1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

My doctor told me that my next appointment (still 4 wks away) will be my 1 hr glucose test but she didn't tell me how to prepare and I forgot to ask. Am I not supposed to eat Sugar the day before? What are the "rules"?

And if somebody could fill me in - how does it work? I drink something, wait an hour and give blood??

What exactly are they looking for?

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

i had 2 viles taken and the hour went pretty quickly-

i also had the lemon-lime flavor drink which wasn't so bad-you have 5 minutes to finish it-i chugged it! i wanted to get it over with!
i felt fine the whole time - even after the blood was taken--i took a snack with me just in case i needed it afterwards
my dh came w/me but i def. could have driven home alone

and, i also fasted
(this is a cut/paste of my review!)

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

They are checking your sugar levels to ensure you are not experiencing gestatational diabetes.

There really is nothing for you to prepare. Either you will have the markers for it or you won't. Just keep watching what you would eat normally thru the pregnancy.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

MY OB told me not to eat anything after 7pm the night before the test and try not to have so much sweet 3 days before the test.
I didn't eat any sweets 3 days before the test which was the longest 3 days of my life and I ate dinner before 7pm the night before the glucose test.

When you arrive at the lab for the glucose test, they ask you to drink a small bottle which contains 50 grams of sugar. There were several different types of flavor (orange, lime and cola) where I took the test. The lab tech told me to drink it as fast as I can (the faster the better) so I can take the blood test. This was the nastiest drink I ever drank in my life. The drink was so sweet . It tasted like flat soda. After drinking the bottle, you would have to wait an hour and then the tech will take blood from the arm to check the blood sugar level after an hour of waiting.

I called for the result within 3 days. If the result is in high range, your OB would want you to come back and take the 3 hour test.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

My doctors office told me to avoid sugars and carbs the day before and to not drink or eat 8 hours before the test. I got to the office...drank a small glass of this sugary orange stuff...waited an hour and then they took 2 viles of blood. I would recomend bringing a snack so as soon as they take the blood you can eat as i got a little woozy afterwards. :)

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I didnt do anything special to prepare. I only fasted from midnight the night before until after the test. I didnt cut back on sugar or carbs leading up to the test. I passed with flying colors

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I didn't do anything to prepare for it. My Dr said for the 1 hour I didn't have to fast. When I got to the place to get bloodwork I told them I was there for the Glucose test & they gave me a choice of Orange or Lemon/lime drink. I chose Orange, it wasn't bad. You drink it within 5 minutes then tell them you finished & they write down the time & after 1 hour you tell them & they take you in for bloodwork & thats it. Good Luck !!

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I read up a lot about it and it's not necessary to change your diet before you take the GD screening challenge because if you do have GD, it's very important to know and can be fatal to the baby if you don't find out. Changing your diet beforehand doesn't really do anything good to help you cheat the test to get a false passing, but could in fact shock your system if you suddenly drink the sugar drink after a few days of not processing sugars. If you have diabetes, you'll still fail the screening.

They say you can eat that morning, but if you eat something with carbs or sugar, you COULD skew the test against your favor since your body would be working harder than usual to process the test drink. So if you're having your test in the morning, it's a good idea not to eat any carbs or sugars (stick with egg whites or something if you must eat, no toast).

Personally, I didn't change anything about my diet the days before the test and the morning of the test I didn't eat at all (mine was at 9:30 am).

I drank the drink with a straw in 2 seconds flat. Found out a week later I passed by a lot.

Hope you have a good experience!

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I am nervous! I have my appointment at 5:30 at night how can I go that long?

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

Message edited 10/11/2010 10:12:04 PM.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

Seems like different offices do it different so you might want to call yours to find out what they say you should do- but ask to speak directly to the doctor.

When I called I spoke to either a receptionist or nurse (I forget) who told me to start fasting at midnight. I came in the next morning, had a blood test, took the drink, waited an hour, and had another blood test. I passed.

Later on, my doctor told me I didn't actually need to fast The drink wasn't horrible, I would say fasting was actually the worst part!! So, definitely find out.

ETA: I didn't alter my diet at all leading up to the test.

Message edited 10/11/2010 11:10:12 PM.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I didnt do anythibg different when i had mine with my twins. I ate normally, and i didnt fast. I passed with no problems. My test was done in the evening.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

thank you!!! All this info definitely helps! My appt is in the morning, so I'll probably just fast that morning and eat breakfast afterwards. That wouldn't be hard to do at all.

Re: 1 hour glucose coming up - how do I prepare?

I didn't do anything different. I really don't think you can "trick" the test. I know people who fasted, and ate well and still didn't pass...I just ate a light healthy breakfast in the morning.

Also my doc reminded me the 1 hour is just a screening not a test...so that's why a lot of people fail. And like someone said above if you have it you want to know because it's very dangerous if you don't take care of it