Sugar Test Round 2
So it has been almost a month now since I had to do my glucose screening for this pregnancy. You might be remember the disaster that was two years ago when I had to do it for Henry. This time around, I certainly wasn't excited about it, but I thought I was much more prepared. I went into it knowing that I'd probably fail the one-hour test and have to take the three-hour one. I was ok with this. I felt like I'd probably pass the three-hour, just like I did last time. My body just simply cannot process that much sugar in one hour. No big deal.Except, it was...still! Turns out, this time around I failed the one-hour screening so well that they didn't even give me the chance for the three-hour test. I didn't even know this was a possibility. They say that with a score like mine on the one-hour your chances of passing the three-hour are so low that they don't even "put you through it." Honestly, I wish they would have "put me through it." Even now, I still think I would've passed. Regardless, they sent me straight to "diabetic counseling" which consisted of me watch a 20 minute video from 1992 about gestational diabetes in a conference room all by myself.
I'm not gonna lie...I cried through half of the video. I know it is completely irrational and I know that it is completely out of my control, but I was so mad at my body. Even though gestational diabetes has more to do with your hormones and the way your body processes sugar while you are pregnant, and has nothing to do with your overall general health, I still felt like such a failure. And we all know how well I handle failure. I hate to say it, but the video was all of these overweight pregnant ladies with perms talking about how it isn't so bad to follow the diet and how they knew they were doing it for their babies and that made it all worth it. Granted, that is all true. And of course, I would do ANYTHING for this babe. I just felt like I hadn't even been given a chance at the three-hour test...and I know my body pretty well...and I think I would've passed it.
Anyways, after the video a nurse comes in and goes through this packet of information with you about what you should and shouldn't eat, how to check your blood sugar, etc. She delivered the lovely news that I have to prick my finger 5 times a day and record my blood sugar each time. I was not terribly happy, but what can you do? And actually, I did handle it a lot better than I did last time...I just didn't handle it great.
Turns out, it really isn't that bad. The first two weeks I followed the diet really closely. Basically, I am counting carbs. My sugar has been great each time I check it, and a lot of times it is much more on the low-end of things than the high-end. The last couple of weeks I've been a little more lax with the diet and things have still been fine (hence my thinking that that I would've passed the 3-hour test). I have cut down on the amount of bread and sweets that I eat, and I've give up sweet tea completely (big tear), but I have figured out that I can still pretty much have whatever I want so long as I don't eat it right before I test my blood sugar. If my body has two hours to process things, it seems to be fine. Pricking my finger five times a day has even gotten to be routine. I think I would be much more upset if my blood sugar wasn't regulated by the diet (even though that still isn't your fault), but luckily mine is and now that I am used to things, it really isn't much of an issue.
Of course, I want to make sure the babe is safe and healthy and would never do anything to jeopardize him. I hope that this post doesn't sound completely selfish, because I promise I am not. Pregnancy is a funny thing and does crazy things to your body and your emotions. Chances are that all of this will go away once the babe is born. It just goes to show you that even when you think you are prepared for something, you really never know.
You live and you learn, right?
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