A phone call from the doctor is never good news

By kate on December 16th, 2005

I got the results of my gestational diabetes screen today by phone. Because she called, I guessed right away that the test had come back positive, and it had.

Before you worry overly, let me say that this screening test generates a ton of false positives (~67% of positives are false; only one-third end up having GD). It means that I will need to go in for a three-hour glucose tolerance test, which will find out for sure if I have gestational diabetes. I’m hoping to get in for that test one morning next week. (It has to be done in the morning because you fast beforehand.)

Here are some informative links:

About Gestational Diabetes (from babycenter.com)
About the GD tests (from babycenter.com)

If I do actually have GD, Zippy is mainly at risk for being bigger than average (possbly making for a harder birth) and for having jaundice. However, they say that if the GD is controlled (either by diet or insulin, if needed), then the baby is usually fine. GD almost always goes away after birth (although it’s more likely that I would have it again during another pregnancy).

My feeling is that I don’t have GD. I say this because I don’t have any of the mentioned symptoms (although some women are symptom-free) or risk factors (such as obesity). My blood pressure has always been low and remains that way. Before the pregnancy, I was very fit. I have been eating more sweets lately than I should, because who can resist during the holidays? This has resulted in a higher sugar level in my system (contributing to the test result, I’m sure). Also, Michelle told me that Zippy is a normal size at the moment (rather than large).

We’ll just have to wait until the test to find out. As pregnancy complications go, GD is relatively common and manageable, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world.