Can you do it yourself?
There are already attempts to develop such a test for home use. So far the glucose tolerance test can be accomplished however only with the physician. This is due to the fact that an exact execution with the correct quantity of sugar and an exact keeping of the time intervals is necessary. In some practices, blood is also taken from a vein instead of a fingertip to get a more accurate reading.
Evaluation – these are normal values
The normal values are: Fasting blood glucose below 92 mg/dl Value after one hour below 180mg/dl Value after two hours below 153mg/dl If one of these limits is exceeded, pregnancy diabetes is suspected.
- Fasting blood sugar below 92 mg/dl
- Value after one hour below 180mg/dl
- Value after two hours below 153mg/dl
In the glucose tolerance test during pregnancy, the value should be below 135mg/dl one hour after drinking 50g of glucose. If this value is exceeded, the 75g-oGTT should be performed on another day to confirm or disprove the suspicion of gestational diabetes.
Side effects
The glucose tolerance test has no serious side effects. Drinking the sugar solution may cause nausea and vomiting as the solution is very sweet. Another side effect may be small bruises from the blood sample.
Can this be dangerous for my baby?
The glucose tolerance test does not pose a risk to the baby. In fact, it is a useful test, since undetected and untreated gestational diabetes can have consequences for the baby. Pregnancy diabetes can cause the baby to grow faster. This has consequences such as an increased oxygen consumption, a respiratory distress syndrome at birth or the storage of glycogen in the heart muscle which can lead to heart muscle diseases. The consequences of untreated diabetes can also include hypoglycaemia of the child after birth and an increased risk of malformations such as heart defects and malformations of the gastrointestinal tract.
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