Doctor Won’t Listen to Me 🤦🏼‍♀️

Kirsten • Wife of 8 years, Mother of two beautiful daughters, first son on the way 😍

Okay guys! I’m new here, but I’m having a lot of concern with the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

I’ll try to keep a long story short. Two years ago I had weight loss surgery. If you don’t know the ends and outs of it, basically you can say I’ve barely had any sugar at all in the last two years because it causes dumping syndrome, along with it defeats the purpose. I’m currently 30 weeks pregnant. I had my one hour test 2 weeks ago after I specifically asked not to be tested. Patients who have had weight loss surgery are not supposed to have the glucose drink due to dumping syndrome and the test results coming back incorrect. The county I currently live in is very uneducated about weight loss surgery, to the point that the hospital doesn’t even know what my surgery was or entails when I tell them I had it. My doctor too, is uneducated in this matter.

I fasted for the test, I wasn’t even allowed water. Once the drink hit my system I immediately was in the bathroom with diarrhea, and vomiting. I got hot clammy and nearly passed out while they drew my blood. My results came back as 140, the cutoff is 130. I’m now required to do the 3 hour test with a double dosage of this drink that is not even recommended for those of us who have had this surgery. And honestly, I’m terrified. I pass out all the time when I drink water or snack on nuts or some kind of protein every two hours (which is a requirement of the surgery). My calorie intake alone is only 500-700 calories a day (also a requirement of the surgery). So when my body fasts for any length of time, and for this test will be 8 hours, I’m going to pass out. There’s no doubt. Plus, I will once again have dumping syndrome and be in the bathroom for god only knows how long with diarrhea and vomiting. I’m nervous that again these tests results will come back incorrect and I’ll have a misdiagnoses that will require me to go on medicine and or shots. I’ve already had so many complications with this pregnancy due to baby being malnourished due to my food intake, since I’m only able to take 3oz in at a time, and he’s already measuring 4 weeks behind and is pretty much guaranteed to be a premie. As long as he’s healthy that’s all I care about, but I’m so nervous about putting some unnecessary in my body because no one is listening to my concerns. Any advice? What kind of symptoms have you had to know you have it? I’m tempted to have my surgeon call my Ob and explain in medical terms that this test is not as accurate when you’re body goes into dumping syndrome mode but I also don’t want my Ob to think I’m disrespecting him by calling my surgeon and voicing my concerns.

367 views • 6 upvotes • 18 comments

COMMENT (18)

Ka

Posted at
No call ur surgeon and tell him what's going on. If ur ob gets upset that ur surgeon has issues find a new ob. Ur health and baby's is at risk with the test.

Jo

Jo • Nov 17, 2018
I agree. Definitely have your surgeon call the ob. If your ob doesn’t like it find someone else. Also as far as I know you can refuse the test. They can not make you take it.

Wh

Posted at
If you vomit the test is not reliable. They can't consider those results accurate.

Ki

Kirsten • Nov 17, 2018
And that’s the problem. I can’t even avoid the vomiting. It’s basically what happens anytime I have a huge amount of sugar like that. It’s one of the ways my body rejects unhealthy foods since having surgery.

Je

Posted at
Oh hell no. Refuse the three hour. I agree with the others to talk to your surgeon and have them provide education to your OB. The first test result should have never been accepted due to nausea and vomiting, it should have been invalid. Ask why they can't instead draw an A1c which will provide an average of your blood sugar over the last three months. I don't have background in your weight loss surgery, but absolutely don't do the three hour.

Ki

Posted at
Update: So I went in for the 3 hour anyway. Only made it 45 minutes. Went to my Ob today ready to refuse to do it again and talk about our other options. Needless to say the results they got from the “before” blood draw showed my body does the exact opposite of what someone with gestational diabetes would do. He said “you most definitely do not have it, and I’m sorry you had to go through that and get sick”. My heart sank! I was sooooo beyond thankful! 💚💚 thanks for all the help ladies!

Kr

Posted at
Call your surgeon! My midwife said if I didn't want to do the test again I could check my levels at home four times a day for a week and that she would use that instead of another test with that stupid drink. I also believe once you vomit the test becomes invalid. I've seen a lot of women say that they had to retake it after throwing up. Talk to your surgeon talk to your general doctor and anyone who understands the surgery you had and have them contract your OB about a different way to address getting a true reading.

Lo

Posted at
Just tell them you want the blood test strips. I’m gonna try that next time around. The test was awful for me and made me vomit several tries too, I can’t imagine what it’d be like for you. Hang in there mama

Ca

Posted at
I have read that people refits the test and just get treated like they have it. Take blood sugars fasting , after meals and just do the GD diet! Just tell your doc that you want to get treated like you have it to avoid the horror of the test !

Ca

Cassie • Nov 19, 2018
Refuse

Ne

Posted at
I would have gotten a new OB, screw that

😎

Posted at
ask to check your sugers 4 times a day for 1 week. thats what I do, but you would need to eat carb heavy food to see if you do spike.

Ki

Kirsten • Nov 19, 2018
I can’t consume an entire candy bar. I can only eat 3-5 bites of something at one time before my pouch is full. I’m not sure if that is possible or would work, but I’m always willing to try my options.

😎

😎 • Nov 19, 2018
can you eat like a candy bar? if you eat a candy bar and then take your suger 1 hour afyer and its high(over 130)then you have GD. if its not high then you dont.

Ho

Posted at
Honestly I'm a little surprised that your only eating that amount of food being that you're pregnant. You're knowingly starving your baby. Something doesn't seem right about that. I guess if you're in contact with your doctor and they say its ok.....then so be it.

Ki

Kirsten • Nov 19, 2018
Jessica is right. I’m not able to consume more from my procedure because my body will force me to vomit or have diarrhea and could cause serious stomach pain. My actual stomach sack is now only 3oz compared to when it was removed which was 20+ oz. I’ve been on this diet for 2 years and can’t change how much I consume. Unfortunately, with this surgery that is one of the outcomes. My baby is growing and he is healthy he is just tiny in weight because I can’t put in my body through food what I normally would have before having surgery. Before I even became pregnant I had to double up on daily vitamins. Whereas, a normal daily vitamin would be a multivitamin, I have to take a vitamin of each individual thing. Calcium, iron, fish oil, multi, d3, b12, b6, etc. I have continued my vitamins and even tripled the intake for my baby’s sake doing the absolute best I can. Just in this particular case, these glucose drinks are worse than soda and have to be drank in 5 minutes. I haven’t had a soda in nearly 3 years. When taking this drink I immediately become extremely ill with flu like symptoms, vomiting almost instantly, sitting on the toilet for hours, getting hot, passing out, blood pressure dropping. It takes my body an entire day to recover, if not longer. My Ob unfortunately doesn’t see it nor believes it and is uneducated on how horrible something like this effects my new stomach pouch and body. I’ve been put through it twice now, and after my husband was forced to pop ammonia inhalants under my nose after the last attempt at the test and me hitting the floor he’s to the point that he’ll be attending my appointment Tuesday to inform my Ob that if I’m put through this test again, we will be going either with a different Ob or with a midwife. He spent the entire day watching me curled on the couch puking, and running to the bathroom and not being able to eat or drink anything after having the drink in my system for only 45 minutes before my body went into panic mode.

Ho

Holly • Nov 19, 2018
Ok wasn't sure how all that worked. She said malnourished baby and my eyes went 😳

Je

Jessica • Nov 19, 2018
She had weight loss surgery prior to becoming pregnant, which comes with a permanent lifestyle change. The diet is necessary after the physiological change brought about by the surgery. Her body is adapted to it, and eating more will make her severly ill and/or cause permanent damage. She is following medical guidelines for the procedure she had.