Glucola alternative

perfectlove09

I haven’t made my own post yet, I’ve read the rules and I hope I’m following correctly. 

It was mentioned by many mamas in a thread that no one wanted to take the Glucola drink. I didn’t personally mind the taste but I hated the ingredients as well as how I felt after.

I researched a bit and found out there are alternatives. I checked with my OB today and she said that yes, there are other things you can consume instead and to just ask for the list at my 24 week appointment.

I couldn’t remember where the thread was that we talked about this but enough of you seemed to be looking for a way to avoid the drink and it looks like there is 💜
I also read a list in Julian Michaels “Yeah! Baby” book that has the amount of glucose you need for the test without the terrible drink. 

I hope this helps some of you.  

cmbt2

Yes, there are alternatives, but not every provider or lab will let you do them. The drink is just gross to me, but I hate orange anything. A lot of providers will still tell you to tough it out and only do an alternative if you throw it up 

Welch’s regular grape juice, 10oz, is equivalent.

either way, if you crash from the gluocola, you will likely crash from any other method because the sugar is equivalent. Some providers will let you avoid the 3 hour by testing your sugars as if you were already diagnosed and seeing what the levels are. 

perfectlove09

@cmbt2
that’s very true about crashing from
any form of that much sugar! Regardless of where it’s coming from. 
My issue is I don’t consume the ingredients in the drink even when I’m not pregnant (food coloring, sodium benzate etc) let alone when I am. 

I’m a firm believer in patient advocacy and knowing your rights as a patient. If someone doesn’t want to drink it they don’t “have” to, regardless of what their provider or lab says, no one should be forced to consume something, and then told to tough it out unless it makes them puke. The test is important of course, there are just other ways to do it. 

mamaber2204

I'm lurking from Sept. 19.  Hi!  Most practitioners will let you opt out of glucola in favor of using a glucometer (might not be the right term - the machine diabetics use to measure blood sugar).  My last pregnancy my doctor made me do 7 days of 4x/day glucometer testing in place of the glucola.  My midwife this time says I can do a total of 4 tests over the course of a few days and, unless there are concerning results, that's it.  I turned down the glucola because of 1) artificial colors, 2) other chemical ingredients including colors, and 3) not wanting to ingest that much sugar at once - I don't eat sugar often at all and that would have wrecked my day.  I'm heading back to Sept. 19 now.  You ladies have a great weekend!

andrawrmeda2

I've never heard of any alternative. My provider always told me I had to drink the sugary drinks cause it was the way the test was. I also never really thought to question it either. But it is gross. So glad this is the last(hopefully) time I ever have to do it. My bigger issue is the blood draw 😂I pass out at needles and hate having my blood drawn 

perfectlove09

@andromedacorrine2 I’m so sorry about the needle issue. I can’t imagine how horrible it is every time you have to go in!

I’m surprised I never thought to look into an alternative before. I’m that crazy “natural, drug free, attachment parenting, breastfeed for years, health nut” 🤦🏻‍♀️ ℓσℓ and it never even occurred to me. And trust me, I’m not 100% anything. I eat Oreos by the bucket full if I get a craving for it and can put back a bottle of tequila with no issue 😂 

but I don’t like being told what to do just for the sake of it and I have no issue questioning a Dr if I feel there’s more to discuss. 

cmbt2

andromedacorrine2 said:

I've never heard of any alternative. My provider always told me I had to drink the sugary drinks cause it was the way the test was. I also never really thought to question it either. But it is gross. So glad this is the last(hopefully) time I ever have to do it. My bigger issue is the blood draw 😂I pass out at needles and hate having my blood drawn 

Years ago, there wasn’t an alternative. You drank the juice, end of story. It became a thing about 4-5 years ago, and only really an acceptable thing to substitute the last couple years. I had asked about alternatives when I was pregnant with DS1 and DS2, and at the time, the alternatives were not proven to be as accurate as the sugar drink so few providers would let you substitute for the 1-2 hour tests. It was only about 5 years ago when OBs/MWs would relent on testing sugars multiple times a day instead of going to the 3 hours. This time around, they offered up the grape juice alternative because I crash so hard from the regular stuff 

andrawrmeda2

I will just brave it and gulp it down 😂 @perfectlove09 I totally understand all that too. I'm not as good on the organic stuff but I try to be. One girl I was pregnant with at the same time constantly bagged on me for "allowing my doctor's complete control over me" I was pregnant with my first, it was her 7th and I had no idea what to expect, what to look for, I mostly just trusted my doctor's blindly. Everything was fine, but man she was constantly down my back 😂