August 20, 2000
Gestational Diabetes
Question from Miami, Florida, USA:
I’m 30 years old and in my 28th week of pregnancy. I had the glucose test this morning. I was asked to fast for 8-14 hours. I was then tested one hour after taking the medication. About 20 minutes after taking the medication, I became very sleepy and tired. After my blood was drawn, I nearly fainted. I don’t believe that this was due to the fasting since I sometimes don’t spend the same amount of time without eating and I don’t feel weak or faint. I also don’t think it was from having my blood drawn, because although I sometimes feel only a little queasy, this time it was considerably worse. I actually almost fainted. Could this be a sign of what my test results may show? It seems to me that I reacted to the medication and I’m very curious as to what this could mean.
Answer:
The medication you took was likely just a sugar solution. It is unlikely that this could make you ill. I bet a combination of fasting and your pregnancy is responsible for your symptoms. Your reaction is not a predictor of what the results will show. If this occurs again, consult your physician — and best wishes for the remainder of this pregnancy!
OWJ
[Editor’s comment: If you did have a concentrated sugar solution as part of a glucose tolerance test, it’s possible that the very concentrated sugar might cause gurgling and other uncomfortable feelings in the stomach; if it does, that’s completely normal and not an indicator of what results to expect.
WWQ]
