Glucose found in urine: Should I worry?

[Celou]

Hi girls, 4 months ago the midwife found some sugar in my urine. She made me do a blood test straight away to check for gestational diabetes and the glucose level in my blood was under 6g (normal).
Two weeks later when I went to see her again my urine was clear.
Two weeks later they found some again, and the two weeks after that again, and I did another set of blood tests (full blood count + glucose) which came back normal again.
Now I'm 37 weeks pregnant and had a growth scan last week which was normal. However the doctor told me that I should have another one next week, as sometimes they can't always tell if you have diabetes with blood tests, which worried me slightly.
My questions are: How else do you detect gestational diabetes apart from blood tests?
If it's not diabetes, why else would they find glucose in urine, and is it serious?
Please can I have some advice?
The other thing is, the doctor asked me if I needed to pass water often and the answer was no (unless the baby presses on my bladder), and if I got thirsty all the time, and the answer is no, even though I drink a lot of water to keep hydrated.

No it is not serious imo. I had glucose in my urine all thro my pregnancy, was told it's becaseu the seivey bits of my kidneys were bigger than usual, my sister was the same thro both her pregnancies, neither of us had gestational diabetes and our blood tests were always normal. Please don't worry. Sheila Kitzinger argues that glucose testing shouldn't happen unless there are indicators for diabetes already...hth

Can't offer you much by way of advice but I'll do my best until someone more knowledgeable comes along. glucose in urine isn't always worrying - sometimes it can just mean you've had a lot of sugar recently. For example ds was in hospital with jaundice at two weeks - they gave him some sugar in a syringe to distract him when having blood tests done - then they found glucose in his urine (unfortunately nobody twigged what had happened, and he ended up having blood tests for metabolic disorders, which all came up negative).the doc asked you about thirst/weeing coz one of the symptoms of diabetes is getting thirsty all the time, and drinking absolutely loads - then coz you drink so much you end up weeing a lot. so it sounds like a good sign that you are not thirsty all the time.

The simple version that my brain can remember at the moment is that glucose can be present simply because the pregnant body doesn't process carbohydrates as efficiently as when non-pregnant (I think it's to do with lower production of insulin). Excess sugar washes out via the kidneys into your urine and shows up in the urine test. There are degrees of this from mere glucose intolerence up to gestational diabetes.

They test for it via a glucose tolerence test (GTT) where you have to starve for 12 hours, provide a urine sample and blood sample, drink a sugary drink and then hang around for a few hours so they can test your urine and blood again. It's a pain in the a**e!!

I had glucose in my urine at about 36 weeks and had to do a 24 hour pee test (had to decant EVERY wee into a plastic container for a 24 hour period - can imagine how much fun that was at work!!). However, I think the hospital was just being cautious. I was fine, and no glucose at the next test.
The questions they asked are standard possible diabetes indicators.
IMO you are probably fine...

Forgot to say that you shouldn't worry. I had GTTs with both DS1 and DS2. With DS1 it was clear, with DS2 it showed glucose intolerance (no treatment, just watch diet).

Babies biorn to glucose intolerent mothers can be big, hence the growth scans and why they are keen to keep an eye on you.

Both DSs were absolutely fine and healthy BTW!

Thank you so much for your tips girls.
Yeah Soupdragon, I was told I would have to do that GTT but as my results were normal I didn't have to.
Regarding the other question, any answers?
(ie: How else can they check for diabetes a part from blood tests??? As the doctor said that you can't always tell through blood tests [which I was very surprised about.]).

That's what the GTT is for.

With dS2 I had to go to the flipping diabetic clinic every fortnight for my last 6 weeks where they kept an eye on it.

I think the GTT tests how intolerant to glucose you are as it's a measured dose of sugar over a specific period of time. Depending on how far along the scale you are will give them an idea of whether it's normal (for pregnancy), simply intolerant or up to full on gestational diabetes (or anywhere in between!).

Yeah but if they test your blood first and the glucose level is normal, they don't offer you GTT (not in my clinic anyway). So how do you know?
That's what I'm wondering (sorry to keep on )

I think the reason they offer you another scan next week is to check the growth of the baby. If it has grown more than usual it may be another indicator of gestational diabetes. I think?

That's right. That's what the doctor said.

They'd offer you a GTT if your urine test consistently showed a high level of glucose I think. I never had blood tests to check for this other than as part of the GTT and to monitor levels at a fortnightly diabetic clinic.

Really???
But glucose has been found in my urine consistantly for the past 2 months and they still haven't offered me the test because my glucose blood level was under 6g. Should I request one?

I kept getting glucose in my urine with my pregnancy with ds1- had GTT - all normal. I think I just ate too many doughnuts

I had glucose in my urine at last MW appointment, but at my hospital appointment 4 days later it was completely clear. Finally figured out it was because I'd had a huge glass of ribena (not the sugar-free variety)just before I took my sample .

Celou, here's the scoop:

1. If there's glucose in your pee, then it MAY indicate diabetes.

2. ....so they check how much is in your blood...

3. If blood levels are normal, then there's probably no need for a GTT...

4. For a GTT, you are semi-starved (3-4hrs). You then drink a specific weight of glucose. For normal people, this glucose disappears from the blood within 30 minutes. For others, it may take longer, so you have to return for a repeat test, but they starve you beforehand for 12 hours. If you have diabetes of any description, the glucose just doesn't leave your bloodstream.

5. Your doctor may request another test to look at the life of Insulin in your bloodstream. This is generally done for typeI (juvenile) diabetes; rarely required with gestational diabetes which is type II (insulin production is fine, just the body gets a bit insensitive to it, hence the longer glucose stays in your blood).

To avoid all this hassle in the first place - DON'T EAT JUNK FOOD! A healthy, sensible diet with low glycemic index foods is the way to go (I don't understand why this isn't a priority dietry recommendation along with the don't eat soft cheese advice).

Yeah, thanks for that highlander.
Come to think of it, I think I went through a phase of eating sweet things. I'm not a junk food eater normally, but lately I've really had the urge to bake cakes, and my husband doesn't have a sweet tooth AT ALL, so he eats one piece and... guess who eats the rest...
Since my last hospital appointment though, I haven't touch one sweet thing. I'm very careful, and we'll see if it makes a difference in my urine next time. However they said that my baby's size was normal, not too big, not too small.
Thank you for your reassurance girls!!!