Gestational Diabetes?

On Saturday, 23 February 2013, I went for my Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) which is the screening test for gestational diabetes (GD). I was 27 weeks pregnant when I did the test. The GCT involves drinking a sweet, lemonade-like drink containing 50 grams of sugar and then they take your blood one hour later. They say you don't have to fast beforehand but they didn't say you HAVE TO EAT so I turned up to my 10:00 am appointment on an empty stomach, only to be turned away and told to eat something first before coming back. So I quickly ate a Ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and a cup of tea at a nearby hotel, and came back to do the test. I finished by meal 15 minutes before the test.

And that, I think, is why I failed the GCT. I ate too close to the test. 

Dr Harry was very gentle when he told me the results at my checkup on Friday 15 March. He said I'll need to do the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) to rule out gestational diabetes because my result after the 1 hour test was 9.6 which was higher than the normal range of <7.8 mmol/L.

Without any delay, I booked my Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) for Tuesday 19 March 2013. I was told I had to be on a 3 day diet of high carbs, followed by a 12 hour fast before the test. This test is to diagnose diabetes and involves taking 3 blood tests over 2 hours. Before drinking the 75 gram sweet drink, they tested my urine for glucose using a pee stick (looks similar to a pregnancy test) to make sure that it was normal, because if it was too high I could feel sick after drinking the sweet drink. Then they took my blood, and told me to drink the drink, which is horribly sweet.

I wasn't allowed to leave the premise or eat/drink anything for the next 2 hours so I just sat around reading Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro (translated by Pamela Carmell) til my next 2 blood tests (1 hr intervals in between).

After the test, I was so hungry, I ate a single Adana shish kebab plate all on my own and promptly fell asleep when I got home because I ate too much carbs. 

I was a bit worried during the days leading up to my next checkup. I was beginning to think that I had GD because my grandparents have diabetes and I hadn't been eating very well during the pregnancy. I've been eating large meals, snacking on Calippo ice blocks and other sweet stuff in between and drinking coca cola *gasp*. 

In the belief that I had GD, I downloaded On Track, a glucose tracking app to manage my glucose level, in case it got to that, but I got turned off logging my food in this app because I didn't know how to calculate or look up carb numbers and couldn't find a simple nutrition look-up app. So, I downloaded Doc's Diet Diary, a basic food log app so I could start tracking my food consumption. I've been logging my food consumption for the last 5 days now.

My checkup is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday the 26th of March but I just couldn't wait for the results so I called Dr Harry's office this morning. Anne, the receptionist called me back an hour later with the result - 

THANK THE LORD, I PASSED! I don't have GD! My score after the 2 hour test was 6.9 mmol/L which is within the normal range of <7.8 mmol/L.

No more worrying about gestational diabetes, but this experience has certainly taught me that I need to watch what I eat, exercise more and trust in the Lord.

But first things first, I must celebrate with some Tim Tams and a can of coke. :p

Old habits die hard.