How To Survive Your Glucose Tolerance Tests

All pregnant women receive screening for gestational diabetes -- usually between 24 and 28 weeks.

The test is simple:

1.  Choke down a bottle of sugary solution.

2.  Wait an hour.

3.  Let the nurse draw your blood to test your sugar.

Blood sugar levels above 130-140 are considered elevated.  (Mine was 190, and I had to wait 2 days to get results back from the lab.)

But you still can't say you have gestational diabetes... yet. 

According to Babycenter, only 1/3 of women who test positive on the screening will also test positive on the next test.

It's the 3-hour screening that's hard to swallow.  Here's what happened at my glucose tolerance test today:

1. Fast from all food after midnight (i.e., starve).
2. Drive 30 minutes past every fast food place imaginable.
3. Let the nurse draw blood for a fasting blood sugar reading.
4. Chug a bottle of 2x concentrated sugar solution... within 5 minutes.
5. Sit out in the waiting room for 1 hour and try not to vomit.

(Seriously, the nurses warned me:  if you feel like you're going to be sick, please come back into the inner office before setting off a chain reaction!)

There are 3 more blood draws to look forward to!  One after the first hour, one after the second hour, and one after the third hour. 

(Don't worry--at least they alternated arms!)

The sugar solution really doesn't taste that awful.  It's drinking it on an empty stomach that feels so bad!  I prefer the orange flavor over the tropical punch.  It tastes like an orange cola that has gone flat.

Here are some tips my nurses gave me for surviving the morning:

Drink the solution chilled, or through a straw.

Shake the bottle well so your last sip isn't twice as sweet.

Bring a protein snack to eat immediately after the final blood draw.

Buy a racy new bestseller to take your mind off the wait.

We headed straight for lunch when my test concluded at noon.  Although I ate a protein-rich meal, the huge influx of sugar left me tired and woozy the rest of the day.

3-hour Glucose Tolerance Test = NOT FUN, but necessary.

Figuring out how to feel better these last few weeks = absolutely worth it!