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Category: Prenatal Testing

Asked by knicole27

Q: Advice about refusing the Glucose Tolerance test.

Ok. Here is my situation. Since around 2009 I have had reactive hypoglycemia, I was diagnosed with this after a horrible experience with a 6 hour long GTT that made me so sick and I nearly passed out. Anyways since then I don't eat sugar and pretty much stick to a diabetes like diet. I don't eat a huge amount of sugar or carbs and when I do I make sure there is a fair amount of protein added. ANYWAYS this being said. I have been testing my blood sugars since 2009 off and on. So I have been strict about testing again and diet etc. I do NOT have GD I know this from my daily numbers in my meter. So today I take my meter in for my 28 week appt. and I am told no matter what my numbers are in my meter I HAVE to have the GTT done. I told her I would fail the one hr because my body just cannot handle that much sugar at once. It always spikes to around 160 and then the next hour it drops to 120 or less and more the next hour and so forth.... to be cont.

This question was asked Jul. 2, 2012 11:07pm
Category: Prenatal Testing

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Answers (7)

Answered by expectingmommy1 - Jul. 3, 2012 12:44pm

also i just read your "to be cont" section and the sugar cont is not more in the 3-hr one it is the same bottle they give you before that would make no sence if you failed the one hour one to jump into more sugar for two hours longer. the point of it is too see if your body breaks down the sugar in 1 hr or if it takes 3 hrs and if it doesnt break down then you have GD.

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Answered by expectingmommy1 - Jul. 3, 2012 12:41pm

honestly its your choice, your body and your baby. the OB cannot force you too do anything. i would recommend to take it but jump right into the 3-hour challenge glucose bc that will tell if you have it or not. and if she refuses that maybe you need to consider switching although its late in pregnancy bc there suppose to be there for you..

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Answered by knicole27 - Jul. 2, 2012 11:36pm

I really think she was using the fear mongering tactic honestly. I think it has EVERYTHING to do with the financial aspect of the health care system and not my actual health. I had my meter in hand. The numbers are all logged right there. I test every day. I know that I do NOT have GD. My midwife herself even told me she doesn't think I have GD according to my numbers so... uhm then so I guess we are doing this why?? the only thing i can think of is financial reasons. I feel like a transaction. :/ I was supposed to go to tomorrow. I rescheduled for friday. I do have to go in and get a full blood count/CBC since they have not done that since the first trimester which I am fine with but making me feel like crap and putting me in danger possibly .. I am not ok with that.

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Answered by looney - Jul. 2, 2012 11:26pm

forgive me, I meant to type "they could"..... NOT "they should"!!!!!!!

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Answered by looney - Jul. 2, 2012 11:25pm

taking ur GTT they should hyptothetically try and charge you with reckless endangerment.... but I DONT THINK SO. That is so way out there... so crazy... and it probably would never hold up in court. So I just don see how on earth they could MAKE you take the test.

Make the appointment... then accidentally keep forgetting to go if you have to. :)

Women's rights. Your body. Your choice.

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Answered by looney - Jul. 2, 2012 11:23pm

It's hard because I know you are under tricare... or VA... so I'm not sure what kind of power they have in regards to "making" you take the test. But I know that for normal insurance, normal civilian stuff, we can refuse anything we want. Some women of course choose to have no prenatal care at all, others like to avoid all testing, and so on and so forth with being able to customize your prenatal experience.

I'm not sure if she is using the words "we have to make you do it" and telling you, you "have to do it", to be pushy, or if she really thinks she can make you.

My guess is she thinks she can make you do it out of fear mongering... she thinks she can make you do it by threatening you... who knows why she THINKS she can make you do it.

How could they possibly punish you? I suppose they could have you charged with fetal child endangerment, but I don think so. I suppose if something happened to your baby at birth, and then thy blamed you for not

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Answered by knicole27 - Jul. 2, 2012 11:11pm

SO she said no matter what my meter is saying I HAVE TO go get a 3 hr GTT!? and that the sugar content in the 3 hr gtt is more than twice the amount of the 1 hr. OK this IS a problem because for me this is DANGEROUS. I have REACTIVE HYPOGLYCEMIA. I don't know if they are not thinking of what but this high of a sugar load on my body after all these years is not only going to make me sick BUT.. CAN be dangerous for me. Low blood sugar can not only cause me to pass out but seizure and worst case scenario go into a coma! At my last GTT in 2009 I was in the presence of a nurse at all times and she would even check my glucose with a meter to make sure I was not crashing dangerously. This time they just want me to "hang out in the lobby for 4 hrs" I have had my glucose levels after high sugar amts drop sometimes in the 50's even 40's after 3 hrs. THAT IS NOT OK WITH ME. But my midwife says "we have to make you do it" ... What would you do in my situation?

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