Friday the 13th Doctor Appointment

I have a doctor appointment this Friday (Friday the 13th.. EEK!) that I am really freaking out about. I have to have my glucose test done. I'm so worried I'm going to fail it and have to do the three hour glucose test. If I fail that test, they will diagnose me with gestational diabetes. Between 2 and 5 percent of expectant mothers develop gestational diabetes and is one of the most common health problems during pregnancy.

When patients arrive for the test, they're given a sugar solution that contains 50 grams of glucose (I chose the orange flavor). However, at my last appointment, the nurse gave me the drink to take home with me. I will drink it on the way to the doctor appointment so I won't have to sit around for an hour! After an hour, they will take a blood sample to check my blood sugar level. The idea is to see how efficiently your body processes sugar. If the reading is too high, which happens 15 to 23 percent of the time, my doctor will have me come back for a three-hour glucose tolerance test to see whether I really do have gestational diabetes.

I will also be given the RohGam shot. I will have to have this shot because my blood type is Rh Negative (B-). Here's the importance of this shot:

When Rh negative blood is exposed to Rh positive blood the Rh negative person begins producing antibodies to fight the invading blood. Antigens trigger your body to produce antibodies. Antibodies are usually a good thing and serve to protect a person from foreign invaders. Now the problem lies when a pregnant woman is carrying a baby that is Rh positive. If the mother has antibodies to the Rh antigen, those antibodies can attack the baby's red blood cells. This can lead to complications to the baby including anemia, jaundice, and other blood related problems. Rh factor incompatibility can be prevented by administration of the RhoGAM shot.

So, there you have it, my boring "medical blog." LOL! Ok, so I pulled the information from babycenter.com.  Bottom line is, I haven't been nervous about a doctor's appointment since our first visit to find out if we were really pregnant! Wish me luck! I'll need it. Remind me never to schedule another doctor appointment on Friday the 13th. On the bright side, at least I won't have the results of my glucose test until AFTER my birthday, so I can indulge in some cake without feeling guilty! :-)

Photo taken 4th of July (27 weeks & 2 days pregnant)