Re: Glucose Test

April 1, 2004

i've been taught that those tests are wildly inaccurate. and big surprise,

given what they expect you to eat!!!

if you don't live in CT, i'd advise you to talk to a certified homebirth

midwife (as opposed to a birthing center " midwife " ) and get her

opinion...often you can get much better and much more factual information

by going that route.

(while you're at it, consider a homebirth - it's not as hard as you'd think!)

-katja

At 02:17 PM 4/1/2004, you wrote:

>Maybe someone could talk to me a little about these tests (their accuracy and

>any alternatives) and gestational diabetes, if they have experience or

>general

>knowledge. It is hard to just decide to drink another one of these super

>sugary

>concoctions after my baby and I have had nothing to eat for 8 hours, if

>there is

>indeed an alternative.

April 1, 2004

>Of course I'm really hoping the test will be negative, but I'm trying to

prepare

>and find resources for my own special diet if necessary, because I absolutely

>want to avoid insulin shots and I don't want to get stuck on some low-fat diet

>either. (OR keep my pregnancy weight gain to 15 pounds, which I may have

>already exceeded, as they've mentioned on the websites I've seen.)

Well, you can spring for about 20-50 bucks and buy a glucose

meter, and just test your own blood sugar. I did that ... felt WEIRD

as all get out (I went to a pharmacy in another town where they

don't know me .... ). But sheesh, it sure is easy. The finger pricks

don't hurt either.

There has been some great work on T2 diabetes lately ...

the feast/fast protocol seems to work wonders, as does

lower-starch eating. I ate according to the food pyramid when

I was pregnant, and not only gained a mess of weight, but my gluten

intolerance kicked in big time then and probably had bad effects

on the kids (esp. their teeth), not to mention that's probably why

I had such bad " morning sickness " all day. If I was to do it again

I'd have more rare steak, fish, chicken, greens, fruits and vegies

and minimal grains. You'll probably not gain as much weight if

you cut down on starches too.

Anyway, if you test your own blood sugar and chart it, you can

" prove " to them (and yourself) that your blood sugar isn't high.

Chances are it is high after a starchy meal, so eat fewer starchy

meals. Make some really good chicken soup (lots of garlic

and poultry seasoning, that's what I say!). But if you have a tendency

to high blood sugar, it's best you learn to manage it with

diet, and track it yourself anyway.

-- Heidi Jean

April 1, 2004

just keep in mind that those machines are not accurate...more for approximation.

One techy suggested could be as much as 40% off what prof lab results would be.

wow. gets you in the ball park.of course blood sugar can vary a lot throughout

the day. many suggest testing before breaking overnite fast.

for what its worth...

Re: Glucose Test

>Of course I'm really hoping the test will be negative, but I'm trying to

prepare

>and find resources for my own special diet if necessary, because I absolutely

>want to avoid insulin shots and I don't want to get stuck on some low-fat

diet

>either. (OR keep my pregnancy weight gain to 15 pounds, which I may have

>already exceeded, as they've mentioned on the websites I've seen.)

Well, you can spring for about 20-50 bucks and buy a glucose

meter, and just test your own blood sugar. I did that ... felt WEIRD

as all get out (I went to a pharmacy in another town where they

don't know me .... ). But sheesh, it sure is easy. The finger pricks

don't hurt either.

There has been some great work on T2 diabetes lately ...

the feast/fast protocol seems to work wonders, as does

lower-starch eating. I ate according to the food pyramid when

I was pregnant, and not only gained a mess of weight, but my gluten

intolerance kicked in big time then and probably had bad effects

on the kids (esp. their teeth), not to mention that's probably why

I had such bad " morning sickness " all day. If I was to do it again

I'd have more rare steak, fish, chicken, greens, fruits and vegies

and minimal grains. You'll probably not gain as much weight if

you cut down on starches too.

Anyway, if you test your own blood sugar and chart it, you can

" prove " to them (and yourself) that your blood sugar isn't high.

Chances are it is high after a starchy meal, so eat fewer starchy

meals. Make some really good chicken soup (lots of garlic

and poultry seasoning, that's what I say!). But if you have a tendency

to high blood sugar, it's best you learn to manage it with

diet, and track it yourself anyway.

-- Heidi Jean

April 1, 2004

> There has been some great work on T2 diabetes lately ...

> the feast/fast protocol seems to work wonders, as does

> lower-starch eating.

What is the feast/fast protocol?

April 1, 2004

(while you're at it, consider a homebirth - it's not as hard as you'd think!)

-katja

Katja,

We are planning a homebirth. The center I'm looking at does 75% homebirths.

I'm really excited and hope the diabetes thing doesn't derail it. As long as my

levels aren't too high, even if I'm positive, I should still be able to get the

center

and my insurance company's OK.

Thanks for the info on the tests, too.

Kathy

April 1, 2004

><heidis@t...> wrote:

>> There has been some great work on T2 diabetes lately ...

>> the feast/fast protocol seems to work wonders, as does

>> lower-starch eating.

>

>What is the feast/fast protocol?

It's where you fast for some period of time,

then eat 'til you are satisfied in another period

of time. Like the Warrior Diet ... undereat during

the day, then feast between 6-10.

For diabetics, they did a test where the diabetics

ate 600 calories a day for one day out of the week.

The rest of the week they ate whatever they wanted.

All of them had improvements in their blood sugar,

and lost weight.

However, being pregnant complicates things ...

the principles probably apply though. T2 diabetes

seems to be caused by just too much food going into

the bloodstream. If the body uses up the stored glycogen,

then the starches/sugars you eat can be stored, there

is " room " for them.

-- Heidi Jean

April 1, 2004

yay for you!!!

the thing that surprised me most about my homebirth was that there was no

mess to clean up! the midwife cleaned everything and even did the laundry

before she left! i'm told she did some dishes, too, though i didn't make it

downstairs for several days to verify

my labor went 50 hours but i did it. once you've done it, i'd be happy to

listen to your birth story!

if you'd like me to ask my midwife about the diabetes thing, i'd be happy

to...it didn't come up for me, but i know that one of my friends who is

also a midwife much prefers a system similar to what heidi was describing

than the lab tests...she feels strongly that for people eating a real food

diet, just the glucose drink alone will throw the test.

-katja

At 05:58 PM 4/1/2004, you wrote:

>Katja,

>

>We are planning a homebirth. The center I'm looking at does 75% homebirths.

>I'm really excited and hope the diabetes thing doesn't derail it. As long

>as my

>levels aren't too high, even if I'm positive, I should still be able to

>get the center

>and my insurance company's OK.

>

>Thanks for the info on the tests, too.

>

>Kathy

April 1, 2004

Hi Kathy,

Just curious - why did they do the first test? Did you have some

symptoms that suggested it was a problem, or is it routine to make

every pregnant woman drink that muck?

cheers, deb

--- In , " murphride " <kathy@r...>

wrote:

> Hi all.

>

> I just found out that I have to take a second glucose test for

pregnancy

> because I may have gestational diabetes. The first test was a 6-8

hour fast

> followed by drinking this truly obnoxious and sugary sugary sugary

drink, then

> a blood test an hour later.

April 2, 2004

Deb,

The test is routine in women over 25, I believe, though to be honest

I do not remember taking it in my first pregnancy (at 29). I've

thought about getting my records from them and checking, though

Kaiser always makes that such a pain.

Muck is too good a word. I read recently that now they allow you to

use jelly beans instead sometimes and someplaces (at Mercola's

website), but that's only for the initial test, not the follow-up.

More tasty I'm sure, though not much more nutritious.

Kathy

> Hi Kathy,

>

> Just curious - why did they do the first test? Did you have some

> symptoms that suggested it was a problem, or is it routine to make

> every pregnant woman drink that muck?

>

> cheers, deb

April 2, 2004

> if you'd like me to ask my midwife about the diabetes thing, i'd

be happy to...it didn't come up for me, but i know that one of my

friends who is also a midwife much prefers a system similar to what

heidi was describing than the lab tests...she feels strongly that

for people eating a real food diet, just the glucose drink alone

will throw the test.

>

> -katja

Katja,

I would love to hear what your midwife thinks. I'm also trying to

get in touch with a couple Weston Price nutritionists I know of.

Thanks you for the offer.

Kathy

June 18, 2007

Glucose tolerance test is supposed to indicate how long it takes

glucose to get back to normal after eating a lot of simple carbs.

Someone I know on the CaveManFood list developed his own method of

testing at home. You will need a cheapie glucometer if you don't

already have one.

Test your fasting glucose when you wake up.

For breakfast, eat a big stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup.

Test blood glucose levels every half hour until the reading drops down

to normal range. Note the times and the glucometer reading. Some

docs will be impressed with your ingenuity, others won't want to even

look at the numbers unless he gets you to eat yucky glucose water and

has you tesxted in his/her office while you have to sit around for

hours and pay the doc a big fat fee for wasting your time.

On 6/18/07, Stuck <Sstuck@...> wrote:

> My ob is pushing me to have the glucose test which Iam flat out refusing. at

my next ob visit. I will be 19 weeks. where I had gestational diabeties with

the last 2 it's pretty probable that iw ill haveitthis time, except that my life

style and eating habits have changed trastically since then. and I have found

out that Ia m highly allergic to large amounts of white sugar/ hf/ corn syrup.

which the syruip basically is. It is a high on fainting trigger list. so though

yes id o cheat here and there and PAY FOR IT. I never have THAT much and not be

out for half hour later that day. if not instantly. I don't see why they can't

just do a h1c or whatever it's called. but any ideas? IA m alsready eating a low

glycemic load diet ( when I can) and Iam finding my exercise machine ( gazelle)

that ihaven't used ina couple months due to vacation and laundry. LOL ( at least

the laundry isn't onit. LOL) just getting toit is exersise. and i have lost over

50 pounds since my last pregnancy.

> Any ideas would be most helpful.

June 19, 2007

Stuck , just tell the doctor to treat you as if you do have gestational

diabetes. Do get a prescription for a blood glucose monitor and start checking

your sugar several times a day.

You really dont need a blood sugar test. Its not good for you or the baby to

have sugars bouncing up and down like that when youare pregnant.

I had Gestational diabetes .By my third pregnancy I had to take insulin to

control the sugar at the end of the pregnancy.By my fourth pregnancy I had

undetected full blown type 2 diabetes.They warn you about the problems of

diabetes late in pregnancy and I thought I knew all about it by then.But I wasnt

told about the dangers of concieving and early on in pregnancy with type 2

diabetes.My Baby had polycystic kidneys that did not function.She died at

birth.Keep that blood sugar as close to normal as you can.

IN NC

Stuck <Sstuck@...> wrote:

My ob is pushing me to have the glucose test which Iam flat out refusing. at

my next ob visit. I will be 19 weeks. where I had gestational diabeties with the

last 2 it's pretty probable that iw ill haveitthis time, except that my life