I Failed My Glucose Test...

I am probably more upset about this than I should be, but I failed my glucose tolerance test. They called me with the results just before noon, I texted Ryan and then I cried for 30 minutes.

The normal glucose range is between 41 and 139. Mine has tested on the high end of that since my first urinalysis. I took the 1-hour blood test for the first time back in November so that if it came back high we could tackle the problem early on. In November my first glucose blood test came back at 126, which is still in the normal range. This time my test came back with a glucose level of 146.

Now I have to take a three hour glucose test. For this one I have to fast for 8-14 hours, so the nurse recommended going in first thing in the morning. They will draw my blood when I get there, then give me a super sugary drink which I will have ten minutes to drink. After that I will have 3 more blood draws, one every hour. The worst part about this test (besides the extreme hunger I will likely feel) is that I have to hang out at the hospital for three hours. I will have to bring my laptop and a book with me so that hopefully I don't get too bored.

I am not afraid of needles (I've had to take enough shots in the last year), but four blood tests within a few hours is a little intimidating. I am scared of what my arms might look like after! I have small, deep veins that tend to roll and I usually end up bruised. It is common for the person drawing my blood to have to poke me several times to get a vein and they almost always end up needing to use a butterfly needle (for better control). I have even had nurses go get another nurse (someone who is "a pro" with hard draws) after several unsuccessful attempts. I still have a bruise healing from my blood draw on Friday....hopefully when I go in for this next test they can assign me to their best blood drawer!

Blood Test Bruise...Day 4

If two or more of these tests come back high then that means I have gestational diabetes and my normal pregnancy will be then be considered high risk. I will be more likely to go into labor early (preterm), more likely to end up needing a c-section will be at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes in future pregnancies. Our baby will be more likely to be bigger (hence the risk of c-section, as bigger babies are more likely to get stuck in the birth canal), be at a higher risk of having blood sugar or respiratory problems (common in preterm babies) and be more likely to develop type 2 diabetes himself later in life.

All of this has me totally freaked out even though I know that many women with gestational diabetes still have normal, healthy pregnancies, deliveries and babies. If I have gestational diabetes I will have to be careful about what I eat and test my blood several times a day (and possibly need insulin injections, but that is not very common) throughout my pregnancy, then have another glucose test after the baby is born to make sure everything has returned to normal. I know two women who have had gestational diabetes and have healthy babies (although now I am wishing I asked them more questions...like if their babies were born early or big and if they needed a c-section or not).

I know I am probably freaking out too soon--this test might come back normal and then I will not have to worry about it. I know I might be making a bigger deal about this than it actually is, and maybe it's just pregnancy hormones, but I am really upset about this. It's hard not to feel betrayed by my body once again, because if I had been able to get pregnant at a younger age I might not have had to worry about this. As a result of my bad mood, I have lost all motivation to get anything done today! Thank goodness for text messaging and blogging: both make it so I can share my crappy news without actually having to talk to anyone about it. Apparently my anxiety is exciting to the baby though (or maybe he's trying to cheer me up because he knows baby kicks make me smile)...he's moving around like crazy right now!