Glucose Test

[Anonymous]

Has anyone taken the glucose screen at Reiter Hill? I'm wondering if you get the results right away or if they call you a few days later if there's a problem. Also, are you supposed to fast beforehand? Or at least go easy on carbs for a few days beforehand? I drink a soda every morning so I'm wondering if I should give that up for the rest of the week since my appointment is on Friday (please no comments about how that's a bad idea, its the only dessert like item I drink all day and I tried giving it up and it made me miserable).

[Anonymous]

I didn't do it at Reiter Hill, but can tell you my experience. When you make the appointment they'll let you know how long you have to fast. I think I had to for like 8 or 12hrs, so made my appointment for first thing in the morning and just had an early dinner the night before.

Walked into the lab and immediately drank a glass of stuff that tasted like Hawaiian Fruit Punch or very sugary Gatorade. Sat there and read a book for an hour, then a technician took a blood sample. Even though this was a lab, they didn't process it while I waited, so it took about 36hrs for them to process and then send the results to my OB.

So yes, you will likely need to skip your morning soda since they want to start with a "clean" baseline of blood sugar to evaluate your body's reaction to the glucose solution that you drink. Changing your diet for the week probably won't have much of an impact -- if your body's insulin production is out of whack, three days of better nutrition won't make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Also not a R&H patient, but I was specifically told NOT to fast. So you should check with your doctor. My appointment was early in the morning, so I ate a protein-heavy breakfast before then. I did go easy on carbs the few days before the test. Passed with flying colors.

[Anonymous]

I am a RHJ patient and have taken the one hour glucose test there. They either don't tell you anything or tell you that you don't need to fast but probably shouldn't eat a carbo breakfast like cereal. However, the bottle that they make you drink clearly states that you should not have eaten for 8 or 12 hours. I forget the exact time frame (it was over a year ago) but if you eat dinner and then don't eat again, you'll be fine. I stupidly ate breakfast because they said I should, and I failed the test. That sent me to the three hour test on another floor of the building. The three hour test is much worse, and I would not want anyone else to unnecessarily go through it (my glucose levels were below the threshold on every measurement).

RHJ called me a few days after the one hour test and told me I had failed. When I took the three hour test, the results weren't back for 3 or 4 days.

Agree with PPs that you should wean yourself of the soda for the rest of the week and not drink it on Friday. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

So I was told not to fast, but had a big glass of OJ that morning and pancakes. Of course, I failed the test and had to go through the 3 hour one (Horrible BTW). Of course, that came back positive. So next week, when I do it this time around, I'm going to skip the high sugar stuff just to be sure.

RHJ won't call you back unless something is wrong so don't expect a call-back for normal results.

[Anonymous]

I didnt' fast and I didn't fail, but i had a healthy breakfast (oatmeal, no sugar) and took it a few hours later.

[Anonymous]

I'm a RHJ patient and did my glucose test at their office.

My doctor told me not to fast, but to have a "normal" breakfast beforehand because they wanted to get a "real" reading instead of one falsely influenced by a fasting bloodsugar. Unless of course, my normal breakfast was dougnuts I think I had a couple of eggs, some milk, and maybe a piece of toast. I passed the test with flying colors.