Tuesday, May 30, 2006

chug...chug...chug

I had my (almost) 27-week prenatal check-up today, which meant the dreaded glucose test. It's 10am and I've had nothing to eat for breakfast even though I worked out at 8am and am pregnant. Not a good combination. The nurse hands me a straw and a bottle that has a faint resemblance to pop, but is really solid sugar with a few drops of liquid. I'm about to ask her for a spoon when she says,

"Make note of the time. You need to drink the entire bottle within 5 minutes and then start the timer."

Probably not a big deal for most women, but a formidable task for me. Why? Because I know what happened the last time I did the glucose test two years ago. I don't drink pop (and didn't then either), so sucking down 24 ounces (OK...maybe 8) of carbonated glucose is not appealing to me. My first run at it, I ended up sipping it so slowly that I literally had to chug almost the entire 8 ounces in the last 30 seconds. I'm sure I looked like I was taking shots in a bar, not taking a simple prenatal test in a waiting room.

This go-round, I was determined to pace myself better. Four minutes in, I was sure I was doing so well, but when I glanced at the bottle, I realized I still had half of the bottle remaining. The other women there probably thought the nurse had somehow mistakenly given me motor oil by the look of sheer terror on my face at the task ahead of me. I wasted the next 30 seconds peering around the waiting room trying to ascertain where the cameras were located that were trained on me to make sure I finished the drink within 5 minutes. Growing more frightened by the second that the nurse was going to burst through the door and start shouting at my to finish or I'd have to do it all over again, I chugged the remaining 4 ounces, slammed the bottle down on the table and quickly started the timer. Now all I needed was some coffee to go with my sugar.

7 comments:

bet(h) said...

hilarious! what is the glucose test for?? did you "pass"? :)

lera said...

i'm up for that same test! i am so dreading it!!! i don't drink soda, either, so it is a real task to get it down. it's worse when it's warm!!!!! and anything sweet makes me nauseated when i'm pregnant.

hannah said...

i HATE the glucose test! i dont drink pop either, which makes this damn thing torture! please tell me you didnt pick "orange" and i put that in quotes because it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual fruit.

Anonymous said...

i would drink that stuff anyday over getting the actual test done, i HATE needles!

Anonymous said...

no pictures??

tara said...

i have my test in a week and a half.... and apparently i am dreading just as much as all other pg women do - just always glad to know i am not the only one. i do drink pop a little (enjoying my caffine while i can) and it is still bad - that stuff in no way resembles a really good fountain dp. do you all know what you are having? i am 27 weeks today so that makes girl #2 due sept 3.

Anonymous said...

I remember that test from when I was pregnant with Sydney. Funny thing is that the nurse all prepped me for it not tasting good and drinking it in the time frame, but then (probably because I do drink Sprite and other pop) I just drank it up no problem. She was a bit amazed, and I was wondering what the big deal was.

Now I see that it would probably taste pretty gross if you didn't like pop! Good work for getting it down.