There are several different options available for gestational diabetes testing. The most complex of these entails a random blood glucose test. The other two are the screening glucose challenge test and urinary glucose test.
As a general rule, a random blood glucose test will be done by your health care provider during a regular visit – around 24 to 28 weeks. If you test outside normal limits, this test will most likely be followed by what is called an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is usually done in the morning after you have fasted overnight for between eight and 14 hours. During the three days previous to this test, you must have an unrestricted diet that contains at least 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, along with unlimited physical activity. In this test, you drink a solution that contains a certain amount of glucose. Your health care provider will then draw your blood to measure glucose levels at the start of the test and at time intervals following the initial test.
If your blood sugar is found to be higher then 128 mg/dl after fasting, or higher than 200 mg/dl on any occasion, and if these results are confirmed on a subsequent day, you’ll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and you will not be tested again.
A second way for gestational diabetes testing is called the screening glucose challenge test. This test is sometimes called the O’Sullivan test. It is usually done when you are between 24 to 28 weeks. It is a kind of simplified version of the oral glucose tolerance test described above. In this test, you will be required to drink a solution containing 50 grams of glucose. Your blood level is then measured one hour later. If the cutoff point is set at 140 mg/dl, this will detect gestational diabetes in about 80% of women.
A third blood sugar testing is urinary glucose testing. Women with gestational diabetes often have high glucose levels in their urine. This is basically dipstick testing in that a special stick is placed in your urine that measures your blood glucose level. While this test has been widely practiced in the past, it tends to perform poorly. For this reason it has fallen out of favor with many health care providers.
The good news of gestational diabetes
If you are told you have gestational diabetes, don’t panic. For one thing, the minute you deliver, the gestational diabetes will go away. That’s just the nature of the disease – it’s present only during your pregnancy and then totally goes away. Second, most women can control the disease simply by making changes in what they eat and when they eat and by exercising regularly. The exercise doesn’t even have to be strenuous. You will probably need to work out only 30 minutes a day, five days a week and the exercise can consist of just taking a nice walk.
Some Typical Causes For Diabetes
More people are being diagnosed with diabetes every day. Look at the people that you socialize with on a regular basis. Odds are at least one of them has diabetes. If not, then there is probably at least one person who knows or is related to someone who has diabetes. Diabetes is really common, especially in the western world. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. Insulin dependent diabetics are classified as Type 1. It can occur at any time in a person’s life. Because it occurs in adulthood, type 2 is also called adult onset diabetes and those with it are not insulin dependent. Here are some major causes of this disease.
Stop drinking if you drink often! Too much drinking is one of the leading causes of diabetes, especially in older men. Alcohol contains a lot of fats and empty calories that affect all the different parts of your body. More than just your liver is affected. Alcohol can also raise your cholesterol levels. Long term, heavy drinking can also raise blood pressure levels and cause diabetes. A glass of wine a couple times a week won’t hurt you. It can be very harmful to spend a few hours drinking every night.
Treatment should be sought if you have a problem with heavy drinking. Leading an extremely stressful life can also cause you to develop diabetes. It is true! Diabetes is more likely in people who are regularly stressed. What can you do about this? Make it a point to spend time relaxing during the day. Consult your doctor for ways to manage the stress in your day to day life. There are various methods for relieving the different kinds of stressors in life. Lowering your stress level will also lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.
High blood pressure is one of the controllable diabetes causes. People who are struck with high blood pressure are more prone to contracting Type 2 diabetes. Do what you can to manage the levels of your cholesterol and check your blood pressure regularly. This means it is crucial for you to make an effort to minimize your stress and to keep track of your health. High blood pressure comes with it’s own set of problems, but it is even tougher to manage once you have been diagnosed with diabetes. Staying healthy is the best way to keep diabetes from taking hold.
Diabetes is an easy disease to take care of. Some people have an ability to manage it with their diet. We are also now aware that the cause for most diabetes is something we can discipline.
It’s not too far in the past that physicians thought there was little to be done that would block the disease. Many people are aware that trying to follow a healthy lifestyle is usually more than what you need to block the disease from taking over your body. Make an appointment with your doctor if you have some questions about the caused listed in this article.