One of the most dreaded tests for pregnant women who are getting generalized healthcare in a clinic is the glucose tolerance test. Carle does one at 8 weeks, and another at 28 weeks. If you fail the 28 week test, you have to do a 3-hour glucose "challenge" test. For those of you who don't know, they basically have you drink orange syrup, which is pretty much disgusting. Then an hour later, they draw your blood. The three hour test is the same, except they draw your blood once each hour for three hours. NO one looks forward to this test. I know people who have puked, passed out, and failed. It's awful.
I took the test with Belle, was grossed out, but passed. It bugged me though that I had to drink THAT much sugar and God knows what else. In case you're wondering, here's the ingredient list for the drink. Corn, corn, corn, preservative, artificial food dye, water. But, purified water. Well, thanks for at least purifying it ::eyeroll::. We try desperately to avoid food dyes, try pretty hard to avoid preservatives, and pretty much don't eat corn unless it's organic b/c we want to avoid the GMOs. (It's our personal preference. No judgement if that's not what you care to do.) We also avoid grains unless they are sprouted, and processed sugar at all costs, but do enjoy natural sugars as an alternative. So, we eat a pretty low-carb diet. Needless to say, I wasn't about to throw my dietary concerns out the window to chug this junk, especially when I'm pregnant.
So, I asked for an alternative. Thankfully, Carissa (one of the midwives) was very willing to have me check my blood sugar levels at home. 4 times a day, for 4 days. Fasting in the morning, then an hour after each meal. The goal is < 90 fasting, and < 120 after eating. I was happy to oblige.
(Side story: I went to pick up the blood sugar monitor from the pharmacy, and it was going to be over $100 for the monitor, strips, and needles! I couldn't believe it. NO WAY was I going to pay that much. The insurance company wanted me to get this fancy pants monitor. Instead, I bought the Meijer brand basic one and got everything for about $30. I seriously do NOT understand health insurance and cost of drugs and things. What a waste of money for both of us to have me buy the name brand fancy one! Gah!)
Anyway. I tested my blood sugars. They were all great, except my fasting sugars were slightly above 90 two of the four days that I tested. The other two days they were close to 90, but still under. SO, after looking at that, they told me I need to either do the 3-hour glucose challenge test, or keep checking my sugars 3 days a week for four more weeks. I'm choosing to keep poking myself. BUT, I also chose to look into it more. And you know what I found?
...low-carb diets will produce elevated fasting blood glucose levels. Why? Because low-carb diets induce insulin resistance. (source)Not just on this one blog. I started following links, which lead to studies, which showed that higher fat/protein and lower carb diets lead to higher fasting blood sugar levels. Doesn't effect levels after eating. So. That's annoying. Because of my healthy diet, I got slightly "abnormal" results, leading to them being concerned and doing more testing. And if I really am at risk for diabetes, you know how they would treat me (since I have no risk factors except that I'm 28)? With a lower carb diet and exercise.
Don't get me wrong--I obviously want to know if I have gestational diabetes (which I don't). I obviously want to have a healthy baby. But, I'm in the midst of generalized health care. It's not personal. It's not about me. It's about the numbers, and the tests, and the one-size-fits-all mentality of maternity care at a medical institution. I love Carle--I've been very happy with my care. I don't really expect anything different from them since they see so many patients. But, it's still frustrating. I emailed the nurse today to share my findings with her--we'll see what she says. In the mean time, I guess I'll eat a few tablespoons of honey before I go to bed.
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