Does anybody knows that changing to diabetic diet affect the glucose tolerance test?
By admin on Sep 5, 2009 in Diabetes diet advice
I am 32 weeks pregnant and diagnosed with gestational diabetes. My doctor wants me to follow a diabetic diet and will repeat the glucose tolerance test in 2 weeks. Does anybody knows that changing to diabetic diet affect the glucose tolerance test? If yes do you think 2 weeks is enough?
(7 votes)
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(4 votes)
alpla | Sep 8, 2009 | Reply
Might help some but basically the way your body handles glucose has been altered forever.
A less serious Glucose Tolerance Test may show, but basically is best for you to eat and live like a diabetic from now on.
All the damage to blood vessels continues .
itsmeofcourse | Sep 11, 2009 | Reply
I can’t answer your question but I can tell you that with gestational diabetes you are at a higher risk of developing diabetes later in life.
After your baby is born, watch your weight and get your BGL’s (blood glucose levels) checked regularly.
When I was pregnant years ago, this was not known and I am now diabetic on medication. I probably had higher than normal BGL’s for a long time and didn’t know it. I ended up with eye damage at age 43, so stay on top of it…
fryberger2003 | Sep 12, 2009 | Reply
The doctor has already determined that you are diabetic at this point. I am thinking that the reason he wants you to follow a diabetic diet then check again in two weeks is to make sure that the diabetes is not getting worse and can be controlled by diet alone. If it appears that it can’t, he may make the decision to go ahead and put you on insulin. Good luck and congratulations on your new baby
Laura J | Sep 14, 2009 | Reply
Just do it, you want to keep your baby and 2 weeks is enough time.
pbsterling | Sep 15, 2009 | Reply
Changing what you eat will affect how your body processes it to some degree. The results of the Glucose Tolerance Test may change.
Redoing the GTT is over kill as it is only measuring your body’s response to copious amounts of glucose.
Also the GTT is old, out dated and nasty. The Hemoglobin A1C test is a better indicator of how your body is handling sugar. The HA1C is a simple blood test – no fasting required. Glucose attaches to hemoglobin permanently. This test measures the amount of glycosylated hemoglobin in the blood. Since the lifespan of hemoglobin in blood is 3 months – the HA1C is a good indicator of what blood glucose have been for that period. A level of 7% or greater is of concern.
A diabetic diet will affect the HA1C but the test would have to be a few months apart to see.
So… stick to a diabetic diet until junior arrives, refuse another nasty GTT and request a HA1C to get a real idea of how your body is handling glucose.