Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Ugh.

This morning I went off to the lab and spent a very dull hour getting my glucose test for gestational diabetes. This was a first for me; when pregnant with The Boy, I opted out of the test. (I like midwives. They let you opt out of pretty much anything.) We figured that with no family history, not being overweight or having high blood pressure, the risks were tiny, so why go through that? So I was bizarrely nervous about this, despite it being probably one of the least invasive tests you can do. Drink something sweet! Sit for an hour! Get a small vial of blood drawn! How simple does it get?

This time around I am of course four years older, and the politics among the birthing community have changed. Now they frown upon not doing this test, so the midwives are more encouraging to get it -- especially since being over 35 means that my chances, simply due to age, go up (they go up as you get older regardless, I'm told, it's not just an over 35 thing.) And if complications happen later in the pregnancy, with the delivery, or with the baby, it's good to have the baseline test done.

Anyway what I really wanted to mention was: MAN, is that stuff GROSS. The stuff they make you drink? WOW. I mean, first of all, there's a LOT of it. The first sips aren't so bad, but by the time I got halfway through I was seriously thinking that this was the grossest thing I'd ever had to drink.

And second of all, it's a revolting sickly-sweet fake orange flavour. As someone who genuinely dislikes most soft drinks, especially those with artificial flavours, and who tries not to put such revolting substances into her body, the drinking of this was especially revolting.

And here's the kicker: can I just ask here why the medical community, which on the one hand tries to get people to stop drinking / eating poorly, then turns around and, for a test, gives you the exact same type of thing to drink that they've already said is so bad for you? I mean, where's the logic in that??!

It boggles the mind.

2 comments:

wealhtheow said...

Blecch. I remember that stuff. Not only was it repulsively sweet and fake-orangey and sticky, the carbonation gave me heartburn for three days.

Each time.

Yes, I had to do the $(%*$(*% test twice. (But I didn't have GD, so really it all turned out fine.)

And I asked the lab tech why it had to be so disgusting, and you know what she said? Because people find the carbonation and the flavouring make it taste better. Um ... no.

erin said...

I've never understood why they don't just give you a big thing of Coke. I mean, COME ON. It's just as sugary! And much more real world! Granted, I've never had the GD test, but I've had to drink large quantities of gross-tasting liquids for medical tests. It pisses me off every time.