Valuable Advice

Periodically, the Blog likes to give some useful advice, and that often is the only time the Blog provides anything "useful."

My advice -- Never schedule a glucose tolerance test (GCT) on the same day you schedule a dental cleaning.

Why? I am doing this study for CU Hospital. Since it is a study I cannot divulge the full details, but I have to do periodic GCTs for the study. For the unaware, a GCT requires you to fast for at least eight hours. They then draw blood from you to establish baseline levels. Fifteen minutes later, you are given a small bottle containing what is the equivalent of a sugar-laden orange soda. That is your sole nourishment for the four hour study during which they draw blood from you at 30 minute intervals. My GCT ran longer than expected, so I was unable to grab lunch before my dentist appt as I had planned to do. As a result, I had my cleaning on an empty stomach. This heightened my gag reflex, and, just my luck, my hygienist wields a mean pick. She likes to explore the full depths of my mouth (boy, this is sounding pretty racy here; rest assured it was not as I clung to the chair and stared at the map of the world on the ceiling). So I was in permanent gag mode for the duration of the appt. And to facilitate her cleaning of my molars she really likes to reach deep into my mouth (again, in a totally non-erotic manner). To enhance her reach, she has to essentially plant her chest into my face, or vice-versa. Normally, I enjoy this immeasurably, but since I was in gag mode this time, it was torture. So this is why I counsel against doing a GCT on the same day as a dental cleaning.