Glucose Screening Take 2 (28 Weeks)

I spent the weekend mentally and spiritually preparing myself for the three-hour glucose test. Hubby decided to take the day off to be with me, and I secured a sitter for my little girl. We arrived bright and early, and the blood drawing commenced. I freaked out and had to pull away before the tech even put the needle in my arm--so lame! Finally got my head together, and I made it through the first draw without passing out. Success!

By that point it was almost 9:00 AM, and I had not eaten for twelve hours. Needless to say, that orange drink was looking pretty tasty at that point. I gulped it down, and was pleasantly surprised to hear I only had to wait 30 minutes until my next needle. I had come fully prepared to fight boredom--laptop to work on, crochet project to complete, and novel to read. The waiting time passed quickly, and we were back in the lab again. Success number two--no passing out!

This time we had an hour to wait, so we headed out to Kohls to make an exchange and killed most of the time with that short errand. Good strategy because it made the time go quickly; therefore, I didn't have time to think about the next needle (or how hungry I was getting) and psych myself out. Just before we went back in, I got a call from my mom who was watching my daughter that my daughter had just thrown up and was running a fever. She's never thrown up for me before, so this was new territory--plus, I felt helpless being in the middle of my testing.

Trying to be strong for my daughter and trying to be strong for myself turned out to be pretty difficult. I got a hold of our pediatrician, relayed the recommendations to my mom, took a deep breath and faced the next needle. Still conscious! On our way out of the lab, I ran into my midwife. She apologized for putting me through this whole ordeal, but she had to cover her bases--plus my first baby was almost 9 pounds, so she wanted to be extra cautious. She did admit that while I didn't pass the first glucose test, my number was only a little high--more hope! You know, I ate up to the minute before my first test fasting period began. I bet if I had held off eating more than two hours, my system would've been clear--lesson for next time.

Last hour in the waiting room passed quickly. I crocheted this project (my first crochet project ever), and I tried to keep to a minimum my dirty looks directed toward the couple sitting across from me happily munching on Brahms burgers and fries while I went through my fifteenth hour of fasting.

Last needle down, no fainting. Overall, a big success. The whole process was actually easier than I thought it would be--it's the recovery that was more difficult. I was drained for the rest of the day--on top of taking care of my feverish daughter. She didn't throw up again, and within twelve hours, she was back to her happy self, and her fever was minimal. The NEXT day I was even more tired. I wonder if I caught a bit of her virus, and it just drained me for the next day. Who knows?

My midwife promised results the next day and said she'd call when she got them. Tuesday came and went. No call. Wednesday. No call. Thursday I had my two-week checkup (AH! I'm already at 2-week intreval checkups! This is going really fast!), so I just waited til my appointment to ask. The nurse smiled and said, "You knew you would, but you passed. You're good to go." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, relief!

This was a big wake-up call. Since then I've been more conscious of what I'm eating. I'm also trying to eat fruit before my meal--recently was reminded that fruit digests faster than other foods, so if it's eaten with the rest of your meal, it'll sit on top of the slower foods and ferment. Not good! I've also tried to keep the sugar intake down. I just don't feel good when I do eat sugary foods, so I might as well avoid them when possible =)

I'd love to hear from those of you who tested positive for gestational diabetes. What happens next if you don't pass your second test? How did your life change? Did you notice feeling any different once you implemented better eating habits and monitoring your blood sugar?

**Did you know if you test positive for gestational diabetes, you get to prick your finger three times a day to check your blood sugar--on top of all the diet and exercise changes? Joy of joys! I'm learning a lot this time around.

***Photo courtesy of KevinDooley***