I am 29 and 17.5 weeks pregnant. I had gestational diabetes with my daughter who is now almost two years old. I failed the one-hour test, but, to my surprise, passed the three-hour test. While I know that I will probably have to retake the three-hour later (like at 24-28 weeks), I am concerned about the three-hour results. I was sick with a nasty head cold for a week prior to the test which caused me to not eat as much as I normally would. I tried to stick to the carbohydrate loading diet provided to me by my doctor as best as I could. I feel that I ate only high carbs, but it wasn’t in three meals, more like spread throughout the day. I drank milk and fruit juice (watered down) and had plenty of potatoes and sugars.

Herr are my results: Fasting – 88 mg/dl [4.9mmol/L]; one-hour-161 mg/dl [8.9 mmol/L]; two-hour – 155 mg/dl [8.9mmol/L; and three-hour – 39 mg/dl [2.2 mmol/L]! The three-hour really blew me away, and I recall feeling very faint when she drew the blood at the three-hour. Is this something to be concerned about? How much could my diet prior to the test have affected the results?

It is difficult to say how much your diet affected the results of your test. The glucose of 39 mg/dl [2.2 mmol/L] is certainly low and could explain your symptoms at the end of the test. It is still necessary for you to take the test again as you stated at 24-28 weeks.

OWJ
Additional comments from Betty Brackenridge, diabetes dietitian:

If you aren’t already doing so, I’d suggest you take some dietary measures to help stabilize blood sugars and keep track of blood sugars on rising in the morning and after meals. You would probably benefit from doing these things right away and they could continue after you hear back from your doctor. You obviously are aware of the sources of carbohydrate in the foods you eat. To distribute insulin demand through the day more evenly, spread the amounts of carbohydrate you eat across several meals and snacks through the day — no really big meals and no long periods without eating at all. This will help minimize glucose rises after meals and will also guard against the extreme drop in glucose you experienced during your test.

BB

[Editor’s comment: If you aren’t already doing so, I’d suggest you start a meal plan for diabetes and routine testing of your blood sugar several times daily.

WWQ]