Is OGTT test a scam. Am I being conned for money .

[sarahhoping]

I am approx 26 weeks into pregnancy.
I feel my baby kick and move like most of the times, incl night time .
Doc had told me few weeks back to get OGTT test done apart from other tests.
All of them came normal except the OGTT test which says that although my baseline sugar level is well in normal
but the sugar level after 1 hr of glucose drink was 170. Which is high as per my doc who says it should be upto 140 max. Also there's glucose in my urine after drink but not on baseline.

Now my doc has referred me to an endocrinologist for "gestational diabetes" .
Although she says the doc will not put me on medication , then I wonder why am I being referred to this doc then.
Secondly the doc herself agreed the 75g glucose solution is too sweet anyways to somewhat justify the hike in sugar level.

The doc said it could hurt the growth of baby and set up preterm labor.
Is this a setup for intentional C-section to earn more bucks

Where are you? Nowhere in the UK makes any money off maternity care. If you're so sceptical, maybe get a second opinion

Eh? Who does it make money for? Are you in the UK? Gestational diabetes can often be controlled by diet so that's why you might not necessarily need medication.

I thought the values after one and two hours were 200 and 140 respectively for the ogtt.
The 140 your doc refers to is one hour after normal meals. You never really eat 75g of glucose (pure sugar) anyway, so the values from an ogtt will always be higher than in normal life.

Imo you don't have gestational diabetes, but if you are interested, you can check your sugar levels one hour after every meal for two weeks or so.
Gestational diabetes can be controlled with diet and exercise.

There's no need to have a c section either. If sugar levels are well-controlled, baby won't become too big and there will likely be no other effects like too much amniotic fluid which would set off early labour.

Don't know where you are but gestational diabetes can be dangerous to baby if not properly managed. This can often be done without medication but you will need guidance. The test with a glucose drink is quite standard.

The US / Canada is better at treating pre-gestational diabetic changes than the UK is, so I would take their advice. GD tends to get worse quite quickly so they probably want you on the radar. Dietary changes may be all you need - but often, especially if you are overweight or have pcos, you may need insulin too. A c-section isn’t routinely offered for GD even in the US unless you have a massive baby.

Are you sure it's not a dietitian you've been referred to? I controlled mine through diet so didnt need medication. Had to test my blood sugars several times a day and record them

If you are in India and are either South Asian or East Asian then you may be more likely to get GD with Preclampsia which is a terrible combination - so if you have bp that’s slightly higher or have had protein / ketones in your urine at any point even borderline changes to your glucose may result in medication.

No where in the uk earns money from maternity care. In UK units that's 9.4 mmol/l and should be less than 7.8 (140). Not monitoring and treating high blood sugar can lead to fetal overgrowth, neonatal hyperglycemia, stillbirth and birth complication such as shoulder dystocia. It's not for the 'bucks'

Gestational diabetes can be serious and left untreated can have devastating consequences. Don’t just ignore the test, see the specialist.

NICE has guidelines which are worth reviewing which talk about diagnosis and treatment. Normally first line treatment is to seek to ensure blood sugar remains within a normal range via diet control (essentially low carb) but if that doesn’t work then normally metformin or insulin.

You won’t be given medication at the first appointment because the first approach is to manage with diet.
You have a very high blood sugar; I failed at 142 and it was a significant problem.
Your baby will be very ill if you deliver with high blood sugar.

I gather you're not in the UK?

Sorry, target values are 1 hr below 180 and 2 hr below 153.

Gestational diabetes can be dangerous for you and Baby.
I was monitored closely.
My dd was measuring too big, I'm only 4ft 11" and Baby was born 8lb 10oz at 38 weeks. She was born on 99th centile. They were worried her head and shoulders would get stuck.
They try to manage it with diet first, then metformin then insulin. I ended up on all of it then had to have Csection

A 1hr blood sugar value of 170 for the 75g ogtt isn't too high at all.

It would be with the 50g test, but then eating a sugary thing of something high in carbs before would spike your sugar levels as well, which is why they do a fasting diagnostic test (the ogtt), which I declined in favour of 4 times daily monitoring.

Hi everyone OP here. thanks for your comments
I am from India.
I talked to a close acquaintance who had the baby from same hospital. And just now came to know he referred the same obgyn .
He told me she's nice and I should continue consulting her blindly. She's not greedy obgyn either. And plus she actually helped him in having an affordable maternity by giving him ideas on saving money on ward bed cost etc .
Anyways now I am sure I will trust her and continue going to her.