Exercise glucose test (OGTT) with 4 blood samples
The aim of the exercise blood glucose test
Exercise glucose testing (also known as OGTT – oral glucose tolerance test) is used to screen for diabetes without symptoms, pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance) and gestational diabetes.
In the latter case, diabetes, which is a risk to both mother and foetus, develops during pregnancy in women who were previously healthy.
To rule out gestational diabetes, a blood glucose test is performed at 28 weeks of pregnancy.
week of pregnancy.
It should not be performed if a diagnosis of diabetes can be made on the basis of fasting and/or postprandial blood glucose levels.
The results of the exercise blood glucose test can be used to assess the state of carbohydrate metabolism.
With medication and/or appropriate diet and lifestyle changes, mild abnormalities can be reversed or maintained, but without treatment, pre-diabetic conditions can lead to diabetes and other complications.
As diabetes cannot be cured, it is particularly recommended that those who are at risk of developing it should have a blood glucose test.
How is the test done?
The first step of the test is to take a fasting blood sample to determine fasting blood glucose levels.
A solution containing 75 grams of glucose is then prepared and consumed within a few minutes, washed down with no more than a few sips of water.
The blood glucose level is then determined from venous blood at 60, 90, and 60.
and 120.
minutes, so a total of four blood samples are taken over 2 hours.
These 2 hours must be spent at rest, without eating or drinking.
You can read and watch TV in the waiting room of our clinic in a relaxed environment.
Due to the limited capacity of our waiting room, please bring a maximum of one accompanying person.
The test is not painful and requires only 4 needle pricks.
Our nurses, with decades of expertise, ensure that successive blood tests are not a strain for our patients.
After the exercise blood glucose test, drink plenty of fluids and eat a meal.
It is a good idea to prepare some breakfast or snacks, as patients often have a drop in blood glucose levels after the blood test.
The chances of other side effects are minimal.
Preparation
You can have dinner the day before the blood glucose test, ideally between 6 and 7 pm.
After this time you should not eat, but you can take your usual medication during the evening.
For fluids, you can drink plain, non-carbonated water.
You must arrive on an empty stomach on the day of the test:
- no coffee, tea, fruit juice, milk, only non-carbonated water;
- no medicine should be taken (unless your doctor tells you to);
- drink at least 1 glass of still water after getting up.
