3 Hour GTT--Low carb days before test?

DanielleH910 · July 2012

So lucky me! I failed my 1 hour GTT by 4 points at 143. So I have to take the 3 hour. The nurse recommended eating low carb for 3 days prior to the test. Did anyone else's doctor suggest this?

schafer17 · July 2012

I failed the 1 hour also, but my doctors office didn't tell me anything about the 3 hour except to fast 8-10 hours before (water was ok though). I definitely ate regular the few days before my test! Had sweets and carbs. For dinner the night before I had chicken and noodles with cornbread and carrot cake!! Haha - but passed the 3 hour with excellent numbers. So IMO, I don't think what you eat even the day before matters!

melodramatic26 · July 2012

no, and this doesn't make sense to me. You don't want to "trick" the test into thinking that you are consumng less sugar and carbs than you really do in a normal day/week.

It's not about passing or failing, imho. It's about finding out if your baby and placenta aren't reacting well to the level of insulin you are providing. Seems so counterproductive to change your diet for just a few days.

daizey · July 2012

melodramatic26:
no, and this doesn't make sense to me. You don't want to "trick" the test into thinking that you are consumng less sugar and carbs than you really do in a normal day/week.

It's not about passing or failing, imho. It's about finding out if your baby and placenta aren't reacting well to the level of insulin you are providing. Seems so counterproductive to change your diet for just a few days.

EXACTLY

As someone diagnosed with GD I am glad I was as I am helping my baby. That being said, changing your diet really wont make a huge difference. You body will have burned everything up by that point. The point in the glucose test is to see how your body reacts to the amount of glucose they give you and if you are producing enough insulin to metabolize the sugar. Within an hour, most peoples levels typically return to normal. When doing a 3 hour test they can be sure you levels are coming back down at an appropriate level.

"Tricking" your body only ensures you will pass that test. NOT that you baby is healthy. If you fail, you fail. Its only a few weeks you need to change your habits. If GD is not properly diagnosed you run the chance of having a big baby, a baby who is born with complications, or at worse, a stillborn baby. Its not worth it.

Enjoy your carbs. If you can't eat them anymore, you'll miss them so enjoy it while you can. Otherwise you will be able to continue to eat them as normal after your test anyway. Restriciton and tricking your body is unnecessary and even unsafe.

Don't get me wrong, I had the SAME mindset prior to getting diagnosed. I kept thinking, how can I be sure I pass? Now looking back on it, theres nothing you can do. And I can assure you, failing is not the end of the world

DanielleH910 · July 2012

melodramatic26:
no, and this doesn't make sense to me. You don't want to "trick" the test into thinking that you are consumng less sugar and carbs than you really do in a normal day/week.

It's not about passing or failing, imho. It's about finding out if your baby and placenta aren't reacting well to the level of insulin you are providing. Seems so counterproductive to change your diet for just a few days.

This is exactly why I asked. It seems stupid to eat low carb because that's not how I would normally eat during the week. I wasn't sure if anyone else was told this for a specific reason other than just being able to pass the test. I'm not interested in "passing" for the sake of passing, I was just wondering if this was at all a normal suggestion from a doctor.

annabelle8101 · July 2012

Utterly ridiculous.

moose948 · July 2012

I also had to take the 3 hour test after failing the 1 hour test by 2 points. I ate normally in the days leading up to the 3 hour test (in fact, I probably ate more sweets than normal, just in case I was told I no longer could!). I fasted the 8 hours before as directed by my doctor, and passed the 3 hour test with no problem.

DanielleH910 · July 2012

moose948:
I also had to take the 3 hour test after failing the 1 hour test by 2 points. I ate normally in the days leading up to the 3 hour test (in fact, I probably ate more sweets than normal, just in case I was told I no longer could!). I fasted the 8 hours before as directed by my doctor, and passed the 3 hour test with no problem.

I'm going to just continue eating as I normally would. I'm not a big sweets eater but I do enjoy pasta, and bread. I used to buy whole wheat for myself as I prefer it but H prefers white and he eats more sandwiches than I do so instead of buying 2 loaves I just buy white bread. Maybe that's one thing I will change after my 3 hour test just to be on the safe side. But I won't be making any changes before the test. Thanks for the advice ladies.

Cynthia1207 · July 2012

Um no, not at all. I was given a carb-loading diet 3 days prior. Your body needs to get used to metabolizing sugar so it actually gives a more accurate reading as to how your body really processes sugar (not tricking the test). I had my 2 hour test today and I'm crossing my fingers that everything went well this time.

BananaBlitz · July 2012

It is recommended you consume at least 150g carbs/day for 3 days prior to your test

DanielleH910 · July 2012

Cynthia1207:
Um no, not at all. I was given a carb-loading diet 3 days prior. Your body needs to get used to metabolizing sugar so it actually gives a more accurate reading as to how your body really processes sugar (not tricking the test). I had my 2 hour test today and I'm crossing my fingers that everything went well this time.

This is definitely more in line with what I'm reading online. I'm going to call my doctor again just to make sure I heard correctly since everything points to the opposite.

Cocobeee · July 2012

daizey:
melodramatic26:

no, and this doesn't make sense to me. You don't want to "trick" the test into thinking that you are consumng less sugar and carbs than you really do in a normal day/week.

It's not about passing or failing, imho. It's about finding out if your baby and placenta aren't reacting well to the level of insulin you are providing. Seems so counterproductive to change your diet for just a few days.

EXACTLY

As someone diagnosed with GD I am glad I was as I am helping my baby. That being said, changing your diet really wont make a huge difference. You body will have burned everything up by that point. The point in the glucose test is to see how your body reacts to the amount of glucose they give you and if you are producing enough insulin to metabolize the sugar. Within an hour, most peoples levels typically return to normal. When doing a 3 hour test they can be sure you levels are coming back down at an appropriate level.

"Tricking" your body only ensures you will pass that test. NOT that you baby is healthy. If you fail, you fail. Its only a few weeks you need to change your habits. If GD is not properly diagnosed you run the chance of having a big baby, a baby who is born with complications, or at worse, a stillborn baby. Its not worth it.

Enjoy your carbs. If you can't eat them anymore, you'll miss them so enjoy it while you can. Otherwise you will be able to continue to eat them as normal after your test anyway. Restriciton and tricking your body is unnecessary and even unsafe.

Don't get me wrong, I had the SAME mindset prior to getting diagnosed. I kept thinking, how can I be sure I pass? Now looking back on it, theres nothing you can do. And I can assure you, failing is not the end of the world

Thanks for posting this. I failed, too. I take my 3 hour test tomorrow and wasn't sure how I need to eat tonight.. You have a great attitiude about your GD and made me realize if i do fail tomorrow, too, it's not the end of the world

dmhrn13 · July 2012

i don't agree with that recommendation. if your gonna fail the 3 hr its a pain in the tush but its better to have controlled sugars during the pregnancy than pass the 3 hr because you did some weird diet the day before & really be an undiagnosed gestational diabetic. plus if you failed it by 4 points you probably have nothing to worry about.

luvinlifeMN · July 2012

I had a strict diet to follow three days prior to the test ensuring I got enough carbs. I can't remember what grams of carbs they had me eat, though.

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