Posts Tagged blood samples
Is There A Cure For Diabetes During Pregnancy?
Posted by in Pregnancy on September 19th, 2009
Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, often want to hear that there is a cure for this disease. Since there is no known cause of gestational diabetes, there is really no cure. Instead of, looking for a cure for diabetes when pregnant, women should focus on proper medical treatment. This is a condition that can be managed, but should never be ignored.
Doctors will do a screening process on pregnant women. One of the tests performed in the screening is the glucose tolerance test. This test and others are designed to detect what the levels of glucose are in a pregnant woman’s blood. Therefore, blood samples will be drawn before administering the glucose tolerance test and others. Proper medical treatment for these women, can be considered a cure for diabetes when pregnant.
It is important, however, to understand just what gestational diabetes is. This is described as a condition that pregnant women develop. It is a form of diabetes diagnosed in women, who many times have never been diagnosed with diabetes. Gestational diabetes, however, is centralized to the pregnancy process. These women exhibit high blood glucose levels. Gestational diabetes is detected in 3 – 10% of all pregnancies.
Not only is there not a well-defined cause for this disease, many women do not experience symptoms. In these cases, diagnosis is extremely paramount. This is where the screening process plays its most important role, and where the glucose tolerance test comes in. The glucose tolerance test, or the oral glucose tolerance test, is one of several typically performed on pregnant women who are at risk for diabetes.
The prime time to perform a glucose tolerance test is in the morning. Generally this would be after the pregnant woman has fasted. It is optimum to have her fast between eight and fourteen hours, before performing this test. The test itself involves drinking a solution, which contains a certain amount of glucose. This drink is often described as a thick, sweet, cola like concoction.
After this liquid is drunk, blood will be drawn from the woman. This will be done in order to measure glucose levels. These measurements will be done at the start, and at specific intervals after the drink has been consumed. The fasting number, of a pregnant woman’s glucose should be less than 95mg. An hour after drinking the solution, her number should be less than 180mg. And two hours afterwards it should be less than 155mg. A final reading will be done after three hours have passed. This reading should be less than 140mg.
When the screening process goes smoothly, a diagnosis is easy to determine. However, this is not the case for all women who drink the solution. Somewhere between 10 -15% of women, who drink this liquid, vomit. This delays, if not postpones the test. When a test isn’t performed, a woman cannot be diagnosed properly.
Many doctors have now begun to use jelly beans to test the glucose instead of the liquid. The jelly beans have become a good alternative.
You can find helpful information about glucose tolerance test and everything you need to know about cure for diabetes when pregnant at Aha! Baby.
Article Source: Is There A Cure For Diabetes During Pregnancy?
The Jelly Bean Study
Posted by in Pregnancy on September 19th, 2009
One of the most important components of diagnosing gestational diabetes, is the screening process. One test that has become popular, in the screening process, involve the use of jelly beans for gestational diabetes. Since many women to not see specific symptoms of this disease, diagnosis can be difficult. And since there is no certain cause of gestational diabetes, it is hard to connect the dots between symptoms and this condition.
Yes, caring for gestational diabetes when pregnant, is important, which is why testing is done. There are a number of tests that are a part of the screening. These are used essentially, to determine whether there are inappropriately high levels of glucose in a pregnant woman’s blood samples. These tests fall under the line of the non-challenge type of glucose tests.
The tests include a fasting glucose test, a 2-hour postprandial glucose test, and a random glucose test. The postprandial test focuses on the state of the pregnant woman’s blood after she has eaten. Then there is often a screen glucose challenge test performed. In the past there have been problems with this testing. Some pregnant women became nauseated or vomited, during one component of the screening.
This was generally the portion where they were expected to drink a thick, sweet cola like drink. Many of these women had problems keeping this drink down, which effected the testing process. Prompted by these troubles in determining gestational diabetes, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology stepped in.
The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology did a study on women who consumed this old cola like drink. They also looked at them in comparison to women who consumed jelly beans for getational diabetes testing. This study was very specific in its criteria. In the study there were specific types of jelly beans for gestational diabetes are used. They used jelly beans for gestational diabetes studies, made by the Brach & Brock company. They also used a certain number of jelly beans for gestational diabetes results.
In the traditional test, 50mg of oral glucose is used. This is administered in the sweet cola liquid. They found that anywhere from 10 to 15% of pregnant women vomited after drinking this liquid. So, the jelly bean alternative entered the picture. In the study women were given 18 jelly beans to eat. Use of this particular brand of candy, it equals the amount of glucose, needed in the screening process.
The traditional test required a certain period of time, before results could be checked. These pregnant women would be given tests, requiring a specific time interval for results. But women who were given the jelly bean test, results could be checked within 2 minutes of eating them. A venous plasma glucose value reading could be determined. This test unlike the ones of the past didn’t have to wait because of time restraints. The results of these tests allow you to focus on caring for gestational diabetes when pregnant, after receiving a diagnosis.
The jelly beans for gestational diabetes test did require a focus on whether a woman had eaten, or even when her last meal was. The study found that this test was a success and could be used instead of the cola drink.
You can find helpful information about caring for gestational diabetes when pregnant and everything you need to know about jelly beans for gestational diabetes at Aha! Baby.
Article Source: The Jelly Bean Study
