Refusing glucose test

[VioIetMoon]

Im Wondering if anyone has refused the glucose test , What alternative did your team agree upon?
Did you they offer you home monitoring finger pricking yourself before and after meals if you were high risk for GD?
I know im extremely likely to get GD as I had it in previous pregnancy. It was uncontrolled even tho on insulin and my son was very poorly in nicu for a few weeks as a result. I have pcos and My current hba1c is 41 ( down from 51 a few months ago) midwife advised me at booking appointment that my consultant will absolutely push for this test and i must do it. I absolutely refuse it.
The process made me severely ill the last time. Fasting then having to travel to the hospital ( i get bad travel sickness to begin with and an empty stomach makes this worse) then having to sit and drink an absolutely vile warm drink that made me vomit. By the end of the 2 hours , I felt extremely faint and was sent on my way unable to even make it out of the hospital myself , luckily my partner was there. For the following 3 days I couldn't get out of bed, vomiting with a massive migraine and room spinning that felt like my head was being crushed. Im not willing to put myself through this again as I now have a toddler to take of at home.
Anyone any advice what the next steps would be if you pass this tests. I dont see my consultant for my first appointment and scan until 15 weeks so ive another 3 weeks to wait so just wondering in advance

Hi, I wasn’t willing to do the GTT either. We agreed I’d do the finger prick at home. When I woke, then 2 more times an hour after meals, I think it was. Done that for a week and then emailed the results over.
I was 38/39 so I think that’s an increased risk factor but no GD previously. The test is vile, I don’t know how anyone keeps it down.
tell them you’re willing to test at home but not do the GTT. It’s your body, baby and choice.

I had GD with my first pregnancy, diet controlled, but was also very unwell following the GTT.

NICE Guidelines state that you can request or should even be offered the opportunity to either have an early GTT for subsequence pregnancies (12 weeks) or self test for a period of time at home.

Most trusts won’t issue a new glucose monitoring kit and the strips and kit itself may deteriorate over time, so I purchased my own.

Armed with a link to the NICE guidelines, I successfully argued for home testing using a kit I purchased and pushed for diagnosis following this. I tested for 2 weeks. As predicted, I have not been able to stay diet controlled this time and am on maximum metformin, started earlier than I was even diagnosed with my first.

Wishing you a smooth pregnancy, and both you and baby a healthy delivery.

@aloneforever6 ah thankyou, thats so great to know they will offer home monitoring if I bypass the test

as I had GD in penultimate pregnancy I was regularly checking blood sugars on waking up, then after meals. I kept a log. Consultant said quite early on no need for GTT as the log i’d kept spoke for itself.

Wow. I had the GTT and felt unwell afterwards - not as severe as you but it felt like a blood sugar or blood pressure crash - just sudden white out feeling. I didn’t realise it was so common!

If it’s the drink itself putting you off, it might have changed. Took test 3 times 7 and 5 years ago the solution was so grim it took me forever to get it down nurses v frustrated saying it would impact result. Third preg 2 years ago they had changed the solution and it was like drinking a capri sun (same kinda pouch with straw etc, same taste and texture). Good luck with your decision

@Tryingtohelp12 I agree. I had it a couple of years ago. It wasn't nice but it wasn't that bad. Just tasted like very strong/undiluted squash

Are you sure you didn't have a virus lurking or something?

I've done the test 4 times and whilst it was pretty boring it wasn't anywhere near the ordeal you seem to have experienced. The drink was just like syrupy orange stuff and fairly small- not gallons of barium. Book the test for the morning so the 12hr fast doesn't impact you too much, take a book.

It isn’t about you! It’s about your baby! Who has no choice but to be carried by you! Stop
being so selfish and put your baby first!

I agree it’s your choice and if there’s an alternate then great! Though the juice I had a month or so ago was the new kind, like a sherbety capri sun. Just in case anyone else is worried about gross juice. But it’s not just about the taste but how your body reacts, two women in the group def got a bit woozy, and that’s why they keep you in the room (plus not being allowed to expend energy). I’d way rather the drink than finger pricking heh, but then I didn’t feel bad after so it’s obvs why.

@Blahblahblahabla I think it impacted me so badly because I was already pre diabetic during my first pregnancy then that lead to me needing insulin during the pregnancy.
Thats what concerns me about the glucose test that I'll react very badly again to it as my blood sugars are already flagged with my gp.
I was diagnosed as a diabetic , my last bloods in Feb being hba1c of 51 ( anything above 48 is diabetic range) its now down to 41 which apparently is borderline pre diabetic and gp is monitoring it for now. Im already on metformin so I just dont feel theres a need to put myself through the test and make myself so unwell again. My diabetic nurse had tried to refer me to the obstetric diabetic team but im unable to be seen until my appointment with consultant but midwife said I'll need to do the glucose test but given my history with existing diabetics, the test seems utterly pointless doesnt it

I’m a GP- based on what you have said i suspect your OB would be quite happy if you offer to finger prick BMs through pregnancy- doctors are normally fairly pragmatic bunch, try not to worry and just discuss all your concerns and previous experiences with the specialist. There are safe ways to manage this (and in your case I’d argue that a GTT is almost a formality rather than changing your management, which as you say, will be close sugar observation and medication as and when they cross a threshold)… try not to worry about this x

@TheStepboardisfullofbitteroddos
Hey, no i definitely didnt have a virus. I was already diagnosed pre diabetic tho and I have an insulin resistance. Ive no medical experience but i think the extremely elevated glucose levels were too much for my body to cope with. When I was diagnosed diabetic recently, that was one of my symptoms. When I ate anything that would spike my sugars, I would get headaches and feel light headed. Even drinking something like orange juice made me unwell.
Following the test , id passed out (luckily my partner was with me and was able to catch me before i fell forward and hit the floor) and id spent a good 12 hours in A&E and they were very thorough with the tests. I had blood tests, ct scans of my brain to rule out blood clot, heart monitoring but they couldn't find anything wrong. It was extremely frightening . I dont want to put myself in that position of feeling unwell again. It took me several days before i was back on my feet at home.
I do think though that i shouldn't have been let go following my pre natal appointment as midwife was aware I was very faint and unable to walk out of the clinic unaided.
Ive got a little one year old at home to take care off now aswell and my other half unfortunately cant get the days off work to help me should I take unwell following the test.

Regular finger pricks will give you good information, possibly better than the GTT as it's tracking your BG over time.

Is a CGM affordable for you?

You really don't know what you are talking about do you? She's simply tracking her blood glucose using a different method.

If you already have a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, albeit being in remission, you won’t need a GTT, so I’m not sure why your midwife has suggested this. You should be treated as having pre existing diabetes and have been referred to the joint antenatal diabetes team as soon as you got pregnant. I have type 1 and currently pregnant with my 2nd baby. You should be monitoring already from the very beginning of your pregnancy, fasting and one hourly after meals as a minimum, also taking high strength folic acid at 5mg. Hope you get sorted soon

@YellowFlowers1 from everything ive read online, I thought that i should have been monitored from the beginning also considering my hbac1 was 51 when id found out i was pregnant. The diabetic nurse at my gp clinic was supposed to phone me ( that was Feb, as of may ive still not heard from her) i contacted them again and had a call back from a gp who informed me that I probably would need to see someone who specialises in "obstetric diabeties" and that id have to wait for the diabetic nurse to contact me and to talk to her about it. As I said, ive heard absolutely nothing and ive pestered them numerous times. On the previous attempt I was told to speak to the midwife about it.
Ive gave up at this point with them.
When I said to the midwife at my booking , she told me id have to wait until I speak to consultant at my first appointment which will be end of May. At this point im just getting passed around.
I was on 5mg but I didnt start until the end of week 6. My gp knew my hbac1 and my weight is just over the bmi of 31 as I had all those checks the week I found out I was pregnant but she never suggested it to me. I rang back and requested it , given what I had read online. I guess I'll see what happens at my appointment. Im going to pick up a monitor myself this week to try and log my sugars until my appointment. I had one from my prior pregnancy but they had taken it off me when I went in to get induced

That’s so frustrating for you! Someone is clearly not doing their job properly somewhere. You definitely should have been seen by now, or had a telephone appointment at the very least. Hope your appointment goes well!

I couldn't do the standard test due to stomach surgery. I just did the finger pricks for a week. No biggie.

Did you have them?