gestational diabetes

I am pregnant, and I failed my one hour blood sugar test and had to take the 3 hour. I failed two of the four tests during the 3 hour, but get this- I only failed one of those tests by ONE point. I hear that if you failed two tests during the 3 hour they make you stick your finger at home after meals, but do you think this will be necessary when I only failed by one point on one of the tests? I failed the fasting level by one point-- it was supposed to be 95 or below and mine was 96. I don't really want this to be the deciding factor of whether or not I stick my finger all the time at home. My cousin is a pharmacist and she failed all 4 tests during the 3 hour and didn't have to monitor her sugar at home.. she was just put on a diet. However, the lab at my OBGYN is sending me to the diabetes center and I am just assuming that they'll make me do the worst. I want to do everything for my baby I can, but I'm just wanting to know what all is necessary in my situation.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

I suspect that it will depend on how cautious your particular doctor is. And maybe how large your baby seems to be growing... if blood sugar levels are running high, then the baby tends to be a bit larger than average sizes. A good doctor will look not only at the one time test, but also at those kinds of things. I suppose my feeling is that it is better to test and KNOW that all is well rather than to not test and make assumptions. So if you are asked to test your glucose levels and they run in the normal ranges then no harm is done. If you get some high numbers occasionally, then you follow by lowering carbohydrate counts in order to help your body process the carbs you eat while pregnant. Gestational diabetes happens because the hormones that are elevated when you are pregnant block the effectiveness of the insulin you produce (in some women more than in others), and it is almost always a temporary thing that goes back to normal after the baby is born. It sounds as if your doctor is being cautious, which is good.