What Happens During a Gestational Diabetes Test?
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You have probably heard rumors about the disgustingly sugary drink you’re forced to gulp at your doctor’s office around week 28. Perhaps I was just prepared for the worst, but I didn’t find it as horrendously appalling as the rumors made it out to be. It was an orange soda with what tasted like two or three times the amount of sugar. I jokingly asked the nurse how many calories were in it. (She didn’t know, if anyone else out there was wondering as well.) In two or three big gulps it was finished. Then, an hour later, the nurse drew some blood and I was done for the day…
Until I got a phone call a few days later saying my blood level was “outside of the normal range.” I had to schedule a longer test at the hospital and was required to fast after midnight the night before to determine if I actually had gestational diabetes. I got into the hospital at 8 A.M. the next morning and set up camp in the waiting room.
For this test, they draw your fasting blood level as a point of reference. Then, you drink an even larger amount of the orange soda. Honestly, I was so hungry by this point that the sugar was happily downed. If your nurse is like the one I had, she might scare you a bit about the reactions some people have (chills, nausea, etc.) to the drink, which is likely due to having gestational diabetes. The nurse will draw your blood every hour for the next three hours. Unless you’re terrified of needles or stressing out over what you’re missing at work, neither the doctor’s office nor the hospital gestational diabetes test are too bad.
Interestingly, while the doctor’s office gestational diabetes test showed my blood levels were slightly elevated, the longer version of the gestational diabetes test I took at the hospital confirmed I was free and clear of gestational diabetes.
Dawn says...
I can’t thank you ENOUGH for this blog post!! I am going through the same exact three hour test tomorrow… and totally stressing about it. I don’t mind needles… I’m kind of stressed about missing work, but I work from home and can bring my laptop, so I don’t necessarily have to miss anything.
I was also nervous about the side effects… I’m glad to hear those are largely a result of having gestational diabetes. I really don’t think I do… I’m sooo not in a risk group. I’ve gained less than 20 lbs. in 32 weeks, am not especially large (I don’t think this baby is very big, in fact, I’m concerned she’s small!) I eat healthy and I exercise regularly. I probably should have skipped the first test, even! (We do have a right to refuse any testing!)
The drink I had tasted more like a very sweet cola, and you’re right, was not bad at all. I imagine I’ll be so hungry at that point, I won’t care. I am concerned about passing out when they draw blood after I’ve fasted for 12 hours.
But I really think the test is a bit alarmist if you don’t have any other symptoms… but this post really alleviated my fears. I could hug you right now. Babies Online, and the resources it offers, really rocks!!
(Okay, maybe I’m biased, but still… LOL)