Thursday, March 27, 2008

terrible, no good, very bad day- with a good ending

On Monday I had my glucose/gestational diabetes screening test. I didn't pass it, so had to return for a 3 hour test, instead of the 1 hour test. I was told they would do the finger prick thing like they had done the first time. I was already dreading 4 finger pricks. When I showed up at the clinic the nurse said no, it was a blood draw test, since they had to send in the results to the lab. I tried to convince her to just do the finger pricks-but to no avail.

The nurse poked me 3 times and decided to send me to the hospital lab since I have tricky veins.

So, I went to St. Joe's. DH met me there, and came along, still sick, for moral support. While I waited for the first blood test, he became faint, and the nurse had to take him to the ER for his own medical needs. I needed to fast for 12 hours, and by now it had been 13 or so (I stopped by to pick up a huge bottle 1.5 L of water, and drank half of it before getting to the hospital in hopes that it would plump up my veins). After blood test #1, I was sent to the surgery waiting room and a nurse promised to get me an hour later (after I had drank the 100g glucose drink) . She didn't come, and I waited and waited, till it was nearly 20 min past and then was scolded for having been late for blood #2.
Fortunately, they let it slide, and so about 30 min later I came back for #3. Then, an hour later #4. Have I mentioned I hate needles, and had been losing sleep over this blood test for the past 2 nights?

Well, in my waiting time, I visited DH, who had his own bloodwork done, and he had an IV. So we were both a really sad pair. Neither one of us really feeling well or good enough to support the other, yet both worried about the other. What a day. He was fighting off a virus that I had just a week before. It was an achey body thing, with runny nose, and some coughing. When I got it, I thought it was just pregnancy body aches since I had just started my third trimester the day before I got sick.

Had the blood test at the clinic worked, I would have been done at 11:30, instead, we left the hospital shortly before 2pm. I did get a "complimentary" cafeteria meal, for my first post-fasting for 15 plus hours. I pretended the hospital spaghetti was Buca food- but I couldn't fool myself.

And yes, I passed the glucose test. I do not have gestational diabetes. Yay!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Not that it was a big deal having GDM, but I'm glad that you are okay:)