Week 27: Too much sugar?

Most of the tests done during my pregnancy have made me an anxious wreck and the glucose tolerance test was no exception.

Some pregnant women develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is a condition characterised by high blood glucose levels, a result of hormonal changes that occur in women during pregnancy. The good news is that this kind of diabetes usually goes away after delivery; the bad news is that your have to follow a strict diet with few carbohydrates and sugars!

I was instructed to fast for 12 hours the night before the test. Being told that I couldn’t eat made me hungry… Being told that I couldn’t even have a sip of water made me parched!
When I arrived at the lab I had blood test number one, gave urine sample number one, and was told to have a seat. My friends (Hong Kong based) told me that I would have to drink a sugary substance out of a bottle similar to an old-fashioned Coke bottle. They said it tasted similar to a cold, flat Sprite with a little extra sugar. I read that many women have a hard time holding down the sweet substance and often have to start again if it comes up!

I sat there waiting for my small bottle of liquid to arrive when the lab technician brought me a large mug filled with WARM sugar water. The worst part of it was that the woman stood there and watched me drink it! She had one eye on me and the other eye on the clock. When I had finished the last sip she recorded the time and told me to come back in one hour. Although the drink was super sweet, it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

An hour later, I arrived for blood test number two and urine test number two. I was sent on my way, only to arrive back an hour later for… you guessed it… blood test number three and urine test number three! At that point I was empty… there was no food, no water, no urine and no blood left in me! (Well at least it felt that way!). I was told that I was done for the day and that the doctor would call me later with my results… and good results they were!

Happy that the test was now behind me, I gladly munched the goodies I had packed in my bag. My advice would be to pack some water and food for right when you are done with your test… and make sure it’s nothing sweet because after that drink, you probably won’t have a sweet tooth for quite some time!