on wednesday i received a voicemail from my nurse stating that my 1 hr. glucose test score was a little high and giving me the phone number to schedule a 3 hr. test with a local lab. i was in meetings for most of the day, so when i called back at 4:35pm the doctor's office was already closed for the day.
i felt a little frustrated...mainly in myself that i "failed" the test, but also in the fact that i could not get a hold of the doctor's office to ask my score. naturally i googled "glucose test pregnant normal score" and saw many message boards about the subject. most people said that anything over 130 or 140 required a retest.
finally when i was able to talk to the nurse the next day, our conversation went something like this...
me: yes i was just calling back about my glucose test results
nurse: what is your name?
me: silvy
nurse: was your result normal or abnormal?
me: um, the voicemail i got said abnormal...
nurse: did you get the phone number for the local lab?
me: yes.
nurse: well what else do you need?
me: i was just wondering if you could tell me my score
nurse: oh, well i'd have to pull your chart to do that
me: okay
*awkward pause*
nurse: well i'll have to call you back since i have to pull your chart
me: okay thank you
hangup...
several hours later i still had not heard back, so i called again and found out my score: 135.
after a few hours of thinking about and researching it some more, i decided not to retest. main reasons:
1. i don't think i have gestational diabetes.
2. even if i did have gestational diabetes, the treatment would likely be to regulate with diet.
3. i can regulate my own diet.
4. i don't think it is ideal to fast for long periods of time while pregnant or drink large amounts of sugar water on an empty stomach.
5. i often feel lightheaded when getting my blood drawn.
6. i don't want to take a whole morning off of work for the test.
7. i read many doctors have tightened the "passing window" for the glucose test, thus retesting many more people and producing many more false positives.
8. my score, 135, is not often retested.
9. as much as i love and respect doctors, i think know their own liability plays into extra unnecessary tests and procedures (i.e. why the c-section rate has gone up so much recently), this test included.
9. my pregnancy is not high risk and i passed the glucose test with parker.
10. the nurse did not call me about my results for 5 days after the glucose test (when she had the results in 1 day) and also indicated there was no rush in scheduling my 3 hr. test...so is it really necessary?
i think it is slightly humorous to read all of the posts on message boards of women who cannot believe others would refuse a test their doctor recommended. comments like "that is so selfish, foolish, etc." and "don't you want to do what is best for the baby?" appear often. however, i think it is really important for women to educate themselves about all topics related to pregnancy and not just blindly listen to a doctor's suggestion for everything (see
the business of being born...yes it is rikki lake but still good, haha). imo, refusing the 3 hr test is the best thing for my baby.
i received a message from one of my high school friends who is pregnant (and was a national merit scholar, ha, but i do respect that) encouraging me to refuse the test and find alternative ways to check glucose (which i plan on discussing with my doctor on my next visit). i appreciated her support and wisdom on the subject. i feel good about the decision to not retest (and so does james), so i'll focus on eating less refined sugar and making sure i exercise at least 30 minutes/day.
and i can't end the post without a photo, so here is a sweet shot of baby boy kehrli at 20 weeks. can't wait to meet you little guy! (less than 3 months to go!!!)
