Option other than the glucola yuck for GD testing

sweetdreamz6700 · September 2014

Had my 18 wk appt today and we discussed the GD screening . I asked if I could do anything besides that gross ass drink; even checking every hour with a glucometer if need be.

Apparently there is the "jelly bean test". You eat 15 brachs jelly beans instead of the drink. What the what?! Sign me up for that! She said she did it her last pregnancy because her thought was that of she had to have something sugary then it better taste good.

I hadn't heard of this before and wanted to pass along the info to you ladies. Maye your doctors will be on board too!

thegoodpotato · September 2014

I LURVED the GD drink. It tasted like melted orange freezies! Maybe a little too much in one go, but yum, yum, delicious!

krispy83 · September 2014

That was not an option for me last time, but a discussion of it on my last BMB led to the discovery that some of the girls' moms got to eat a plate of pancakes for the test! I didn't find the drink to be that bad (just tasted like super sweet fruit punch) but I would much rather have jelly beans or pancakes!!!

The GD test seems to vary widely from doctor to doctor, both in the cutoff numbers for GD and preparation (some tell you to fast before, others don't) which I find very odd.

tee18 · September 2014

I didn't mind the drink at first... It got gross as it went on. My friends tip is to ask for it cold. I would eat jelly beans instead if it were an option!

mandamoochie · September 2014

I'm sure just 1 jizz egg would have to do it surely... :-&

thegoodpotato · September 2014

CrazyCornball said:

tee18 said:

I didn't mind the drink at first... It got gross as it went on. My friends tip is to ask for it cold. I would eat jelly beans instead if it were an option!

It would be much less tasty if it wasn't cold.

Yeah, they always keep it in the refrigerator at all the labs I've been to here....

Again: yum!

jennjilljo · September 2014

It reminded me of those bug juice drinks they sold back in the 90's. Does anyone else remember those?

dreemkin84 · September 2014

Not to be annoying but the drink is a very controlled way of knowing how much sugar you are getting within the allotted time (5 min if I remember correctly) making the blood test result more accurate. The jelly beans and pancakes way seems like too many variables.

FWIW, I didn't mind the drink.

CantoDeAmor259 · September 2014

I refused the drink because of what was in it. I had to test 4 times a day (morning and 2 hours after each meal) with a meter for two weeks. It's a very common alternative and insurance covers the supplies.

sweetdreamz6700 · September 2014

I don't know how you ladies can do it. Lol. I'm totally fine with sugar to eat but drinking it just grosses me out for some reason. I can't handle a Mt Dew anymore and I was straight up addicted to them.

Not sure about the pancake thing but as far as the jelly beans go it has also been studied and found to provide accurate results. That was mentioned in the conversation today and part of the reason this group offers it as an alternative. But you have to eat a specific brand and quantity to aviod all the variables.

CantoDeAmor259 · September 2014

This sounds like a giant pain in the ass.

Yeah it is. But I choose it for my own reasons. I'm very conscious about what I put in my body and didn't want to drink a drink of hem ovals and massive dose of sugar that also goes directly to my baby and me. The last time I had the drink I was massively sick for days to my stomach and migraines. Just my thoughts on it, each to their own though!

CantoDeAmor259 · September 2014

Lol auto correct! A drink of chemicals and massive dose of sugar. No clue what my phone was thinking!

natsgirl12 · September 2014

CrazyCornball said:
I didn't think the drink was bad. It reminded me of the orange drink McDonalds used to have back in the day...with a tad more sugar. I will opt for it again.

Yep. I think this is a perfect description of the orange glucola. I also don't mind the taste which is good since I had to take one at 11 weeks (passed) and again later when everyone usually takes it.

samantha.grimm · September 2014

I was at the lab waiting for another exam and saw another pregnant lady eating the jelly beans for her GD test. It def sounds tastier that the drink.

Sahara6971 · September 2014

It seriously wasn't that bad you guys. Just wait until you have to have a colonoscopy!!! It will make this seem like a walk in the park.

t8keepr03 · September 2014

I didn't think the drink was that bad. I was prepared for it to be horrible but it wasn't. I failed the 1 hr miserably so had to do the stronger drink and the 3 hr.. This time my doctor said we are just going to do the 3 hour. Yay me!

mishka29 · September 2014

CrazyCornball said:

I didn't think the drink was bad. It reminded me of the orange drink McDonalds used to have back in the day...with a tad more sugar. I will opt for it again.

This! Yum! But it was sooo cold

krispy83 · September 2014

dreemkin84 said:

Not to be annoying but the drink is a very controlled way of knowing how much sugar you are getting within the allotted time (5 min if I remember correctly) making the blood test result more accurate. The jelly beans and pancakes way seems like too many variables. FWIW, I didn't mind the drink.

Oh I totally agree. I just thought it was crazy that at one point the test consisted of eating pancakes, now we're basically drinking fruit punch. Besides, with the amount of syrup I like on my pancakes, I'm sure my results would be crazy! :P

REB1003 · September 2014

I did the test yesterday and was expecting the drink to be waaayyy nastier. They sent it home with me on my last appointment and I put it in the fridge. Just tasted like a more sugary version of fruit punch.

nohalo21 · September 2014

I am also a fan of the drink. Doesn't bother me. I'm more annoyed of having to miss time at work if I fail the 1 hr.

Angeldcf · September 2014

CantoDeAmor259 said:

I'm very conscious about what I put in my body and didn't want to drink a drink of chemicals and massive dose of sugar that also goes directly to my baby and me.

Heck, guess I'm not that conscious about what I put into my body. I had a huge drink with chemicals tonight. I drank some oxygen and doubled the hydrogen.

srcr2011 · September 2014

Where I used to work, we used to do the jelly bean and pancake method as well. I thought the orange drink was good. Didn't bother me at all, but I also have a gnarly sweet tooth.

Maybe another flavor? The cherry or grape might be better than the orange one.

aggiebug · September 2014

I hate orange flavor. That makes me most nervous about the test. Most things other than orange juice make me gag. Fruit punch is only slightly better.

schnitz9 · September 2014

Sahara6971 said:

It seriously wasn't that bad you guys. Just wait until you have to have a colonoscopy!!! It will make this seem like a walk in the park.

Have had several colonoscopis. As long as I'm not sitting on the toilet for hours after I'm fine. Those are by far the worst. That drink is the devils creation!

michelle142 · September 2014

The drink wasn't that bad. Like really sugary, flat orange soda.

Just drink it really fast and you're good.

Alygohome · September 2014

I can't even drink regular juice--even with not pregnant. Or pop. Makes me super ill so I sure hope that this test wont be too terrible for me!!!

everam01 · September 2014

It tasted ok to me during my last pregnancy, but after my heart was pounding and I felt like crap. I really thought I failed the test, but I didn't!

AF9211 · September 2014

I'm kinda jealous of the ladies talking about fruit punch and grape flavors. I was only given the option of orange for my 1 hour, and lemon lime for my 3 hour.

chauliodus · September 2014

There is a reason jelly beans instead of glucola did not catch on. There are 2 small studies and one paper in the Lancet on jelly beans and GD screening that comes up on pubmed. It has not been shown to be equivalent. The site below gives a summary.

https://www.cap.org/apps//cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_actionOverride=/portlets/contentViewer/show&_windowLabel=cntvwrPtlt&cntvwrPtlt{actionForm.contentReference}=cap_today/0610/0610e_cola.html&_state=maximized&_pageLabel=cntvwr

Honestly, the glucola is not that bad. If you are going to do the test, do it in a way so that the results can be interpreted as best they can.

delaneykai · September 2014

I didn't think the drink was that bad. I had the fruit punch option and it just tasted like flat Tahitian Treat to me. I do remember being freaked out by how active DD got after I drank it though. It was like she was doing gymnastics inside my belly.

sweetdreamz6700 · September 2014

Interesting article @chauliodus. I'll share that with my OB and see what she thinks. Jelly beans are commonly used at my practice and my OB used them for her test during both pregnancies and I fully trust her. It will be a good topic of discussion next visit

camilu87 · September 2014

I had fruit punch flavor and the drink tasted fine. I did end up with lots of side effects after tho

Eta: fruit punch flavor was very chilled and just tasted like a very sugary fruit punch. No complaints on taste tho baby doesn't like anything sweet so he/she didn't dig it.

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