May 29, 2004
Gestational Diabetes
Question from Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA:
I am 28 weeks pregnant and just went for a glucose screening test. The four days preceding the test I was very ill with a cold, possibly the flu. I did not eat much. However, on the morning of the test, I drank 12 ounces of orange juice on an empty stomach then the 50 mg of glucose about a half hour later. Could my illness or the glucose in the orange juice have affected the test results? My results were a little high and the doctor wants to do a glucose tolerance test. Is this prudent or should they re-do the screening given the above conditions?
Answer:
In theory, fasting is not a requirement for the one hour glucose test. However, eight ounces of orange juice has a fair amount of glucose and I am suspicious that the extra glucose may have altered your results. The definitive test is the three hour test. If there is any doubt, then the three hour test is the way to go. Maybe you can ask your doctor to repeat the one hour test.
OWJ
