Please meet my friend Mr. Glucose...to be more specific, Mr. 100g of Glucose...to be even MORE specific, Mr. 100g of Glucose that makes me sick!
A few weeks ago, I had to take a standard glucose test and then have a blood test. The purpose of this test is to determine if I have
gestational diabetes. The initial test is fairly simple...I was given a small bottle of liquid, similar to the one shown in the picture above (Only the liquid contained in the 1st test was only 50g, the 2nd test was twice that), which I had to drink at then head to the Dr. office to have my blood drawn. The results came back the next day, and I "failed" the test! Normal, non-gestational diabetes results should show your glucose levels somewhere between 70 and 140, my results came in at 147! So close!! But, according to the doctor's office, being 7 points over the line or 700 points over the line is the same thing and I needed to be re-tested.
That brings us to today. For the past three days, I was put on a special "diet". Not a diet like most people do, this one had me ADD food to my regular diet, and not just any food...GOOD food...CARB-filled food, SUGAR-filled food...light Doughnuts, and ice cream, pancakes, french toast! Fabulous! The funny thing was, some of the foods are already IN my regular diet (Which is maybe why I needed to have the test re-done? Just a thought!). I made it through my 3 days by adding yogurt to my banana & peanut butter sandwiches each morning, yogurt to my lunch (Which is already enormous and I graze through it all day...PB&J, Cashews (just a few), apples, carrots, apple sauce, raisins, 3 cookies, string cheese etc) and then ice cream at night.
This morning I arrived at the Dr. Office at 8:30am to begin the tests...the first thing I had to do was have my blood drawn so they could see how my blood looked after fasting since midnight the night before. Then I had to drink the orange drink. The first time I took this test, the drink posed no issue for me...I wish that had been the case this time. Maybe it was the fact that the amount of glucose was doubled in this drink (So basically this was like Tang on steroids), or maybe it was the fact that my stomach was completely empty this time around, but whatever it was...it wasn't working for me! I went back into the waiting room and felt my stomach just lurching at any chance it got. I had heard horror stories of women puking in their dr. office during this test, and I did NOT want to be one of those women! So I asked the receptionist for some water- and I was denied. Apparently I couldn't have ANY liquid in me in order to continue the exam...this was not good news. It was as though as soon as my mind and body realized they WEREN'T getting water, they threw a fit...like a full on 2 year old and I thought I was going to pass out. Passing out/fainting is something that has happened to me in life from time to time, so I'm no stranger to the sensation. I sat in the waiting room as long as I could before I finally got up and asked the receptionist if I could lay down. They brought me to a great little room that I am assuming is normally used for acupuncture and massages, and let me rest out the remainder of my appointment in there.
30 minutes later, my little timer went off and I needed to have my blood drawn for a 2nd time. I had a great nurse, who stuck me perfectly each time. When she was done, she put a band-aid in my arm, and sent me back to bed. I set my timer again, and after another hour, it was time to have my blood drawn for a 3rd time...yippee! Then I went back to my room and waited another hour for the FINAL blood draw! At 11:30 it was that time, and I gave my blood then saw myself out! I had survived the test! YAY!
I walked next door to Jason's jobsite so he could take me out to lunch...I very quickly started feeling less than awesome, especially as we drove through the busy streets of Santa Monica and made our way to In N Out (Of course that's where went...). Thankfully we found a parking spot (Miraculously!)and the In N Out staff was pretty quick in getting us our meal. I scarfed that food down so fast, and a #2 with no onions and a strawberry shake NEVER tasted so good! I still felt a little queasy and weak, but much better than where I'd been previously.
I headed home after lunch and took a 5 hour nap...I haven't been very good at getting enough sleep lately, and even though I got 7 hours last night, the bags under my eyes and the soreness in my throat would have argued that fact, so getting a few more hours is JUST what the doctor ordered!
I am hoping to have the results of the test by either tomorrow or Monday. if it turns out I DO have GD, I will need to adjust my diet slightly for the remainder of the pregnancy. The good news about GD is that it doesn't affect me postpartum...it's a weird little diabetes diagnosis that is caused simply by the levels of hormones I have running through me while pregnant and for some women, the pancreas just gets confused on what it's supposed to do with the body acting somewhat abnormally. GD can affect the baby only if I didn't stick to my diet- he could produce too much insulin in his body which would cause him to gain extra weight, which could result in a more difficult birthing process (And depending on the size of him vs the size of ME, could end up in a C-Section delivery). Once the pregnancy is over, GD goes away, the baby has no lasting effects and I would be considered "Cured". The only other long lasting effects are that I will have a higher risk of having GD in any other pregnancy, and I'm put at a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later in life.
But for now, I'm just trying to think positive and hope that my test results come back fine and I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the pregnancy...we'll see!
On a side note, I must say that i have several friends with similar stories as mine. They "failed" the first test, and passed the second test, so hopefully that is my fate as well!
All in all, today was a trying day for many reasons, I'm just glad it's almost over and then the weekend can begin!
I'll update the rest of our Kauai stuff this weekend too!
xo
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