Questions for STM+s Week of 12/5

kvh22 · December 2018

Starting a weekly thread so nothing gets lost in the bigger thread. FTMs or other STMs with new experiences this time around, ask away...

bumbly_b · December 2018

Awesome!

Hey STM + talk to me about the glucose test. Is it standard to do a 1 hr or jump to 3? Is that orange crap as awful as I've heard?

Anything else I need to know?

Only test of the whole pregnancy I'm worried about.

chloe97 · December 2018

@bumbly_b You start off with the 1 hr test and only go to the 3 hr test if you fail the 1 hr. I failed the 1 hr by 1 point. The orange drink is basically like drinking super sweet orange soda with no fizz. I didn’t mind it. The worst part of the 3 hour test was not eating and sitting in the laboratory waiting room for 3 hours. Hopefully you won’t have to do it!

kmw611 · December 2018

@bumbly_b I believe a one hour test is standard. If you fail, I did with my son by 2 points🙄, then you'll have to do the three hour. I don't remember the drink being terrible but it was sooooo sweet. They had three options at my OB- a lemon lime, an orange and a fruit punch I believe. My
midwife said she has a smoothie drink I can make instead.

kvh22 · December 2018

@bumbly_b many providers have you do the 1 hour and if you fail or are borderline, do the 3 hour. My doctor's office goes straight to a 2 hour and it's definitive - you either pass or fail but don't have to do it again.

Again, there will be differences in the process, but some get the drink to take home and have before they come in and some have it given to them in the office. I don't remember if mine was cold or not but I've heard it's better cold. I've also heard some get a lemon lime flavor but most frequently I hear orange.

I got mine at the office. They took my blood for a baseline, then had me drink the drink - the worst part for me was the time limit. You HAVE to drink it within a certain amount of time (5 mins, maybe?). I don't drink soda anymore and much prefer sweet and salty, not just sweet. Who the heck wants to drink an overly sweet, flat soda in under 5 minutes. You also have to have been fasting for 8 hours (I know I did, I believe that's across the board). Basically, you just chill there for an hour until they draw your blood. If you're doing the 2 hour, you chill for another hour after that.

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

@bumbly_b it really wasn't that bad. I didn't like the drink but it wasn't as terrible as everyone kept saying. I only did a 1 hour test. They gave me the drink at the appointment prior to my glucose appointment so I could take it home and keep it cold. My glucose appointment was first thing in the AM so I had the drink exact an hour before and then went. I'm not dreading it at all this time. The strep B appointment, however, I could do without.

kvh22 · December 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge hmm remind me about the strep B. Is that an uncomfortable swab in your cervix? I had to have a 2 hour glucose challenge since my office says so many people fail the one hour who don't have an issue that they want to avoid making people do two tests. This means I have to go in to get a baseline and sit there for 2 hours (3 blood draws as opposed to one for you it sounds like).

ETA: therefore the glucose challenge was much more memorable than the step B.

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

@kvh22 the swab is both vaginal and rectal. The rectal is what gets me!

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

Also I tested positive for it last time and had to have penicillin through an IV during labor and I literally felt like fire was running through my veins. Freaking horrible and I'm not looking forward to that again.

bumbly_b · December 2018

Ok great....I've never even heard of the strep b test...that sounds like a great time.

kvh22 · December 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge ughh okay yes, that's coming back to me now. I don't think I knew what I was getting into and was just like "okay let's get it over with" and erased it from my mind lol. That sucks about the penicillin. Sounds so uncomfortable.

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

I remember it being quick and relatively painless (a bit uncomfortable), I just don't like things up my butt 🤷

chucksmom15 · December 2018

I was terrified for the strep but but there was no anal swab. I was pleasantly surprised. Apparently some doctors do both and some don’t. It was about 50/50 on my last BMB.

I passed the 1 hour at about 14 weeks (I had to take it early bc of my insulin resistance), failed it later and passed the 3 hour. The first two weren’t bad but the 3 hour sucked!

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

My prenatal appointments were group appointments, so she just had us take turns going into the bathroom and doing the strep b swabs ourselves. Maybe that was less uncomfortable than having someone else do it for you? I don't know. I didn't mind it terribly. But the discomfort of someone else sticking something up my butt wasn't there.

merrylea · December 2018

@eatinwatermelonseeds I have never heard of group OB Appts!

k2k2tog · December 2018

The glucose test has been very well covered, but I will add - you can choose to turn it down! I did it with my first (passed the 1 hour) but with my second, went over my risk factors with my midwives, determined I had none and chose to turn it down. I will probably do the same this time around unless the extra two years of age is enough of a risk factor that she recommends I do it. Obviously, not all midwives and OBs will feel comfortable with you declining the test, but it is something worth knowing.

As for that swab - my midwives sent it home with me so I could do it on my own. Much better than when my OB did it with my first.

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@merrylea they called it "centering" and it was done at the military hospital. I've never heard of it in the civilian sector. It was actually really cool. She did check ups at the beginning of each appointment, we weighed ourselves and husband (or someone else who wanted to be helpful) would take your BP, and she'd listen to baby's HR and measure uterus. Then we'd sit in a circle and talk about various topics from normal pregnancy symptoms, labor signs, what to expect in labor, what to expect in early infancy, we even took an infant cpr class. Honestly wish they offered it everywhere for all new parents. My husband and I both felt better prepared.

mcewen3 · December 2018

The midwife practice that I was going to use before we moved offered group appointments. You could choose if you wanted to join the group or if you preferred to keep your appts 1-1. The group appts were once a month so once you got down to the every two week and weekly appts you still saw the midwife solo one week and then with the group the next time. It sounded like it would be a really good experience, especially for FTMs.

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@mcewen3 that is identical to the program they had at the hospital. Good to hear they do it beyond military. (I feel small minded now to think it wouldn't be done beyond that).

mcewen3 · December 2018

@eatinwatermelonseeds I don't think you were being small-minded at all. It was certainly the first time I had ever heard of it being done, and its definitely not done in any OB practices as far as I know. It sounds like an amazing program but not one that most traditional medical practices use.

mrsdee15 · December 2018

@bumbly_b The glucose test wasn't that bad to me either. My office only had the fruit punch, it tasted like Hawaiian punch but flat.

My strep-b test was only vaginal, I think... but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if they were sticking swabs elsewhere unexpectedly.

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

UO I guess, but I'd rather my OB do it than me, I don't trust myself

kvh22 · December 2018

@k2k2tog can you tell me more about not doing the glucose test? I've never heard of this before but my SIL didn't do it. From what we could gather, she went against her doctor's advice because she said she didn't want to do it but was going to just check her levels to make sure she was okay...then didn't do that either. When she said that was her plan, my mom still thought it was ridiculous (*TW* my mom knows someone who had a stillbirth due to untreated GD) but I told her that testing her levels is what she would do if she failed the test so that's a great solution. They also test for other things at that blood test (how I found out I was anemic and needed to work on getting more sources of iron in my diet). So did you go get a blood draw separately, just not with the sugary drink? SIL did/does a LOT that flies in the face of science and we've been trying to figure out if they just find doctors that agree with her or goes against medical advice. This is one where no one can get a straight answer from her on this (lots of other things you have a conversation and realize she read ONE article online and bought into the fear mongering). Anyways, I want to be open minded but had grouped this in with her crazy (they lied to their doctor about her LMP so they wouldn't force her to get induced - my brother literally told me this but it was her first pregnancy and they had no reason to think their doctor would force an induction unless it was what was best for the baby).

tsa208 · December 2018

merrylea said:

@eatinwatermelonseeds I have never heard of group OB Appts!

My healthcare system does it with midwives if you are under their care. Sounds great, esp for FTMs, but I love my OB!

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge I remember thinking "shit I hope I don't screw this up" but there were super detailed instructions on a little piece of paper that came in the swab baggie. Really hard to mess it up. And I'm one who definitely would've 😂

optbaby2017 · December 2018

@kvh22 I am AMA, overweight, and have pcos, so my doc has me do the 1hr test at the end of 1st tri and again at the start of 3rd tri. I failed my 1st tri one by one point. I had an uber super crazy week ahead at work and there was no way I could do the 3hr within the time frame she wanted, so we agreed that I would log my blood sugars 4x a day for a week and submit it to her via the online portal, and then just a daily fasting level until my next appointment. She reviewed my #s and was happy, so I am good to go until ~26wks. She said that this way actually gives a better reflection of my regular life, provided that I eat normal during the week of testing and am honest in what I write down. She still wants me to do the actual test 3rd tri, though.

I had to do the 3hr last time (and passed with flying colors, apparently having a cold can mess with your sugars), and it was awful, so I was extra thankful for the alternative.

kvh22 · December 2018

@optbaby2017 right, I think tracking your numbers completely makes sense. SIL *SAID* she was going to and then never did but I don't think her doctor cleared her to not do it, there was just no follow through from either of their parts. But I don't know for sure. That absolutely seems like a better way to determine if you need further monitoring IMO, except that investing in the machine you might not need after to test your levels might be more $$ than just going in for the blood draw. I actually think it'd be really interesting to see what foods triggered you as from my last BMB, the women who had it had some overlap but some things that were very different for each of them.

chucksmom15 · December 2018

Not judging but can I ask why you refused it @k2k2tog? I’ve never been told there were any drawbacks so I’m wondering if there is something I need to educate myself on. Or was it just a personal choice? I honestly didn’t know you could say no.

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@chucksmom15 realistically, you can turn down pretty much any testing. But you may get a lot of pushback and information on why you should do it. It's important if you do refuse testing, you know what to look for as far as symptoms that may be indicative of gestational diabetes. I don't believe a lot of people really do know what to look for, so the testing is necessary. If you're well informed and aware of your body and what is normal, it shouldn't be a problem. They have standardized care (such as glucose testing) to reduce errors and have a higher risk of catching it.

merrylea · December 2018

Conversely, every pregnancy is different and unconcontroled GD can be disastrous to both your baby and you.

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@merrylea yes. I wasn't explicit, but that's why it's very important if you are going to refuse (which I advise against) that you have a very thorough understanding of what the symptoms and risks are. This goes for all medical testing and procedures.

kvh22 · December 2018

@merrylea @eatinwatermelonseeds @chucksmom15 @k2k2tog this is why I'm so curious what the conversation with the doctor/midwife is when you decide not to do it.

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

I'm not at risk for GD but I still do it because I like the confirmation that I do not have GD, and it's such a NBD test for me, personally. However, I'm the type of person who rarely denies testing. I had many questions about everything they did to DS right when he was born, I asked my OB in detail about each one and why it was necessary/why they do it before I delivered because I'd heard so much conflicting information. Perhaps not everything was extremely necessary, but the risks of getting them done were basically nothing, and it was nice to have the assurance that whatever it is they were avoiding would be avoided.

I hope that made sense. To each their own, those are just my opinions on it.

k2k2tog · December 2018

The conversation was literally, "Do you want to do the glucose test? These are the risk factors, you don't have any of the risk factors, therefore, we feel comfortable with you choosing not to do it if you wish." In other words, they always posed it as an option versus "It's time to do your glucose test." Additionally, my midwife reassured me that there are other signs of GD that they would keep their eye out for throughout the rest of my pregnancy and, if needed, do the test later.

I'm not suggesting that you should go against the recommendations of your doctor and you need to make the decision to turn it down with them. All I'm saying is that you do have the option to choose to skip it.

kvh22 · December 2018

@k2k2tog did your midwife discuss what those signs are to look out for? Now I'm just curious. And did you still get a blood test to check for anemia/platelet issues?

SpaceBurger · December 2018

I've found Canadian prenatal care pretty different to American prenatal care according to the few Canadians in my other group. It's really interesting! Like, this one girl got to walk around with an epidural in! I was in awe.

ETA: Pretty different in small ways. Nothing that really mattered

k2k2tog · December 2018

@kvh22 yup, she did. Also, I will note that, as a FTM, I did get the GD test, which came back negative in the 1 hour test. I'm not sure if they would have suggested differently if I was a FTM.

I don't recall any blood tests, but now that I think about it, they may have taken a vial or two in the office because I do remember going over results...

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@SpaceBurger hmm that's super interesting. My train of thought just took so many different stops after reading that though lol. We had patients on the surgical floor I did my preceptorship in get epidural meds for pain and could walk, but for my labor, I couldn't even feel my feet. I'm assuming it has to do with placement, but then I started thinking how cool anesthesia must be and then started thinking maybe I'll become a nurse anesthetist, but then remembered I can't actually say that, I seriously stumble over it every time. I don't think patients would be very calm if I'm like "hi, I'm Jamie, I'm your nurse anesth-anesth-anes-the-tist" 😂

DuchessOfCambridge · December 2018

@SpaceBurger I don't know much about how anesthesia works but just...how??? H and my nurse were each holding one of my legs. H dropped mine at one point and it was dead weight falling to the side. No way could I have walked even if I wanted to.

eatinwatermelonseeds · December 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge I'm going to guess the anesthesiologist placed it in such a way that it only numbed her belly, nothing below. Our patients who had abdominal surgery and received an epidural for recovery couldn't feel their bellies at all, but could walk no problem. It's very interesting how it all works.

chloe97 · December 2018

SpaceBurger said:

I've found Canadian prenatal care pretty different to American prenatal care according to the few Canadians in my other group. It's really interesting! Like, this one girl got to walk around with an epidural in! I was in awe.

ETA: Pretty different in small ways. Nothing that really mattered

OMG this probably because so much of US medicine involves protecting physician/hospital liability- it's obscene. Can you sue Drs in Canada for malpractice, I don't even know.

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