FTM glucose challenge expectations

mechekitty · October 2015

Good evening ladies! I know this might be a bit early for many of you, but I received my early glucose challenge (1 hr) this morning, and felt like sharing the experience might cut down on all the posts later about it, particularly from the fellow FTM's.

I was screened early (16+4) due to having a family history of diabetes. I was instructed not to eat beforehand, and the last meal I had was dinner from the night before. When I signed in they gave me the chilled orange drink and told me I had 5 minutes to drink it. It does not taste bad. It wasn't overly sweet to me either, more like watered-down orange soda.

I was instructed to sit still for an hour and then go get my blood drawn once the hour was up. I was allowed to drink water while I waited, but I was not prepared for the total GI havoc this would play on my system. What started out as gas bubbles turned into full blown nausea and dizziness. I became extremely tired and was just sweating down the minutes until they could draw the blood.

Once drawn, I rushed to the nearest bathroom and literally started pissing out my ass (sorry if that's vulgar). When I went to eat something afterwards, I threw up instantly. I spent the rest of the day being unproductive and trying not to fall asleep at work.

That being said, I was not expecting such a terrible experience. I read about it afterwards and found this type of gastric irritability to be normal for many people, though I will not generalize, some had no side effects at all.

I know offices have different practices when it comes to this test, and from my lurking, found that the side effects were similar across the board, regardless of testing conditions.

As a final note, feeling awful or not has no bearing on whether you will test positive for GD. Neither does pre-pregnancy weight, diet, exercise, etc. I am not a medical professional, but if you are interested in how GD is screened and what it is testing, I would urge you to read medical articles before freaking yourself out.

momofmanyinthemitten · October 2015

I didn't feel sick after drinking the glucola with my first three pregnancies. I was also advised to eat whatever I wanted earlier in the day.

amaniupendo · October 2015

Sorry you had a bad experience. For me, the test just made me a little drowsy. I was tested 3 times last time (typically I'm insulin resistant) and was never required to fast for the 1-hour.

imrachellea · October 2015

I didn't have a bad experience with my DD either. I actually have heard of it happening to anyone before. It I'd probably less common, though normal, to have a reaction as you did. I will agree, though, that the drink tastes fine.

gingercatNJ · October 2015

I'm dreading mine. I have issues with my blood sugar crashing, even when I'm not pregnant.

Has anyone successfully convinced their OB to let you keep tabs on your blood sugar at home with a glucose monitor? I'd happily stick a finger each morning (or after a meal) to avoid the shakes, slurring speech, poor coordination, nausea, crazy emotional swings, lightheadedness...

mojomama6 · October 2015

@gingercatNJ I haven't had to "convince" anyone, but that is how I dealt with blood sugar in three of five pregnancies. I keep tabs on my blood sugar all the time, because I have a strong family history of diabetes, including a grandfather, two uncles, and a sister who died of diabetic complications. I argue (in general) that regular tracking is a more accurate tool than glucose tests anyway. If your blood sugar is stable on a normal diet, why does it matter if it's a little high when you sugar load?

skc040512 · October 2015

My OB does this test for every patient at 14-16 weeks and at 26-28 weeks. I was able to eat beforehand, but couldn't eat or drink after I finished the drink until my blood was drawn. I thought the drink was nasty and startEd dry heaving while trying to finish it. I was fine for the first like 2 hours after but then...oh lord. The pain. The agony. My symptoms were pretty much the same as yours, but with the GI issues lasting allll day (I finished my blood work at 9 AM). I'm dreading the 2nd test in a few weeks...

blonde_mama · October 2015

My 1-hour test last time wasn't bad at all. I got the red drink (gross but not unbearable. The orange one is way better) and never got sick.

I failed my 1-hour by ONE POINT and had to take the 3-hour test. Now that was miserable.

Ready4theParty · October 2015

It's rare to get sick. While I appreciate you trying to help other FTMS with your story/experience you probably freaked them out more.

I had to do the glucose test twice because I switched providers. Both were the one hour and it wasn't much fun, but that is about it. I think what makes it a "negative" and something people always talk bad about is that you expect the drink to be sugary and it's not. It's also a thicker drink than I expected. But if you can get it down (I don't lIke thicker syrupy beverages) you should be good.

Monicagail1 · October 2015

I agree with some of the other responders. Hearing other's experiences is wonderful, but reaction to this type of test is very individualized. I've taken 6 glucose challenge tests in the last 10 years. While it's not been the most pleasant experiences of my life (especially the first tri test when I was already feeling nauseated anyway) I've never had any major side effects. The worst part has usually been some slight nausea while drinking the glucola as I personally find it super gross.

I've passed some tests, and failed some. I've felt pretty much the same during all tests. I do agree that GD doesn't discriminate. Anyone can be susceptible. Personal and family history may predispose some people, but that doesn't mean that it only affects those at higher risk. It also doesn't mean that a higher risk automatically means you will have GD.

eastdurian · October 2015

I felt just a little lightheaded after taking it with DD but I don't do well without eating a normal breakfast at my normal time. They told me I could eat but that I should avoid anything specifically sugary/carby so I had a bowl of cottage cheese... I couldn't think of anything else but I'm usually a big breakfast person.

I also remember the drink not tasting anywhere near as bad as people made it sound like it was going to be. I didn't like it, not a soda person and definitely not a "fruit soda" person but it tasted like flat orange Fanta.

pinottoparenthood · October 2015

I felt totally fine while I was doing my test. My doctor said to eat normally that day but to not eat anything high in sugar too close to the test.

cortney626 · October 2015

I took the glucose test 8 years ago so I don't recall if I was able to eat before or not. But I do remember them giving me the drink to take home. I drank it before I went to the dr's. When I checked in, I had to tell them the time I drank it so they could draw blood an hour after. But the drink wasn't bad and I didn't have any reaction. I did pass the test too. I was around 27 weeks at the time.

Jules08 · October 2015

I did the 1 hour twice in my first pregnancy (20 weeks and 28 weeks). The first time I got the orange drink and the second time I got the lemon-lime. they both tasted like flat soda or melted freezies. Neither were terrible.

I was not allowed to eat for 1 hour prior to the test and no water after drinking the glucose. I think I had 3 minutes to drink it, but I just chugged it. Then, I just had to sit in the waiting room for the hour.

Baby got a little active after drinking it, but that was the only thing I felt. No other side effects. Which, from my understanding is more common than what OP experienced.

amandajb1 · October 2015

It made me feel sick with my first two pregnancies, I refused it with my third and plan to do the same this time. I did a few random glucose tests instead.

pinottoparenthood · October 2015

amandajb1 said:

It made me feel sick with my first two pregnancies, I refused it with my third and plan to do the same this time. I did a few random glucose tests instead.

I didn't know you could refuse it. Wouldn't you rather feel sick for an hour or a few hours and know that you and your baby are safe and healthy?

amandajb1 · October 2015

I have no risk factor and since I don't feel comfortable giving myself an artificial sugar high I chose not to. you can refuse any tests/procedure. If my baby is large when he/she is born I will be happy to monitor the Glucose for them then. And of course ode I start to show sign of gd like sugar or ketones in urine (my office checks that every apptment) I will reevaluate the situation.

amandajb1 · October 2015

I have no risk factor and since I don't feel comfortable giving myself an artificial sugar high I chose not to. you can refuse any tests/procedure. If my baby is large when he/she is born I will be happy to monitor the Glucose for them then. And of course ode I start to show sign of gd like sugar or ketones in urine (my office checks that every apptment) I will reevaluate the situation.

amandajb1 · October 2015

Sorry this is here twice I cant figure out how to delete it!! >:P

Jules08 · October 2015

amandajb1 said:
I have no risk factor and since I don't feel comfortable giving myself an artificial sugar high I chose not to. you can refuse any tests/procedure. If my baby is large when he/she is born I will be happy to monitor the Glucose for them then. And of course ode I start to show sign of gd like sugar or ketones in urine (my office checks that every apptment) I will reevaluate the situation.

Why refuse this test? You DO realize that the healthiest person in the world can develop GD even with no risk factors right? It seems quite risky for your life and baby's to skip this test.

amandajb1 · October 2015

I have done my research. I feel very comfortable with my decision, and my provider does as well. Again if anything in the pregnancy changes I would reevaluate at that time. The one hour GTT is only a screening, and I believe (dont quote me, ) 24% of people with GD pass. One of the issue with GD is macrosommia and infants that have difficulty regulating there blood glucose/isulin after birth. Just like in my previous pregnancy we will measure fundal height for aprox growth and if I have a large baby will monitor its glucose levels after birth. I will continue to exercise and eat well, like is recommend to you if you have GD that is not treated with insulin.

blonde_mama · October 2015

@amandajb1 I've had similar experiences and am also considering denying the test this time around. As long as you keep a healthy diet (incorporating the diet changes you have to make when you have GD) throughout your pregnancy then the baby will be fine.

korpatch · December 2015

I just got the test results from my one hour test ( which didn't phase me at all... It was sorta fun. Tasted like a melted orange otter pop!) and my numbers we pretty high despite fasting, being an extremely active person, and on the lighter side of healthy weight before pregnancy.
I'm hoping it was just left over Christmas carbs since it was on the 28th of Dec.
I'm now sitting in the middle on the three hour challenge. The glucose drink was sweeter and made me gasp and sputter at first but it still wasn't the worst thing I've ever tasted. I'm feeling absolutely no effects from it either. I'm at the start of hour two. I thought I would go ahead though and pull this post from the back of the line since most of us are now in the range of taking these tests.
I just wanted to give out some encouragement. The original poster had a hard time and frankly all i have read on the net are women complaining about this procedure. I really am sorry for all of you!! But I just wanted to say, that if you are used to occasionally way over indulging in sugar like me, this thing is absolutely a breeze! Don't waste sleep over it. It just makes me really want to brush my teeth!

olivemomma · December 2015

Took my one hour yesterday. I would advise ftms to take each story, especially extremely negative experiences with a grain of salt as most of you will be just fine with the whole process. The drink wasn't horrible - not the greatest thing in the world but definitely not bad. In fact, if you go in thinking it will be aweful I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I had no negative reactions what so ever. Just waiting on my results now, fingers crossed!

mrstrax · December 2015

My experience is that the one hour is absolutely no problem, especially if not fasting. It's like drinking concentrated 7up. The two hour fasting on the other hand was really bad and made me vomit (and I had no vomiting with MS). Too much fluid/sugar on an empty stomach. I go back in to re-try the 2 hour next week.

ETA: The good news - throwing up just the glucose drink and water after a 12 hour fast barely counts as throwing up - and I felt SO much better immediately after.

KarenM1118 · December 2015

I took my 1 hour test yesterday. I was told to eat a light breakfast an hour before drinking it. They even let me drink it at home and drive to the lab since they gave me the bottle at my last appointment. I never felt sick, just super jittery and like I couldn't stay focused. I have a wicked sweet tooth though so the orange drink tasted pretty good. The only negative for me was that I crashed about 2 hours after finishing the drink. I slept for 2 hours, woke up and ate, then slept for another 3. But overall, my experience was pretty uneventful.

UnbreakableKimmySchmidt · December 2015

I'm a FTM but I imagine that the actual childbirth experience may be a little more intense then the glucose test...

Looking forward to my screening in a few weeks!

K&Elizabeth · January 2016

I didn't have any problems with the 1 he during my first pregnancy. I'm worried for it this time around, though. I'm on a much more restrict d diet this time around which involves 0 sugar and limited carb options. I've talked to my midwife about my concerns and she said there's a bigger chance I'll vomit this time. It's going to shock my system big time

nicolepineapple · January 2016

kalanieileen · January 2016

I'm glad I read through everyone's experience rather than just the OP. I won't lie, reading OPs experience kind of freaked me out and is having me dread my glucose test.

But glad everyone posted about their experience, how it didn't really affect them. I know it's individualized but it helped calm me down!

ivyvines6 · January 2016

K&Elizabeth said:
I didn't have any problems with the 1 he during my first pregnancy. I'm worried for it this time around, though. I'm on a much more restrict d diet this time around which involves 0 sugar and limited carb options. I've talked to my midwife about my concerns and she said there's a bigger chance I'll vomit this time. It's going to shock my system big time

I'm on a similar diet, and I worry it will create a false positive for me...

emgee27 · January 2016

OP - Please consider what you ate the day before and keep an eye out for food poisoning symptoms. Although nausea and vomiting could def have been caused by the drink, the diarrhea worries me. Your body simply would not process that drink in an hour all the way through your system to cause diarrhea that fast unless you have a history of severe IBS. Keep hydrated

I took my test last week, didn't have to fast but couldn't eat/drink anything until the blood was drawn and I thought it tasted like a flat, orange Crush soda. It was fine. (Although I might've failed because Christmas cookies.)

sarahufl · January 2016

I took the 1-hour and the 3-hour. While not my first choice of how to spend my time, neither were that bad.

Also, OP- you are being really alarmist. If you are "literally" pissing out of your ass, you need to see a doctor.

cjbwifey2010 · January 2016

I went in and took mine today. Literally held it in for an hour and then had to run to the bathroom to throw it up. I didn't eat before and it was just too sweet. Felt much better afterwards.

mechekitty · January 2016

Ah my gem of a post was dug up from the graveyard. I am glad many of you ladies had no side effects from the glucola. I did say in my original post that I was not generalizing the side effects, I was just offering up mine in case someone else experienced something similar. Every person will have a different experience.

I did address the situation with my doctor afterwards and she said my situation was nothing alarming. It certainly was not food poisoning. I recently took the test again and had the same symptoms. I do not eat a lot of sugar, so I am just going to chalk it up as my bodies way of processing a ton of sugar.

And while I quite 'literally' was not pissing out my ass, it certainly did feel that way. It is kind of hard to tell a difference when everything feels like it is leaking all at once. Blame it on my work, but whenever my soldiers have GI issues, they use very similar phrasing. I can't shake their lingo sometimes.

Missingchampagne · January 2016

I haven't been asked to take this test, and I see the OP was from October. I wonder why I haven't had the "pleasure"?

AK118 · January 2016

@Missingchampagne it seems like some OBs do it early, but most recommend the glucose test around 28 weeks

kalanieileen · January 2016

Missingchampagne said:
I haven't been asked to take this test, and I see the OP was from October. I wonder why I haven't had the "pleasure"?

From what I remember you and I are due same day, 4/30. From what I've read, We aren't far along enough yet for the glucose challenge. It should be coming up soon though

or

however you feel about it haha

Missingchampagne · January 2016

@kalanieileen Ah, gotcha.

ivyvines6 · January 2016

I'm supposed to do mine this week. I have a needle phobia and I usually have panic attacks from having blood drawn. I asked my mom to go with me and it turned into this huge fiasco of her wanting me to go to the dmv immediately following for my brother to get his lisense, and I'm an asshole for telling her it isn't a good idea that day. Now I'm going by myself, and I've been in off and on hysterics over it all night.

Sorry, off topic. I'm just really upset.

Lilpenguin3 · January 2016

After all the stories I have heard and read I was terrified. The first sip and I was like oh this isn't bad at all.

I had to go early bc of PCOS. I didn't have to fast and I get the dye free orange and drink it at home and note the time and tell them when I get to the office what time I finished it.

My dietician sil suggested I avoid sugar and carbs days before the test. We'll I had it right after my other sil dying of breast cancer and Thanksgiving. Somehow I still passed. It tastes like flat orange sunkist. I had eggs for breakfast bc if I don't eat I throw up.

I am going again in 2 weeks. Good luck to the rest of you!

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