Failed 1 hour glucost test.....can I refuse 3 hour one?

[ChristusG]

I'm 23 weeks pregnant and just did my 1 hour glucose test on Friday. I was SO nervous. I have issues with not eating when I'm NOT pregnant. When I AM pregnant, those issues are quadrupled. I have to eat very often, sometimes even waking during the night to eat. Fasting and then having to go do the one hour test went *okay* (not excellent, but okay)....but at the end of that one hour, I was feeling lightheaded and was gagging. I felt "off" for the next 5 hours too.

 

Now the nurse called and said I failed the test (not sure by how many points) and that she's sending me out a lab slip for the 3 hour test.

 

Honestly, I don't think that I can physically do this test. I read online that the 3 hour test actually takes 4 hours?? And that I have to fast from midnight on. I think I'll die. Or pass out. Or vomit. Or all of the above.

 

Has anyone refused this test? I have a glucose monitor and can monitor my levels from home....then I could report them to my OB. I have a call in to talk with my midwife, but until she calls back, I thought I would ask you guys. Is there any reason she'd say no to this? I mean, it's what I'd have to do if I fail the 3 hour test anyways.

 

*ETA....oops, glucose is not spelled with a "t" LOL.

Edited June 28, 2011 by ChristusG

[catalinakel]

I hate these tests. Gag. You can refuse anything you want; it's your body.

[Unicorn.]

Quite frankly, you can refuse any test you want. I would just tell her/him you aren't going to do it, and you will treat yourself as if you have also failed the 3 hour, and self test at home. Good luck.

[FaithManor]

I don't know why the order the one hour, much less the three hour test. They give false positives and negatives fairly regularly. Ask me how I know...anyway, the test they give diabetics, I believe it's called an H1AC (hopefully the nurses on this board will know the exact name for certain) is much more accurate and doesn't require this long fasting period and then drinking the junk.

 

By the way, I cannot get that stuff down...it just doesn't stay. So, I'd vomit and then they'd want me to drink it again. I have terrible nausea when I'm pregnant and can't eat anything sweet anyway - that includes even fruit...I could only eat citrus and green apples. One time I began vomitting, couldn't stop, (I was so angry with the lab tech for insisting I re-drink that sludge when she had been forwarned by my midwife of how bad my pregnancy nausea was), and passed out. It was awful.

 

What I did for subsequent pregnancies was to refuse the test and then borrow my moms glucose monitor plus keep a food journal for a week. When the midwife and the OBGYN she practiced under saw how I ate (when I could eat) and the blood sugar levels, they declared me non-diabetic, and I didn't have to track after that.

 

I definitely understand how you feel!

 

Faith

[BlsdMama]

Agreeing with the above poster but noting:

 

Refuse any test you want BUT DO treat it as though you failed both. Gestational diabetes has severe consequences.

 

I've failed the one hour twice and then passed on the three hour both times after that. My knee jerk reaction is to refuse the test, but the consequences are such that I don't and because I know that I won't eat as though both were positive.

[angela in ohio]

I failed the one hour all three times. I went to the three hour test, and each time it was worse (vomiting and passing out repeatedly in the lab.) They required me to have an "escort" (dh) for the last one. I think the nurses were sick of holding the trashcan for me. :lol:

 

It was worth the pain, though. Big babies are just the first and slightest risk of GD. I was glad to be properly monitored, and that my ds ended up just fine even though my GD became very serious during my pregnancy.

 

The only way I would do it is if the doctor said that he could do some type of alternate testing or monitoring for you. There's just too big of a risk to the baby.

 

Another issue might be insurance. Will your insurance pay for the nutrition consult, possible medication, and the extra doctor visits without an official diagnosis?

 

(I'm not opposed to refusing tests, though. That is your decision. I refused the tri-screening-thingy one every time.)

Edited June 28, 2011 by angela in ohio

[ChristusG]

I wouldn't just do nothing if I refused the one hour. I'd monitor my sugar for several weeks at home and then report them to my OB. Shouldn't that give a picture of whether I really do have GD or not? Or does the lab test tell them something different?

[kengjw]

I did refuse the 3-hr test when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. The reason I did that was because I had gestational diabetes with my first child. I told them that I know I would fail so there is no need to do the test. I have successfully managed the GD on my first pregnancy so I know how to do it again with my second. I would send in my numbers every week or so and that was it.

 

I know your reason is different but I agree with other people, you can certainly refuse the test and just monitor your blood sugar from time to time.

 

HTH

 

Julia

[G5052]

They will want to treat you as though you have gestational diabetes, which is a very serious thing. I had it with my firstborn, and after I failed the first test with my second, they gave me the option of either doing more testing or just going on the diet/monitoring. I opted to skip the test because I was fine with managing that. They required weekly bloodwork and did sonograms weekly during the last month of the pregnancy.

 

Both were full-time and healthy!

[fhjmom]

I failed the one hour all three times. I went to the three hour test, and each time it was worse (vomiting and passing out repeatedly in the lab.) They required me to have an "escort" (dh) for the last one. I think the nurses were sick of holding the trashcan for me. :lol:

 

It was worth the pain, though. Big babies are just the first and slightest risk of GD. I was glad to be properly monitored, and that my ds ended up just fine even though my GD became very serious during my pregnancy.

 

The only way I would do it is if the doctor said that he could do some type of alternate testing or monitoring for you. There's just too big of a risk to the baby.

 

Another issue might be insurance. Will your insurance pay for the nutrition consult, possible medication, and the extra doctor visits without an official diagnosis?

 

(I'm not opposed to refusing tests, though. That is your decision. I refused the tri one every time.)

 

:iagree:-although I did not refuse the 3 hr test. First time I passed, second time I was dx w GD and had a very difficult time controlling it.

 

I was wondering about the insurance issue, too. They may not want to pay for the monitoring if you do not have the diagnosis?

[Carol in Cal.]

I failed the one hour and passed the 3 hour test, and didn't eat like a diabetic, and had a healthy, normal pregnancy and an average-sized baby. Looking back on it, I should probably have asked for follow up glucose tests every so often just in case. I don't understand why I failed the first and not the second. It really makes you wonder about the whole testing strategy.

[angela in ohio]

I failed the one hour and passed the 3 hour test, and didn't eat like a diabetic, and had a healthy, normal pregnancy and an average-sized baby. Looking back on it, I should probably have asked for follow up glucose tests every so often just in case. I don't understand why I failed the first and not the second. It really makes you wonder about the whole testing strategy.

 

I faile dthe one hour and passed the three hour my first two times. That's normal and expected. They don't want to put everybody through the 3-hour, after all. :001_smile: The 1-hour screens to see who might need the 3-hour, from what I understand.

[wapiti]

I wouldn't just do nothing if I refused the one hour. I'd monitor my sugar for several weeks at home and then report them to my OB. Shouldn't that give a picture of whether I really do have GD or not? Or does the lab test tell them something different?

 

I think it's a fine plan. Test fasting and two hours after breakfast/lunch/dinner, for a couple weeks.

 

Indeed, on the other side of the coin, I passed the one-hour, but as I got closer to the third trimester, my OB asked me to test anyway (with the meter) for other reasons (pcos, on metformin, family history of type 2 diabetes, etc.) and my results were.... not good enough, LOL. The bottom line is that the one-hour test has false positives and false negatives.

[ChristusG]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm hoping that my doctor will okay the home monitoring plan. I'm just waiting for her to call back....but since it is already 6 PM, it doesn't look like its going to be today. :glare:

[Rosie_0801]

Refuse any test you want BUT DO treat it as though you failed both. Gestational diabetes has severe consequences.

 

:iagree: Don't monitor your blood sugars for several weeks. Monitor them until after you've delivered.

 

 

Rosie

[Maus]

...Ask me how I know...anyway, the test they give diabetics, I believe it's called an H1AC (hopefully the nurses on this board will know the exact name for certain) is much more accurate and doesn't require this long fasting period and then drinking the junk.

 

I'm not a nurse, but I am the wife of a diabetic. (And SIL to two who had gestational diabetes.) The common name is the "A1C," so if you ask about that, they'll know what you mean. (The full name is the "hemoglobin A1C," or the "HbA1c".)

 

Monitor diligently and take really good care of yourself if you have it.

[5kidsforME]

I'm 23 weeks pregnant and just did my 1 hour glucose test on Friday. I was SO nervous. I have issues with not eating when I'm NOT pregnant. When I AM pregnant, those issues are quadrupled. I have to eat very often, sometimes even waking during the night to eat. Fasting and then having to go do the one hour test went *okay* (not excellent, but okay)....but at the end of that one hour, I was feeling lightheaded and was gagging. I felt "off" for the next 5 hours too.

 

Now the nurse called and said I failed the test (not sure by how many points) and that she's sending me out a lab slip for the 3 hour test.

 

Honestly, I don't think that I can physically do this test. I read online that the 3 hour test actually takes 4 hours?? And that I have to fast from midnight on. I think I'll die. Or pass out. Or vomit. Or all of the above.

 

Has anyone refused this test? I have a glucose monitor and can monitor my levels from home....then I could report them to my OB. I have a call in to talk with my midwife, but until she calls back, I thought I would ask you guys. Is there any reason she'd say no to this? I mean, it's what I'd have to do if I fail the 3 hour test anyways.

 

*ETA....oops, glucose is not spelled with a "t" LOL.

 

I just had my babe a few months ago. I too, failed the 1 hour and passed the 3 hour. I almost passed out during the 3 hour and started dry heaving in the waiting room. It wasn't pretty. :glare: I will be refusing both next time around.

[PentecostalMom]

Can you re-take the one hour? This may sound crazy, but there is a jelly-bean test that I did because the liquid you have to drink makes me vomit as well. It is a real test, and was suggested to me by my midwife. I am on my phone, so I cannot linl, but if you google for jeally bean glucose test, you will find studies to read.

 

You must eat 18 Brach's jellybeans in five minutes and have blood drawn one hour later.

[TCB]

Do they test everyone? In Britain, where I had my two, this is not a routine test. If they suspect GD because of a routine blood test or symptoms etc they look further, but not everyone is tested by anymeans.