UPDATE: Had the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Well, I finally convinced my doctor to perform an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. I'm having it done at my mom's lab on Friday and am wondering what to expect.

I know they will make me drink 75 grams of glucose after fasting (for 14 hours because a lipid profile, a1c, thyroid, and CBC are being done at the same time) and I know they will take blood before, and at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after. And that is all I know.

For those who have had this:

-What did the drink taste like? Was it ten kinds of nasty or tolerable?
-How much drink is there? I'm under the impression that you have to chug it down pretty quickly.
-Did it make you feel sick to your stomach? I can't do sweets on an empty stomach so this is kind of worrying me.

 

[JimmyPicker]

They gave me this stuff, it was almost like orange soda, but with a nasty aftertaste. Tolerable.

It wasn't overly sweet. But drinking that much stuff made me feel like my stomach was sloshing around.

It was plenty to have to drink, but it wasn't an insane amount either.

Just remember to take a book or a bunch of magazines, an iPod, something to occupy your time. That's a loooooooooooong wait in a lab.

 

[dislal]

I had this done about three years ago.

Yes the drink was pretty nasty, they served it to me very cold and told me it tasted better that way. It tasted like very sweet orange pop.


They gave me 10 minutes to drink mine.

It didn't really make me feel too sick to my stomach.

Good luck.

I think every time they took blood I had to give them a urine sample too (can't remember exactly) It was nice because they gave me my results as they went along and I ended up not having any problems after all.

 

[Michelle67]

Well, I finally convinced my doctor to perform an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. I'm having it done at my mom's lab on Friday and am wondering what to expect.

I know they will make me drink 75 grams of glucose after fasting (for 14 hours because a lipid profile, a1c, thyroid, and CBC are being done at the same time) and I know they will take blood before, and at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after. And that is all I know.

For those who have had this:

-What did the drink taste like? Was it ten kinds of nasty or tolerable?
-How much drink is there? I'm under the impression that you have to chug it down pretty quickly.
-Did it make you feel sick to your stomach? I can't do sweets on an empty stomach so this is kind of worrying me.

They have a couple of different flavors. I found the lemon lime to be the most tolerable. It tastes like extra sweet soda pop. Maybe like someone got the mix wrong on a fountain and it is too much syrup in the mix, ya know? It wasn't horrible, but definitely not something you'd think "Wow, I'd like to have a case of that for at home." You don't have to chug it, but they do want you to drink it fairly quickly. It was about a ten or twelve oz. bottle, I think. It didn't make me feel sick to my stomach, but it made me feel a little blugh. We're sugar sensitive though (you and I...and others of course) one way or the other, so it makes sense that it is going to make ya feel a little blugh.

I made sure to take crackers with me so I had something to eat immediately when it was over and I could eat, and then I went straight home to have something more decent to eat.

Hope everything goes okay with your testing. It's not so bad, and I'm glad you're doing it so you can get the answers you need.

 

[arminnie]

I had one in August. I really hadn't done my research - so I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to keep drinking that orange stuff every 30 minutes. I thought you had to drink another bottle at every interval.

My blood sugar was a little high at the start (which is why I was having the test) - but it went down to 72 (very normal). I didn't feel bad - but that may be because my blood sugar stabilized pretty quickly.

 

[jsmith]

i had one done during a difficult pregnancy-i had the orange drink-unforunately i couldnt keep it down long enough for the blood work to be drawn-after three tries we gave up.

 

[barkley]

when i had it done during my pregnancies i was given a choice of a few different flavors. it tasted to me like what i imagine straight slurpie or snow cone syrup would be like (kind of thicker than normal drinks). was'nt terrible. did'nt have to chug it but they would'nt let you leisurly sip it (not that it is anything anyone would choose to repeatedly sip).

i have to say it's allot better than how the same test was done when i was a kid-you fasted just as you do now but back then (this was the mid 60's) you reported to the doctors, got your blood drawn then you were sent to a designated coffee shop and told EXACTLY what to eat (down to the number of tablespoons of specific condiments). as a kid i was not a big eater to begin with and i detested (still do) sugar on my cereal let alone maple syrup , so to be told that i had to consume x number of pancakes DRENCHED in like half a cup of maple syrup follwed by an entire bowl of cereal with several tablespoons of sugar, a sweet roll and a huge cup of hot chocolate was for me disgusting (and i'm sure my mother was thrilled to have me for the rest of the day-they did the freaking tests around 8 in the morning).

 

[aprilgail2]

The lemon lime flavor was good- I had like an orange flavor once but that one was nasty. They usually ask where I am what flavor you want. I drank it over a 5 minute periodbut it did make me want to barf-my stomach was so upset at first but it passes and the test in general is not terrible.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

They have a couple of different flavors. I found the lemon lime to be the most tolerable. It tastes like extra sweet soda pop.

I made sure to take crackers with me so I had something to eat immediately when it was over and I could eat, and then I went straight home to have something more decent to eat.

This was also my experience. Somebody said the lemon-lime version was the least disliked, and it tasted like super-sweet Sprite, but not intolerable. I think there were three blood draws altogether; one at the outset, one an hour later, and one after 2 hours.

On an empty stomach I didn't feel well after about half an hour. I remember getting a bad headache, and then toward the end feeling incredibly sleepy. That probably should have been a clue to me that I was testing positive for gestational diabetes.

The doc recommended having some protein afterward, so I had brought a peanut butter and cheese sandwich, and ate it when I got back to my car. It helped perk me up a bit.

Good luck with your test.

 

[MoniqueU]

I did it while pregnant more then once. I was gaining like 5 lbs a week with my first I was too young to be scared about any real complications but the doctor kept sending me for all these tests. The drink was absolutely disgusting. I never had morning sickness with that pregnancy but almost hurled. It isn't something I think I would do again. My mom has diabetes so she knows how to check blood sugar and tests me from time to time so that is good enough for me.

You can get through it I am sure, I am just a wimp.

 

[Brianne]

i have to say it's allot better than how the same test was done when i was a kid-you fasted just as you do now but back then (this was the mid 60's) you reported to the doctors, got your blood drawn then you were sent to a designated coffee shop and told EXACTLY what to eat (down to the number of tablespoons of specific condiments). as a kid i was not a big eater to begin with and i detested (still do) sugar on my cereal let alone maple syrup , so to be told that i had to consume x number of pancakes DRENCHED in like half a cup of maple syrup follwed by an entire bowl of cereal with several tablespoons of sugar, a sweet roll and a huge cup of hot chocolate was for me disgusting (and i'm sure my mother was thrilled to have me for the rest of the day-they did the freaking tests around 8 in the morning).

For some reason my body doesn't react well to the glucose drinks, so I ended up having to do the meal for 3 of my pregnancies, although it wasn't down to the specific numbers of each item--just as much sugar as I could stand. It was rather weird to be drinking a Dr Pepper while eating pancakes, etc. I'd rather do that again than drink one of the glucose drinks though---I've had the orange & the lemon-lime and both were pretty gross!

Good luck on your test, OP!

 

[aprilgail2]

I did it while pregnant more then once. I was gaining like 5 lbs a week with my first I was too young to be scared about any real complications but the doctor kept sending me for all these tests. .

I was sent for the test because I was losing 10 pounds the 3rd and 4th month, then 8 pounds each month for the next 2 and I did not have morning sickness so I was not throwing up my food to lose weight, it was just melting away- I personally was loving it but the Dr's were not happy about it LOL. I did not end up having diabetes or anything else, just some freak metabolisim thing where it kicked into high gear or something. They sent me three times for this test during my pregnancy! It was nice coming home after giving birth weighing less than before I was pregnant though LOL!

 

[Muushka]

Unless something has changed in GTT, it goes like this.

First, draw fasting sample. Then give the drink. I usually tried to get people to drink in down fairly quickly, like 5 minutes. If you don't think too much about it, it is pretty easy. That starts the clock. 30 minutes later more blood, and 30 minutes after that, more blood and then 2 hour and 3 hour. So you have fasting, 1/2, 1,2,3. Unless they suspect hypoglycemia, and then it could go up to 4 or 5 hours (well this was many years ago, not sure if they still do this).

The flavor people seemed to like the most was the orange, then lemon-lime and lastly, cola and I am thinking it was about 10 oz or so. Good luck!

 

[MoniqueU]

I was sent for the test because I was losing 10 pounds the 3rd and 4th month, then 8 pounds each month for the next 2 and I did not have morning sickness so I was not throwing up my food to lose weight, it was just melting away- I personally was loving it but the Dr's were not happy about it LOL. I did not end up having diabetes or anything else, just some freak metabolisim thing where it kicked into high gear or something. They sent me three times for this test during my pregnancy! It was nice coming home after giving birth weighing less than before I was pregnant though LOL!

Well the good news is I was 5 lbs from my pre pregnancy weight at the 6 week check up. The nurse who would make nasty comments to me about gaining so much weight had to do an about face. She wasn't a thin lady to start with but I got alot of satisfaction out of the look on her face when i stepped on the scale. With my third child I was probably a 1 or a 3, 3 weeks after birth. She was born on Dec 8th and by Christmas I could of been in a bikini. There is just no rhyme or reason to stuff like that.

Sorry OP to be highjacking your post. good luck with the test.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Well, it's done, and I'm not sure whether I am relieved or more confused.

My fasting was 91 (81 on my meter.)
One hour was 162 (185 on my meter).
Two hour was 160 (175 on my meter).

That is firmly in the prediabetic range, which on one hand makes me feel relieved. On the other hand, I have had readings as high as 280, as of a couple of weeks ago I was having readings well into the 200's several times a couple of times a week. This past week my readings have been a lot lower than they've been, so I'm still kind of wondering what's going on. Were the high readings a fluke or temporary thing? Or the low readings? Oh well, for now I will take it as a good sign.

The only part that sucked was that I dipped down to 45 while on my way to get lunch after the test and stupid me just had one glucose tab left in my purse. :stars: I felt like I was going to pass out. Thank God Panera was not busy and they made my drink quickly (at my request) so I could get my sugar back up. Note to self: next time bring something to eat right away.

 

[Talking Hands]

Well, it's done, and I'm not sure whether I am relieved or more confused.

My fasting was 91 (81 on my meter.)
One hour was 162 (185 on my meter).
Two hour was 160 (175 on my meter).

That is firmly in the prediabetic range, which on one hand makes me feel relieved. On the other hand, I have had readings as high as 280, as of a couple of weeks ago I was having readings well into the 200's several times a couple of times a week. This past week my readings have been a lot lower than they've been, so I'm still kind of wondering what's going on. Were the high readings a fluke or temporary thing? Or the low readings? Oh well, for now I will take it as a good sign.

The only part that sucked was that I dipped down to 45 while on my way to get lunch after the test and stupid me just had one glucose tab left in my purse. :stars: I felt like I was going to pass out. Thank God Panera was not busy and they made my drink quickly (at my request) so I could get my sugar back up. Note to self: next time bring something to eat right away.

You are definately diabetic. No pre to it. Forget the pre and start acting like you have diabetes and get it treated either through diet alone or diet and meds. You can live a long time and do very well if you are willing to do what it takes to control your diabetes and keep your Hb1Ac below 7.0
Mine is 6.0 I have had diabetes for 30 years now and have virtually no complications to speak of. Just real minor stuff. In fact my arthritis and fibromyalgia are much more of a problem than the diabetes.
Btw you probably will never have to take that test again. Once diagnosed it is not necessary to repeat it.