Hi hoshi, this is for u.
My practitioner says I need a glucose screen. Why?
Most practitioners routinely recommend a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to check for gestational diabetes, a high blood sugar condition that some women get during pregnancy. Like any screening test, this one is designed to cast a wide net and identify as many women as possible who may have a problem. A positive result doesn't mean that you have gestational diabetes; in fact, only about a third of women who test positive on the glucose screen actually have this condition. To find out if you're one of them, you'll have to undergo a longer, more definitive exam called a glucose tolerance test (GTT).
Between 2 and 7 percent of expectant mothers develop gestational diabetes, making it one of the most common health problems during pregnancy. And since the condition rarely causes any symptoms, testing is the only way to find out if you have it. Your practitioner may want you to be screened earlier than 24 weeks if a routine urine test showed a high amount of sugar in the urine or if you're considered to be at high risk. If the results are normal, you'll be screened again at 24 to 28 weeks. (Of course, if you've already been diagnosed with diabetes before pregnancy, you won't need to be screened. Instead, you'll continue to work with your practitioner to manage your condition during your pregnancy.)
How is the screening test done?
When you arrive for the test, you'll be given a sugar solution that contains 50 grams of glucose. The stuff tastes like a very sweet soda pop (it comes in cola, orange, or lime flavor), and you have to get all of it down in five minutes. Some centers keep it chilled or let you pour it over ice and drink it cold. An hour later (bring a book or magazine!), your practitioner or a technician will take a blood sample from your arm to check your blood sugar level. (The idea is to see how efficiently your body processes sugar.) The results should be available in a few days. If the reading is abnormal (too high), which happens about 15 to 23 percent of the time, your practitioner will have you come back for a three-hour glucose tolerance test to see if you really do have gestational diabetes. The good news is that most women whose screening test shows elevated blood sugar won't turn out to have gestational diabetes.
Will this test make me feel sick?
Some women find that drinking the glucose solution makes them feel nauseated and a few even throw up. You may find that it helps to have eaten something a few hours before the screening test. If you vomit soon after you've gotten the drink down, you'll have to come back another day and repeat the test. But most women get through it just fine. It's actually more common for women to feel sick during the three-hour glucose tolerance test because the solution for this test may be twice as sweet or twice as much liquid as the one for the screening test and you have to drink it after fasting.
What is an abnormal blood glucose level?
Different practitioners use different standards for determining whether your level is too high. Some will say that if your one-hour blood sugar level is 140 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood plasma (mg/dL) or more, you need to have the glucose tolerance test. (Others put the cut-off at 130 mg/dL to catch more women who may have gestational diabetes, even though there are likely to be more false positives this way.) If your blood glucose level for this test is higher than 200 mg/dL, most practitioners will consider you diabetic and you won't be required to take the glucose tolerance test. But any score between 140 and 200 means that you'll have to take the three-hour glucose tolerance test for a definite diagnosis.
What is the glucose tolerance test like?
For 8 to 14 hours before the test, you can't eat or drink anything but sips of water, so you'll want to schedule it for first thing in the morning. (Don't smoke or exercise either.) For three days before the test, you'll be told to eat at least 150 grams of carbohydrate a day. (If you eat a normal diet and have an extra piece of bread at each meal, you'll likely be getting enough carbs.)
When you arrive for the test, the technician will take a blood sample to measure your fasting blood glucose level and then ask you to drink either a more concentrated dose or a larger volume of the glucose solution (containing 100 grams of glucose). Then brace yourself for three more arm pricks as they test your blood every hour for the next three hours. (You'll definitely need a source of distraction this time, as you'll have to stay seated in the waiting room between blood drawings. You might also want to bring a sandwich, so you can eat right after your final blood sample is drawn. You'll most likely be quite hungry.) The technician should alternate arms each time she draws your blood.
If one of the readings is abnormal, you may have to take another test later in your pregnancy. Or your practitioner may ask you to make some changes in your diet and exercise routine. If two or more of your readings are abnormal, you'll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and you'll need to talk to your practitioner about a treatment plan. This chart shows the levels that the American Diabetes Association considers abnormal at each interval of the test:
Interval Abnormal reading
Fasting 95 mg/dl or higher
One-hour 180 mg/dl or higher
Two-hour 155 mg/dl or higher
Three-hour 140 mg/dl or higher
What happens if I'm diagnosed with gestational diabetes?
You'll work with your practitioner or a diabetes specialist and possibly a nutritionist to come up with a plan to manage your condition. Your condition should only last as long as your pregnancy. However, a small number of women who develop diabetes during pregnancy will continue to have the disease after delivery, so you'll have to take another glucose test after six weeks postpartum.
haven't confirmed yet.