The test is usually performed around 24-30 weeks, but I put it off until 32 weeks. I really didn't think it was something I needed to do because a) I am not showing any signs of gestational diabetes, b) My mother never had it, c) I do not have any of the risk factors and d) I really didn't want to sit in a hospital lab for three hours. I tried to convince my doctor to let me bypass it, but she basically said that a mom can still have GD and not show any of the signs! When a mom has GD, the baby in utero is used to getting a certain amount of glucose, and when that changes when he/she is born, it can really throw things off and be quite dangerous. I decided it wasn't really worth the risk, so I finally caved in at 32 weeks and got the darn thing done.
Let me tell you. No one prepared me for what I experienced! Let me give you the rundown of my story. I am sure this will not hold true for everyone, but it's just how my body reacted.
So they ask you to fast before your test. Because of this, I knew I wanted to get my test out of the way in the morning so I didn't spend the whole day starving! I ate my last bit of food at around 8pm on Sunday night, and went in for the test at 10 am on Monday morning. First, they drew four viles of blood. Not too bad, just annoying.
Then, my tech guy (I don't remember what his official title is) asked me what flavor of glucose drink I wanted; fruit punch, orange, or grape. I figured orange would be the least foul of those three options. I was expecting to take a shot of some strange liquid with the consistency of cough syrup, but I was totally wrong! He came out with a 12 oz bottle of gatorade like liquid. I opened it and started drinking (seriously, it was so sweet it burned my throat and it was room temperature--why couldn't they chill it?) when he said "hey, you only have three minutes to drink that whole thing!" Are you kidding me? I started chugging.
Once I finished (gag me) he said to come back in an hour for my blood draw. I felt okay at first, but within 10 minutes I felt like the room was spinning. Within 30 minutes, I was nauseous and light-headed. I had a quick check-up with my OB at this point, and after it was done it was just the right time for me to go back and get my blood drawn again. When I sat down in the seat, I literally thought I was going to toss my cookies all over the lab and all over my poor technician. I was feeling all flu symptoms--shaking, goose bumps, nausea, and an absolute pounding head ache! When he finished the blood draw, I got up and went out to meet Jacob (thank goodness he was with me) and actually started to feel worse with time. I was sweating profusely and my whole body felt hot. I kept covering my mouth because the urge to gag or throw up was so strong!
To keep this story from going on for too long, I will just say that I did my third round of blood drawing and was SO ready to go home when it was done. I was out for the entire day, and immediately took a two-hour nap. I can't even describe to you the exhaustion that I felt. Like I had been run over with a dump truck!
**(PSA for my pregnant friends who haven't done this yet: TAKE THE WHOLE DAY OFF when you take this test, just in case you react like I did)**
Turns out that experiences like this are not uncommon among people who are asked to fast before their test. Especially if you are someone who does not eat a lot of sugar (like me), your body has to work overtime to produce enough insulin for the crazy amount of sugar you just took in on an empty stomach. I have heard the drink has as much sugar as six bags of Skittles, but I really have no way of confirming that as true.
I honestly don't know why they don't come up with a better way to do this, because it was simply God-awful. A lot of people don't have these sort of reactions, but I did! Some people actually enjoy the sweet drink (weirdos)! I have also read that some doctors don't ask their patients to fast before the test, and these people do not have as bad as reactions.
Outtie like my belly button for now,
next post I will talk about our hospital tour!
Oh, and here is a quick 33 week bump shot:
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