Every pregnant woman (except my friend Lauren) is screened for Gestational Diabetes between weeks 24 and 28 of her pregnancy. Gestational Diabetes can complicate pregnancy, so early detection is important.
It’s unlikely that I am at-risk for this, but, I have resisted the screening for two reasons.
Flashback: In 1998, I thought I was pregnant. Although I had not had regular periods for a few years, I was SO tired and our condom use was less than admirable. I went to Planned Parenthood who did the standard intake procedures including a pregnancy test, hemoglobin and STD screen. Results? I was not pregnant. However, I was “the most anemic person” in the Madison, WI-area. My insurance prevented a transfusion so I was put on a steady schedule of liquid iron supplementation until I got it back to a working level. It was a rough 2 months. My teeth went grey, I burped-up metal and I had to shift my summer bike trip to a bike and sit trip. My next doctor’s appointment is on Wednesday. So, I have to do it. Truth be told, you don’t even have to “fast.” You simply drink the drink after two food-free hours. Easy! Since it’s a “travel day” (I leave for Seattle at 3 pm), I wake up late, drink coffee in bed, eat breakfast and then head to my favorite “prime time” class, Best Butt Ever. It’s really fun and full of the “ladies” who have early morning child duties and can hit the gym at 9 am. I decide to go to the lab in Encinitas so that I can drop off my keys with Drew (my former house mate) and be done with that responsibility. I check in and am advised that I must drink the whole bottle in 10-minutes. The entire waiting room stares at me and I get a few “chug, chug, chugs!” for moral support. It’s not that bad. It tastes like dehydrated, concentrated McDonald’s Orange Drink. Baby T is happy or on her first sugar high—she is kicking like a Kung Fu Fighter. For the next hour, I walk around my old ‘hood, creep into my old apartment to drop the keys and then return for a blood draw. Like I said, easy. Now, I wait.
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I am:A creative thinker/problem solver/hustler. . . future mother. Archives
December 2021
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