Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Banks and diabetes

So. As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I failed that one-hour glucose test last Friday. The one-hour test is just a screen, not diagnostic, so it's not like failing the test meant that I actually had gestational diabetes, but I didn't take the news so well. As in, I totally started crying and was very upset about it for the rest of the day. What can I say? I never claimed to be reasonable.

Anyway, I did the three-hour test yesterday, and I passed! Which means that I do not have gestational diabetes, and since I am 29 weeks along, I am not in danger of getting it. (Glucose levels peak at 24-28 weeks.) I do not have to take that damn test again and I do not have to worry about GD for the rest of this pregnancy. This is SUCH a relief, I can't even begin to tell you. That three-hour test really freaked me out. Seriously, the night before the test I slept like absolute shit. I actually dreamed about the test several times, and woke up at least once an hour all stressed about it. That combined with the 15 hours of fasting required for the test really made for a less than pleasant experience, but the negative test result more than made up for that.

Still, I have to say, doesn't it seem like there should be a better way to diagnose GD than this test? I mean, starving a pregnant woman for 15+ hours before pumping her full of simple sugar and then waiting for her blood sugar to spike and then crash just doesn't seem like the healthiest approach to this issue, you know?

Also, my blood sugar at the three-hour mark was 65. That is LOW. Luckily I remembered to bring a snack with me to the hospital so that I could stabilize a bit before driving home. I do not think it would have been safe for me to drive home with my blood sugar in the low 60s. By the time I was allowed to eat my snack I was actually shaking. This test should come with a warning! And, even after I had eaten a nice healthy lunch, I was exhausted for the rest of the afternoon, and not just because I had slept poorly the previous night.

Anyway! In other news, that whole mess with Wachovia has been resolved. And by "resolved" I mean that they mailed me back the original check without any explanation of why it was rejected. I called them, and they weren't able to explain why it was rejected, but they were able to clarify that since the original check was mailed back to me, that means the dispute has been closed out and I don't have to worry that they will now try to cash the check, so I am free and clear to have it re-issued without worrying that it will end up getting deposited twice.

So, great, if you want to call that a resolution. Which I do, because it means we're not in limbo anymore, but I am still so disgusted over the whole thing and how it was handled. We are thinking about switching banks--but I'm not sure. How disappointed would Wachovia be to lose a customer that maintains only a free checking account? Does it actually matter to them if we switch? I'm guessing not. So is it worth the hassle on our end to go to another bank? Will we benefit from it? Will another bank actually be better in any way, or are they all the same?

I don't know. And I'm tired just thinking about it, and about changing online bill pays, and my paycheck direct deposit, and ordering new checks, and so on. So I guess for now we will stagnate. And hope that there are no problems with the re-issued check.

And even if there are, at least I don't have gestational diabetes. Perhaps that knowledge will give me the strength to fight with Wachovia again? But please, please, please, don't let it come to that.

13 comments:

  1. I don't understand why they made you take TWO rounds of glucose tests. That's ridiculous! I'm glad you passed though!

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  2. Yay for the test results!

    I "quit" a bank once after poor handling of a problem. It made me feel a little better--in your face, Big Bank!--but it helped that it was pretty easy to walk out (this is back when I only had a checking account, no automatic deposits, and my account only had a few hundred in it at any one time--I bet they were really devastated at my desertion). If the same thing happened now I'd probably write an angry letter, groan unhappily, and stick with them because it wasn't worth the hassle of changing everything.

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  3. Poor you with all this undue stress! I recommend a nice warm bath, candles, a good book, and fuzzy jammies. Maybe a cookie or 3.

    You and Piglet get your relax on!

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  4. I cried when I failed the one-hour test with my first pregnancy too. Yay for passing the 3-hour test! Every time you write GD test, I think goddamned test. Heh.

    The bank might not care about you specifically, but maybe you're part of a trend that will make the bank pay attention.

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  5. I burst into tears in my OBGYN's office when he told me that I had failed the one hour GD screening, so I understand where you're coming from. I was also barely able to drive home after the three hour test. I fell asleep in the waiting room, TWICE, so great was the blood sugar crash.

    And, I have totally left a bank after an issue like that. We now bank with a credit union and have had not a single problem in six years/

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  6. Stupid bank.

    I agree about the glucose test. They should at least warn you that you should bring a snack. I was sweating and shaky and feeling like puking by the time it was done.

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  7. Free checking or no, Wachovia makes money off of having your account. Trust me.

    I'm glad you don't hjave the GD, but damn, if that is not a pain in the ass, I don't know what it. With Bud and Lucy, the initial screening involved me drinking a can of orange crush and having my blood drawn. I only had to drink the orange crap with Liv, and thanks God I didn't need to do the 3 hour test.

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  8. i am so annoyed on your behalf!! that wachovia thing is SO RIDICULOUS! ARGH!

    my own bank was down for system upgrades for FOUR DAYS over the weekend, INCLUDING monday, the first day of the month. when, say, people need to pay rent, for example. helpful!

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  9. Almost every woman I know failed their first glucose test, but none of them had gestational diabetes. That test is absolutely ridiculous. But yay for passing! Hopefully with this and the bank stuff *sort of* behind you, you can relax a bit! I can't believe how fast your pregnancy is going by.

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  10. Yay for passing the test and not having to worry about it any more! :)

    Earlier this year when I opened our small business checking account for our new business I ended up going with a credit union and I have never had such great customer service. Not a single problem & everyone seems genuinely friendly and helpful whenever I go in. (Which isn't all that often, but still it is something that strikes me every time). I totally plan on switching our personal accounts there too.

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  11. Yay! So glad to hear you passed the test. Sorry about the shakes. Sometimes health care seems so, well, barbaric, but...at least we have these tests, right?

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  12. Dealing with banks fills me with rage most of the time. BoA keeps issuing me a new card which means I have to change a lot of my accounts that I use to pay with it and it is a huge pain. I feel for you.

    Glad your results were good this time!

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  13. I'm glad your results came back clear! The prospect of GD is so overwhelming to me.

    I'm sorry the bank gave you such grief--we're lucky to have an amazing local bank, but we do split things up between USAA and Ing as well, because we're exciting like that. It's a pain to add new accounts sometimes, but good customer service is priceless.

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