to traveling so much for work. Now that I know my #'s I know it is time to get more serious about it. Good luck to you!!! *High five back at ya*!
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
My Dr is making me redo it this saturday as they couldn't take blood. Last pregnancy I passed out right after the last blood draw with the 3 hour. I had GD last time, high fasting 110/115 and very low throughout the remainder of my checks. He agrees to not do the 3 hour, but he wants 1 hour numbers to go by. I was able to regulate with diet last time.
Apparently feeling like you are going to puke is a cue you will pass out. Lol
@racklerooo hm when I looked online, the 100 would mean pre-diabetes or a pre diagnosis of diabetes, but it's not high enough to be considered diabetes. Either way, it's nothing you've done. Apparently our bodies just do this. I would feel exactly the same as you did if it were me.
Hopefully your OB has more to say about it and can help. It doesn't sound to be full blown GD. But I am no doctor. Good luck!
Passed my 3-hour test with low numbers! I desperately want to celebrate with pancakes or a cream cheese bagel...but trying to stay on board this no-sugar train.
I had the 1 hour today. I still haven't heard anything from the doctor, so I'm not sure what they're going to do with me, but I'm about 99% sure I failed. My test results are available online, so I checked them a few hours later, and my number was almost 200.
I told the ultrasound doctor about my results and she said it was possible they'll just go ahead and diagnose me based off of that number alone, but I might have to do the 3 hour if the ob/gyn thinks it's worth it. Personally I don't see the point. I hadn't had breakfast (I almost never do, and it said eat normally) and it was that high just from the drink.
@jln27 I'm so sorry. I got a 188 for my one hour and they diagnosed me right away, bypassing the three hour. The good thing, at least, is that it typically can be controlled with diet (and an easy diet at that!) so don't feel too bad. I thought I'd have many issues controlling it with such a high number but it's been totally fine for me so far.
Lab results came back today. I passed my glucose test! But failed the hemoglobin/iron test miserably.
It was a 30.1 - They require a 35. I'm already taking a prenatal with 150% of my iron in. Apparently my taking it at breakfast with milk (cereal) AND the fact that it already has calcium in means that my body may not be absorbing it. Fantastic! We'll retest at 34 weeks. Until then they've put me on a separate iron supplement in combination with my prenatal AND have instructed me to start drinking "Molasses Tea", which is molasses, coconut oil, and hot water. *gag*. But the iron benefits are apparently profound.
If I don't bring my iron up to 35 by 36 weeks then I risk out of the clinic and have to transfer to a hospital for birth, which is terrifying because I won't know any of the nurses or doctors and they won't know me.
To prove to myself that I'm capable of pulling up my iron levels, I just ate an entire bag of broccoli.
I've bern studying nutrition for more than 10 years and this is one if the most common questions I get from clients! Hemp seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are very high in iron as well as nutritional yeast. I eat some combination of those in a salad almost every day. There is a wonderful vegan supplement called floradix which is a gentle iron and herb tonic that doesn't cause constipation. Unfortunately broccoli doesnt have as much iron as say chard or kale. Red meat is a good source of course but if you google best iron sources you'll find lots of lists to choose from for vegetarians options. In one study, adding 63 mg of vitamin C to a grain-based, iron rich meal boosted iron absorption by almost 300% - See more at: https://www.parentingscience.com/iron-rich-foods.html#sthash.OcDrzVZf.dpuf
Also spinach is not an easily absorbed source of iron even though it has lots of other good nutrients as explained below from the same article I linked above:
"Some foods contain iron, but they also contain compounds that decrease the body’s ability to absorb iron.
For instance, many grains, legumes, and vegetables contain phytates--chemical compounds which bind to iron and then pass through the small intestine unabsorbed.
Eggs and spinach are sometimes touted as good sources of iron. But experiments and laboratory analyses suggest that the iron in these foods is poorly absorbed (Gordon and Chow 1984; Insel et al 2004; Ishikawa et al 2007)"
@AlwaysAuntNeverMom Mine was 194, which is why I won't be surprised at all if they don't bother with the 3 hour. I honestly don't want to take it, haha. I'm intending to just stick to the diet anyway because it's one I've done before. I did low-carb, low-sugar to help lose weight and maintain my blood sugar (I had mild hypoglycemia before I was pregnant, and type 2 diabetes runs in my family) so I'm actually almost looking forward to going back to that kind of diet. I know how to do it and honestly I feel better in general when I eat fewer carbs.
I let myself go off the rails with this pregnancy because the first trimester was so hard and I felt so guilty. I figured eating anything was better than eating nothing, so I just put whatever didn't make me feel sick into my mouth. Should have been watching myself a bit better. Oops.
I'm glad you've been doing well with it. My husband is going to do the diet with me so I don't feel so alone. That helps a lot.
Phew! It was normal. I did have my everything bagel for breakfast (at 7:30), and half a glass of OJ and coffee with cream and sugar. I didn't start the test until 11:00, so I think breakfast had been processed by then. Anyway, for anyone who still needs to do it...I'd say just eat normally and make sure it's not a giant cinnamon roll or something.
Yeeaaa! Passed 1 hour glucose. Thank God bc I was prediabetic 3 years ago, had to lose 30 lbs. I've had more than enough cupcakes and birthday cake this weekend so back to being good!
@blondie080300 and @Bibliobebe - I am offended that there was a vegetarian high-five and no one invited me in for a 3-way
My iron is also low, but to be honest i've been taking a gummy prenatal that doesn't have iron in it. I'm not a big fan of cast iron skillets because my OCD doesn't like that they're kinda greasy.. but they can seep quite a bit of iron into your food, so there's an idea of getting some extra iron into foods you're already eating! Heat up some veggies in there and let them soak up some iron!
I got my 3 hr results back via the lab online. Now I'm waiting for the doc to call and tell me if I passed. My numbers were fasting 79, 1 hr 162, 2 hr 173, 3 hr 128. It looks like just the 2hr one was high.
Just found out I failed my one hour so I get to do the 3 hour test for the first time. I think I definitely need to cut back on my day to day sugar intake but am hoping I pass the 3 hour. Not at all looking forward to it.
So I heard from the doctor today and she wants me to go ahead and do the 3 hour. I'm still going to try to eat better from now on no matter what the results are. Apparently the way I eat normally is pretty terrible (one or two big meals a day, with long gaps in between) and may have contributed to getting such a high number.
I'm not going to get my hopes too high up but... there's a chance? Maybe?
Also turns out I'm slightly anemic, so I bought an iron supplement today.
Came super close to fainting about 30 min in, and felt like poo for the rest of the day, but I passed!
I felt so crappy the whole day too. I needed a nap soooo bad, and of course, it was the first day of my 19 month old's ENTIRE LIFE that he didn't take a nap. WTF?! It was rough. Congrats on passing!
@toimadness1 I actually set alarms on my phone to remind me to eat. I'm on day 3 so far and it's weird but I feel better, too. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high up for the 3 hour test, but at least if/when I do fail it, I'll already be on a schedule and it won't be such a hard transition.
Hey ladies! Thanks so much for the advice for the glucose test. I passed and my doctor said my blood count or plates or something was excellent.
Heres what I did the day of. Ate one plain kashi waffle at 8 am. Went for a mile-ish/2 mileish walk and hung out with my friend for a couple hours. Went in for my test around 1030. Drank the juice, sat around for an hour, took my test!
Failed my 1 hour and now have to sit through the 3 hour test which sucks. But I didn't fast at all last time and am praying for better results this time. Any book suggestions?
^^^No!!!! Don't do it! To me it was so sad, maybe not a pre delivery type of book? I didn't realize it at the time but my friend asked me to bring her a book of my choice while she was in the hospital laboring and I picked out Plain Truth. Worst choice ever!!! Lol!
^^^No!!!! Don't do it! To me it was so sad, maybe not a pre delivery type of book? I didn't realize it at the time but my friend asked me to bring her a book of my choice while she was in the hospital laboring and I picked out Plain Truth. Worst choice ever!!! Lol!
Oh maybe not.... I can see now how it could be a bad choice LOL. I must not be very emotional
Re: Glucose testing
http://www.laviemclean.com/
It was a 30.1 - They require a 35. I'm already taking a prenatal with 150% of my iron in. Apparently my taking it at breakfast with milk (cereal) AND the fact that it already has calcium in means that my body may not be absorbing it. Fantastic! We'll retest at 34 weeks. Until then they've put me on a separate iron supplement in combination with my prenatal AND have instructed me to start drinking "Molasses Tea", which is molasses, coconut oil, and hot water. *gag*. But the iron benefits are apparently profound.
If I don't bring my iron up to 35 by 36 weeks then I risk out of the clinic and have to transfer to a hospital for birth, which is terrifying because I won't know any of the nurses or doctors and they won't know me.
To prove to myself that I'm capable of pulling up my iron levels, I just ate an entire bag of broccoli.
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
My Dr is making me redo it this saturday as they couldn't take blood. Last pregnancy I passed out right after the last blood draw with the 3 hour. I had GD last time, high fasting 110/115 and very low throughout the remainder of my checks. He agrees to not do the 3 hour, but he wants 1 hour numbers to go by. I was able to regulate with diet last time.
Apparently feeling like you are going to puke is a cue you will pass out. Lol
Hopefully your OB has more to say about it and can help. It doesn't sound to be full blown GD. But I am no doctor. Good luck!
I told the ultrasound doctor about my results and she said it was possible they'll just go ahead and diagnose me based off of that number alone, but I might have to do the 3 hour if the ob/gyn thinks it's worth it. Personally I don't see the point. I hadn't had breakfast (I almost never do, and it said eat normally) and it was that high just from the drink.
I expected to fail, but it still makes me sad.
In one study, adding 63 mg of vitamin C to a grain-based, iron rich meal boosted iron absorption by almost 300% - See more at: https://www.parentingscience.com/iron-rich-foods.html#sthash.OcDrzVZf.dpuf
Also spinach is not an easily absorbed source of iron even though it has lots of other good nutrients as explained below from the same article I linked above:
"Some foods contain iron, but they also contain compounds that decrease the body’s ability to absorb iron.
For instance, many grains, legumes, and vegetables contain phytates--chemical compounds which bind to iron and then pass through the small intestine unabsorbed.
Eggs and spinach are sometimes touted as good sources of iron. But experiments and laboratory analyses suggest that the iron in these foods is poorly absorbed (Gordon and Chow 1984; Insel et al 2004; Ishikawa et al 2007)"
good luck!I let myself go off the rails with this pregnancy because the first trimester was so hard and I felt so guilty. I figured eating anything was better than eating nothing, so I just put whatever didn't make me feel sick into my mouth. Should have been watching myself a bit better. Oops.
I'm glad you've been doing well with it. My husband is going to do the diet with me so I don't feel so alone. That helps a lot.
http://www.laviemclean.com/
I've had more than enough cupcakes and birthday cake this weekend so back to being good!
My iron is also low, but to be honest i've been taking a gummy prenatal that doesn't have iron in it. I'm not a big fan of cast iron skillets because my OCD doesn't like that they're kinda greasy.. but they can seep quite a bit of iron into your food, so there's an idea of getting some extra iron into foods you're already eating! Heat up some veggies in there and let them soak up some iron!
Side note, when the nurse tells you you have less than five minutes to drink the sugar drink thing, and you chug it in one shot, you get funny looks.
ETA: nurse just called and said I passed!
I'm not going to get my hopes too high up but... there's a chance? Maybe?
Also turns out I'm slightly anemic, so I bought an iron supplement today.
good luck to everyone still waiting to take the 3 hour. Hopefully we all will pass!
Came super close to fainting about 30 min in, and felt like poo for the rest of the day, but I passed!
http://www.laviemclean.com/
So happy!!
Heres what I did the day of. Ate one plain kashi waffle at 8 am. Went for a mile-ish/2 mileish walk and hung out with my friend for a couple hours. Went in for my test around 1030. Drank the juice, sat around for an hour, took my test!