Why do you need a glucose tolerance test? Implementation process

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Pham Thi Mai Nhung - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital
Glucose tolerance test is considered one of the important tests to help detect gestational diabetes.

1. Why is this test done?

Gestational diabetes is a common disease in pregnant women with higher than normal blood sugar levels. Therefore, a glucose tolerance test is necessary. Especially for mothers who are in pregnancy from 24 to 28 weeks, early diagnosis will help avoid factors that are not good for the fetus later. In addition, the glucose tolerance test helps in the diagnosis of prediabetes and diabetes.

2. What to prepare for the glucose tolerance test?

Before conducting a glucose tolerance test, keep the following in mind:
Follow a balanced diet with at least 150 grams of carbohydrates per day for 3 consecutive days prior to the test. Should choose foods with carbohydrate sources such as: fruits, cereals, nuts, rice, biscuits, vegetables, ... Do not eat, smoke as well as be excessively active within 8 hours. hours before the first blood test. It is important to tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, to see if any drugs are affecting the diagnosis, and then your doctor will ask you to stop taking that medicine. When performing a glucose test, it can take up to 4 hours, during which you need to do a sitting position that is most comfortable and relaxed, do not eat anything so as not to affect your health. test results. When there is any problem during the test, always talk to your doctor to make sure nothing happened during the test.

3. Process of performing a glucose tolerance test

First to compare with other results later, you will have a blood sample to test for blood sugar. You are then asked to drink a pre-prepared glucose solution that ranges from 75 grams or 100 grams of sugar. After drinking the sugar solution, about 1, 2 or sometimes up to 3 hours, you will have blood drawn for further testing. Time to collect blood samples can be taken 30 minutes earlier or after 3 hours.

4. Problems that you will encounter when taking the test

Firstly, the sugar water solution can make some people feel uncomfortable when drinking, and some people even have a feeling of vomiting. However, in order for the test to be completed, you must drink the sugar solution no matter how difficult it is to drink.
Because drawing blood several times a day can make you feel dizzy, but you should not panic because the amount of blood taken is actually very small, it cannot cause you to lose blood or become anemic.
Hypoglycemia is the most common occurrence for many patients after the last blood sample is drawn. Symptoms of hypoglycemia include: fatigue, hunger, sweating, and feeling restless. However, you should not be too worried because when the symptoms of hypoglycemia increase, the doctor will conduct a rapid blood sugar test on the spot, if the blood sugar result is low, the test will be stopped.
Some cases of hemophilia may occur in people with coagulopathy. Aspirin and anticoagulants will cause more bleeding.
In addition, you may also experience bruising at the blood collection site or an inflamed vein after blood collection.

5. Results after performing the glucose tolerance test

There are many possible causes of changes in blood glucose levels. In which factors affect test results such as:
Smoking. Drink alcohol. Have had recent surgeries or have a medical condition. People who are following a diet to lose weight. People who have had a long period of bed rest due to a hospital stay or illness. After obtaining the results of the test, the doctor will advise the patient on the physical condition combined with your clinical manifestations and medical history.
Oral glucose tolerance test is one of the routine techniques at Vinmec International General Hospital. Glucose test helps to detect gestational diabetes very early for early counseling and treatment, to prevent dangerous complications during pregnancy such as stillbirth, premature delivery and high specificity.
The advantages of performing the Glucose test at Vinmec International General Hospital include:
Modern testing machine system and high accuracy. The team of doctors and nurses has a lot of experience in diagnosing and treating diseases Automated biochemical testing machine system AU 680, AU 480 and very high accuracy.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

Article reference source: yersinclinic.com