Diabetes

As most previous pregnant women know, doctors test for diabetes around the 26Th week of pregnancy- as pregnancy can interfere with a woman's sugar levels, making her temporarily diabetic. The test is actually a screening for the 'real' test... which isn't much fun. The screening consists of drinking a sweet orange drink and waiting one hour for a blood draw. If the results show that your sugar is nice and low, you are off the hook. But if you 'don't pass' your diabetes screening test, then you get to have the 'big test'. After failing my one-hour screening test, I was off to the big four-hour glucose tolerance test.

So, this past Monday, after fasting overnight, I went to the lab. This time, I got to drink a fruit punch flavored drink (Glucola) with so much sugar that I swear a straw could stand upright in the bottle! I had one blood draw before my yummy (ha!) drink and then three more each hour afterward. Needless to say, it wasn't very much fun but luckily I found out that the lab had free wireless for my computer:)

Yesterday my results came in. I had failed again but not by much. I will be seeing a dietitian to help me construct a healthy low carb/ no sugar diet. While my doctor isn't quick to diagnose me with gestational diabetes, my results are still disappointing... especially with all the upcoming pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes! But, I am eager to do whatever I need to as untreated gestational diabetes can lead to excessively big babies who may be difficult to deliver. But worse, many women with gestational diabetes will become diabetic again later in life... something I never want to have!