Glucose Tolerance Test Results

[joannqn]

This is my fourth pregnancy to make it far enough to do gestational diabetes testing but the first time I've done the actual test complete with drinking the glucose. My previous midwives tested blood sugar following a balanced meal. Two of those results were 90 and 70; the latter caused concern for my midwife because it was so low. So, now I have a "real" test and I'm wondering what I should think of the result.

 

I did the 1 hour glucose tolerance test drinking 50mg of glucose. My results, taken exactly an hour after finishing the drink, was 70. The only thing I can find is that between 70 and 140 is normal. So, I'm at the very lowest point of normal. I can't find any information for below that.

 

I'm wondering about it being that low, especially considering it was hard for me to get the drink down since I was still feeling stuffed from the breakfast I ate 2 1/2 hours prior to drinking it. Did my full tummy affect the result? What if I hadn't been so full? Would the result have been lower? What if it does go lower than that?

 

Incidentally, I do have symptoms of hypoglycemia on occasion. I woke up one morning dizzy, sweating, trembling, headachy, nauseous, and extremely hungry all at once a few weeks ago. Of course, most of it went away after I ate, but it took a couple days for me to feel decent again (it triggered what my doctor thinks was a migraine...although it didn't follow my normal migraine pattern). I know I have to carry food with me at all times because I'll frequently get hit with sudden, severe hunger and/or nausea that resolves with eating and I often have to eat in the middle of the night.

[Carrie12345]

This might be helpful!

http://www.nslij.com/body.cfm?id=4129

 

I was just looking up info for my sister, who is bordering on the high end.

[Rosie_0801]

I've had two bouts of gestational diabetes, and don't know any reason why you should be worried about being on the low side of normal if you don't suffer from any symptoms. Since you do though, it does sound as if you need to schedule your meals a bit better, if you don't already. Spread your carbs out over 6 small meals a day and make sure you have supper. That'll keep your blood sugar levels constant. Try and eat every two or three hours, at roughly the same time each day. Low GI carbs would be best.

I don't think having eaten already would affect the reading too much, but ask your midwife about it. I don't know how the test is administered over there, but here the first test is done without fasting, and we have to fast for the second if we fail the first. Of course my problem was high blood sugar. If your levels go lower than 70, you'll know about it. That's what the shakes, tears, hunger, anger, nausea etc is and some crackers or nuts will fix you up.

 

Rosie

[joannqn]

We did the 1 hour test because we knew I wouldn't be able to tolerate fasting.

 

I never miss breakfast, lunch, or dinner regardless of whether I'm pregnant or not. I just get too sick-feeling if I do. I usually keep string cheese, trail mix/nuts, and Glucerna bars available at all times for emergency snacks. I prefer eating large meals (so I feel stuffed) than smaller, more frequent meals. I'm not a grazer and hate eating that often. I find that smaller meals and snacks only last me about 30-60 minutes before I have to eat again. It gets annoying to be looking for food every hour. A piece of fruit or salad does nothing to alleviate hunger so I don't usually go for those as snacks as I have to eat something else with it. (I don't know how this fits in with all this but I also find that vegetarian meals leave me hungry again in 30-60 minute no matter how large the portion or how high the protein content.)

[Rosie_0801]

I know you said you hate eating that often, but if you have to carry food around, you are already eating frequently. Suppose instead of having 6 small meals, you have 6 medium sized meals? Or 6 big meals if that's how your body works. I'm not talking about fruit or salad as a meal. That's food you eat with a meal, not as a meal (in my opinion anyway!) I mean risotto, wintery comfort food type soups, peanut butter on wholemeal toast, etc. I'm not an expert, but it really sounds as though your body wants more frequent meals, even if you find it annoying. Food you can take out and microwave makes it less of a hassle. I wonder if by eating less frequent really large meals, you've trained your pancreas into over producing insulin and that causes large fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Like I said, I'm no expert and biochemistry makes my brain glaze over, but you might want to run the idea past a medical person. When you said vegetarian, were you talking salad, or lack of meat? Legumes are cheap, filling and reheat easily.

 

Good luck with it...

 

Rosie

[dirty ethel rackham]

You sound like you have classic symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia. I know that if my sugars get too low, I am messed up for a couple of days. The best way manage blood sugars is to keep things even. I have lived with this for over 20 years. When I was pregnant, I had to get up in the middle of the night to eat. Starting the day with with a high protein, low or moderate carb breakfast helps to start the day well. Then eating small meals throughout the day helps keep things even. Make sure that when you have carbs, you balance them with protein (apples and nut or seed butter, cheese and crackers, etc.) It is also important to replace "white carbs" and refined sugars with whole food versions. White carbs are foods made with refined flour, white rice, etc. These have a very high glycemic index - meaning it raises the blood sugar rapidly, causing a spike in insulin which "uses up" the blood sugar, causing a trough in blood sugar levels (when you feel crummy.) Fruits do this to me as well. If you do some research on reactive hypoglycemia, you will get lots of info on how to eat so that you avoid the crashes and feel better in the long run.