Saturday, November 21, 2009

Glucose Update

I have a few posts I want to put up here, but I am having such a hard time finding the time to sit down and write!
First things first...the original glucose test came back 8 points above the top end cut off of normal so I was required to take the 3-hour test (YUCK!) It was rough. I had to be there first thing in the morning on a work day, so I packed up my laptop and all my notes for a report I had to write and camped out in their uncomfortable chairs. I didn't find out until I got there that I was going to be having my blood drawn 4 times (fasting level, then every hour for the duration of the 3 hour test), so I was a bit surprised by that information. I drank the nasty stuff (100 mg is sooooooo much worse than the 50 mg) and tried not to vomit. I settled in and wrote my report, waiting for my hours to tick by. Of course the lab was short staffed, and the only phlebotomist on hand had only been working for 2 weeks, so the waiting room was packed. It's really hard to balance a laptop on a lap that is quickly disappearing!
At the end of my time there, I walked out with bruises on my arms (poor new phlebotomist...she tried her best, but it hurt!), a headache AND a backache from sitting in those darn plastic chairs. It was 11am and I was STARVING- I typically eat within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning (or I turn into a grumpy, mean person), so I'm sure my body was freaking out. I drove the few blocks home and heated up some leftovers. I scarfed them down and then broke out in a cold sweat, my hands started shaking uncontrollably, and I was still starving. I didn't know what to do so I drank a glass of water, ate 1/2 an apple muffin, and waited it out. It took about 20 minutes for the shaking to go away, but then I was feeling queasy. I was late for a meeting, so I packed up and left. When I got there, my coworkers told me I looked like hell (in a much nicer way, of course) and asked if I was okay. I said not really, but I've got to get things done today. So I pushed through the queasiness and kept working. Around 4:30, I started to feel normal and HUNGRY again. I called it a day, went home, ate dinner and went to bed. What a crappy day.
That all happened on Wednesday. Friday, I received a voicemail from the midwives, telling me my gestational diabetes screening came back on the extremely low side, borderline hypoglycemic, so I need to start watching my diet for different reasons. I still need to cut back on the carbs, eat more protein, and eat more often, or I'll get more episodes like I described above. I've always been a good eater, meaning, I usually have balanced meals, I eat every few hours or I get a headache, and I drink a TON of water, pregnant or not. So this was a little irritating for me. Because I do eat every few hours, I wonder if I'm really hypoglycemic or if my body was just freaking out because it was STARVING. Or am I hypoglycemic, but managing it unknowingly because I listen to my body and deliver what it asks for? Any thoughts from other bloggers?

No comments: