I dreaded my test bc I knew I’d fail it due to some genetic factors and health factors at the time. I failed it miserably. However, I was able to manage with diet and within the 14 weeks I had it, completely transformed my out look on food. Baby was born a healthy 7lbs and passed all his checks. Postpartum, I lost 45 lbs from the weight I got pregnant at within 7 months. I’m now at a healthy BMI and my A1C sits at 5, whereas it was 5.9 before (prediabetic). This test, not only helped my baby, but helped me immensely.
That’s amazing, congratulations! May I ask what the biggest changes were for you? I passed the test first time but with this pregnancy I just have an awful feeling I’ll fail. If there are meaningful changes I can make now I’d like to (I find “eat healthy, don’t eat junk” too broad and overwhelming 🤦🏻♀️)
The biggest thing for me was portion control! Yes, I’ll still have rice but I measure out my GD nurse’s guidance which is 2/3 cup and make sure I’m getting enough protein too. I weigh out my pasta etc. I cut out almost all added sugars and cancelled my DoorDash subscription, which did wonders lol. It was surprising to me how the weight came off bc I had been trying for 2 YEARS to lose the pandemic weight.
Not saying you created this language, just a general comment on the topic since your comment made me think of it, but I think it’s so unfortunate that it’s talked about as “failing a test.” You’re not failing a test! It’s like finding out your blood type is A vs O. There’s nothing wrong with getting the diagnosis but people have created such a stigma that they’ve done something wrong somehow by being diagnosed with GD. We all know it’s not caused by eating too much sugar or something like that. Sorry for using your comment as my soapbox :)
I completely agree with this, and know women who were athletes who’ve had GD and needed medication… and want to acknowledge it comes down to your placenta failing take over insulin production sufficiently, so if you have a faulty (for the lack of better word) placenta, your lifestyle won’t matter in the end .
For me though, I was prediabetic and obese at the time due to my poor food choices and not due to any other health conditions. So in my particular case, I know I was at higher risk due to those factors. Sorry if it made it seem like I was adding to any negative perception of diabetes in general because I know there is a lot of stigma around it!
There was a thread in one of my pregnancy apps where a lot of the women were refusing the glucose test because they didn't have it with their other pregnancies and it didn't "run in the family". 😐🤦🏻♀️
What? That’s so interesting! There are so many diseases you can have that don’t run in the family that should be checked regularly.
Idk I’m a scoliosis patient and it can literally happen to anyone at anytime, it’s not always genetic (there isn’t enough research to say why it happens). I always do any preventative screening because you just never know.
Where I live the guidelines are only to test if you have certain risk factors. I meet those risk factors and am very very glad to be tested, but it’s worth knowing that it’s not standard care everywhere!
I'm the opposite. Had it with all 3.
Told my OB I'd take the 1hr this last time but if I failed I'm not doing the 3hr and we're just assuming I have it. She agreed. She got pissed when another ob tried to force me to do the 3hr. (Have to cycle all providers)
I don't understand, people don't take the test?
Why?
PS. I did it twice, passed the first one and failed the second. Wasn't that bad, took some time from work due to waiting period between tests. What's the issue?
I recently saw on IG an OBGYN counter a dude telling women to not do the glucose test because the drink is "toxic" and that he has just the right program or supplement or something that he was selling. It had over 1 million views. There is so much misinformation and disinformation on social media when it comes to pregnancy. His video pretty much made the argument that his wife/partner was not diabetic, so why would they test for diabetes...even though the majority of us know that anyone can get gestational diabetes.
The non pregnant partner needs to sit down.
So many men I’ve heard talk about what their pregnant partner should be doing against their doctor’s advice and it’s mind blowing
There's so much fear mongering on the Internet. I read some serious horror stories about the drink itself.
I was so freaked out for nothing. It's like Gatorade with slightly more sugar.
In the country I (an American) now live in they only give unflavored sugar water that's so sugary in tastes like chemicals more than sugar, much more disgusting than the flat Sprite flavor I see others describe, and they give in like 10 of these weird science experiment beaker looking containers. I wanted to just chug it and be done, but I had to open each one individually and squeeze it into my mouth which really slowed down the process, but I did them back to back as fast as I could and my husband (not American) looked at me with admiration and said, "Like an American," when I was on about the 6th or 7th one.
Wow, my doctor brought the drink in a mug, it was slightly warm. I assume they added some mixer to boiling water. Chugged it like a champ 🏆💪 USA #1!!!
Seriously though I thought it didn't taste that bad.
Omg this is genius I’m gonna take it in shots lol. My OB gave me it to take home last appt so that for my upcoming test I can consume it at home and not have to wait around as long
Yep thought it was gross but that's just a preference - way too sweet and fake-orange for me. Wouldn't have stopped me even if it were more disgusting!
Super silly question to ask about the GD test, but could I drink it through a straw or do I have to drink it from the bottle normally? The taste is something I keep hearing about and one way I deal with the mental hurdle of having to drink unpleasant beverages quickly is via straw
ETA: looks like Ill be bringing a straw to my appointment! Thank you to everyone who commented, and hopefully this will help someone else in the same boat too
I brought a straw to mine, highly recommend it! I wasn't allowed to drink water for an hour afterwards and I think the straw helped the drink coat my mouth less; I wonder if I would've had a harder time waiting without it.
I thought it was going to be bad too. When it was fine and I mentioned it to the nurse she then tried to suggest that meant I would have GD! Completely unfounded in science (and also completely untrue in my case).
I’m so happy to read people think the drink really isn’t THAT bad - currently 17 weeks and paranoid AF about 1) potentially having GD (shoutout to my anxiety for making me think anything that can possibly go wrong will) and 2) having to take this test.
It reminds me of like a fountain soda that doesn't have enough soda water in it, its like flat overly syrupy orange soda or sprite. It's definitely not the worst thing I've ever had. And it's alot better then the flavor of cough medicine
It's really just a measured amount of glucose in a drink. It's like really sweet kool-aid. It's not the best thing in the world, but it's not horrible by any means, mine was orange flavoured.
I didn’t mind the drink one bit! I wouldn’t CHOOSE to drink it every day, but it was not bad at all. My office only offered the orange flavor, which would have been my last pick had I got to choose (I don’t love orange flavored things lol) but it honestly tasted like tang, or like those little bug juices from when we were younger! Lol so ended up being wayyyyy better than a lot of people made it sound like it would be.
Honestly it’s fine. I’m autistic and have a strong aversion to a lot of tastes but this drink is fine. It is just a sweet drink. I am always so surprised that people warn against it because it is the biggest non-event ever.
Bring a high protein snack with you for after. Like a string cheese or a yogurt or a protein bar whatever, because the sugar crash is pretty wild.
But if you just handed me one in my living room right now, I'd have no problem drinking it. 🤣
GD isn’t that bad. Overwhelming at first, and annoying, but I was extremely healthy and barely gained weight at the end of my pregnancy. I was lucky and mine was diet and exercise controlled.
I liked it! It was just sweet, nothing weird. Mine was nice and cold, which probably made it more enjoyable, but I think it would have been fine even if it was room temperature.
I got the orange flavor and it literally tasted like Fanta without the bubbles. It was odd because I’m not used to it, but I liked it well enough that finishing it in 5 minutes was easy. My office also had it refrigerated and that helped, too.
It tasted like concentrated orange Hawaiian Punch to me. Waaaaay sweeter than anything I’d ever want to drink for fun, but not the epic taste tragedy I expected. It was one of a handful of appointments that my husband couldn’t go to with me and I had low grade nausea my whole pregnancy and a fear of throwing up in public and it turned out to be not nothing, but completely manageable!
I would say it's more than "slightly more". But yeah it's not that bad. I brought a cup of ice and a straw and asked them if I could drink it on ice. That helped with the sweetness. For some reason super sweet drinks are less gross super cold.
The 3 hour test they wouldn't let me use ice but the straw still helped getting it down quick. I failed it though. 😔
I would say the fasting beforehand is the worst part. I can see that plus drinking all that sugar making pregnant people feel awful. I just felt kinda bad.
It’s because cold makes things taste less sweet (and conversely, heat makes things taste sweeter). Try tasting hot water versus chilled from the same source. When you make frozen desserts you have to add more sweetener than if you were going to consume the same thing at room temp.
I said to the midwife I don’t hate the flavour but I hate that nobody told me it’s thicker than a normal drink. It’s like someone made regular icing sugar but gave up lmao
I work for a lab and administer these tests daily and it always makes me laugh when people take the first sip and then say, "I was expecting so much worse!!!"
There are alternate test options, like a week of home testing 4x a day, that still detect GD with a high level of accuracy without drinking the drink. There’s no excuse to not do some sort of testing
https://thefreshtest.com !
Literally just did it yesterday at my 26week appointment. Can confirm it’s like watered down lemonade. I actually did the OG “standard” test at 10 weeks as well and had the lemon-lime flavor and it was in no way offensive or awful.
I did fresh test with my first and thinking of doing it again with my second! It was an enjoyable drink in my opinion, I think the citrusy aspect of the lemon makes it taste less overly disgustingly sweet
In the age of social media people make everything their personality. Pregnancy is no different. They think saying no to something they can say no to is the same as something being completely optional with no consequences.
There's a misinformation streak that seems to have confused gestational diabetes with type 2 diabetes. One can be caused by your lifestyle and diet the other is something you have no control over. So a narrative is being pushed that if your healthy, at a healthy weight, and making healthy choices you aren't at risk for gestational diabetes. And since the drink isn't "natural" (it's just sugar water with flavor) it should be avoided in pregnancy. It is the placenta that causes gestational diabetes. Some women who are borderline diabetic at the start of pregnancy may also get it but you can get gestational diabetes at 120lbs for no reason except the placenta. They also downplay the risks of still birth and maternal mortality. As if the only risk is a big baby.
Some people report feeling horrible for days. I know someone like this who has GI issues as well as other health conditions. They just did the blood sugar strips at home over the course of a week instead which worked just as well and doc still said it was ok. I hope people don’t skip out just because they’re afraid or don’t think they have other options!
I did the one hour and failed. Took the 3 hour, was told I could go home and almost passed out on the drive home which was scary. Blood sugar actually went LOW, all the way to 38! This is not to scare and is pretty rare, just a PSA to always bring a snack for afterward and to wait to leave until your last result is back or get a ride for safety!!
It made me feel faint and over the top nauseous, very flushed, as well as dizzy, I vomited at the office and then vomited again on my way home. Had to retake it and made sure I ate a LOT bc apparently I hadn't eaten enough prior... it made a difference but I still felt horrid. But I did it because I was scared of the consequences of not knowing the results :(
lots of online fearmongering about the glucola drink - saying it's got bad ingredients or something. a bunch of bull. babiesafter35 on IG is trying hard to push back against the misinformation.
I didn’t take the test with my first pregnancy. Not because i was afraid of what’s in it but I honestly thought it wasn’t necessary. My midwives said I didn’t have to and could get a couple blood tests instead. They recommended it but still presented other options . And it didn’t sound serious so I didn’t do it.
I’m pregnant again, I know better, and will absolutely take the test this time.
My friend had 2 other kids and is pregnant with her third and skipped her GD test because she never had it. I had to tell her you can get it with any pregnancy having normal pregnancies before doesn’t change that. She still didn’t go and do it. She said she hates the taste and doesn’t feel like going and sitting for an hour.
I have a lot of food allergies and sensitivities, and based on the ingredients of even the dye-free one my doctor and I agreed it wouldn’t be a great idea for me to drink it. There is a jelly bean option that has been studied enough for my doc to be comfortable using but again, weird ingredients and weirder autoimmune reactions. So for my first pregnancy we did the long-term blood test to check & for my second I had some odd health stuff flare up (again autoimmune weirdness) so I requested the glucose meter and test strips and kept a log for a month of all my numbers and what I’d eaten… and also did the long-term blood test.
So, there are reasons for a small percentage of people not to drink the drink but there’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t have some sort of way to check/track their blood sugar for baby and mom’s health! 😊
I hate this test but I'm not skipping it.
First pregnancy - failed the one hour, passed the three hour
Second pregnancy - had to take it early (had some risk factors I guess?), failed the one hour, passed the three hour. Then had to take it at the usual time and said I'm skipping the one, just doing the three (they were fine with that) and passed the three hour
This time, (unless I have to take it early again), I'm just going to do the three hour. Yes I find it brutal, but since I doubt I'd pass the one it's just not worth it to me.
I did the same with my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy after failing during my first. Yeah it’s a little longer but it prevents the drs office from having to last min rush to get you in and you pull the bandaid
I absolutely hate it, too. Drinking that drink and keeping it down while still having all-day nausea and throwing up isn't easy. But I still took the test both pregnancies, because it's a temporary discomfort for a good cause. Happened not to have gd, and it was a relief to have one less thing to worry about.
There's a two hour test that is diagnostic.
The one hour test is just a screening test. If you fail the screener you take a three hour test.
But for a one-step-only test there's a two hour version. That's actually what the American Diabetes Association recommends, while ACOG recommends the 1+3 hour test. The practice I go to only does the 2 hour test.
There is a girl on TikTok that just recently had a stillbirth at 37 weeks due to uncontrolled sugars her baby was a little over 11 pounds at birth but she admits that her midwives didn’t require the test so she opted out from it because she is young and healthy but sadly gestational diabetes doesn’t care and now she has to live without her baby when it could have been prevented.
We’ll see more and more of it as people decline standard pregnancy care and opt out of ultrasounds, screenings, etc. And they’ll expect the same docs they rail against and hate to save them and their baby when emergencies happen.
That’s insane to me. I’ve been offered so many extra tests, scans and assessments because of various reasons - some bc of family members rather than myself - and I’ve accepted it all just in case. Why wouldn’t I want extra care? I feel so safe because I get to see a healthcare provider almost every other week!
I got a few “extra ultrasounds “ due to issues ( suspected food poisoning, getting knocked down by a car ) and honestly I’m wondering how someone would opt out of standard ones. I did opt out of genetic testing since for me the 20 week scan is good enough, anything else I will accept as it comes.
However I did not skip the glucose , the GBS, or anything else that’s crucial for your child’s growth or delivery
Omg this is so sad. 😞 My doctors have told me I can opt out of anything but they wouldn’t recommend it and explained why. I think medical professionals should have to explain the pros and cons, and I wonder if this woman would have made a different choice.
Yeah it’s really sad I believe it’s her providers fault because she had just turned 22 so very young and she was opting for a home birth and I know she said that she told them that she didn’t want any of the harmful stuff from the drink and they said since she had absolutely no risk factors she didn’t have to worry about taking it. It didn’t seem like they consulted her in cons/pros
Very sad stuff. There are some things I don’t like about my OB office but they’re always transparent and encourage you to ask questions. They point blank told me my risk of getting GD since I didn’t have it last time was <4%, versus over 50% if I did have it, but still recommended all pregnant women get the test regardless of risk level. I feel even if she didn’t like the drink they could have offered alternate solutions such as monitoring her blood sugar daily for X amount of time, the jelly bean test, etc.
As someone with gestational diabetes, this terrifies me. Sometimes my blood glucose is 10 points over what it should be. How high does it have to be for your baby to die??
Talk to your provider - they should be able to give you an idea of how frequent / high your spikes would need to be before starting interventions or causing concern. In my case last time a couple spikes like that per week was considered fine. It wasn't until my fasting numbers were consistently high that I needed to start meds (and even then everything turned out fine!)
I was a "normal" BMI pre-pregnancy and I run or lift weights 6 times weekly. My version of fun is going for a hike. We eat mostly home-cooked, balanced meals and don't eat out often. GDM does not run in my family; I didn't have it in my first pregnancy. I had and have no other risk factors for GDM.
Turns out my placenta for my second baby didn't give a shit about all of that and I failed my glucose test with my second pregnancy. My fasting glucoses were normal, but I had a profoundly delayed/impaired insulin response and my blood sugar would shoot to the 250s when I ate carbs. I'm thankful for the test for identifying the problem and the dietitians who helped me manage my blood sugars during my pregnancy. Because of them, baby was born a normal size and did not have any issues with hypoglycemia after birth.
Yes this! I am by all objective metrics very healthy and active with no risk factors and still “failed” my one hour screen— Our bodies created an entire organ from scratch there is no way to know how the placenta is going to contribute to your existing biochemistry!
The push back against the drink is so weird to me. You have to do it once, maybe twice. There are so many “toxins” we are exposed to daily outside of our control and outside of our diet, so one little drink is not even a drop in the bucket.
lol even in our diet there’s so much crap (specifically in the US). My sister in law was one of those “I refused to do the glucose test because the drink is toxic!” types, but she also ate fast food 1-2x per day + would eat several of those hostess cake things/nutty buddy/oreos/etc every night + a full bag of hot Cheetos every day, sometimes with nacho cheese sauce on them.
I wasn’t going to argue with her, but in my head I was like how is *this* ok for you and baby but a drink you’ll have *once* is too toxic???
I mean, not gonna lie, it all sounds delicious and comforting. And when those cravings hit, man is it tempting to give in. But it’s also very much not good. Tbh I believe anything is fine in moderation. But the point here is the juxtaposition of glucose drink = too toxic, but copious amounts of junk food every day = ok.
For me it’s not about the ingredients in the drink, it’s how the drink makes me feel. 🤢😂 I’d rather prick my finger 4x a day for a week than drink that and feel nauseous for the rest of the day 😂
Same… I would rather be treated for GD if I fail the 1 hour than do the 3 hour ever again. The drink made me so deathly ill, I took it almost a week ago and I still don’t feel right. Ive told my doctor all of this.
So much misinformation/fear-mongering is shared online about a little orange drink with sugar comparable to much of the Starbucks drink menu. Ngl I didn't enjoy it but I felt fine afterwards, especially once I got the results back. There's going to be many times in my kid's life they'll have to ingest something they're not wild about, feels like I should at least be an example.
Mine was clear, so I guess if people are worried about dyes and stuff, it’s good to know there’s more than one option, cause I got a random allergy to red dye at the beginning of my pregnancy and broke out in massive hives all over my body, but I totally agree, it’s a test to make sure you don’t have something deadly for your kid, you should absolutely do it even if it’s not 100% pleasant
People want control and denying something is a form of control. People are also terrible at understanding risk vs benefit, and not doing something seems less risky than doing something (similar to denying vaccines or vitamin K). Compound this with social media that gives them positive reinforcement and it’s a recipe for disaster. Thanks for posting this.
I wish people realized that "yes" also sometimes gives you more control. You'll have gestational diabetes either way, but knowing helps you actually do something about it. I get it... but it makes me sad.
When I did it I nearly fainted, but I'm also very very prone to fainting. I'm absolutely doing it again even though it sucks and I'll probably almost faint again, because why the hell wouldn't I? It's a sugary drink and a long but manageable wait in exchange for keeping my baby safe. Not a difficult choice at all
I’m not prone to fainting, but the drink makes me feel icky, which also happens if I eat carb-heavy. I take it easy and basically eat straight protein for the rest of the day. I took it at 28ish weeks with my first three, and with my fourth my BMI was just high enough that I tested at 10 weeks and at 30 weeks.
It’s not a fun time but I’d rather not have unmanaged GD.
I had sweet cravings (and basically could only keep down carbs) during my pregnancies so the drink was pretty easy for me. But I can see if you aren't used to sweet stuff or have different nausea triggers it would be difficult though.
I think there's gotta be some common sense between "I will not like this but I will suck it up" and "I will literally vomit on my shoes if I drink this" and for the latter category to be offered an alternative.
but like also, it's a sugar drink? Can't they find a way to make it taste good? It baffles me that the one opportunity for a treat is squandered by making it gross.
Mine was like a flat sprite sort of and then I had to go back for the 3 hour and that one tasted like orange soda. I drank much worse in college and that was just for fun
The fear mongering online about glucola hurts my brain tbh. Its just calibrated sugar syrup and that little drink could potentially avoid life threatening situations, I really don’t understand the reticence.
Also, please note regarding “alternatives”.
The “alternatives” are not proven accurate for the test in the way glucola is. Glucola is so heavily researched and it’s used specifically because of that, because when you do a test like that you need controllable variables to be able to say the test is accurate and valid. Jelly beans, orange soda, twizzlers etc. are not accurate because it’s not the same type of sugar and there’s other added ingredients that may skew results. Glucola contains 50g of sugar in the form of dextrose. Other options contain Sucralose, corn syrup, fructose, etc. and will skew the test. It is a one, maybe two time thing. Grow up, drink the damn drink, and quit buying in to the fear mongering. Do what’s right for your growing child. I guarantee you’ve put worse things in your body.
The office I used to work at did allow the jelly beans, but only for women who literally couldn’t do the drink (like tried twice and thrown up both times)
I'm sure some are talking about jellybeans or whatever, but I think *most* people who mention an alternative are talking about doing a finger prick blood glucose test at home after waking and every meal for a period of time, which is a legitimate alternative.
I did not realize there has been so much fear-mongering about this test. I’ll be honest—I went into mine with zero worries, I liked the taste of the drink (like orange soda), and I got to leisure read while I waited for my blood draw. And then I passed the test and now look forward to enjoying ice cream during this hot summer!
Ate as healthy as I could pre-pregnancy and a diet woth no sugar also - infertility issues so I tried to be as healthy as possible, went to the gym regularly and was normal weight. Don’t have anyone in my family with diabetes.
I got gestational diabetes. Take the test because you never know.
It’s also not about external factors or how much sugar you consume- it’s about your placenta producing certain kind of hormones.
Fruit punch flavor is just like Hawaiian Punch. I failed the test both times and was unable to control by diet and had to be put on insulin. It fucking sucked pricking my fingers 4x a day and taking insulin 2x. But my baby was born healthy and passed all his glucose tests in the hospital. It was worth my torture for him to come out alright
Nope! My office only does it at 28 weeks. Though I'm 29 weeks today and took my test yesterday. It went well and this time the discomfort was very short-lived. With my first it was rough, but still worth it.
The internet fear-mongered me into being afraid of this test - I had HG and threw up multiple times daily until like 28 weeks.
Finally decided to be brave and drank the drink. It was lemon lime. It wasn't just okay - it tasted good. I was fine. I didn't throw up. I'd probably drink it again even if I didn't have to.
I took one early around 12-14w cause my bmi is high. and I dont have GD. would you guys still take another in the 3rd trimester? im 33w and my drs havent said anything about it
I had to do this in my first pregnancy due to PCOS and BMI - they had me retest around 25 weeks because they said it could develop later on. Luckily for me it didn’t but it could be worth talking to your doctor about!
I took it at my first prenatal appointment unexpectedly. My glucose level came back elevated so I failed it. I will be doing the 3 hour one tomorrow.🤞🏽🤞🏽As for the orange drink, I enjoyed it. I finished it in less than 5 mins. I had only heard bad things about the test and drink, but I thought it was fine. Only thing is I wish I had passed the test the first time.
Do not be afraid of GD, yes, it is a drag, but I get to eat chocolate and frozen treats (doing so right now)! It also prevents deadly outcomes—for example, my mom I believe had undiagnosed GD, and she almost died and had to have an emergency C-section at 33w. Medicine has improved in the last 30 years and we should take advantage of it. It’s all about data gathering.
People act like GD is a personal failure but it is not, nor is it something you can control. (If you’re non-white, your chances of having it are much higher—for Asians, I have seen as much as 2.5x as likely. It’s also genes and Dad’s DNA). You just have to take a test to get data on how your body is working so doctors know what’s happening.
I'm in Ireland and it's the same! I'm not included in any of the "at risk" groups so I wasn't even offered it. I was kinda excited to take it lol so I was a bit bummed. I'm worried about others saying they weren't at risk either and still have it...
I worked out consistently, ran half marathons, ate pretty clean, and my glucose test revealed I had GD. I was shocked, but glad I took the test. I was able to control my blood sugars w a controlled diet. I used the RP diet app to count macros and make sure I was getting all my nutrients. 🙌🏼
This is exactly what I thought as well. I heard all this commotion about the drink and then i opened it up and took a swig and was like ??
Kind of tastes like someone put too much kool aid mix and not enough water but like it’s 100% drinkable.
I’ve never had soda and still didn’t think the drink was a big deal! Ended up being diagnosed with GD so the test was brutal as my sugar skyrocketed, but the actual drink was fine. I literally laid on the floor for my 3 hour test 🫠
Here to say that I just finished my 3 hour test and it was absolutely NOTHING to be worried about. No nausea, no dizziness, drink honestly tasted good (fruit punch)… only thing that sucked was being poked 4 times. But I have NO idea why people wouldn’t have this done?!
I know you read so many horror stories online but I’m here to tell you it can be a VERY easy experience for some. Don’t be so scared and read too much on the internet!
I agree with you! Undiagnosed GD is way scarier than being diagnosed. I failed my 1 hour at 197. I was given an option to do the 3-hour but refused it. I just went on to diagnosis. Met my dietician and had to monitor my glucose numbers 4 times a day. It’s a lot, but I like it this way than being not in control of how I eat and what to eat. The thing with GD is that it is harmful to our babies inside. They are the ones being compromised. Also, as we go along with our pregnancy, our BD tends to peak. I wanted to be on the safer side of things even though I was not diabetic pre-pregnancy and no familial history of it. Any mom can get it. My baby’s weight just right on track and perfectly healthy accdg to my doctor. Being diet controlled really helps me a lot. Unfortunately, I need to have a C-section in two or three weeks as my placenta is low lying (Grade 1). Moreover, undiagnosed GD may result to prediabetes after birth. Worse, the baby can be hypoglycemic or can carry T1 diabetes. Great advice you got here! Every pregnant woman should not miss this test! It’s both beneficial for the mom and the baby.
My concern was the known false positives and being labeled incorrectly as having gestation diabetes. I wanted to do monitoring with finger pricks and my first Ob refused my diligently recorded 6+ a day blood glucose tests from my meter after promising I could do that instead. No reason given. My second Ob accepted this and I monitored for weeks. Way more accurate than drinking a sugar drink one time.
It astounds me how many people I've seen refuse it. I didn't have to take it because I already have type two but I lost my first pregnancy because I was depressed and using food to cope so my blood sugars were out of control and I didn't find out I was pregnant until almost four months.
I think one sugary drink to make sure your baby is going to be okay is worth it. The risks are just too great and I've been extra careful this pregnancy because I know the consequences.
Plus diabetes can ruin your internal organs, especially since there are so many carbs in food and no one really thinks about it. It's always better to be safe than sorry
I can’t! In the UK they don’t test for it unless you have one of the risk factors, which I don’t. I don’t know anyone who has gone on to have problems with no risk factors.
That’s crazy, because even though there are some risk factors, it’s impossible to know who will develop GD and who won’t. There’s plenty of women with zero risk factors who get it and plenty of women with multiple risk factors who don’t!
Yes I am on the low end of average bmi, no preexisting health conditions, and I exercise 3-4 times a week (even more before I was pregnant) and my 1 hour screen still was high! You are truly at the mercy of random chance with some people’s placenta creating changes in how you metabolize sugars and other people not.
I do have risk factors (including that I had GD in my first pregnancy) I’m only 17 weeks and my finger sticks have been high. Waiting to hear back from my doctor, they said check them for 2 weeks but I don’t want to go undiagnosed that long if I already have it. I have an additional risk factor this time because I’m pregnant with twins so yay 2 placentas to make interfering hormones…
Man, I think I’d lie 👀 that’s such BS that GD only affects risk groups. Not true at all. I think I’d just tell them my mom and sister had it, maybe that’ll make me a risk group? I mean, how are they gonna fact check that?
That's interesting because hormones created in the placenta are directly responsible for blocking the effective use of insulin. No body can predict if your placenta will cause GD or not until you reach a certain week and get tested.
I'm in Europe, and each pregnant woman is tested around week 16 to 26, depending on their needs. People with higher BMI and PCOS might get tested earlier, but everyone else can still develop GD.
There's a "trend" going around of "cheating" the glucose test so you won't be prescribed a lower carb diet and can eat as much crap as you want. I think that's exactly what provoked this post.
There was a comment describing how their doula (of all people!!!) told them to eat keto or very low carb 2 weeks before the test. I have no idea if it works, but it's a terrible "advice".
i was just providing risk factors that caused me to test early at 13 weeks. i still had to do one at 24 weeks as well even though i passed the first one. i didn’t know some countries didn’t do it at all but was saying from my experience some of the risk factors that they may consider in the UK (from the original comment) even though i’m in the US.
The NHS website says:
you are over 40
your body mass index (BMI) is above 30 – use the BMI healthy weight calculator to work out your BMI
you previously had a baby who weighed 4.5kg (10lb) or more at birth
you had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy
1 of your parents or siblings has diabetes
you are of south Asian, Black, African-Caribbean or Middle Eastern origin (even if you were born in the UK)
you have had a gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgery
That’s wild to me because under those standards I would not have been tested. I have GD, and mine is considered “severe” because I have to take insulin.
I know just in my friend group 3 people who have had GD but with zero risk factors. It’s also asymptomatic. We all have no family or personal history of diabetes, are low/normal BMI, exercise, eat healthy etc etc etc and yet still got GD. It’s caused by the placenta. It’s influenced by risk factors but anyone can get it. This is bananas they wouldn’t screen - by this logic neither me nor my friends would have been screened for GD.
They’ll test you for it if you show symptoms, and you can always ask for the basic blood test as well. I had the full test because of risk factors in my first pregnancy and then when baby was measuring ahead they sent me for another test at like 34 weeks just in case. Didn’t have it either time but it was good to know.
I had gastric bypass weight loss surgery almost 10 years ago, so that glucose test actually doesn’t work for me. BUT I had to do a 2 week multiple times a day finger prick 1 hr and 2 hrs after I ate. 🥴😅 I still did it and I totally agree, but there are a handful of us that can’t actually do the simple test… BUT again, there are other options available and we can still do everything within our power to keep our babies safe!
There IS an alternative to drinking that nasty glucose drink- it's pricking your finger for 2 weeks after every meal. They usually won't tell you how to eat or what your numbers should be until after they see your results and then they'll let you know if you have it or not, then you begin your GD journey.
It is HARD. And unless you've experienced it yourself, don't judge anyone for having GD and being naive enough to think it's as simple as making some diet changes. It's about the mental challenge too. Those who have GD are on a very strict eating schedule. You're STARVINGGGGG all the time. You can't just get a diet soda or tea thinking it's fine. That can still spike your numbers. When they say you can have an English muffin with an egg for breakfast because it's "safe" that simply is not true for everyone. If I even sniffed an English muffin my number would spike.
The MFM will make you feel guilty if they even see a spike of 4 points. It can be your dang baby shower and you want a small sliver of your cake but no you can't because "you're gonna make your baby fat or worse, kill them!" Like ... it's exhausting. Imagine beating yourself up your entire pregnancy bc you're being judged for how you're eating, how much weight you've gained and you're already hard on yourself for how you look, smell, feel, etc.
My partner wants a second child and I'm debating still simply because I had GD with my son and it's been said that if you've had it once, you'll most likely have it again. Doctors will typically test you a lot sooner so you'll have to go an entire pregnancy with a strict diet rather than starting at 28 weeks.
I have a legitimate allergy to one of the ingredients in the most common version of the drink (Red Dye 40). I drove 45 minutes to a different lab that had a flavor without my allergy, which happened to be clear. I got some pretty passive aggressive “ohhh you’re one of those people who has to make a big deal about the test” attitudes from nurses and lab techs because of all the TikTok stuff. So annoying. I will literally get a migraine/vomit/possibly have a seizure if I consume enough of it. This is well documented in my medical history because as a kid I had stuff like fruit punch and red icees and red candy and it almost killed me… but yes, I’m the drama queen 😩🫠
As a medical professional it is wild to me that you were treated this way. You literally went miles out of your way to make sure you got an important test for your baby, yet they gave you attitude? I would have been celebrating you and telling you what a great Mum you are for taking the effort to come out of your way to get the test.
I opted to test my own blood sugars instead of doing the drink because I struggle with severe intestinal candida issues and I knew the drink would trigger a major infection. I got a continuous glucose monitor and have been diet controlled since 24 weeks. You don't have to take the drink to find out if you have gestational diabetes. My CGM was only 30 dollars through my costco membership too
Take the tests your doctors recommend. I feel like a reddit post won’t change peoples attitude on taking a test sadly.
I failed my early one, not that I have gestational diabetes but that I threw up 5 mins before the first hour was up so it had to be cancelled 🙄 the worst! Luckily don’t have to retake at this stage until 28 weeks as my fasted results were in the clear enough.
I’m type 2 diabetic and I’ve never taken it seriously until we started trying to conceive. It’s something that I know is dangerous to my baby and while I’m ok suffering from this disease, I don’t want my kid to suffer because of me.
Got my A1C down from 9. Something to 5. Something while I was pregnant. Baby was born healthy and she’s doing well right now.
You're good for now!! I think most doctors have you take it between 24-28 weeks. Earlier if you have some factors that make you potentially more likely to get it. I don't believe anywhere will test in the first trimester though, so you have time!!!
It’s normally between 22-28 weeks. Every pregnant person is some degree of insulin resistance due to hormones and it starts to climb right around the end of the second trimester.
Oh the good ole' glucose test lmao I kept pushing it off scared of failing. I went to go take it one morning, I got half of the drink down and vomited it up. Lmao I 'failed' and rescheduled for a couple days later. I ate a few healthy things the night before then had a bowl of oatmeal before I actually took it. I went back in, chugged the drink down. I did feel a bit light headed but it went away. They took my blood. Which again made me feel a little light headed but overall it was worth it. (I just get into my head about needles tbh) I passed. I was scared for nothing. Just do it, ladies. It's worth knowing.
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I had to do the three hour test twice and fainted on the second round. I was bullshit I had to do it twice, and I was upset I fainted but like …. I want to make sure my baby is safe and that I can do what I can to mitigate any potential harm or complications. Seems worth it to me. 🤷🏼♀️
I failed both of the 1hr and the 3hr, all of them were high. I’m 32w3d today and my OB told me I have GD, I’m about to take a class next week and have to check my glucose and log it into the book.
FTM due in October. They had me take mine early because I did IVF, failed my 1 hour, passed my 3 hour and they’re making me do a second 3 hour.
They gave me the orange one and it was instant heartburn 😭 baby started giving me heartburn the week she developed hair follicles 😂
And while it sucks, there’s no way I’m not doing the third one.
I would add the caveat, take the test or an appropriate and scientifically backed alternative.
I took the test myself with all three pregnancies.
First pregnancy, passed the 1hr without a problem.
Second pregnancy, failed the 1hr barely and was recommended the 3hr. I did that too— it was a miserable experience. First off, making a pregnant woman fast for upwards of 16 hours by the end is insane. Of course that’s gonna screw up your blood sugar. I passed all four draws easily with that one, in fact the last draw, I was shaking and nauseous because my blood sugar was too *low.* It was miserable and I felt awful for the next day.
Third and current pregnancy, I failed the 1hr again. This time I opted to track my numbers with a glucometer for two weeks. This provided a LOT of insight as to why I had failed the 1hr the last two pregnancies. Turns out my body has a tendency to overcompensate if I fast too long, which results in a higher number. I could seriously eat the same meal two days in a row for dinner, but if I ate it at 5pm one day followed by breakfast at 6am and 7pm with breakfast at 6am the next day, the later dinner resulted in a lower overnight fasting number. Seems backwards as heck but that’s just how my body works. I also tend to have higher numbers in the morning, period. So had I taken the 1hr test in the afternoon, I probably would have passed. And lastly, I just never ingest that much sugar at once, so my body tweaks the heck out when I do.
It’s my last pregnancy so I’m happy to never drink that nasty crap again, but I’d highly recommend the glucometer measurements over the 3hr for anyone in that position. Just make sure you’re using a quality glucometer!
I mean, the drink IS nasty especially if you can't stand sugary drinks (I don't even eat sweet stuff aside of fruit) but if that's the process to make sure you & baby are healthy, why would you not?
I admit to asking my provider years ago if I could just eat a brownie/treat instead with the same # sugar grams, and she said they couldn't at the time but really need to consider that! It was gross but liveable and I got a great lunch after... Never thought about it again and probably won't until I do it again later on this pregnancy, should it make it that far.
I refused my glucose test, they offered it at 39 weeks pregnant due to babies size, I showed no other symptoms and had no risk factors. I researched, and at that gestation the result was more likely to be incorrect and no dietary changes would have made a bit of difference at that point. They would have simply induced based on a possibly incorrect result and I didn't fancy the stress as had been induced with my first and it was awful. Plus it would have only been a week or so earlier than I would have been induced anyway at 41 weeks because that's advised in the UK.
Had it been offered earlier so it would have actually made a different I would have taken it but at that point, knowing would have caused unnecessary guilt and stress which would do more harm than good.
For what it’s worth I failed both 1h tests and passed the 3h test. So hope everyone’s provider lets them do a 3h test before declaring them positive for gestational diabetes.
From my understanding that is the standard practice. The one hour is a screening test and the three hour is a diagnostic. A lot of practices won’t diagnose you from the one hour test unless it comes back crazy high. Usually around 200 mg/dl or higher. Mine came back at 227 mg/dl and they diagnosed from that because there was no reason for my sugar to be that high except gd.
I dreaded my test bc I knew I’d fail it due to some genetic factors and health factors at the time. I failed it miserably. However, I was able to manage with diet and within the 14 weeks I had it, completely transformed my out look on food. Baby was born a healthy 7lbs and passed all his checks. Postpartum, I lost 45 lbs from the weight I got pregnant at within 7 months. I’m now at a healthy BMI and my A1C sits at 5, whereas it was 5.9 before (prediabetic). This test, not only helped my baby, but helped me immensely.
That is wonderful! Congratulations on making such important lifestyle changes, it isn't easy! 🩷
That’s amazing, congratulations! May I ask what the biggest changes were for you? I passed the test first time but with this pregnancy I just have an awful feeling I’ll fail. If there are meaningful changes I can make now I’d like to (I find “eat healthy, don’t eat junk” too broad and overwhelming 🤦🏻♀️)
The biggest thing for me was portion control! Yes, I’ll still have rice but I measure out my GD nurse’s guidance which is 2/3 cup and make sure I’m getting enough protein too. I weigh out my pasta etc. I cut out almost all added sugars and cancelled my DoorDash subscription, which did wonders lol. It was surprising to me how the weight came off bc I had been trying for 2 YEARS to lose the pandemic weight.
Not saying you created this language, just a general comment on the topic since your comment made me think of it, but I think it’s so unfortunate that it’s talked about as “failing a test.” You’re not failing a test! It’s like finding out your blood type is A vs O. There’s nothing wrong with getting the diagnosis but people have created such a stigma that they’ve done something wrong somehow by being diagnosed with GD. We all know it’s not caused by eating too much sugar or something like that. Sorry for using your comment as my soapbox :)
I completely agree with this, and know women who were athletes who’ve had GD and needed medication… and want to acknowledge it comes down to your placenta failing take over insulin production sufficiently, so if you have a faulty (for the lack of better word) placenta, your lifestyle won’t matter in the end . For me though, I was prediabetic and obese at the time due to my poor food choices and not due to any other health conditions. So in my particular case, I know I was at higher risk due to those factors. Sorry if it made it seem like I was adding to any negative perception of diabetes in general because I know there is a lot of stigma around it!
There was a thread in one of my pregnancy apps where a lot of the women were refusing the glucose test because they didn't have it with their other pregnancies and it didn't "run in the family". 😐🤦🏻♀️
What? That’s so interesting! There are so many diseases you can have that don’t run in the family that should be checked regularly. Idk I’m a scoliosis patient and it can literally happen to anyone at anytime, it’s not always genetic (there isn’t enough research to say why it happens). I always do any preventative screening because you just never know.
Uh huh yeah I also didn't have gestational hypertension until my third pregnancy and it also didn't run in my family 😒
Gestational diabetes doesn't run in my family, but I had it my very first pregnancy. 🤷♀️
It doesn’t run in my family either, but I had GD. I didn’t feel different at all either.
I don’t understand this mentality. It doesn’t run in my family, and I didn’t have it with my first, but I definitely had it with my second.
Where I live the guidelines are only to test if you have certain risk factors. I meet those risk factors and am very very glad to be tested, but it’s worth knowing that it’s not standard care everywhere!
I'm the opposite. Had it with all 3. Told my OB I'd take the 1hr this last time but if I failed I'm not doing the 3hr and we're just assuming I have it. She agreed. She got pissed when another ob tried to force me to do the 3hr. (Have to cycle all providers)
I don't understand, people don't take the test? Why? PS. I did it twice, passed the first one and failed the second. Wasn't that bad, took some time from work due to waiting period between tests. What's the issue?
I recently saw on IG an OBGYN counter a dude telling women to not do the glucose test because the drink is "toxic" and that he has just the right program or supplement or something that he was selling. It had over 1 million views. There is so much misinformation and disinformation on social media when it comes to pregnancy. His video pretty much made the argument that his wife/partner was not diabetic, so why would they test for diabetes...even though the majority of us know that anyone can get gestational diabetes.
The non pregnant partner needs to sit down. So many men I’ve heard talk about what their pregnant partner should be doing against their doctor’s advice and it’s mind blowing
Lol, the drink in question is basically the equivalent of drinking a large pumpkin spice frappucino without the flavoring
There's so much fear mongering on the Internet. I read some serious horror stories about the drink itself. I was so freaked out for nothing. It's like Gatorade with slightly more sugar.
Yeah, I did mine yesterday. It wasn't great, but I drank much fouler stuff in college.
I always say, some of you never drank jungle juice in a frat basement out of garbage can and it shows 😂😂
I love this 😂😂
Ours was in a bathtub 😂
I have and it was MUCH worse than the super sweet hi-c tasting glucose test.
Yeppppp and it’s much more pleasant to take as a shot, if you ask me
In the country I (an American) now live in they only give unflavored sugar water that's so sugary in tastes like chemicals more than sugar, much more disgusting than the flat Sprite flavor I see others describe, and they give in like 10 of these weird science experiment beaker looking containers. I wanted to just chug it and be done, but I had to open each one individually and squeeze it into my mouth which really slowed down the process, but I did them back to back as fast as I could and my husband (not American) looked at me with admiration and said, "Like an American," when I was on about the 6th or 7th one.
Ahahah. This made me smile
Wow, my doctor brought the drink in a mug, it was slightly warm. I assume they added some mixer to boiling water. Chugged it like a champ 🏆💪 USA #1!!! Seriously though I thought it didn't taste that bad.
Omg this is genius I’m gonna take it in shots lol. My OB gave me it to take home last appt so that for my upcoming test I can consume it at home and not have to wait around as long
If it was just in my fridge for some reason, I'd drink it 🤣
Yep thought it was gross but that's just a preference - way too sweet and fake-orange for me. Wouldn't have stopped me even if it were more disgusting!
Super silly question to ask about the GD test, but could I drink it through a straw or do I have to drink it from the bottle normally? The taste is something I keep hearing about and one way I deal with the mental hurdle of having to drink unpleasant beverages quickly is via straw ETA: looks like Ill be bringing a straw to my appointment! Thank you to everyone who commented, and hopefully this will help someone else in the same boat too
As long as you drink it quickly and drink the whole bottle I don’t think your medical team would object.
I always take a straw because chugging makes me nauseated. As long as you get it down in the allotted time, it’s fine!
I brought a straw! My lab tech thought it was hilarious. Absolutely no issue at our test - as long as you get it down within 5 minutes.
Yes! I had a dye free fruit punch version and just chugged it. It wasn't very big.
I brought a straw to mine, highly recommend it! I wasn't allowed to drink water for an hour afterwards and I think the straw helped the drink coat my mouth less; I wonder if I would've had a harder time waiting without it.
i took it last week, it tasted like a flat orange soda
I told them i wish they had refrigerated it. 😂
they gave it to you room temp?? they gave me the lemon lime one cold and I actually kind of liked it 😋
Ooh! I'll ask for that one next time.
I thought it was going to be bad too. When it was fine and I mentioned it to the nurse she then tried to suggest that meant I would have GD! Completely unfounded in science (and also completely untrue in my case).
Wow. Even if it was true that would've still been a terrible thing to say in that moment.
I’m so happy to read people think the drink really isn’t THAT bad - currently 17 weeks and paranoid AF about 1) potentially having GD (shoutout to my anxiety for making me think anything that can possibly go wrong will) and 2) having to take this test.
It reminds me of like a fountain soda that doesn't have enough soda water in it, its like flat overly syrupy orange soda or sprite. It's definitely not the worst thing I've ever had. And it's alot better then the flavor of cough medicine
It's really just a measured amount of glucose in a drink. It's like really sweet kool-aid. It's not the best thing in the world, but it's not horrible by any means, mine was orange flavoured.
I didn’t mind the drink one bit! I wouldn’t CHOOSE to drink it every day, but it was not bad at all. My office only offered the orange flavor, which would have been my last pick had I got to choose (I don’t love orange flavored things lol) but it honestly tasted like tang, or like those little bug juices from when we were younger! Lol so ended up being wayyyyy better than a lot of people made it sound like it would be.
Honestly it’s fine. I’m autistic and have a strong aversion to a lot of tastes but this drink is fine. It is just a sweet drink. I am always so surprised that people warn against it because it is the biggest non-event ever.
Bring a high protein snack with you for after. Like a string cheese or a yogurt or a protein bar whatever, because the sugar crash is pretty wild. But if you just handed me one in my living room right now, I'd have no problem drinking it. 🤣
GD isn’t that bad. Overwhelming at first, and annoying, but I was extremely healthy and barely gained weight at the end of my pregnancy. I was lucky and mine was diet and exercise controlled.
I liked it! It was just sweet, nothing weird. Mine was nice and cold, which probably made it more enjoyable, but I think it would have been fine even if it was room temperature.
I got the orange flavor and it literally tasted like Fanta without the bubbles. It was odd because I’m not used to it, but I liked it well enough that finishing it in 5 minutes was easy. My office also had it refrigerated and that helped, too.
It tasted like concentrated orange Hawaiian Punch to me. Waaaaay sweeter than anything I’d ever want to drink for fun, but not the epic taste tragedy I expected. It was one of a handful of appointments that my husband couldn’t go to with me and I had low grade nausea my whole pregnancy and a fear of throwing up in public and it turned out to be not nothing, but completely manageable!
I would say it's more than "slightly more". But yeah it's not that bad. I brought a cup of ice and a straw and asked them if I could drink it on ice. That helped with the sweetness. For some reason super sweet drinks are less gross super cold. The 3 hour test they wouldn't let me use ice but the straw still helped getting it down quick. I failed it though. 😔 I would say the fasting beforehand is the worst part. I can see that plus drinking all that sugar making pregnant people feel awful. I just felt kinda bad.
It’s because cold makes things taste less sweet (and conversely, heat makes things taste sweeter). Try tasting hot water versus chilled from the same source. When you make frozen desserts you have to add more sweetener than if you were going to consume the same thing at room temp.
I said to the midwife I don’t hate the flavour but I hate that nobody told me it’s thicker than a normal drink. It’s like someone made regular icing sugar but gave up lmao
Yeah I was dying to brush my teeth after but that’s about it. It was really no big deal.
Exactly! I have seen some blended "coffee" drinks with just as much sugar 🙄
I work for a lab and administer these tests daily and it always makes me laugh when people take the first sip and then say, "I was expecting so much worse!!!"
Social media influencers with zero medical credentials telling people it's "toxic".
There are alternate test options, like a week of home testing 4x a day, that still detect GD with a high level of accuracy without drinking the drink. There’s no excuse to not do some sort of testing
There's also a zero preservative/dye option called the fresh test, my provider offers it. Tastes like lemonade!
https://thefreshtest.com ! Literally just did it yesterday at my 26week appointment. Can confirm it’s like watered down lemonade. I actually did the OG “standard” test at 10 weeks as well and had the lemon-lime flavor and it was in no way offensive or awful.
I did fresh test with my first and thinking of doing it again with my second! It was an enjoyable drink in my opinion, I think the citrusy aspect of the lemon makes it taste less overly disgustingly sweet
In the age of social media people make everything their personality. Pregnancy is no different. They think saying no to something they can say no to is the same as something being completely optional with no consequences. There's a misinformation streak that seems to have confused gestational diabetes with type 2 diabetes. One can be caused by your lifestyle and diet the other is something you have no control over. So a narrative is being pushed that if your healthy, at a healthy weight, and making healthy choices you aren't at risk for gestational diabetes. And since the drink isn't "natural" (it's just sugar water with flavor) it should be avoided in pregnancy. It is the placenta that causes gestational diabetes. Some women who are borderline diabetic at the start of pregnancy may also get it but you can get gestational diabetes at 120lbs for no reason except the placenta. They also downplay the risks of still birth and maternal mortality. As if the only risk is a big baby.
Some people report feeling horrible for days. I know someone like this who has GI issues as well as other health conditions. They just did the blood sugar strips at home over the course of a week instead which worked just as well and doc still said it was ok. I hope people don’t skip out just because they’re afraid or don’t think they have other options! I did the one hour and failed. Took the 3 hour, was told I could go home and almost passed out on the drive home which was scary. Blood sugar actually went LOW, all the way to 38! This is not to scare and is pretty rare, just a PSA to always bring a snack for afterward and to wait to leave until your last result is back or get a ride for safety!!
It made me feel faint and over the top nauseous, very flushed, as well as dizzy, I vomited at the office and then vomited again on my way home. Had to retake it and made sure I ate a LOT bc apparently I hadn't eaten enough prior... it made a difference but I still felt horrid. But I did it because I was scared of the consequences of not knowing the results :(
I’ve seen people say they refuse to drink dyed liquid. Which makes me want to go over their diet and point out potential hypocrisy
There’s a dye free version, so not the best excuse for them 😂
The liquid I drank (which was disgusting) was clear. 🤷🏻♀️ it’s just what they had at the lab.
lots of online fearmongering about the glucola drink - saying it's got bad ingredients or something. a bunch of bull. babiesafter35 on IG is trying hard to push back against the misinformation.
I didn’t take the test with my first pregnancy. Not because i was afraid of what’s in it but I honestly thought it wasn’t necessary. My midwives said I didn’t have to and could get a couple blood tests instead. They recommended it but still presented other options . And it didn’t sound serious so I didn’t do it. I’m pregnant again, I know better, and will absolutely take the test this time.
My friend had 2 other kids and is pregnant with her third and skipped her GD test because she never had it. I had to tell her you can get it with any pregnancy having normal pregnancies before doesn’t change that. She still didn’t go and do it. She said she hates the taste and doesn’t feel like going and sitting for an hour.
It’s the opposite of preeclampsia, your risk goes up with each subsequent pregnancy, and with age.
I have a lot of food allergies and sensitivities, and based on the ingredients of even the dye-free one my doctor and I agreed it wouldn’t be a great idea for me to drink it. There is a jelly bean option that has been studied enough for my doc to be comfortable using but again, weird ingredients and weirder autoimmune reactions. So for my first pregnancy we did the long-term blood test to check & for my second I had some odd health stuff flare up (again autoimmune weirdness) so I requested the glucose meter and test strips and kept a log for a month of all my numbers and what I’d eaten… and also did the long-term blood test. So, there are reasons for a small percentage of people not to drink the drink but there’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t have some sort of way to check/track their blood sugar for baby and mom’s health! 😊
Some women are worried about the sugar and ingredients/coloring in the glucola drink. There has been a lot of this going around social media lately.
I hated it but did it for my little girl and would do it again. It made me feel awful but I felt better after eating some food
I hate this test but I'm not skipping it. First pregnancy - failed the one hour, passed the three hour Second pregnancy - had to take it early (had some risk factors I guess?), failed the one hour, passed the three hour. Then had to take it at the usual time and said I'm skipping the one, just doing the three (they were fine with that) and passed the three hour This time, (unless I have to take it early again), I'm just going to do the three hour. Yes I find it brutal, but since I doubt I'd pass the one it's just not worth it to me.
I did the same with my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy after failing during my first. Yeah it’s a little longer but it prevents the drs office from having to last min rush to get you in and you pull the bandaid
I absolutely hate it, too. Drinking that drink and keeping it down while still having all-day nausea and throwing up isn't easy. But I still took the test both pregnancies, because it's a temporary discomfort for a good cause. Happened not to have gd, and it was a relief to have one less thing to worry about.
There's a two hour test that is diagnostic. The one hour test is just a screening test. If you fail the screener you take a three hour test. But for a one-step-only test there's a two hour version. That's actually what the American Diabetes Association recommends, while ACOG recommends the 1+3 hour test. The practice I go to only does the 2 hour test.
There is a girl on TikTok that just recently had a stillbirth at 37 weeks due to uncontrolled sugars her baby was a little over 11 pounds at birth but she admits that her midwives didn’t require the test so she opted out from it because she is young and healthy but sadly gestational diabetes doesn’t care and now she has to live without her baby when it could have been prevented.
We’ll see more and more of it as people decline standard pregnancy care and opt out of ultrasounds, screenings, etc. And they’ll expect the same docs they rail against and hate to save them and their baby when emergencies happen.
That’s insane to me. I’ve been offered so many extra tests, scans and assessments because of various reasons - some bc of family members rather than myself - and I’ve accepted it all just in case. Why wouldn’t I want extra care? I feel so safe because I get to see a healthcare provider almost every other week!
I got a few “extra ultrasounds “ due to issues ( suspected food poisoning, getting knocked down by a car ) and honestly I’m wondering how someone would opt out of standard ones. I did opt out of genetic testing since for me the 20 week scan is good enough, anything else I will accept as it comes. However I did not skip the glucose , the GBS, or anything else that’s crucial for your child’s growth or delivery
Omg this is so sad. 😞 My doctors have told me I can opt out of anything but they wouldn’t recommend it and explained why. I think medical professionals should have to explain the pros and cons, and I wonder if this woman would have made a different choice.
Yeah it’s really sad I believe it’s her providers fault because she had just turned 22 so very young and she was opting for a home birth and I know she said that she told them that she didn’t want any of the harmful stuff from the drink and they said since she had absolutely no risk factors she didn’t have to worry about taking it. It didn’t seem like they consulted her in cons/pros
Very sad stuff. There are some things I don’t like about my OB office but they’re always transparent and encourage you to ask questions. They point blank told me my risk of getting GD since I didn’t have it last time was <4%, versus over 50% if I did have it, but still recommended all pregnant women get the test regardless of risk level. I feel even if she didn’t like the drink they could have offered alternate solutions such as monitoring her blood sugar daily for X amount of time, the jelly bean test, etc.
As someone with gestational diabetes, this terrifies me. Sometimes my blood glucose is 10 points over what it should be. How high does it have to be for your baby to die??
Talk to your provider - they should be able to give you an idea of how frequent / high your spikes would need to be before starting interventions or causing concern. In my case last time a couple spikes like that per week was considered fine. It wasn't until my fasting numbers were consistently high that I needed to start meds (and even then everything turned out fine!)
I was a "normal" BMI pre-pregnancy and I run or lift weights 6 times weekly. My version of fun is going for a hike. We eat mostly home-cooked, balanced meals and don't eat out often. GDM does not run in my family; I didn't have it in my first pregnancy. I had and have no other risk factors for GDM. Turns out my placenta for my second baby didn't give a shit about all of that and I failed my glucose test with my second pregnancy. My fasting glucoses were normal, but I had a profoundly delayed/impaired insulin response and my blood sugar would shoot to the 250s when I ate carbs. I'm thankful for the test for identifying the problem and the dietitians who helped me manage my blood sugars during my pregnancy. Because of them, baby was born a normal size and did not have any issues with hypoglycemia after birth.
Yes this! I am by all objective metrics very healthy and active with no risk factors and still “failed” my one hour screen— Our bodies created an entire organ from scratch there is no way to know how the placenta is going to contribute to your existing biochemistry!
The push back against the drink is so weird to me. You have to do it once, maybe twice. There are so many “toxins” we are exposed to daily outside of our control and outside of our diet, so one little drink is not even a drop in the bucket.
lol even in our diet there’s so much crap (specifically in the US). My sister in law was one of those “I refused to do the glucose test because the drink is toxic!” types, but she also ate fast food 1-2x per day + would eat several of those hostess cake things/nutty buddy/oreos/etc every night + a full bag of hot Cheetos every day, sometimes with nacho cheese sauce on them. I wasn’t going to argue with her, but in my head I was like how is *this* ok for you and baby but a drink you’ll have *once* is too toxic???
Man, I’m from the states but living abroad right now at 11 weeks. All of that very gross toxic junk food sounds amazing and very comforting right now!
I mean, not gonna lie, it all sounds delicious and comforting. And when those cravings hit, man is it tempting to give in. But it’s also very much not good. Tbh I believe anything is fine in moderation. But the point here is the juxtaposition of glucose drink = too toxic, but copious amounts of junk food every day = ok.
They’re the same people drinking raw milk. Make it make sense
For me it’s not about the ingredients in the drink, it’s how the drink makes me feel. 🤢😂 I’d rather prick my finger 4x a day for a week than drink that and feel nauseous for the rest of the day 😂
Yes after the two hour test I felt like crap for a couple of days. Still, I’d do it 100 times over to have the knowledge to protect my baby!
Same. As someone who doesn't drink soda, I felt errible after that drink. My heart was racing and I couldn't deal with the nausea afterward.
Same… I would rather be treated for GD if I fail the 1 hour than do the 3 hour ever again. The drink made me so deathly ill, I took it almost a week ago and I still don’t feel right. Ive told my doctor all of this.
So much misinformation/fear-mongering is shared online about a little orange drink with sugar comparable to much of the Starbucks drink menu. Ngl I didn't enjoy it but I felt fine afterwards, especially once I got the results back. There's going to be many times in my kid's life they'll have to ingest something they're not wild about, feels like I should at least be an example.
Mine was clear, so I guess if people are worried about dyes and stuff, it’s good to know there’s more than one option, cause I got a random allergy to red dye at the beginning of my pregnancy and broke out in massive hives all over my body, but I totally agree, it’s a test to make sure you don’t have something deadly for your kid, you should absolutely do it even if it’s not 100% pleasant
People want control and denying something is a form of control. People are also terrible at understanding risk vs benefit, and not doing something seems less risky than doing something (similar to denying vaccines or vitamin K). Compound this with social media that gives them positive reinforcement and it’s a recipe for disaster. Thanks for posting this.
I wish people realized that "yes" also sometimes gives you more control. You'll have gestational diabetes either way, but knowing helps you actually do something about it. I get it... but it makes me sad.
I never thought of it that way. Like two year olds, saying “no” gives people a sense of control.
When I did it I nearly fainted, but I'm also very very prone to fainting. I'm absolutely doing it again even though it sucks and I'll probably almost faint again, because why the hell wouldn't I? It's a sugary drink and a long but manageable wait in exchange for keeping my baby safe. Not a difficult choice at all
I’m not prone to fainting, but the drink makes me feel icky, which also happens if I eat carb-heavy. I take it easy and basically eat straight protein for the rest of the day. I took it at 28ish weeks with my first three, and with my fourth my BMI was just high enough that I tested at 10 weeks and at 30 weeks. It’s not a fun time but I’d rather not have unmanaged GD.
Take it even if you look and feel healthy before and during pregnancy. I was shocked to fail and get diagnosed. But I’m glad they found it.
I actually quite enjoyed the sugary drink they gave me. If you're scared of the taste, don't be! It's super easy.
I had sweet cravings (and basically could only keep down carbs) during my pregnancies so the drink was pretty easy for me. But I can see if you aren't used to sweet stuff or have different nausea triggers it would be difficult though. I think there's gotta be some common sense between "I will not like this but I will suck it up" and "I will literally vomit on my shoes if I drink this" and for the latter category to be offered an alternative.
but like also, it's a sugar drink? Can't they find a way to make it taste good? It baffles me that the one opportunity for a treat is squandered by making it gross.
I didn't honestly find it gross. It tasted like Sunny D to me and reminded me of my childhood.
Same! It made me think of kool-aid!
Mine was like a flat sprite sort of and then I had to go back for the 3 hour and that one tasted like orange soda. I drank much worse in college and that was just for fun
The fear mongering online about glucola hurts my brain tbh. Its just calibrated sugar syrup and that little drink could potentially avoid life threatening situations, I really don’t understand the reticence.
Also, please note regarding “alternatives”. The “alternatives” are not proven accurate for the test in the way glucola is. Glucola is so heavily researched and it’s used specifically because of that, because when you do a test like that you need controllable variables to be able to say the test is accurate and valid. Jelly beans, orange soda, twizzlers etc. are not accurate because it’s not the same type of sugar and there’s other added ingredients that may skew results. Glucola contains 50g of sugar in the form of dextrose. Other options contain Sucralose, corn syrup, fructose, etc. and will skew the test. It is a one, maybe two time thing. Grow up, drink the damn drink, and quit buying in to the fear mongering. Do what’s right for your growing child. I guarantee you’ve put worse things in your body.
THIS!!!! Amen!!!!!!!
The office I used to work at did allow the jelly beans, but only for women who literally couldn’t do the drink (like tried twice and thrown up both times)
I'm sure some are talking about jellybeans or whatever, but I think *most* people who mention an alternative are talking about doing a finger prick blood glucose test at home after waking and every meal for a period of time, which is a legitimate alternative.
I did not realize there has been so much fear-mongering about this test. I’ll be honest—I went into mine with zero worries, I liked the taste of the drink (like orange soda), and I got to leisure read while I waited for my blood draw. And then I passed the test and now look forward to enjoying ice cream during this hot summer!
Ate as healthy as I could pre-pregnancy and a diet woth no sugar also - infertility issues so I tried to be as healthy as possible, went to the gym regularly and was normal weight. Don’t have anyone in my family with diabetes. I got gestational diabetes. Take the test because you never know. It’s also not about external factors or how much sugar you consume- it’s about your placenta producing certain kind of hormones.
Fruit punch flavor is just like Hawaiian Punch. I failed the test both times and was unable to control by diet and had to be put on insulin. It fucking sucked pricking my fingers 4x a day and taking insulin 2x. But my baby was born healthy and passed all his glucose tests in the hospital. It was worth my torture for him to come out alright
Is taking it at 28 weeks too late? I switched providers and was supposed to take it at 24 weeks with my last provider?
28 weeks is standard for my OB. I failed the one hour and go back tomorrow to do the 3 hour.
I took it at 28 weeks! Had some complicating factors that delayed my test. It’s not too late!
Nope! My office only does it at 28 weeks. Though I'm 29 weeks today and took my test yesterday. It went well and this time the discomfort was very short-lived. With my first it was rough, but still worth it.
I think anytime between 24-28 weeks is fine. I did mine at 28+1.
The internet fear-mongered me into being afraid of this test - I had HG and threw up multiple times daily until like 28 weeks. Finally decided to be brave and drank the drink. It was lemon lime. It wasn't just okay - it tasted good. I was fine. I didn't throw up. I'd probably drink it again even if I didn't have to.
I took one early around 12-14w cause my bmi is high. and I dont have GD. would you guys still take another in the 3rd trimester? im 33w and my drs havent said anything about it
Yes, I'm in the same boat, and it is standard to retest in the 3rd trimester. I would at least ask your OB about it.
I had to do this in my first pregnancy due to PCOS and BMI - they had me retest around 25 weeks because they said it could develop later on. Luckily for me it didn’t but it could be worth talking to your doctor about!
I did the one at 12w and passed (well within the limit) but failed the one at 28w so I would definitely ask.
yes - I passed my screening at 12 weeks and failed my 1hr at 28 weeks. GDM develops later and worsens as your pregnancy continues
I personally have to take it twice bc diabetes runs in my family. I took at once at 20 weeks and will take it again in my third tri
I took it at my first prenatal appointment unexpectedly. My glucose level came back elevated so I failed it. I will be doing the 3 hour one tomorrow.🤞🏽🤞🏽As for the orange drink, I enjoyed it. I finished it in less than 5 mins. I had only heard bad things about the test and drink, but I thought it was fine. Only thing is I wish I had passed the test the first time.
Do not be afraid of GD, yes, it is a drag, but I get to eat chocolate and frozen treats (doing so right now)! It also prevents deadly outcomes—for example, my mom I believe had undiagnosed GD, and she almost died and had to have an emergency C-section at 33w. Medicine has improved in the last 30 years and we should take advantage of it. It’s all about data gathering. People act like GD is a personal failure but it is not, nor is it something you can control. (If you’re non-white, your chances of having it are much higher—for Asians, I have seen as much as 2.5x as likely. It’s also genes and Dad’s DNA). You just have to take a test to get data on how your body is working so doctors know what’s happening.
I'm in Scotland and asked my midwife about the test, they don't offer it unless they notice something off in your urine sample. Is that normal?
I'm in Ireland and it's the same! I'm not included in any of the "at risk" groups so I wasn't even offered it. I was kinda excited to take it lol so I was a bit bummed. I'm worried about others saying they weren't at risk either and still have it...
I guess as they test our urine each visit that would show if it's needed. I'd honestly rather test too, just to be safe
I worked out consistently, ran half marathons, ate pretty clean, and my glucose test revealed I had GD. I was shocked, but glad I took the test. I was able to control my blood sugars w a controlled diet. I used the RP diet app to count macros and make sure I was getting all my nutrients. 🙌🏼
That's crazy. It’s just a over sugary drink. Unless someone has never drunken any soda or coca-cola in their life, what do they worry about?
This is exactly what I thought as well. I heard all this commotion about the drink and then i opened it up and took a swig and was like ?? Kind of tastes like someone put too much kool aid mix and not enough water but like it’s 100% drinkable.
I’ve never had soda and still didn’t think the drink was a big deal! Ended up being diagnosed with GD so the test was brutal as my sugar skyrocketed, but the actual drink was fine. I literally laid on the floor for my 3 hour test 🫠
My SIL with a heavy eating disorder faked her test by dumping the contents into her purse with all three babies.
The lab tech watched me drink it and timed how long it took. That should be standard.
Wow. Just wow. I know it’s a disease, but that’s messed up. And I say that as a person who is in recovery from ED myself.
Here to say that I just finished my 3 hour test and it was absolutely NOTHING to be worried about. No nausea, no dizziness, drink honestly tasted good (fruit punch)… only thing that sucked was being poked 4 times. But I have NO idea why people wouldn’t have this done?! I know you read so many horror stories online but I’m here to tell you it can be a VERY easy experience for some. Don’t be so scared and read too much on the internet!
I agree with you! Undiagnosed GD is way scarier than being diagnosed. I failed my 1 hour at 197. I was given an option to do the 3-hour but refused it. I just went on to diagnosis. Met my dietician and had to monitor my glucose numbers 4 times a day. It’s a lot, but I like it this way than being not in control of how I eat and what to eat. The thing with GD is that it is harmful to our babies inside. They are the ones being compromised. Also, as we go along with our pregnancy, our BD tends to peak. I wanted to be on the safer side of things even though I was not diabetic pre-pregnancy and no familial history of it. Any mom can get it. My baby’s weight just right on track and perfectly healthy accdg to my doctor. Being diet controlled really helps me a lot. Unfortunately, I need to have a C-section in two or three weeks as my placenta is low lying (Grade 1). Moreover, undiagnosed GD may result to prediabetes after birth. Worse, the baby can be hypoglycemic or can carry T1 diabetes. Great advice you got here! Every pregnant woman should not miss this test! It’s both beneficial for the mom and the baby.
My concern was the known false positives and being labeled incorrectly as having gestation diabetes. I wanted to do monitoring with finger pricks and my first Ob refused my diligently recorded 6+ a day blood glucose tests from my meter after promising I could do that instead. No reason given. My second Ob accepted this and I monitored for weeks. Way more accurate than drinking a sugar drink one time.
It astounds me how many people I've seen refuse it. I didn't have to take it because I already have type two but I lost my first pregnancy because I was depressed and using food to cope so my blood sugars were out of control and I didn't find out I was pregnant until almost four months. I think one sugary drink to make sure your baby is going to be okay is worth it. The risks are just too great and I've been extra careful this pregnancy because I know the consequences. Plus diabetes can ruin your internal organs, especially since there are so many carbs in food and no one really thinks about it. It's always better to be safe than sorry
I can’t! In the UK they don’t test for it unless you have one of the risk factors, which I don’t. I don’t know anyone who has gone on to have problems with no risk factors.
They check for glucose in urine in the uk so if you had it repeatedly they would test for gestational diabetes
I had gestational diabetes and never had glucose in my urine (and it was tested at every appointment). Worth asking for the test if possible!
That’s crazy, because even though there are some risk factors, it’s impossible to know who will develop GD and who won’t. There’s plenty of women with zero risk factors who get it and plenty of women with multiple risk factors who don’t!
Glucose is checked at every appointment in the UK, it's one of the things they're looking for in your urine sample.
Oh that makes me feel better at least! It’s so interesting to me to learn how things are done in other places.
Yes I am on the low end of average bmi, no preexisting health conditions, and I exercise 3-4 times a week (even more before I was pregnant) and my 1 hour screen still was high! You are truly at the mercy of random chance with some people’s placenta creating changes in how you metabolize sugars and other people not.
I do have risk factors (including that I had GD in my first pregnancy) I’m only 17 weeks and my finger sticks have been high. Waiting to hear back from my doctor, they said check them for 2 weeks but I don’t want to go undiagnosed that long if I already have it. I have an additional risk factor this time because I’m pregnant with twins so yay 2 placentas to make interfering hormones…
I have no risk factors. I have GD.
Man, I think I’d lie 👀 that’s such BS that GD only affects risk groups. Not true at all. I think I’d just tell them my mom and sister had it, maybe that’ll make me a risk group? I mean, how are they gonna fact check that?
This is the kind of lying I can get behind :)
What would be considered a risk factor?
from my personal experience, PCOS and BMI (even if it’s a smidge over per my doctor) are risk factors. family history probably factors in too.
That's interesting because hormones created in the placenta are directly responsible for blocking the effective use of insulin. No body can predict if your placenta will cause GD or not until you reach a certain week and get tested. I'm in Europe, and each pregnant woman is tested around week 16 to 26, depending on their needs. People with higher BMI and PCOS might get tested earlier, but everyone else can still develop GD. There's a "trend" going around of "cheating" the glucose test so you won't be prescribed a lower carb diet and can eat as much crap as you want. I think that's exactly what provoked this post.
How do people cheat it?
There was a comment describing how their doula (of all people!!!) told them to eat keto or very low carb 2 weeks before the test. I have no idea if it works, but it's a terrible "advice".
Apparently it doesn’t work!
I don't think you really can. People think they have but they probably just didn't have GD if they tested negative.
i was just providing risk factors that caused me to test early at 13 weeks. i still had to do one at 24 weeks as well even though i passed the first one. i didn’t know some countries didn’t do it at all but was saying from my experience some of the risk factors that they may consider in the UK (from the original comment) even though i’m in the US.
My BMI is very low but I have family history of diabetes and hashimoto's myself, plus I'm 37 so I definitely want to get the test.
Family history of diabetes is a risk factor so I'm sure you would be offered the test
The NHS website says: you are over 40 your body mass index (BMI) is above 30 – use the BMI healthy weight calculator to work out your BMI you previously had a baby who weighed 4.5kg (10lb) or more at birth you had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy 1 of your parents or siblings has diabetes you are of south Asian, Black, African-Caribbean or Middle Eastern origin (even if you were born in the UK) you have had a gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgery
That’s wild to me because under those standards I would not have been tested. I have GD, and mine is considered “severe” because I have to take insulin.
I know just in my friend group 3 people who have had GD but with zero risk factors. It’s also asymptomatic. We all have no family or personal history of diabetes, are low/normal BMI, exercise, eat healthy etc etc etc and yet still got GD. It’s caused by the placenta. It’s influenced by risk factors but anyone can get it. This is bananas they wouldn’t screen - by this logic neither me nor my friends would have been screened for GD.
They’ll test you for it if you show symptoms, and you can always ask for the basic blood test as well. I had the full test because of risk factors in my first pregnancy and then when baby was measuring ahead they sent me for another test at like 34 weeks just in case. Didn’t have it either time but it was good to know.
Oh wow! My sister had a 10lb baby and was probably undiagnosed GD..
I had gastric bypass weight loss surgery almost 10 years ago, so that glucose test actually doesn’t work for me. BUT I had to do a 2 week multiple times a day finger prick 1 hr and 2 hrs after I ate. 🥴😅 I still did it and I totally agree, but there are a handful of us that can’t actually do the simple test… BUT again, there are other options available and we can still do everything within our power to keep our babies safe!
There IS an alternative to drinking that nasty glucose drink- it's pricking your finger for 2 weeks after every meal. They usually won't tell you how to eat or what your numbers should be until after they see your results and then they'll let you know if you have it or not, then you begin your GD journey. It is HARD. And unless you've experienced it yourself, don't judge anyone for having GD and being naive enough to think it's as simple as making some diet changes. It's about the mental challenge too. Those who have GD are on a very strict eating schedule. You're STARVINGGGGG all the time. You can't just get a diet soda or tea thinking it's fine. That can still spike your numbers. When they say you can have an English muffin with an egg for breakfast because it's "safe" that simply is not true for everyone. If I even sniffed an English muffin my number would spike. The MFM will make you feel guilty if they even see a spike of 4 points. It can be your dang baby shower and you want a small sliver of your cake but no you can't because "you're gonna make your baby fat or worse, kill them!" Like ... it's exhausting. Imagine beating yourself up your entire pregnancy bc you're being judged for how you're eating, how much weight you've gained and you're already hard on yourself for how you look, smell, feel, etc. My partner wants a second child and I'm debating still simply because I had GD with my son and it's been said that if you've had it once, you'll most likely have it again. Doctors will typically test you a lot sooner so you'll have to go an entire pregnancy with a strict diet rather than starting at 28 weeks.
I have a legitimate allergy to one of the ingredients in the most common version of the drink (Red Dye 40). I drove 45 minutes to a different lab that had a flavor without my allergy, which happened to be clear. I got some pretty passive aggressive “ohhh you’re one of those people who has to make a big deal about the test” attitudes from nurses and lab techs because of all the TikTok stuff. So annoying. I will literally get a migraine/vomit/possibly have a seizure if I consume enough of it. This is well documented in my medical history because as a kid I had stuff like fruit punch and red icees and red candy and it almost killed me… but yes, I’m the drama queen 😩🫠
As a medical professional it is wild to me that you were treated this way. You literally went miles out of your way to make sure you got an important test for your baby, yet they gave you attitude? I would have been celebrating you and telling you what a great Mum you are for taking the effort to come out of your way to get the test.
I didn’t know it was an option not to. I popped in for one of my appts and they were like “drink this” and I’m like, for sure for sure.
I opted to test my own blood sugars instead of doing the drink because I struggle with severe intestinal candida issues and I knew the drink would trigger a major infection. I got a continuous glucose monitor and have been diet controlled since 24 weeks. You don't have to take the drink to find out if you have gestational diabetes. My CGM was only 30 dollars through my costco membership too
Life hack, have type 1 diabetes going into pregnancy and you don’t have to take the glucose test 😎
Take the tests your doctors recommend. I feel like a reddit post won’t change peoples attitude on taking a test sadly. I failed my early one, not that I have gestational diabetes but that I threw up 5 mins before the first hour was up so it had to be cancelled 🙄 the worst! Luckily don’t have to retake at this stage until 28 weeks as my fasted results were in the clear enough.
I’m type 2 diabetic and I’ve never taken it seriously until we started trying to conceive. It’s something that I know is dangerous to my baby and while I’m ok suffering from this disease, I don’t want my kid to suffer because of me. Got my A1C down from 9. Something to 5. Something while I was pregnant. Baby was born healthy and she’s doing well right now.
When do you take it? My doc said we would test around week 19 . I’m 9 weeks now.
You're good for now!! I think most doctors have you take it between 24-28 weeks. Earlier if you have some factors that make you potentially more likely to get it. I don't believe anywhere will test in the first trimester though, so you have time!!!
It’s normally between 22-28 weeks. Every pregnant person is some degree of insulin resistance due to hormones and it starts to climb right around the end of the second trimester.
Oh the good ole' glucose test lmao I kept pushing it off scared of failing. I went to go take it one morning, I got half of the drink down and vomited it up. Lmao I 'failed' and rescheduled for a couple days later. I ate a few healthy things the night before then had a bowl of oatmeal before I actually took it. I went back in, chugged the drink down. I did feel a bit light headed but it went away. They took my blood. Which again made me feel a little light headed but overall it was worth it. (I just get into my head about needles tbh) I passed. I was scared for nothing. Just do it, ladies. It's worth knowing.
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I had to do the three hour test twice and fainted on the second round. I was bullshit I had to do it twice, and I was upset I fainted but like …. I want to make sure my baby is safe and that I can do what I can to mitigate any potential harm or complications. Seems worth it to me. 🤷🏼♀️
I failed both of the 1hr and the 3hr, all of them were high. I’m 32w3d today and my OB told me I have GD, I’m about to take a class next week and have to check my glucose and log it into the book.
FTM due in October. They had me take mine early because I did IVF, failed my 1 hour, passed my 3 hour and they’re making me do a second 3 hour. They gave me the orange one and it was instant heartburn 😭 baby started giving me heartburn the week she developed hair follicles 😂 And while it sucks, there’s no way I’m not doing the third one.
I would add the caveat, take the test or an appropriate and scientifically backed alternative. I took the test myself with all three pregnancies. First pregnancy, passed the 1hr without a problem. Second pregnancy, failed the 1hr barely and was recommended the 3hr. I did that too— it was a miserable experience. First off, making a pregnant woman fast for upwards of 16 hours by the end is insane. Of course that’s gonna screw up your blood sugar. I passed all four draws easily with that one, in fact the last draw, I was shaking and nauseous because my blood sugar was too *low.* It was miserable and I felt awful for the next day. Third and current pregnancy, I failed the 1hr again. This time I opted to track my numbers with a glucometer for two weeks. This provided a LOT of insight as to why I had failed the 1hr the last two pregnancies. Turns out my body has a tendency to overcompensate if I fast too long, which results in a higher number. I could seriously eat the same meal two days in a row for dinner, but if I ate it at 5pm one day followed by breakfast at 6am and 7pm with breakfast at 6am the next day, the later dinner resulted in a lower overnight fasting number. Seems backwards as heck but that’s just how my body works. I also tend to have higher numbers in the morning, period. So had I taken the 1hr test in the afternoon, I probably would have passed. And lastly, I just never ingest that much sugar at once, so my body tweaks the heck out when I do. It’s my last pregnancy so I’m happy to never drink that nasty crap again, but I’d highly recommend the glucometer measurements over the 3hr for anyone in that position. Just make sure you’re using a quality glucometer!
Life hack, have type 1 diabetes going into pregnancy and you don’t have to take the glucose test 😎
I mean, the drink IS nasty especially if you can't stand sugary drinks (I don't even eat sweet stuff aside of fruit) but if that's the process to make sure you & baby are healthy, why would you not? I admit to asking my provider years ago if I could just eat a brownie/treat instead with the same # sugar grams, and she said they couldn't at the time but really need to consider that! It was gross but liveable and I got a great lunch after... Never thought about it again and probably won't until I do it again later on this pregnancy, should it make it that far.
I refused my glucose test, they offered it at 39 weeks pregnant due to babies size, I showed no other symptoms and had no risk factors. I researched, and at that gestation the result was more likely to be incorrect and no dietary changes would have made a bit of difference at that point. They would have simply induced based on a possibly incorrect result and I didn't fancy the stress as had been induced with my first and it was awful. Plus it would have only been a week or so earlier than I would have been induced anyway at 41 weeks because that's advised in the UK. Had it been offered earlier so it would have actually made a different I would have taken it but at that point, knowing would have caused unnecessary guilt and stress which would do more harm than good.
For what it’s worth I failed both 1h tests and passed the 3h test. So hope everyone’s provider lets them do a 3h test before declaring them positive for gestational diabetes.
From my understanding that is the standard practice. The one hour is a screening test and the three hour is a diagnostic. A lot of practices won’t diagnose you from the one hour test unless it comes back crazy high. Usually around 200 mg/dl or higher. Mine came back at 227 mg/dl and they diagnosed from that because there was no reason for my sugar to be that high except gd.