Alternatives to the Glucose Screening & Tests

I did my glucose test this week and was left feeling unhealthy, non inspired and not prepared.
With my previous 2 pregnancies I was sent home with a little bottle of neon colored glucose, told to drink it an hour before my appointment and my blood would be drawn to test for gestational diabetes.
I complied, it never really crossed my mind not to.

This time around a new system was in place and while I did put up some mild resistance, after some research I realize that for me the best option would have been to opt out.  Yes, it' is true you can decline the test if you do not have a history of diabetes in the family, and if you meet certain other low risk indicators.  Now if you are pulled towards a pint of ice cream every night before bed I do not recommend opting out.  Information is knowledge and I know we all want to make informed decisions in regards to the health of our babies.

What was different about this time for me?  I had to fast from midnight until I arrived at 8:15a.m. at which time they took my 1st blood draw.  I was given the drink told to finish within 5 minutes and then an hour later my 2nd blood draw was taken.  I thought I would be able to eat for some reason that I made up in my own mind and had even packed a breakfast.  I was informed that after the 2nd draw I had to wait 1 more hour and have a 3rd draw.  This was my resistance point, I was starving and starting to feel grumpy.  Well, I did it and starting feeling icky with nothing but toxic juice in my gut, read the label ladies, it is not pretty what they have packed in that little bottle.  When all was done I ate, went home and passed out exhausted.  I did some more research that night, still feeling off overall and found out there are alternatives to the drink.  If you decide to take the test but want less artificial colorings and synthetic chemicals that can throw you for a loop here are some options to consider and discuss with your health care provider.

When taking the 1 hour test you will most likely need to have 50 grams of glucose.  Depending on if you take the 2 or 3 hour, you will need to confirm what levels are appropriate for you.  Here are the approximate glucose numbers in grams that I found for the following items:

30 6 oz Grape juice

15 Slice of bread

30 cup of cereal

20 banana

12 cup of milk

30 two slices of bread

40 16 oz orange juice

40 8 oz apple juice

I hope this information helps you to feel more prepared going in for a glucose screening or tolerance test.  Stay healthy mamas and be inspired to follow your intuition, the gut always knows best!