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3rd Trimester
Failing Glucola Test??? load of crap
I was just informed by my doctor that I failed my 3 hour glucose test. She said my fasting number was ok and the last number but the first two were a little high so now I have GD and am considered high risk. I now have to be transferred to an OB instead of my midwife because this means I could have complications (my baby being too big and having a cesearan.)
I am 25, 5'4 and before I was became preg I weighed 115 lbs. I exercise frequently and eat a mostly organic diet sometimes up to 50% raw. I am also gluten intolerant so I don't eat breads or pastas, neither do I consume and sugary drinks like pop...etc. The most frustrating part is I went to school for nutrition and feel like this is a slap in the face.
Throughout my entire pregancy, now at 29 weeks, I have gained 13 lbs. How the heck do I have GD? How am I high risk? I am dumb founded. Something just doesn't feel right in my gut. At first, I felt horrible and cried because I felt like I have let my baby down but I have been eating really healthy...lots of fruits and whole grains and have increased the amount of protein in my diet as well.
If you ask me, my body went into shock when I drank that nasty organge glucola. I could barely keep it down and almost vomited 3 times. About 45 minutes after drinking it, I had the worst diarrhea ever (5 times to be exact). The rest of the day I just felt "off" and dehydrated.
I am very disappointed because I wanted a midwife and am extremely anxious about having an OB for delivery. My mother and her sisters never had this problem, gained 30 more lbs than me and had 7 lb babies--all natural. Right now my baby is 2 lbs. I don't think she is that big....
Does anyone else have these feeling? 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Failing Glucola Test??? load of crap
this. sorry to hear you have GD but it isnt the end of the world. OB's are just fine... and you will be just fine.
my friend had GD and she was the tiniest thing on earth. it can happen to anyone and has nothing to do with how you diet.
BFP 1/18/11, EDD 10/1/11. Born at 37w5d on 9/15/11.
***BFP Chart***
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
I'm sorry you have GD, but it's not caused by what you eat or how healthy you are. Don't ignore what the Drs are telling you because your gut is telling you differently.
this is just what I found on webMD, hopefully it will help a little...
What Causes Gestational Diabetes in Pregnancy?
Almost all women have some degree of impaired glucose intolerance as a result of hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. That means that their blood sugar may be higher than normal, but not high enough to have diabetes. During the later part of pregnancy (the third trimester), these hormonal changes place pregnant woman at risk for gestational diabetes.
During pregnancy, increased levels of certain hormones made in the placenta (the organ that connects the baby by the umbilical cord to the uterus) help shift nutrients from the mother to the developing fetus. Other hormones are produced by the placenta to help prevent the mother from developing low blood sugar. They work by stopping the actions of insulin.
Over the course of the pregnancy, these hormones lead to progressive impaired glucose intolerance (higher blood sugar levels). To try to decrease blood sugar levels, the body makes more insulin to get glucose into cells to be used for energy.
Usually the mother's pancreas is able to produce more insulin (about three times the normal amount) to overcome the effect of the pregnancy hormones on blood sugar levels. If, however, the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to overcome the effect of the increased hormones during pregnancy, blood sugar levels will rise, resulting in gestational diabetes.
Haha...I instantly thought back to that poster from the other day and her glucose test conspiracy theory. I kinda wondered if this is the same person....
OP, I am sorry you have GD, but, as everyone said, anyone can get it and OB are good people. Really. I know it's disappointing when you really wanted a midwife, but you'll be okay.
Go Phils!!
I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that, and are now feeling let down.
Unfortunately cases of GD or diabetes isn't caused by what you eat. Instead its caused by how your body processes what you eat. It really isn't under your control.
Now I do believe that there is a different type of diabetes that can be caused by years and years of abusing food, but that is unrelated to your current situation.
I pray that in your case you continue to have a great pregnancy with no complications. I would ask around for a very 'midwife' type of OB - one that can be just on board with your birthing plan as your midwife.
The reason the OB is there is for the safety of you and your baby, it does not mean that you will end up needing a C section. But if you did, at least you know the person doing it.
Good luck!
Since you went to school for nutrition you of all people should know that Diabetes has nothing to do with your diet and exercise, it's how your body processes the sugars and the fact that your pancreas doesn't make enough insulin.
Really though, I'm sure GD came knocking on your pregnant door because you drank that orange drink. I can't believe you had diarrhea from it since the bottle doesn't list that as a side effect! Get outta here.
No worries! I am not as tiny and fit as you... but I was bothered when I found out I had GD because I am a healthy person and I make healthy choices and I used to work out all the time before I was pregnant.
One thing that I think added to my chances is that my mother and my maternal grandmother both have diabetes and I know genetics causes increased chances.
The other thing is... I never eat/drink things as sugary as the orange drink, the good news is, since my diet is good, all I have to do is check my sugar levels, but I do not have to take any medicines to help keep my levels low. Sometimes just keeping a healthy diet is enough to control the GD.
Just because your body doesn't break down sugars correctly does not mean you're not healthy. So keep up the lifestyle you currently live and when you talk to the high risk doctor, let them know about all of this and ask to stay with your midwife if you can prove control through diet alone.
Good Luck! :-)
First, GD is NOT caused by lifestyle, diet, weight, height, eating/drinking sugary foods and drinks, or eating too many carbs. It is a result of hormones interfering with the production of insulin by the pancreas and is completely, totally, 100% out of the mother's control.
Second, complications of GD are not limited to only a possibility of a large baby and greater risk of c-section. GD, especially if left uncontrolled, can cause jaundice and blood sugar issues in newborns, poor lung development which can lead to respiratory distress in newborns, early break down of the placenta which prevents the baby from getting the nutrients he/she needs, and in rare cases, it can even cause still birth. Also, GD doesn't guarantee a large baby. Keeping blood sugar under control will prevent the baby from gaining excess weight. My first GD baby was 6 lbs 11 oz, and my second is on track to be around 7 lbs at birth.
Not gonna lie, GD sucks. The diet sucks, the finger pricking 4x a day sucks, and, in my case, the insulin injections 4x a day suck. But it would suck a lot more if my baby were hurt by something I could have controlled. Think about that before you start fighting your doctor's on treatment plans.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
OP, that was an incredibly annoying post. "Whiny" comes to mind.
Yes, GD sucks, like everyone else has said, it doesn't discriminate. Sounds like you're already eating a good diet, so you shouldn't have to change that. Sorry you can't have your midwife, but I'm thinking a healthy baby is more important.
And it's not a "load of crap." Your numbers were too high...end of story.
AND...
Yaah, I think everyone feels like crap after that test. The fasting hurts. The drink sucks. I almost vomited many, many times. I felt off the rest of the day, and the most of the next day too. Yet I passed.
With an educational background in nutrition, you should know that GD does not discriminate and has nothing to do with eating habits, exercise habits or lifestyle. It's all about the hormones.
The orange drink is not a conspiracy and will not cause a false-positive result.
I'm sorry, but you need to stop whining about it, accept it and deal with it properly. Having an OB follow you through your pregnancy is not a bad thing either. With your near perfect eating habits and lifestyle (as you describe it), keeping the GD under control should be a piece of cake (no pun intended - or maybe a little).
I have gained no weight throughout my pg, actually have lost weight. Diet and weight has nothing to do with it.
I think in this instance, you just have to suck it up and deal with it. It's not ideal, but it is what it is. It's not forever, and it's for the health of your baby.
You are, of course, welcome to get a second opinion. But I would immediately start on the GD plan and go with what has been recommended to you, in the meantime.
I'm sorry you have to go through this, I understand why you would wanna freak out a little. It's an upsetting change to your plan when you thought you were being super healthy (which you were) But my mw has said the dame thing about GD, they just aren't able to predict who will have it anymore based on diet/exercise. Now, I just took mine (don't have the results yet) but they've never said anything about GD meaning automatically high risk...so now I feel I should ask them. My understanding is that if you control it, it's fine. Maybe your mw can come to the hospital?
Also, I'm sorry that some people decided to be rude in replying to you. You're dealing with a common-ish problem, yes, but it sucks having to give up a MW in favor of an OB, and you're allowed to vent a little. If you really want a second opinion, and another glucose test, go for it. But i would start coming to terms with a possible change in the birth plan now, just in case.
Honey I didn't even want to DO the glucose/GD testing! That's how hard I was digging my heels in. When I failed the first one (by 40 points) I knew I'd fail the second (2 out of 4). But I'm still thinking, who's gonna have 100g of straight glucose in their gut in real life??? So I know what you mean by "conspiracy"; like you don't feel you have it but, maybe you think it's overdiagnosed, and then the drs lump us all together in this class of abnormalcy which makes us feel like we did something wrong. It's quite a shock to go from wanting a natural birth with a midwife to being high risk and stuck with an OB and hospital. I don't like the "just do it" attitude I get from people when I complain about it either. I don't like being herded with the masses like sheep and it doesn't matter to me that it's not the end of the world (I still feel crappy about it sometimes). I'm not a horrible mother because questioning the GD situation means I don't want my baby to be safe. It's perfectly fine to want an explanation and a healthy baby; I don't have to choose. It's our right as patients to question what our drs say. It's called the "practice" of medicine; they don't get it right 100% of the time. That's just good consumerism.
I will say though I like my OB. No I won't get that deep, involved, almost loving care a midwife can provide but this guy is dead on. He's an awesome dr and I'm grateful to have found him. We have conversations, he asks me questions and explains things to me. Hopefully you can find one like that too. I might add you can always switch midwives too... not all even do glucose testing and some do it differently. For instance some let you have a big carb-y breakfast with pancakes instead of drinking the glucose. A CNM in a hospital is going to treat you about the same as an OB will as far as GD goes. A LM at a freestanding facility can give more options. My aunt had twins with an OB and he never had her do a glucose test. He simply monitored her babies (as all babies are) and told her to eat a healthy balanced diet with exercise. She never had any problems (though I acknowledge GD often has no obvious symptoms for mom), babies' growth was on target and all was well. So there are other options for you to find a care provider.
However, should you decide to go on to the OB and deal with your GD there are some things to consider. First is that GD affects many different women of varying ages, sizes, weights, diet, etc. I'm overweight and have it. I used to have low blood sugar due to insulin resistance. But since I got pregnant I cut out fast food, junk, added way more veggies, lost 15 lbs and developed GD! The nurse at my dr's office looks like she's never gained an extra pound in her life and she had it - worse than I do. So it's not something that affects only people who eat McDonalds and watch tv 10 hours a day. It's nothing you did to yourself or your baby. When you're pregnant your pancreas makes 3 times the amount of insulin you normally do. For those of us with GD that's still not enough - thin, great diet or not. That's a lot of work on your organs and all that extra glucose is being passed on to the baby. And guess what his/her pancreas is doing? Working even harder to process it too. Secondly you will have to get a better grasp of foods. You can eat seaweed all day and loathe bread but still get GD. It's about how your body reacts to everything you eat. Most foods have carbs, not just bread and chips. And you NEED those carbs for fuel to carry the baby. That's one thing I've learned in all this - a GD has a strict number of carbs to eat daily; it's not the Atkins diet and it's not like a regular diabetic's diet. A dietician can help you with all this. And lastly having a "too big" baby isn't the only concern with GD. I didn't realize this at first either. It's rare but GD may cause infants to be stillborn. A more common occurance is after birth the baby's sugar drops drastically and their little bodies struggle to correct the imbalance. Knowing you have it ahead of time can better prepare everyone to watch the baby closer after birth.
I think it's normal to have a bit of the conspiracy theory mentality. For me I think it was like a coping mechanism. I felt kinda guilty too so I wanted to sorta blame someone or something else for it. It's frustrating. But when you get in the thick of it, it's not that bad and you just deal with it like every other curveball life throws. I remind myself it could be something worse afterall. I think right now you are just very overwhelmed and need to process it bit by bit. You should check out the high risk section of this board. There's other people who were blindsided by this as well.
your diet and weight are not a factor when it comes to GD. One of my friends who runs marathons and weighs a buck ten got GD when she was PG. Sorry you cant have a midwife but it just goes to show you cant really plan anything when having a baby but I am sure you will be fine
Make a pregnancy ticker
i agree!!
Make a pregnancy ticker
I hate when people do the glucola conspiracy song and dance. Diabetes = an inability to process sugars. No mater what form you ingest the sugar- be it a glucola drink or some friggin pasta- your body can either process it or it can't.
Ditto to this. I did not have to fast, but it still sucked. They gave me my drink warm, told me to chug it because I had to consume the whole thing in three minutes, and to not throw up. Halfway through I started gagging on it, and they basically told me "throw up and drink another full one". I got home and felt so sick.
It made me feel like I went to the state fair and ate nothing but crap all day.
OP- FWIW, my MW (and also the MW from my previous pregnancy) thinks the nasty drink CAN skew your results and does a completely different test to check for GD.
I also agree with you that diet and health can cause GD for some people- not everyone, but some. I think there would be far less cases of GD in the US if OBs were more versed in pregnancy nutrition.
Have you considered switching to a MW? They have a much different take on pregnancy.
Edit- I just saw you have a MW...maybe she is a little more "med-wive" than others?
GL
So basically you're implying that only fat lazy slobs who eat crap get GD.
WRONG.
GD can develop regardless of your lifestyle and eating habits. Two of my close friends had it and they were both tiny things who exercised regularly and ate very healthy.
GD is something you have no control over. It is NOT the same as Type II diabetes, which can be influenced (and sometimes managed) by your lifestyle.
I don't think your previous healthy habits or some 'shock' to your system are why you failed the test. You failed the test because you have GD. I'm a health nut too, rarely consume sugars, and I passed the test without an issue.