Glucose Testing and Screening

Heading into your third trimester, your doctor or midwife should begin discussing with you glucose testing and screening. This is now a standard and routine test that all pregnant women take between 26 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to help detect gestational diabetes.

The first part of the glucose testing is called the Glucose Challenge Screening. If you test positive on this test then you will have to go in for the second follow up test called the Glucose Tolerance Test. This test will actually diagnose whether you have diabetes or not by showing if your body is glucose effectively. Keep in mind that if you do test positive on your first test like I did, it does not mean that you have gestational diabetes. I passed my Glucose Tolerance Test with flying colors so don't panic.

Getting ready for the Glucose Challenge Screening test is simple. Just make it to your appointment. When you get there, you will be given a choice of two very sweet drinks to choose from (glucose). My options were orange or lemon lime. I suggest lemon lime as the fluid from both tends to stick in the back of your throat and your doctor may not want you to drink anything after words. The orange flavor is a bit more intense. 

You only have a few minutes to get it all down since the test is all based on reaction time. Once the drink is consumed you will be sent to have your blood drawn after an hour has passed. After your blood is drawn, the test will evaluate how your body processes sugar. A high level in your blood means that your body may not be processing sugar effectively resulting in a positive test result. If this is the case, you will need to take the Glucose Tolerance Test.

The worst part about the follow up test is the fact that you have to start fasting (with the exception of sips of water) at least 14 hours before your test is scheduled. In addition, the whole testing procedure takes around 4 hours to complete so make sure that you have someone to drive you there and back home. Most labs only perform the second test in the mornings to make sure that you are in and out as quickly as possible.

When you arrive at the lab your blood will be taken to measure your baseline fasting glucose level. Then you get to drink an even more heavily concentrated glucose beverage (it's about the equivalent of drinking cough syrup). Again, you only have a small amount of time to get it all down. Like in the first test, you will be asked to come back to have your blood drawn in an hour and for every hour until you have had your blood drawn a grand total of 4 times including your baseline.

If only one out of your 4 draws comes back abnormal your doctor or midwife may suggest some diet changes and possibly want to test you again at a later time. If you have 2 or more come back abnormal you will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and you and your doctor will go over a treatment plan.

For those that are curious here is a rundown of the numbers for an abnormal test for each draw:

• Fasting: 95mg/dl or higher
• One Hour: 180mg/dl or higher
• Two Hours: 155mg/dl or higher
• Three Hours: 140mg/dl or higher