I'm not sure if it's about being with a government hospital that made testing for gestational diabetes compulsory, or really cause Speckie is larger than normal at the 21 week scan anyhow, I was scheduled for one before week 28 and I didn't like the idea of going for the test at all.
Here we are again getting prodded and having my nerves on tenterhooks - thank god I could sleep the night before.
Note that this experience and thoughts are entirely my own.
What happens?
A minimum 8 hour fast (read: no food or drink) from 12 midnight and until the first draw of blood. A 75ml sugary mixture is given before a second draw of blood is taken 2 hours later.
What really happens?
Theoretically, all of the above is friendly. In reality,
- I was crazy thirsty when I woke up, thankfully did not heed my dad's advise of taking a drink of water since he is allowed before he has his own blood tests because that would render the fast useless.
- The nurse allocated to me was super friendly which then became a trade off when she helped me count 1-3 and the thinner needle she chose could not find the vein. Great. Second nurse called to help and just to draw the first vial needed, I had both my arms pricked.
- Some likened it to orange fanta and to start with, I do not like my soft drinks and am best friends with orange juice. This started off as pleasant and slowly morphed into a monster of rancid, icky and all things bad. Between this and Fleet oral, I say both are equally disgusting. It is neither gassy nor delicious, a drink that basically left a medicinal aftertaste. ACK.
- The bottle's label did warn of potential side effects: nausea, abdominal bloating and puking. And if puke happens, thank you very much come back another time to repeat the test. Thrice I had the mixture regurgitate up my throat.
- Thankfully I chose to take an hour long walk to ease off time in the 2 hour wait, that helped distract and keep the drink down...else I promise I would be heading straight to the loo and probably gagging on it.
- Second prick happened way faster than the first, with the plaster pasted I was ready to eat up the day. Ready a snack!
- Get ready to wait out the results as the day rolled on...I kept my fingers and toes crossed for a no phone call, at least that means some good news. At the back of my mind, I was all ready to dig into an icecream cone if I did not get that dreaded phone call.
Tested positive for gestational diabetes with a reading of 8.1 when the cut off is 7.8. :( Made to go see a dietician and that made me super unhappy already.
One life-changing test
Like all bad news and any other person in denial I went through a bevy of emotions - frustration, sadness, disappointment and all things negative. The number 1 question is always Why Me? What did I eat wrong? Was it the sugars? I'm not sure why but having been told the piece of bad news on Friday just screwed my entire weekend over.
The weekend was spent scouring the web for articles, studies and finding out about this animal called gestational diabetes. In short, it is a transient phase for pregnant women whose blood sugars spike and the body cannot deal with excess sugars. In the long run, it may be a sign of diabetes to come (though most women go on to lead very normal lives and not be a diabetic patient).
So where do I go from here?
A date was set with the nutritionist and as usual armed with a whole list of foods I usually eat - to see how badly the meal plans would be affected, seriously being a pregnant foodie with gestational diabetes is beginning to sound a lot like a nightmare.
A 3 hour session that morphed into 5 hours, lunch included.
Registration - Glucose Finger Prick Test - Pee Test - Doctor's Consultation - Nurse's Consultation - Lunch - Dietician's Session - Loan of glucose machine and purchase of consumables
So that is in a gist what happened in a span of 5 hours. The whole time, I can only imagine how much time is vested in attending a single consultation. Well maybe first visits always turn out so lengthy and these ended up being my takeaways from seeing a whole bevy of people -
1) Pregnant women are already given priority on Tuesdays.
2) Who has all the time to wait and wait and wait?
3) Another specialist to add onto my existing list of an obstetrician and cardiologist. Ha-ha.
4) I probably knew more than the dietician herself knew. I mean Coke Zero is allowed because it's better than Coke proper. HMM.
5) Carbohydrate exchanges are a term I got acquainted with. My breakfast of 2 tablespoon rolled oats, 1 green apple, 10 almonds and 2/3 cup low fat milk already consumed 2 carbohydrate exchanges for breakfast.
6) What is advised and what works may not agree - ultimately it all boils down to how your own blood sugar reacts. HURHUR.. As good as not saying anything imho. What good is it telling me I can take mee siam but my blood sugars may not agree?
7) Having gestational diabetes does not make one a diabetic patient.
The days ahead
Finger prick blood tests for the rest of the remaining 14 weeks - 7 times a day (Before and after breakfast, lunch, dinner and after supper) for a week day and weekend to monitor blood sugars. Any 3 consecutive day hikes, I had to inform my Ob-gyn.
Admittedly, there are good and bad days. Emotional breakdowns at the hospital and at home are common, I'm not sure if they are the hormones or...just me reacting to the situation.
Within the first week, I dropped 500grams but that really could be weight fluctuation from water loss more than anything else. The whole purpose was never to lose weight per se but it is interesting to know how sugar impacts one's weight fluctuations.
The safe meal plan
I love my food with sucha vengeance, it is almost pitiful that I have to come to this. Nonetheless, I tried to play with any variations and still be on the safe side of things. Carbohydrates are necessary yet it boils down to your own body and preferences to plan happy meals.
Breakfast
2 tablespoons rolled oats, 1 green apple, 10 almonds and 2/3 cup low fat milk
Fruit variations include red apples and strawberries
Lychee chiffon cake
Lunch
Chicken salad with egg, celery, long beans, peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers and tomatoes with wasabi soy dressing
Seafood soup with greens
Pre-dinner snack
Plum
Dinner
Popiah and dry dumplings
Thunder tea rice with 2 pieces of fried ngoh hiang
Yakitori
Papaya
Midnight Snack
1/3 sugee cake and 1 cup low fat milk
Exercise is recommended for 30 minutes per day, I was thrilled to be back walking! The spotting and bleeding episodes put me off any form of exercise for way too long.
Afterthoughts
Coming to terms with GD made me feel tons better about the pregnancy, negative emotions aside and realising how this would help me in my life ahead made a lot of sense. Except hospitals always relay such bad news in a manner that never goes well.
Truth be told, the carbs and sugars were my nemesis, it did not mean I absolutely could not eat them, just in smaller portions. At some point I joked that my dieting plans throughout my life came to fruition, my resistance towards carbs is a lot higher than sugars, unfortunately.
Weight gain became more controlled, I was no longer stepping on the machine in fear over daily weight surges or unexpected weight gain. It was nice to be in control again, no pain no gain yes?
