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#1
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
I am going to do the 1-hour test this week or next, I just asked to take the lab sheet home. The first time (abt 13w, had a little sugar in urine) I was told to do it about 3 hours after a nice breakfast. I passed. This time, the routine time, with a different doctor I wasn't given any instructions. I would think someone coming in to the lab after eating eggs and meat for breakfast would fare better on the test than someone who ran in after eating a Nutragrain bar. Not sure. What were your instructions? Don't know what I'll do in your position. I'd be tempted to go straight to the diet, because I suspect that's how I should be eating anyway and don't . -- Dagny EDD 10/6/03 I think if I barely fail, I will just "zeldabee" wrote in message ... I went to my 30 week checkup, and it was definitely a good news/bad news visit. First, the good news--I'd mentioned to my OB a couple of visits ago that I had been thinking of switching to a midwife, and she'd told me that a midwife would soon be starting at her practice, and I might want to see her. This was before I'd called the midwifery services at the birthing center where I plan to go, and was told that I was too far along and they wouldn't be able to help me. So I was pleased when at this visit my OB introduced me to the midwife, and she'll take care of me from here on unless something goes awry. The bad news was that I failed the 1-hour GTT I had two weeks ago (though I'd expected for them to call me if I had). So now I'm supposed to take the 3 hour test next week. The midwife said it was pretty awful... What happens if I fail the 3-hour? Would that mean I definitely have GD? I've always been sensitive to sugar, and I'd never consume as much as the sweet drink they give you for the 1 hour test all at one time...I wasn't diabetic before, at least I assume regular checkups would have uncovered it if I was, but I've always reacted to sugar. Should I watch what I eat more carefully? I've been avoiding eating too many sweets, but I don't avoid them entirely--I'll usually have some kind of treat every day (e.g., a dish of ice cream). I've tried to focus more on making sure I get enough vegetables and protein, but maybe that's not enough. Will I have to follow a diet? -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
#2
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"zeldabee" wrote in message news
I went to my 30 week checkup, and it was definitely a good news/bad news visit. First, the good news--I'd mentioned to my OB a couple of visits ago that I had been thinking of switching to a midwife, and she'd told me that a midwife would soon be starting at her practice, and I might want to see her. This was before I'd called the midwifery services at the birthing center where I plan to go, and was told that I was too far along and they wouldn't be able to help me. So I was pleased when at this visit my OB introduced me to the midwife, and she'll take care of me from here on unless something goes awry. That's great about the midwife! The bad news was that I failed the 1-hour GTT I had two weeks ago (though I'd expected for them to call me if I had). So now I'm supposed to take the 3 hour test next week. The midwife said it was pretty awful... What happens if I fail the 3-hour? Would that mean I definitely have GD? Bummer about the 1 hr GTT. I don't know much about it, but from what I understand *many* women who fail the 1 hour go on to pass the 3-hour. Hopefully you'll be one of those! Best wishes! -- Em edd 9/23/03 |
#3
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"Dagny" wrote:
I am going to do the 1-hour test this week or next, I just asked to take the lab sheet home. The first time (abt 13w, had a little sugar in urine) I was told to do it about 3 hours after a nice breakfast. I passed. This time, the routine time, with a different doctor I wasn't given any instructions. I would think someone coming in to the lab after eating eggs and meat for breakfast would fare better on the test than someone who ran in after eating a Nutragrain bar. Not sure. What were your instructions? I wasn't given any at all for the 1-hour. For the 3-hour, I'm supposed to fast from midnight until my appointment in the morning. Then they're going to dose me up with enough sugar to choke a horse. / Don't know what I'll do in your position. I'd be tempted to go straight to the diet, because I suspect that's how I should be eating anyway and don't . Well, I passed on my usual ice cream dessert last night... ) -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
#4
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"Alicia Elliott" wrote:
But my natural inclination is to take with a grain of salt a great deal of what the medical community tends to speak of as 'risk' and 'treatment'. (Eg, the cesarean rate has gone up by almost half over the last 30 years due to medical interventions when they aren't necessary). This worries me, as I read that c-section rate is higher in women with GD, since they tend to have "big babies"...I really want to avoid a high-intervention birth. I'm worried that I might risk out of the birthing center I want to go to. The truth is, the medical community likes to cover themselves, and it doesn't always benefit the people involved. Try looking it up online as well if you are still unsure. I imagine that a number of other people will post their findings to you too. Good luck either way. This I've done, and AFAICS I'd probably have to monitor blood sugar, and possibly even take insulin, in addition to modifying my diet, if I do have GD. -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
#5
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
zeldabee wrote in message
... So I was pleased when at this visit my OB introduced me to the midwife, and she'll take care of me from here on unless something goes awry. Great! I hope you and she get along well and that you're able to continue care with her throughout the rest of your pregnancy, and birth. The bad news was that I failed the 1-hour GTT I had two weeks ago (though I'd expected for them to call me if I had). So now I'm supposed to take the 3 hour test next week. The midwife said it was pretty awful... I've had the three-hour GTT before (while not pregnant) and didn't think it was that awful. It's just like the one-hour, just two hours more of sitting and waiting (and two extra blood draws of course, but those don't bother me). Just be sure to take something interesting to do! What happens if I fail the 3-hour? Would that mean I definitely have GD? I've always been sensitive to sugar, and I'd never consume as much as the sweet drink they give you for the 1 hour test all at one time...I wasn't diabetic before, at least I assume regular checkups would have uncovered it if I was, but I've always reacted to sugar. If you fail the three-hour, then they probably would diagnose you with GD. I think that regular checkups would not necessarily detect diabetes unless they specifically tested your blood sugar level or did a GTT. Should I watch what I eat more carefully? I've been avoiding eating too many sweets, but I don't avoid them entirely--I'll usually have some kind of treat every day (e.g., a dish of ice cream). I've tried to focus more on making sure I get enough vegetables and protein, but maybe that's not enough. Will I have to follow a diet? Once you have the results of the three-hour GTT they will be better able to advise you on exactly what you need to do to control your blood sugar. I think the usual thing to do is see if you can control it through diet first, and if not, then move on to more drastic measure. The people I know IRL who have been diagnosed with GD have had to check their own blood sugar level X number of times per day, and were able to keep their numbers within range just by eating carefully. For example, one woman told me she could not eat just an apple and nothing else with it. She had to eat some kind of protein (IIRC) at the same time. So it wasn't even necessarily different foods than she would normally eat, she just had to watch the timing and food combinations. Since you eat little sugar normally, your body probably just isn't used to having to produce a large amount of insulin all at once and didn't respond quickly to the one-hour test. Hopefully the longer test will give your body time to respond and bring the sugar level down so that GD is not diagnosed. You actually don't want to avoid sweets in the days leading up to the test. Eat normally, or even add just a little extra, like some chocolate syrup in that bowl of ice-cream or something. I saw in a later post that you're not supposed to eat the morning of the test but in general, if you can eat that morning, that is the time to avoid carbs and sugar and go for protein. Like Em said, a lot of people "fail" the one-hour screening test but do fine on the three-hour diagnostic test. I hope that happens for you! Good luck. -- Cheryl S. Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 3 mo. And a boy, EDD 4.Sept Cleaning the house while your children are small is like shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing. |
#6
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"zeldabee" wrote in message
This worries me, as I read that c-section rate is higher in women with GD, since they tend to have "big babies"...I really want to avoid a high-intervention birth. I'm worried that I might risk out of the birthing center I want to go to. snip I hear you about fear about a high-intervention birth (I've had various moments of anxiety most possible complications that might risk me out of the birth center). Anyway, I don't know anything about your birthing center, but I looked up gestational diabetes in my copy of the "transfer of care" section of my birth center's Administrative Policies (I asked for this info several appts ago & the doctor copied it out of their operations book for me). Apparently, they won't take a client who has pre-pregnancy insulin controlled diabetes. With regard to gestational diabetes, you will still be able to have your baby at the birth center as long as the diabetes is diet controlled. Even if it is diet controlled though, you are still required to have a "consulting physician" involved with your care & not just the birth center doctor. This particular birth center doesn't do the traditional glucola GTT though, just a post-prandial, & I suspect that they are not so quick to "diagnose" as a more mainstream doctor may be. Good luck! You will probably pass the 3-hour & can move on to worrying about what if you have pre-eclampsia and have to risk out, etc! -- Em edd 9/23/03 P.S. I forgot to say before that I find it kind of odd that they just waited until your next appt. to tell you that you "failed" instead of calling you... |
#7
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"Em" wrote:
"zeldabee" wrote in message news [...] So I was pleased when at this visit my OB introduced me to the midwife, and she'll take care of me from here on unless something goes awry. That's great about the midwife! Yes, I'm glad. I really think I'll do better with a midwife. The bad news was that I failed the 1-hour GTT I had two weeks ago [...] Bummer about the 1 hr GTT. I don't know much about it, but from what I understand *many* women who fail the 1 hour go on to pass the 3-hour. Hopefully you'll be one of those! Best wishes! Thanks... -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
#8
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
"Cheryl S." wrote:
zeldabee wrote... So I was pleased when at this visit my OB introduced me to the midwife, and she'll take care of me from here on unless something goes awry. Great! I hope you and she get along well and that you're able to continue care with her throughout the rest of your pregnancy, and birth. I hope so too. I liked her. Right away she had some suggestions about dealing with the swelling in my feet (vitamin B6, and a glass of grapefruit juice each day, heartburn permitting). The bad news was that I failed the 1-hour GTT I had two weeks ago (though I'd expected for them to call me if I had). So now I'm supposed to take the 3 hour test next week. The midwife said it was pretty awful... I've had the three-hour GTT before (while not pregnant) and didn't think it was that awful. It's just like the one-hour, just two hours more of sitting and waiting (and two extra blood draws of course, but those don't bother me). Just be sure to take something interesting to do! Awfully boring...during the wait for the 1-hour, I was too jittery to sit still and read. So was the baby. Well, not that he can read, that's a little optimistic...but he really jumped around. [...] [...]Will I have to follow a diet? Once you have the results of the three-hour GTT they will be better able to advise you on exactly what you need to do to control your blood sugar. I think the usual thing to do is see if you can control it through diet first, and if not, then move on to more drastic measure. The people I know IRL who have been diagnosed with GD have had to check their own blood sugar level X number of times per day, and were able to keep their numbers within range just by eating carefully. For example, one woman told me she could not eat just an apple and nothing else with it. She had to eat some kind of protein (IIRC) at the same time. So it wasn't even necessarily different foods than she would normally eat, she just had to watch the timing and food combinations. I suppose I can deal with whatever is required, though it might be difficult because my life is in such an uproar now, and it's hard to make time to prepare food. Since you eat little sugar normally, your body probably just isn't used to having to produce a large amount of insulin all at once and didn't respond quickly to the one-hour test. Hopefully the longer test will give your body time to respond and bring the sugar level down so that GD is not diagnosed. You actually don't want to avoid sweets in the days leading up to the test. Eat normally, or even add just a little extra, like some chocolate syrup in that bowl of ice-cream or something. This is useful information. ) Not that I want to "beat" the test--if there might be a problem with my blood sugar, I want to know about it--but I don't want my regular habits to stack the deck against me, or lead to a false positive (is that possible?). I saw in a later post that you're not supposed to eat the morning of the test but in general, if you can eat that morning, that is the time to avoid carbs and sugar and go for protein. I've been told to fast from midnight until my appointment at 9:00am. So, maybe I'll have a hamburger at midnight. Like Em said, a lot of people "fail" the one-hour screening test but do fine on the three-hour diagnostic test. I hope that happens for you! Good luck. Thanks. This is actually reassuring. -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
#9
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
zeldabee wrote in message
... This worries me, as I read that c-section rate is higher in women with GD, since they tend to have "big babies"...I really want to avoid a high-intervention birth. I'm worried that I might risk out of the birthing center I want to go to. At the birth center I'm planning on going to, you're only risked out if you require insulin treatments. If you have GD but it is diet-controlled only, you are still OK. I think that the higher C rate among women with GD is probably, at least somewhat, a case of self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of the OBs involved. Also they tend to induce women with GD, and as all we good mkp readers know ;-), induction increases your risk of C-section. So maybe it's not necessarily the fact they had GD, but that they were induced, that was directly responsible for ending up with a C. GD would just be an indirect factor, in leading to the doctor wanting to induce in the first place. -- Cheryl S. Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 3 mo. And a boy, EDD 4.Sept Cleaning the house while your children are small is like shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing. |
#10
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30 week visit--failed 1-hour GTT :o(
Ericka Kammerer wrote:
zeldabee wrote: [GD and interventions] Different places have different policies, but many birthing centers will still take you as long as you're not on insulin. Also, the higher c-section rate is as likely to do with overly aggressive management as with any actual *need* for a c-section. You *can* say no to the c-section if it doesn't seem warranted to you. I think my chances are much better now with the midwife than with the OB. I get the impression that this MW tends to avoid interventions. And while you are at slightly higher risk of having a larger baby if you have GD, the combination of pre-pregnancy weight and pregnancy weight gain is actually a better predictor of birth weight than GD status-- and most big babies are born to non-GD women and most babies born to women with GD are not big. Oh, well, I'm probably likely to have a big baby anyway, then. I was overweight to start. I've gained about 25 lbs and I'm now 30 weeks. Then again, my mother has been heavy her whole life, gained 80 lbs when she was pg with me, and I was 6 lbs something when I was born. She gained a lot with my siblings, too, and they were also average-sized. This I've done, and AFAICS I'd probably have to monitor blood sugar, and possibly even take insulin, in addition to modifying my diet, if I do have GD. Why? Most women can control it with diet alone. Well, I did say possibly...I'd hope I would be able to control it with diet. Furthermore, the research on the efficacy and desirability of using insulin for GD is highly controversial, with several respected organizations questioning its use. (Note: this is just with true gestational diabetes--women with true diabetes are in a different boat and may well need insulin.) This is interesting. Is there a way to tell if a pg woman might have had undiagnosed diabetes pre-pregnancy? In other words, is there any difference in response to the tests? And, of course, as others have mentioned, the 1 hour test is only a screening test, and not a very good one at that. Most people who fail the 1 hour test pass the 3 hour test. Here's hoping. Personally, I really wouldn't borrow trouble on this one. *IF* you have gestational diabetes, it's not even clear from the literature that you *should* treat it, much less that you have to sign up for a whole slew of invasive procedures. I won't sign up for anything without looking into it, but I don't know how much I can resist pressure. -- z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/ |
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