False Positive for Glucose Screening-4xDay Blood Sugar Readings are Great, but stuck with Diagnosis!

preggoeggo2345

First of all, I understand that Gestational Diabetes (GD) is not the end of the world and it is a condition that can effect any woman, no matter her overall health.  That said, I have found myself in a major battle with my provider to get them to see that my Glucola test results should be disregarded.  Needless to say, that with all of the fears of the COVID-19 crisis, this is NOT a stressor that I need right now.  I am hoping to share my story to help other women in my situation and maybe get some input and advice on how to deal with this.  Here's the story...

I happen to be a very healthy person and have always been careful about what I eat.  We run a farm, so I get plenty of exercise and lucky to consume only meat that we raise and grow a lot of our own veggies and fruit.  My weight was good before and now with pregnancy, I haven't gained anything above the recommended amount of pounds along the way.  However, my 1 hr glucose test came back a bit high and the follow up, 3 hr test came back fine for fasting and 1 hr, but slightly high for 2 hr and 3 hr.  What a surprise!!  And, super annoying because anyone that I have told about it tries to tell me how I could try eating healthier or get more exercise, but I already do all of those things!  Anyway, as per dr instructions, I started recording everything I eat/drink, taking 4xday blood sugar readings and made an appointment with a dietician.  Guess what?? My blood sugar levels were SUPER healthy (even tried to send it up by eating mac n cheese, ice cream, etc and still well within healthy range for blood sugar after 1 hr).  When I met with the dietician and showed her my results and she reviewed my glucose test results, she strongly believes that I DO NOT have GD and further daily blood testing is unnecessary. YAY!  The dietician explained that when you normally eat a diet with little to no sugary foods and then drink that horrible, super sugary drink for the glucose test, it can throw off your body and give wacky results.  (Diet before pregnancy very healthy, no soda, nothing with high fructose corn syrup, etc/ During pregnancy, severe aversion to sweets since day one, so now on 8 months of zero sweets).  According to the dietician and after online research, it seems this is a fairly common way to get a false positive.

My next regular check up at the dr office comes 2 weeks later, the dr, who yet again, is one that I have never met and doesn't seem at all interested in my personal issues (Sidenote: my OB/GYN office is the only one in the whole county with the exception of maybe 2 appointments out of 12, have treated me like a number, with different doctors each time, all of whom have no time to get to know me and have me in and out the exam room in 2-5 mins).  Contrary to the dr I had at my last appointment who set me up to begin the blood sugar testing and explained that the glucose drink test is only a SCREENING tool and not diagnostic, this new dr told me in no uncertain terms that I have the diagnosis of GD and need to do 4xday blood sugar testing all the way until the baby is born....WTF??  The dr at the previous appointment, the dietician and my online research say that the results of 4xday blood sugar testing is what determines the DIAGNOSIS.  This is due to the fact of the glucose drink test being unreliable and that its more important to see what is happening in your body in real life.

So, now I am apparently stuck with this flag of GD, despite the fact that every indication shows I do not have any problem with GD.  This really upsets me because it worries me that the doctors at my provider's office are not listening to me personally at all, disregarding the scientific proof and expert opinion of the dietician, forcing me to continue this 4xdaily testing and will be more likely to interfere with my birth plan due to putting me in the "high risk" catergory and there seems to be nothing I can do about it!

I would greatly appreciate anyone else's input who has gone through similar issues.  This is honestly taking a big toll on my mental health and well-being, as hard as I try not to let it.  I also take care of an aging family member at home with severe dementia and chronic lung and digestive issues.  It's so hard to balance his care, keep him safe from the Coronavirus, even when he gets mad thinking I am being mean to not let people come visit, also work on our farm and prepare for the birth of our first baby.  It would just be nice to at least not have to struggle to track the times I eat, drop what I am doing to do a blood sugar test and worry about continuing to fight with my doctors (or some of them), when they should be there to provide the care that I and this baby need, NOT herd me in and out of the office and tag me with an inaccurate diagnosis.

Knottie85295771

So sorry about your doctor situation! I think there is a common misconception about Gestational Diabetes, and many people think it’s exactly like Type 2 when it is not. I have also been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes despite already eating well through this pregnancy. My mom and husband were convinced the glucose test was wrong. But as my doctor and dietician both explained, the development of GD has nothing to do with your lifestyle and diet. GD is caused by pregnancy hormones. Some women just have hormones that block insulin more than other women. The lifestyle and diet changes come into effect when managing GD, but they won’t prevent you from having it in the first place. As far as having to check your blood, my dietician did cut me back to checking every other day because my numbers were perfect. However, it’s still necessary to check because your hormones increase as you progress through your pregnancy, and those hormones could begin blocking your body’s natural insulin even more and at a dangerous level, meaning you would need to be on insulin shots to protect your health and your baby’s health. It really isn’t anything you’re doing right or wrong, or anything the doctors are ignoring. They just have to make sure you don’t develop more insulin resistance as you get closer to your due date so that you avoid any dangerous complications. It’s a pain and inconvenient to count carbs and serving sizes, schedule meals and snacks 2-3 hrs apart, make sure you exercise within an hour after meals, and check your blood on time, but it’s worth it if it means keeping your baby safe!

preggoeggo2345

Thanks for the reply and support.  I can now report that my numbers are still super good, no matter what I eat.  From what I've learned the hormone-caused GD issues peak around week 32-34, which is why they want the glucose tests done around 28-30 weeks, so they don't catch you at your peak.  Unfortunately, my doctors office forgot to order this test for me until I was in week 32, which probably led to my higher chance of getting undesirable results since I was at my peak.

90% of the providers that I see at my OB/GYN office now accept this as an issue that should be more-or-less disregarded, especially when they look at my 4xDay blood sugar and diet logs (they glance at the log or just ask me if it's still the same, if it's a provider that knows me well).  Fasting is always b/w 60-75 and after meals are b/w 90-105.  If I really want to push it and have an ice cream with lunch or pasta or fries, the highest I get is maybe 115 (but I don't do that very often anyway).  I'm still doing the daily checks, which is annoying, but really have not had to change a single thing with my diet, which was already very healthy.  Several of my providers have confirmed what I read, which is that some people who are already very healthy and eat a healthy diet with little to no simple or processed carbs or high fructose corn syrup, can get bad results on the Glucose test, but it's the current standard test, so it's the best screening they can do in the medical community at the moment.  Technically, they classify my case as "A-1", which means it is diet controlled (not that I really do a lot to control it lol).

Sidenote:  The day I wrote the original post above was after I saw the one provider at my OB/GYN office that apparently everyone hates.  My despair at the situation was definitely exacerbated by her blunt, condescending, non-compassionate attitude.  Since my experience, I have found several other friends that have requested to not see her at their appointments because of the same issue, including one friend who also left the office in tears, like me, after this doctor told her at her 20 week scan that her baby was super huge and she should go ahead and plan for a c-section now (my baby was in the 97th percentile at 20 weeks and the provider I saw said not to freak out, they go through growth spurts, these measurements have 20% inaccuracy, due date could be off a bit, it's not a big deal; his size now at 39 weeks is looking perfectly normal, not a monster baby).  After this friend got home and composed herself, she called the office to complain about this doctor and was informed that she will be leaving the practice soon. Yay!

In closing, I hope that my experience helps reassure others who get flagged with GD inaccurately.  Not to diss the experiences of those who have real issues with GD, as I've read a lot about all they go through with strict diets and scheduling every bite or drink to those who must use medication to control it, and have total respect for the strength it takes to handle all that.  However, there seems to be an unfair gap in the medical community in regards to gestational diabetes that leads to a lot of undue stress on pregnant women.  Lord knows that especially in these times, the last thing we need is further stress, especially when it is totally unnecessary.  Definitely listen to the medical advice of your own providers, but you have to do your own research too, and ask with different providers because there can be different opinions, like any medical diagnosis.  For example, the GD dietitian specialist I was referred to reviewed my case and explained what I suspected of this being a false diagnosis and said we never need to talk again lol.  Then, I had to deal with the rude, condescending doctor who had  a whole different approach.  It sucks that we have to work so hard to manage our own care at a point in our lives when we are so vulnerable, but at least women's healthcare is improving overall and there are some really great providers out there.