3 Hour Glucose Test

emaddock · April 2015

So I failed the 1 hour glucose test and now have to do the 3 hour. Any tips from people that did it? I have never done it before--I have always passed with previous pregnancies. Thanks in advance!

taboullio84 · April 2015

I went visit labor and delivery and checked out the newborns ( with my last pregnancies)

the first hour I always got sick.. After that it was cake.

aub060708 · April 2015

I just went through the same thing. Barley failed my one hour and had to do the three. I didn't do anything differently leading up to the three hour except for the fasting part and pasted it with all normal numbers, hopefully that will happen for you to! They say not to change anything in your diet drastically before the test because you don't want to trick it into giving you a false negative but, as with everything else, drinking alot of water can help keep you feeling good... good luck!

emaddock · April 2015

Can you drink water during the test?

laurendutch · April 2015

Just sips to keep you hydrated.

I just took my 3 hour test on Saturday (and Subday). I actually got sick on Sat and ended up puking. I didn't go in until 11:15, there was a long wait so I didn't end up drinking until 12. So way over 12 hours of fasting. It didn't settle right. Luckily, my friend works at another hospital lab and was able to get me to come in on Sunday. I went in at 7. I sat in a reclined chair with an ice pack and was okay. The first hour was rough but then it got better!

I would suggest asking for a reclining chair, a cold compress and taking deep breaths if you feel nauseous

KaLikeAWind · April 2015

I had to do the 3 hour. I had to fast beforehand too. Try to schedule it as early in the morning as possible because its actually a blood draw for a baseline, which they test first to make sure you can handle the sugars in the drink (I didn't get to drink the punch until half an hour after the initial draw because of them testing the initial sample), THEN you drink your glucose punch, then you start the first hour of waiting. So my appointment with the lab was at 745 am and I thought I would be done by 11am but I didn't get done until almost noon.
I was allowed to drink water prior to the test (a glass was actually encouraged by the lab so that I wasn't dehydrated - it makes it easier to draw your blood) but not once I had the glucose drink except for tiny sips to wet my mouth. Check with your lab as to their protocols, as theirs may be different.

Don't try to change your diet to trick the test. Walking around with uncontrolled GD would be so much worse for your health and your babies health than having to deal with watching what you eat and monitoring your blood sugar for the rest of your pregnancy.

Other than that - I went in my pjs, brought my headphones, phone charger and my Nook and hooked up to the hospital's WiFi and goofed off on the bump all morning while listening to Pandora.

madelynnschmidt · April 2015

I barely failed my one hour test and had to take the three hour test this morning. I was prepared for it to be much worse than I actually thought it was. It helped that my appointment was at 8:30 this morning, the earlier the better! I brought my laptop and homework with me and actually took a take home test to finish out my last semester of college. I think it all just depends on how your body reacts! I didn't think it was as bad as some people have made it sound, I was just VERY ready for food afterwards. But everyone is different. I wish you the best!

joyfuljenny · April 2015

I also failed the 1 hr and had to take the 3 hr last week; I passed that one. But since the 1 hr barely affected me (and I fasted before that one as well; my dr's protocol), I didn't expect to have such a strong reaction to the 3 hr. It was rough on me, though. I was fine until about 20-30 min after drinking the glucola (with 100g of sugar, twice as much as for the 1 hr). Then I started to feel dizzy and flushed/overheated, and my stomach was upset (never got sick thankfully). My lab wouldn't let me drink anything other than the glucola after midnight the night before until they'd finished all 4 blood draws, so I had no water during the test. They did let me go sit in my car between blood draws, though, so I did that after the first hour; I reclined the seat and had the air conditioning blowing on me, and that definitely helped. I did start to feel better in the last couple hours as my body was processing the sugar, though I was very thirsty and hungry. As soon as I got home, I drank two glasses of water and ate some protein (chicken), then napped most of the afternoon. Definitely felt better after that, but woke up the next couple mornings with an upset stomach. I was thankful to find out that I don't have gestational diabetes and I know the test was important, but it did throw my body out of whack for a few days!

sumertidwell · April 2015

I am headed for my 3 hour test now. I feel like it's a punishment.

As if the first time I drank that crap wasn't enough. /lesigh.

FloGirl82 · April 2015

Just fast like they tell you to, make sure you are ok to drink water beforehand (you should be) and see if you can bring water with you to drink throughout the test while waiting between blood draws. I brought a big bottle-they said it was ok, so at least you can have something besides the drink in your stomach. I felt dizzy around the second hour, but other than that, had no issues.

I failed the 1 hour by 6 points, but my numbers for the 3 hour test were absolutely perfect from baseline (first draw) to hour two (the third blood draw), that they just sent me home and I didn't have to be there the final hour or have my final blood draw to be tested. I hope that's the case for you.

Bring a book or tablet or something to help you pass the time. Good luck!!!

emaddock · April 2015

Thanks! Here now and kicking it so far...just mad I have to miss so much work!!!

houstonhokie04 · April 2015

I failed the one hour and had to do the three. Some people just need more time to process that much sugar. I didn't like getting poked four times for blood and felt sick during the first hour. I just took my Kindle and spent the rest of the time reading and nodding off. No water for the duration. I think the whole fasting longer helps for this one. I ended up passing just fine.

Hope you had good results.

mmiller1022 · April 2015

At my three hour now...starving! One more blood draw to go and then I will treat myself to lunch and a nap:) I failed my 1 hour by a lot. Good luck mama!!

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