At my 24 week midwife appointment I was informed that I would be taking the gestational diabetes fasting glucose test at my next visit. One, I don't appreciate, as an adult, being informed that I am going to be doing anything. Two, with the way carbs and I have been getting along this pregnancy, the idea of chugging 12 ounces of super-sugary beverage first thing in the morning makes me want to barf just thinking about it. The idea is that you fast (overnight) and then you slam this syrupy drink and then an hour later they see how your glucose level is, whether your body dealt well with that (insane) amount of glucose. I told the nurse of my genuine concern that drinking that stuff would make me sick - honestly, I fear that if I drank it, I would throw it all right back up, and then where would that have gotten me? - I'd have to drink it AGAIN. The nurse reassured me that I could lay down for the whole hour between drinking it and having my blood drawn, which felt a bit like "you have no choice, but we'll do our best to make you comfortable doing something you know is going to be bad for your body". That of course made me bristle internally again (not externally, because I actually do really like the nurse at the clinic I go to), and I know that the test is not always the most accurate. I told her again that I really, REALLY don't want to do this test.
Lo and behold, there was another option available to me. Why she didn't come right out and say it is beyond me, because I think most women would opt to just come in and drink the vile nectar and get it over with anyway. You could, she said, test your blood sugar at home for a week. I could! Really! She whips out a little pocket-sized blood glucose monitor and shows me how to use it. We test my blood sugar right then and there. She shows me how to use the little lancets to poke my finger and how the machine works, and gave me a prescription for a new vial of test strips.
Easy-peasy, kids. The machine is so simple and it takes exactly 5 seconds to calculate the amount of glucose in your blood. My orders were to test my blood first thing in the morning and then an hour after every meal for a week and then send my form in.
My first step was to get that scrip for the new test strips filled. Surprise (or not): my insurance plan does not cover the brand of strips that go with the monitor the clinic lent me, so I ended up paying $30 out of pocket (not eligible for FLEX reimbursement because it was for me and not my partner, thanks IRS) for new test strips, but all I had to do was think of the nasty orange drink and suddenly I didn't feel so bad about $30.
I've since learned a few things: one, the spring-loaded lancets seem kinder and gentler because you aren't faced with jabbing yourself with a vicious looking point - all you have to do is push it down gently on your finger, and it jabs you automatically - but they stick you much harder than the little points do - and they hurt more! Two, I've found that any amount of sugar or refined carb (a white bun for a turkey sub, for instance) makes my blood sugar go up if there is not enough protein involved in the meal. Oatmeal with butter, milk and 1 tsp of maple syrup sent my glucose through the roof. Lastly, drawing blood from your own finger, on purpose, four times a day, is an incredible freak-show for a nearly four-year-old, who insists on standing and watching the whole ordeal every chance he gets. (Usually four times a day.)
I'm curious what the end results of this test will be - recommendations for a different diet? Anything that I don't know myself already? And will the results be more conclusive than having quaffed the nasty orange liquid? As much as I don't love that my fingertips look like they've been attacked by vampires (I poke one finger a day: two pokes a day with the little lancets, and then two with the spring-loaded ones, on opposite sides of my fingertips... hence the vampire bite look - but at least after that, that finger is done, and I won't be poking it again), I'm already halfway through the week and I feel like I'm gaining valuable knowledge about my metabolism.
Anyway, it's time for another poking.
8 comments:
Well, I'm glad you don't have to do the vile liquid test. I had to do one last year to test for insulin resistance, and I should've just taken the whole day off of work because it rendered me nearly useless because of the insane amount of glucose and the inevitable crash from insane amount of glucose. I had a "lemon-lime" flavored syrupy liquid. It has forever ruined non-diet Sprite, Sierra Mist, and 7 Up for me. (Not that I drank more than 1 can of said pops in a 6 month period.)
Oh, how about adding walnuts to the oatmeal? I add walnuts and plain yogurt and less than a tsp of brown sugar to oatmeal every morning. My theory is that the walnuts and yogurt at least provide some protien. (And walnuts are tasty.)
ugh. sorry about the vampire fingers! but i'm glad you didn't have to drink the nasty nasty syrup stuff. bleah! i accidentally ordered a beverage with glucozade in it once, and it was nasty AND made me sick to my stomach. i can't imagine having to down a bunch of it.
are you allowed to eat soy while pregnant? in my opinion, tofu scrambled with some mushrooms or eggs and some spices makes a great protein-full breakfast, and is much easier to choke down in the morning than eggs, which i often find to be too odorous or greasy.
oh, also, amaranth has more protein in it than oats, and you can boil it up to a nice porrige in its whole-grain form if you can't find it in flakes.
quinoa and buckwheat groats are my personal all-time favorites for grain-like foods (buckwheat is technically a berry, blah blah blah) that "sneak" extra protein into my diet while my mouth thinks it is eating yummy, yummy carbs! quinoa has something like 10 grams of protein per serving.
but you probably already knew that, because you're always writing about the awesomely healthy-crunchy foods you make (and making me drool!)
ugh, i HATE that test. being reactive hypoglycemic, where my blood sugar plummets AFTER i eat instead of before, the one and two hour test usually tells nothing, but by 2.5 hours, i'm shaking like a polaroid picture and shoving every bit of carbs and protein i can get my hands on down my throat. i don't think i'd last for a 3 hour test, by the time they came to prick me the last time i'd be on the floor out cold in a sugar induced coma.
interesting about testing your blood sugar after meals. i've always wanted to try that, which sounds wierd, but with the whole PCOS and quasi-but-un-documented insulin resistance and high risk for diabetes, i'd love to show a doctor a weeks worth of meals and blood tests and see if that tells them anything different than some fasting test done in the office on one morning.
quinoa is awesome!! with tomatos and chicken to make a stew and then throw in some spinach at the very end to just wilt...yum! reminds me how much i'm looking forward to fall foods - soups and stews and chilli...mmmm...
Katie - that's what I am thinking - this MUST tell my midwife a lot more about my total metabolism than just whether my glucose level is less than 130 after chugging the stuff. It's already told me that if I am going to eat any carbs at all, they have to be heavily balanced with protein. And basically that my body wants me to eat a lot more protein than I have been.
Regina - I could eat soy, but I tend to avoid non-fermented soy products because it's hard for the body to access the nutrients in them. So I might make some of the tempeh salad I used to make when I volunteered at a local co-op... if I could remember the recipe, uuuuuuuugh! If I were clever I could harvest the amaranth from our neighborhood... blocks worth of amaranth plants on the boulevards thanks to our neighbors who composted amaranth one little time...! :) They're so PRETTY! Now if only I could get the rest of my family to also eat quinoa and amaranth. I fear rebellion on the part of my wife.
Laura - those beverages are also ruined for me - but because I relate them to having a sick stomach as a child. Pretty much the only beverage of that ilk that is not ruined for me is diet coke in its various forms (vanilla, cherry, lime), which I don't drink anymore because aspartame weirds me out... but sometimes (when I'm not pregnant) I will have one. And be really hyper from the caffeine in it. Lordy did I have a caffeine buzz (and then headache) yesterday after having 1/4 (!) cup of coffee with about 1/2 cup of milk in it!
Walnuts sound like a good addition to the yogurt. A friend of ours has diabetes and eats oatmeal every morning with trail mix in it - sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, dried fruits, etc. Tasty!
Katie your recipe for quinoa chicken tomato stew sounds tasty - but gave me a gigantic yen for cooler weather, too. SO. TIRED. OF. WINTER.
Um, do you think I maybe mean SO. TIRED. OF. SUMMER ???
Sorry, the heat is getting to me. *sigh*
interesting to learn that about non-fermented soy products. i didn't know that before about tofu/soy milk/etc. i like tempeh better than tofu, and find it easier to prepare, so i'll guess i'll be getting it more often, now. do you know if edamame are also nutritionally difficult for our bodies?
I got my mom (The World's Pickiest Eater Ever (TM)) to try quinoa, and now she and my dad are hooked on it! Good luck if you try it with your family!
Yes, if you like faux milks, rice or hemp is easier on your body than soy. The majority of soy products we eat in the US are super-duper-processed which makes them difficult for the body. I'm trying to remember the reason... I'll have to look it up in my cookbook. In Asia they actually eat WAY fewer soy products than we do in the US (considering that soy is in almost everything here), and when they do, it's usually fermented - tempeh, miso, soy sauce. And the Asians tend to eat some form of pickled vegetable with every meal (very good for digestion), and they eat a lot of fish.
As for the edamame question, you've got me there. I've been tempted on numerous occasions to call the nutritionist who writes for our co-op newsletter because when she has done stories about soy products, that's the one thing she leaves out. I would guess that as whole beans, they are not hard for the body to process and provide a good source of fiber, but I am not 100% sure.
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