Friday 15 January 2016

SUGAR TEST: 75g OGTT

Because my guama died of diabetes, I've always loved and feared sugar. 

I remember way back in highschool, we went on a retreat in Bacolod. I saw ants trailing to the toilet bowl. I wasn't even sure if I was the last one to pee but I distinctinctly recall that I panicked. I suspected I had diabetes.

So, when the time came that I had to take the oral glucose tolerance test (ogtt), I wasn't too optimistic.

This is how the test works:

1. You fast for 8-10 hours
2. They take a first sample of your blood to measure your fasting glucose. This is the reference.
3. You drink pure glucose syrup. It doesn't taste as bad as they say it does. Mine was cola flavor.
4. After one hour, they draw blood and collect urine.
5. After two hours, they draw blood and collect urine again.
6. On the third hour, they draw blood and collect urine for the last time.

The series of blood samples are meant to determine how quickly sugar is cleared from the blood.  

I was fairly confident with my fasting glucose numbers but I was nervous as to how fast my body will clear off the glucose. After drinking the cola-flavored syrup, I wasn't allowed to walk across the street to go to Starbucks. I had to stay inside the freezing lab. I couldn't help my body breakdown the sugar. It had to do the job on it's own.

There are many cases where the fasting glucose is okay but the body couldn't breakdown the glucose as fast as it should.  It can either be a case of hyperglycemia or impaired glucose intolerance.  This means, you don't have diabetes now but you may get one in the future.

I dreaded that part...

...Because I love cake. 

Here are my results and the reference numbers.



Phew!

I think it helps that I have always been physically active. A sedentary lifestyle can cause Type 2 diabetes.

How are your sugar levels? When was the last time you checked?


Relieved,

L

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the favorable results :)

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    1. Thank you! High school ko pa iniisip to

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