Failed 1 hour glucose test -- total panic

I know this can be pretty common and many people go on to pass the three hour test, but I'm having a really hard time with this call from the nurse right now. I don't have a thyroid, and researched to find that thyroid disease in general can increase the chances of GD no matter what... which is really concerning, because I've been exercising everyday and eating well :( part of my eating well was to try and get me ready for a blue sway after pregnancy... I was full on LE earlier!

My 1 hour test came the day after I had to go without eating because of errands and than a quick McDonald's meal at 11:30 p.m., but the nurse was evasive over whether or not that would trip anything. My number was 150, and I guess the threshold was 140, too.

I have a history of anorexia, so to be told that I may potentially have to really closely monitor my food (which was already pretty low carb to begin with, something I was going to struggle with changing for my blue sway) is hugely triggering.

Anyone have any input, advice? I know blood sugar stuff is often talked about on the boards, and many of you have had multiple pregnancies, so just hoping to get some reassurance about, well... anything.

(Really scared I'll end up with a c-section or kicked out of my midwives' office, since they don't take on high risk patients)

I always get GD despite being very Paleo style diet and having perfectly normal, on the lower end of normal even, blood sugars when not pregnant. GD is something you have very minimal control over. Your pancreas needs to pump out 4x or more its normal amount of insulin. Sometimes it just can't. The placental lactogen hormones actually interfere with insulin function. Having GD is not something to beat yourself up over.

I had GD with my last pregnancy and it was surprising as I'm not the typical body type for it and I've never had any related issues or had it in my previous two pregnancies. It really wasn't too bad and while it's controlled with diet I didn't have to monitor obsessively. You can still have carbs and pretty much anything it just has to be spaced out evenly and not eaten in excess.

I wouldn't panic over it. I failed my 1-hour tests with both of my kids but passed the 3-hour tests easily. I know a few other women who had the same experience. I personally think the 1-hour test is hard to pass because your digestion slows so much when you're pregnant and sometimes you are still digesting the sugary drink an hour later.

I was going to say do you think it was a timing thing? As in if you didn't have the Maccy D's you think you would have made it? I think you should iirc be entitled to another test. I hope it goes OK x

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Originally Posted by bunnywabbit

I was going to say do you think it was a timing thing? As in if you didn't have the Maccy D's you think you would have made it? I think you should iirc be entitled to another test. I hope it goes OK x

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That was what I wondered, too, since the day or two before were an anomaly for me.

Since posting this I spoke with my midwife. Apparently I WASN'T supposed to take the 1 hour fasted, either, but my paperwork hadn't said one way or the other and I can't have any food or drink outside of water within an hour of my thyroid pill.

She said I'm a rare case where I could retake the 1 hour, but that the decision is up to me between that, the 3 hour, or a week of blood sugar checks.

Any advice? I'm not entirely sure if any option is mentally healthier for me than the rest :/

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Originally Posted by Throwaway_panther

That was what I wondered, too, since the day or two before were an anomaly for me.

Since posting this I spoke with my midwife. Apparently I WASN'T supposed to take the 1 hour fasted, either, but my paperwork hadn't said one way or the other and I can't have any food or drink outside of water within an hour of my thyroid pill.

She said I'm a rare case where I could retake the 1 hour, but that the decision is up to me between that, the 3 hour, or a week of blood sugar checks.

Any advice? I'm not entirely sure if any option is mentally healthier for me than the rest :/

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Hmm... Unfortunately that's up to you. *IF* you decide to, see if you can get an appointment a few days off so if you must be 'naughty' with your food at least you know when to leave a time margin! At least it'll help with peace of mind that you did what you should have on the lead up to.

Please try not to worry about it, I failed my one hour 4 times with 5 pregnancies (with my first son I had to take it twice and failed both times and then went on to pass 3 hour) and passed the 3 hour every time. I only passed the one hour with two. The three hour is awful if you can possibly avoid it. With my 4th son I was so out of it during the 3 hour (talking and not making sense) they were 100% convinced that I had GD but then the blood test was totally normal. My point is that you can have a normal insulin response for YOU that it may confuse things. I think my blood sugar may just take a little longer than average to normalize, and with the one hour it doesn't have time or something.

Even if you do have GD please try to think of all the gals out there who eat anything and everything and then end up on insulin - you will do fine even if you do have to change your eating a bit.

I have had it with 2 pregnancys. And problably will have it again next time. If you have it, you have to eat low Sugar, sort of a diet, and you will have more ultrasounds and blood drawn to check your levels. You don't need a c section, so don't wordt about it to mutch!

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Weekly blood sugar checks. My midwife doesn't do glucose drinks are horrible. Eat a good meal not high in sugar and you check a couple hours later so would just schedule your appt. Around that time.

Should be just a finger prick

I would probably go with the glucose testing for a week if it were me. Blood sugar issues run in our family (as does thyroid issues), and most of the women in my family have failed the 3 hour test miserably every time they've had to take it. BUT those same women have had no issue at all with regulating their blood sugar when the eat well and monitor it regularly with the finger prick tests. So, sometimes the regular monitoring can give you a more accurate picture of what's going on day-to-day with your body.

Update: The nurse from my midwives called and said I failed and am technically gestational diabetic. I failed 1 of the 4 -- I pointed out that I've read from many medical sites that failing 2 of 4 is what warrants GD. She said, "Yeah, everyone does that but us."

Uh. Ok.

I also only failed the 1 hour, and only by 10 points again (like last time), so clearly just subjecting me to tons of sugar in one sitting and not letting me work out, walk, eat anything protein with it, etc. is what yields a slightly off result.

I'm far less panicked, because now I'm just angry -- I wouldn't even have gestational diabetes ANYWHERE else around me if I hadn't gone with this practice? I'm barely elevated (I should note I also didn't carb load the 3 days beforehand as I was instructed, because I DO NOT EAT LIKE THAT... so even with THAT, I barely "failed").

She even said, "I know you have mention of an eating disorder in your chart, but we tell our GD patients to go to a nutritionist..."
"I'm not doing that"
"Okay, well then we have you monitor your blood sugar 4x a day..."
"I'm not doing that either."
"Okay, well, your midwife comes in Thursday -- we'll have you guys talk then!"

(I had asked to talk to my midwife at the beginning of the convo, but she's not in again until Thursday).

I'm hoping I can ask my midwife, "Can I just schedule all of my appointments with you when I've made sure to eat 1 hour beforehand, and you guys just check my sugar?" My therapist was very strongly verbal about me not checking those numbers, and even my husband is concerned since I slipped into my old "not eating" pattern those days before the 3 hour.

In the meantime: no sugar in urine, baby measuring fine, no symptoms or issues.

I think some of you responding earlier didn't get the place of my concern: I had relapsed shortly before getting pregnant (with a girl, for any of you wondering how an LE lifestyle can lead to one, haha). Having to do these triggering things for GD is about as unhealthy mentally for me as things can be, and considering I had such severe gender depression already with this pregnancy, I'm not entirely sure how I'll manage if I get pushback on my compromise.

Is this one of the ob practices that has one token nurse midwife? Remember just eat protein and carbs together instead of just carbs. Weird you don't even fall in gd category and they are putting you there? Try not to stress and just eat healthy.

Augh I'm so sorry TP - I agree this seems very much beyond the pale and I would honestly think about seeking a second opinion. It's not what you need right now and it's impossible to try and discuss anything like triggering events, they just tune you out and are like "well you have to do it this way becuase this is the way we do it!"

It strains belief to me that a young, thin woman on her first pregnancy has gestational diabetes. i just really, seriously doubt that this is the case. Is there any way hubby can do it an then just not tell you what the numbers are?

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Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush

Augh I'm so sorry TP - I agree this seems very much beyond the pale and I would honestly think about seeking a second opinion. It's not what you need right now and it's impossible to try and discuss anything like triggering events, they just tune you out and are like "well you have to do it this way becuase this is the way we do it!"

It strains belief to me that a young, thin woman on her first pregnancy has gestational diabetes. i just really, seriously doubt that this is the case. Is there any way hubby can do it an then just not tell you what the numbers are?

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Well, as I've learned through this process, the overweight/GD angle is pretty overblown -- ANYONE can get it :(
It's all based onthe placenta.

I'm also pretty skeptical of the diagnosis process after learning how hugely varied it is...and I'll still never understand how dosing me with tons of sugar and having me just sit can ever be criteria for anything in the real world!

That's an interesting idea asking my husband to! I hear back from my midwife tomorrow, so hopefully she'll still be willing to try my idea (of them checking when I come in, and me making sure to eat an hour before).

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Switch providers where they will not consider u gd and put you through this. Is this a practice of Nurse Midwives or homebirths midwives? I have never had any add stress like this and are very u derstanding of any eating disorders, sexual abuse, or anything that could be triggered by prego and birth. When I do reg. Finger prick should have a good protein/ carb food, they do not have me do any fasting or eating lots of sugar.

Thought I should update this!

My midwife is one of many in a practice of midwives that still fall under a maternal/fetal medicine cohort of a major health system here, so the big thing was that they ultimately had to defer to them (and I think were extra conservative being midwives, since they're not supposed to take high risk, etc.). I love my midwife, and she has thankfully been patient and understanding this whole time -- it's the one particular nurse who's been a pain in my side *grumble*

So I went to the "attending" doctor and had an ultrasound (at ~31 weeks) to see how things were. Baby's 53rd percentile and completely normal, and the doctor agreed with me -- she doesn't think I have gestational diabetes, and she's actually found that many women who either a.) have a history of eating disorders or b.) had lean body mass before pregnancy seem to trip off glucose sensitivity in the tests, often BECAUSE they don't have much sugar (see my LE lifestyle of never a drop of real sugar lol!)

As a result, she said she's not concerned either about, well, most if any of the issues associated with GD. I don't have to monitor my blood sugar, they may just check periodically without telling me when they do other blood screens; she thinks the baby should be fine, too, and when they check her blood sugar at birth, they'll also not tell me that's what they're doing.

If anything, I got the reprimand of: stop stressing, eat more, and eat MORE carbs and sugar, since I hadn't been doing that. So I'm working on all of that, feeling so relieved; they'll do another ultrasound in 4 weeks to be sure, and MAY have me come in to be monitored twice a week instead of once when I get to those last few weeks. I can still continue seeing the midwives as well.

I'm so, so thankful I managed to get both a midwife and now a doctor who were sensitive to my issues and also willing to look outside of the box I personally disagree with!

Now my slight stresses and embarrassments? Baby went breech! After being head down for AGES (and being SO head down she triggered false labor a few weeks ago!). Chiropractics and spinning babies moves x10 lately (and I've been doing those since like week 17 or 18!)

And when the tech did the ultrasound, I referred to the baby as "she" and she went, "Oh, you know it's a girl?!" and I said, "That's what you guys told me at the anatomy scan!" and she quickly looked and went, "Oh yeah, I definitely see girl parts." A small sliver of me STILL hoped for the amazing surprise of, "Oh, it's actually a boy!" I wasn't as disappointed, of course, because I would hardly believe if it happened... but after yet ANOTHER family member getting their blessed pigeon pair, I was definitely starting to feel the sting again of, "All this trouble, and it's still not for the baby I ultimately desired?"

Feeling much better between GD scare and GD realities... so much GD in my life lately! lol!

Good news. Sorry for all the stress.30 weeks is still plenty time not to worry about breech. I'm 35 and this babe is swimming all over still.

Oh please don't even worry about breech at 31-32 weeks, there is plenty of time for them to flip head down. Geez I wish they were better at explaining things like this to people. It is not even a concern at that point!!

I found the handiest thing to flip a baby is laying upside down on an ironing board that is propped at about 45 degree angle (you should have someone help you with this as it does take some maneuvering) so your feet are in the air and head is down. You only need to do it for a minute or two. It worked right away for me and this was an 8 pounder at 37 weeks!