Has anyone else on our lovely group been told they have diabetes, three taken steroid.also wondering what to eat for sugar levels.thankyou in advance.from geordiegirl47
Dibeaties.: Has anyone else on our lovely group... - PMRGCAuk
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geordiegirl1947
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Hi Geordiegirl. I guess the best advice is what we tell everyone, not just those with pre-existing diabetes: cut the carbs. The more seriously your blood sugar has increased the stricter you need to be. Also by eating a bit of protein when you do consume carbs (there are carbs in root veggies for example) that helps to smooth out any potential sugar spikes. I'm not diabetic but when at my higher doses of pred my blood sugar got significantly higher and I did have to deal with it. I cut out basically all "white" carbs, that is to say carbs from grains, and sweet things became a rare treat, not a daily thing. This kept the level down, and eventually as my pred dose was tapered it returned to normal. I'm sure I would have been in trouble if I hadn't done that.
Oh bless you,thankyou so much for that sound advice.i will try anything,I was quite shocked when my dr told me she said it was the steroids.once I off them it should go back to normal but have no idea when that will be,I am on 60mgs.its so hard al, of this. Xx
Yes the higher dose will make it more difficult. I was fortunate I didn't need the GCA dose. Even so the curbing of carbs should help, and it will also help keep down potential weight gain. I didn't gain any weight at all, probably a combination of careful diet and more exercise - I was afraid of the bone thinning effects of pred so was really careful about taking useful supplements and doing a fair amount of weight-bearing exercise (mostly walking) and even managed to improve my bone density, much to my doctor's astonishment!
It will probably improve as you reduce anyway - but in the meantime cutting all added sugar as well as processed carbs (package manufactured baked goods above all) will make a big difference and probably make you feel better in yourself too.
This site
is good, really easy to understand and has easy to remember picture pages of what to avoid and what is OK to eat. Keep root veg to a minimum and limit fruit - the carbs in them soon mount up - but you are fine with salads and above ground veg, meat, fish, cheese and eggs. Don't cut it all at once - cut maybe a quarter the first week, another quarter the second and another a third week and that makes getting used to the changes easier. Once you are used to it you will probably find you really don't get that hungry and want to snack as is so common with pred.
Hi, gg1947, sorry to hear you have steroid induced diabetes. I have had diabetes since at least 2000/1 and until pred controlled it with diet and Metformin in the main. Since the 2nd year of pred I have been on insulin. I have been following a low carb, high fat diet as recommended by diabetes uk. I have lost 2 stones and my hba1c has come down from.114 to 55 which is generally ok as someone on insulin. I am providing a link to their website. It provides details of low carbing and there is a forum that I just follow and don't usually contribute to. There are lots of discussion about newly diagnosed people so you can have a lurk around and start to understand. I am sure if you follow a low carb approach you will be back to normal range after pred or even when you get lower. I went on insulin at 15mg pred and was on 30units of my insulin 2xdaily. Now I am at 6mg pred and my insulin dose has been halved. I expect to get off insulin eventually. If you have questions you can ask as you learn more. Here is the link...it has a low carb program you can join.
Valentina1 in reply to
I found your reply very helpful as similar has happened to myself. I found speaking to Diabetes Advisor so very helpful. I also spoke to my local pharmacist.
Hi Geordiegirl,
My husband reversed his type2 diabetes following a low carb diet with recipes from a book "the 8 week blood sugar diet recipe book" by Dr Clare Bailey. We have largely been using this book for a couple of years now, but I had got a bit slack having more than the odd bar of chocolate. I was devastated when I went pre diabetic , which my dr said was due to the steroids. Over 6 months greatly reducing the chocolate & mostly sticking to the diet, I am now back in the normal range. We don't follow the diet if going out.
I hope it works for you
I also reversed diabetes with a low carb diet and walking. I can recommend “Reverse Your Diabetes” by Dr David Cavan if you’re interested in more detail. Good luck! 😊
Hi there gg1947. Last week I received a letter from gp to say I was at increased risk of diabetes! Don't know if I can honestly blame it on the steroids, as I've been borderline once before a couple of years ago. I've since got myself registered on a diabetes prevention program for next month. In the meantime I'm trying my best to combat this to stop it developing into full blown diabetes, so on the advice of my son who is a personal trainer, I've started a food diary to watch what and how much I eat, and upped my activity levels.... I've actually managed 10,000 steps most days and have surprised myself! Don't know if I'm doing the right thing but my body hasn't really shouted out yet. Currently on 6mg. Haven't weighed myself yet, but I have put on a stone since the illness so am hoping with all my efforts I will have lost a pound! 🤣 All the best with your efforts too. Let us know how you get on, or PM me if you want a diet/fitness buddy!
Cutting carbs, especially processed ones, really does work for both weight control and the threat of steroid induced diabetes when you are on pred.
Yes, thank you PMRpro. I have been more careful with the carb intake (calories) and been more active. I've been on the scales this morning and am very pleased to see I've lost four pounds!! Never thought I had lost four, maybe one, so I feel great that I've achieved something. We'll see how it goes this week. My son has told me I will probably slow down a bit now as four is quite a bit, but what a start! I'm lucky to have his advice and support, as well as everyone on this wonderful forum. X
Calories are not so important when you cut the carbs - which means you can use non-carb foods to fill up which is important,
