@plope132 Really talk to your provider. You do not want a false positive. Come 40+ weeks, suddenly you get very very pushed into doing standard GD stuff even when it's not appropriate. They must have flow charts/best practice guidelines that really really don't account for q potential false positive
gestational diabetes while low carb--Is the test wrong if I don't carb-load for days before?
- Thread starter plope132
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cookgokey_angel
New member
@kitteh A false positive is possible with the initial test but it’s impossible to sustain a false positive with all the ongoing (multiple times a day) testing once someone is diagnosed. It’s very clear when someone’s blood sugar is or isn’t being affected by placental hormones. Please stop fearmongering.
@cookgokey_angel This isn't fear mongering. This is lived experience.
I got thumbs up and high fives through all my prenatal visits. Suddenly, at 40 weeks, nothing mattered. Baby was a gd baby, scheduling induction
I got thumbs up and high fives through all my prenatal visits. Suddenly, at 40 weeks, nothing mattered. Baby was a gd baby, scheduling induction
cookgokey_angel
New member
@kitteh It’s abundantly clear from fasting numbers when someone doesn’t have GD. If OP gets a false positive, it will end up being very clear to her doctor.
If she does have GD, she’ll (hopefully) receive care that minimizes the disorder’s attendant risks. That includes not going beyond 40 weeks because of massively increased risk of placental failure — which happens suddenly and largely without symptoms — and fetal death. It sucks being induced (I was too, at 40+1, after controlled postprandials and nightly insulin for fasting) but I’d rather have that than a dead baby ¯_(ツ)_/¯
If she does have GD, she’ll (hopefully) receive care that minimizes the disorder’s attendant risks. That includes not going beyond 40 weeks because of massively increased risk of placental failure — which happens suddenly and largely without symptoms — and fetal death. It sucks being induced (I was too, at 40+1, after controlled postprandials and nightly insulin for fasting) but I’d rather have that than a dead baby ¯_(ツ)_/¯
@cookgokey_angel That should be how it works, but it is not....with unmedicated fasting numbers between 75 and 85 occasional 90, I was still treated like an ordinary GD case at 40 weeks. Yeah. False positives suck
Eta... And then my induction was "taking too long" and the process of speeding it up was horrific. And the epidurals kept failing. They were contemplating a c section because it was taking too long. Shit very quickly spiraled. My next birth was unmedicated, I'd take that a million times over that shit show I experienced bc of a false positive
Eta... And then my induction was "taking too long" and the process of speeding it up was horrific. And the epidurals kept failing. They were contemplating a c section because it was taking too long. Shit very quickly spiraled. My next birth was unmedicated, I'd take that a million times over that shit show I experienced bc of a false positive
@plope132 Yes low carb diets can cause a false positive. Lily Nichols talks about this in her book real food for pregnancy. When you eat very low carb, your fasting insulin levels are lower than someone who eats a higher carb diet and it takes a lot of insulin for your body to be able to handle the sugar drink. This causes your body to take longer to lower you blood glucose and causes a positive on the test even if you do not have gestational diabetes. It’s recommended you eat at least 150-200 carbs a day, for a week prior to the test to get an accurate result. This of course does not mean that you don’t have GD, but it is possible for a low carb diet to trigger a false positive. When you do the 3 hour test eat higher carb the week before to get more accurate results.
@plope132 Anecdotal, but I messed up eating before the second test and it was borderline or whatever and had to take the third. I followed instructions for the third and it wasn't positive for gestational diabetes. Two of my friends with great eating habits have had gestational diabetes and they came through their pregnancies beautifully. Now they have to screen for diabetes once a year but other than that are all clear. Good luck!
_ajayy_2014
New member
@plope132 I have a ton of food sensitivities so the glucose drink and the alternate "jelly bean test" both were not okay for me to consume. I asked my OB about drinking a set amount of orange juice or similar beforehand and he said that wouldn't be a reliable way to test it. They did a blood test instead & said that can show if there is any GD risk over a longer period of time. 
@_ajayy_2014 Do you know what it was? A1C?
_ajayy_2014
New member
_ajayy_2014
New member
@rodron This is pretty neat though, and I did actually mention that I'd be willing to check my blood sugar at home regularly (like the person who wrote this article below) if the doctor wanted me to, but they didn't seem to think I needed to since everything looked good.
https://detoxinista.com/a-gestational-diabetes-test-alternative-for-pregnancy/#:~:text=A1c%20Blood%20Test.,diabetes%20in%20non%2Dpregnant%20people.
https://detoxinista.com/a-gestational-diabetes-test-alternative-for-pregnancy/#:~:text=A1c%20Blood%20Test.,diabetes%20in%20non%2Dpregnant%20people.
jimmydavis1333
New member
@plope132 When you’re starving/dieting, the body is more insulin resistant and/or blood sugars spike higher after a carb load. The latter is seen a lot in the keto/low carb diets. So while your fasting number may be great, your blood sugar may spike higher than normal postprandially (meaning any of the 3 time points after drinking the drink). This comes into play because you get a diagnosis of GDM if your fasting is high or 2 out of 3 of the post-drink numbers are high.
chriscrossan
New member
@plope132 I didn't have GD so I don't remember the section thoroughly, but I know the book Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols discussed that some tests can give false positives if you're usually low carb. I'd recommend picking up the book and checking out the details and her citations. I think her recommendation if that happened was finger pricks at home to determine if the positive test is a true or false positive. She also has a book on GD if it ends up as a true positive.
I was lowish carb for my pregnancy and I did increase my carbs the week before the test and I passed the GD test, but I have no way of knowing if I would have passed without the extra carbs or not. I did remain low carb until 36 weeks when my body started asking for more carbs, and baby came out healthy and happy.
I was lowish carb for my pregnancy and I did increase my carbs the week before the test and I passed the GD test, but I have no way of knowing if I would have passed without the extra carbs or not. I did remain low carb until 36 weeks when my body started asking for more carbs, and baby came out healthy and happy.
keepswimmingdory
New member
@plope132 https://www.pcrm.org/news/blog/conquering-diabetes-carbohydrates
From what I've learned, carbs are not the culprit. Animals products are, so low carb could actually increase your risk.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/bacon-eggs-and-gestational-diabetes-during-pregnancy-2/
"A more recent Harvard study found that “[h]igher prepregnancy intakes of animal fat and cholesterol were associated with elevated [gestational diabetes] risk.” Substituting in 5% animal fat for 5% carbs was associated with a 13% increased risk of gestational diabetes."
From what I've learned, carbs are not the culprit. Animals products are, so low carb could actually increase your risk.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/bacon-eggs-and-gestational-diabetes-during-pregnancy-2/
"A more recent Harvard study found that “[h]igher prepregnancy intakes of animal fat and cholesterol were associated with elevated [gestational diabetes] risk.” Substituting in 5% animal fat for 5% carbs was associated with a 13% increased risk of gestational diabetes."
cookgokey_angel
New member
@keepswimmingdory “Animal products cause GDM” is a wildly inaccurate conclusion to draw from this study. An association is not a causal relationship. There are environmental and lifestyle reasons that a person who eats a diet high in “animal fats and cholesterol” (which fwiw includes non-animal sources of cholesterol) might be at a higher risk of developing GDM.
ETA: Both of your sources are known vegan activist organizations that have a well-documented history of biased health coverage in favor of eliminating all animal products from one’s diet. Neither is a responsible or reliable source for medical information. This isn’t about the ethics of veganism, it’s about the accuracy of scientific data.
ETA: Both of your sources are known vegan activist organizations that have a well-documented history of biased health coverage in favor of eliminating all animal products from one’s diet. Neither is a responsible or reliable source for medical information. This isn’t about the ethics of veganism, it’s about the accuracy of scientific data.
@cookgokey_angel Thank you i was about to point out the Militant Vegan connection and Cherie picking. You said it better then i could!!
keepswimmingdory
New member
keepswimmingdory
New member
@cookgokey_angel These organizations are science based. There is lots of research out there showing the connection between animal products and diabetes. I'm sure there are other factors too, I just meant that carbs are not the enemy when it comes to diabetes. Fat in the muscle cells are, which can be caused by high consumption of animal products(as well as lifestyle factors like you said).
I hate how everyone just discredits any info from a "vegan activist" organization as if they are going to gain anything from cherry picking studies. Meanwhile the egg meat and dairy industry are the ones funding most of the studies that claim that animals products are safe and healthy.
I hate how everyone just discredits any info from a "vegan activist" organization as if they are going to gain anything from cherry picking studies. Meanwhile the egg meat and dairy industry are the ones funding most of the studies that claim that animals products are safe and healthy.
cookgokey_angel
New member
@keepswimmingdory
This is just flat-out wrong. This is not how type 1 or type 2 diabetes works, and especially not how gestational diabetes (an entirely distinct and different disorder) works.
Of course these vegan activist organizations gain things from cherry-picking studies. It may not be monetary gain, but they’re certainly seeking to gain credibility, authority, and a moral upper hand. They specifically cherry-pick studies and distort conclusions in order to reinforce their belief that plant-based eating is not only morally correct (whatever, almost certainly true, not a debate worth having) but medically and scientifically superior and without flaw, which is very much up for debate. If you can’t see the pitfalls of this kind of bias, you need to work on your scientific literacy.
This is just flat-out wrong. This is not how type 1 or type 2 diabetes works, and especially not how gestational diabetes (an entirely distinct and different disorder) works.
Of course these vegan activist organizations gain things from cherry-picking studies. It may not be monetary gain, but they’re certainly seeking to gain credibility, authority, and a moral upper hand. They specifically cherry-pick studies and distort conclusions in order to reinforce their belief that plant-based eating is not only morally correct (whatever, almost certainly true, not a debate worth having) but medically and scientifically superior and without flaw, which is very much up for debate. If you can’t see the pitfalls of this kind of bias, you need to work on your scientific literacy.
keepswimmingdory
New member
@cookgokey_angel It's almost impossible to argue with someone who will just claim studies are cherry picked. Because no matter what I say you'll just say it's invalid because of that. I'm not an expert, but that's why I like pcrm and nutritionfacts.org, because they make it easy to understand the science. They share studies and make an effort to look into all factors that could affect a result. Here is a study that talks about plant based diets and gestational diabetes. I'm sure their are others that claim keto is beneficial, but based on everything else I have educated myself on in nutrition, I believe plant based diets are the way to go. But agree to disagree I guess.
Prepregnancy plant-based diets and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a prospective cohort study of 14,926 women
Prepregnancy plant-based diets and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a prospective cohort study of 14,926 women