To see how well your body can response to keep your blood sugar within normal limit.

You are requested not to eat or drink anything from mid-night on the day of the test.

You will be asked to lie flat for the duration of the test. Your named nurse will introduce herself and explain what to expect.

A small needle/canula will be inserted into a vein in the back of your hand or arm. This is called a venflon and allows your named nurse to obtain blood samples without causing too much discomfort.

An initial blood sample will be taken to check the level of blood sugar, which will be the lowest value after fasting overnight.

You will then be asked to drink a standard amount of glucose (75 grams), dissolved in the water, within 5 to 10 minutes.

This glucose drink will raise your blood sugar level. Normally our body can response to that and blood sugar level should be back to the normal value within 2 hours after the glucose drink.

We will take the blood samples at 30 minutes interval for 2 hours after the glucose drink, to see how high your blood sugar reached and also to see the level of the blood sugar at 2 hours after the glucose drink. More often now, we just take blood samples at baseline and after two hours only.

Sometimes, we will also check the urine sample for the glucose at every 30 minutes during the test. A person does not normally have sugar in the urine but it can be present when you have high blood sugar level.

Your named nurse will monitor you and will help you if you have concerns or if you feel unwell in anyway.

On completion your venflon will be removed and you will be offered refreshments prior to going home.

Your doctor will be informed of the results.

Please note that Clinical Investigation Unit has no smoking policy.

If you have any queries or worries, please do not hesitate to contact the nursing staff for further information on 01382 632494.

We hope to make your stay as pleasant as possible.