Is it prednisolone or prednisone interfering with diabetes

[Stradbroke13]

Hi everyone , I am really struggling at the moment , not sure if it a reaction to prednisolone or prednisone with type 2 diabetes ,after taking 35mg of prednisolone ,approx 3 to 4 hrs after ,I get hot face flushes , shaking in upper body,like a vibrating feeling , anxious & agitated . This lasts around 9 hours .my last blood sugar reading was 19 , I'm thinking it's the prednisolone interfering with the diabetes , what do you think & any ideas how I can help it please .

[SheffieldJane]

Is your diabetes showing that it is under control. Everything impacts on everything else. Be sure to rest a lot, you are a poorly person. Pred used to make me anxious on lower doses than you are on - especially about unfamiliar symptoms. Remember, all the time you are protecting your eyes. See your GP to make sure. I recognise all that you mention symptomwise and I don’t have the complication of diabetes. I used to describe that vibrating feeling as a sort of fizzing in my bloodstream, horrid, but it goes.

[Hidden]

Hi Stradbroke, your Dr's should be monitoring you closely at 35mg of pred. It will doubtedly be making you feel terrible if you bg readings are 19 that long after pred it can effect all parts of your body at that level. I have had type 2 diabetes for 18years.on 15mg of pred my hba1c was so high I had to start on insulin.

You need to see your Dr as a matter of urgency to get your diabetes under control. You need at adopt a low carb, high fat diet ASAP to do your bit in terms of supporting any meds you have to take for diabetes. Please let us know what the dr does. 🌻

dietdoctor.com/low-carb

[Stradbroke13 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Thankyou for reply .my diabetes was controlled until the prednisolone .is their a better time of day to take prednisolone as not to interfere with the diabetes ,do you know ? Thankyou

[Hidden in reply to Stradbroke13]

The pred is releasing random spikes of glucose, so it's difficult to predict when they occur. However if they occur when you have eaten high carb foods like bread, potatoes, pasta or anything with flour or sugar then those spikes may hit with random spike pushing blood glucose higher and higher. All the glucose sloshing around in your system is not good for you at all. I used metformin and diet pre pred and was fine for years usually hitting 6 to 8 ony hba1c. You could try cutting all carbs and see what happens, the high fat part gives your body energy and satisfies the appetite. The best bit of advice I can give you is to get a referral to a diabetes clinic. My had risen to over 30 and couldn't be measured on my machine. I should have been hospitalised according to diabetes clinic. The higher it goes you risk your kidneys, eyes and of course the blood gets more sticky glucose in. I have been left with neuropathy in my lower legs and feet that needs further meds. So please see your Dr, get a Referral and adopt low carb high fat diet. 🌻

[Stradbroke13 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou so much ,yes I've also got neuropathy & on medication xxx

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Pred alters the way the body processes carbs and also trigger random spikes of glucose into the blood by the liver. Did your doctors not tell you this? They should be monitoring you closely and probably have you under a specialist clinic to get it sorted rather than leaving it to you or even just the GP.

Do you have PMR or GCA? 35mg is a GCA dose - so have you actually been at a higher dose?

Just looked at your profile and past post: with a complex diagnosis like that you need urgent referral to the diabetes clinic and a specialist diabetologist.

[Stradbroke13 in reply to PMRpro]

They say I have both Gca & Pmr , was on 40mg prednisolone .awaiting a call from gp as what to do love x

[SnazzyD]

Apart from the sugar spike the symptoms you describe are also common symptoms of the steroid in the system and not necessarily related just to the increase in your blood sugar. It will reduce as the dose goes down. On the blood sugar front, even without diabetes I had to cut out almost all carbohydrates to keep my sugar at a normal level. Some people on this forum with diabetes have been able to control it this way and some have had a hard time and extra supervision was required.

[Stradbroke13 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thankyou , been awaiting gp to get bk to me ,today they said ,but haven't , do you think taking prednisolone at evening will be better as hear blood glucose is lower at night ? Also my mouth & tongue are very sore , could prednisolone cause that ? Thankyou .

[Hidden in reply to Stradbroke13]

Hi, that sounds like thrush from the high blood sugar. A lot of people on pred get it I am afraid. I suspect the dr has been focusing on gca but needs to ensure you are fully supported across all your health issues. I can't say I feel brilliant but it's night and day to how I felt when my diabetes was out of control. I am afraid you have to get advice on how to make changes to your diet. You can get a prescription for nystatin for your sore mouth so you will need to see Dr to sort that out. See if you can book a double appointment. 🌻

Please have a look around this website. I have found it very useful for reading up on diabetes.

diabetes.co.uk/

[Stradbroke13 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou x

[SnazzyD]

You risk not sleeping because of those symptoms which is debatably just as bad in a different way. I would just make my diet low in carbs so that the sugar spikes aren’t piling on sugar on sugar. Your sore mouth is possibly due to a fungal infection brought about both by the high sugar and the immunosuppressant effect of Pred. Your doctor needs to see it and may prescribe medication for it.

[Stradbroke13 in reply to SnazzyD]

I've avoided carbs today & since been on prednisolone I'm only sleeping 3hours a night ,trying to get to speak/ see my gp will have to ring them again tomoz Thankyou for you're help love , may I ask ? Do you know what is best honey/ sugar with diabetes .? I had only been diagnosed with type 2 a month before getting diagnosed with Gca & Pmr .

[SnazzyD in reply to Stradbroke13]

Neither, honey is still sugar and is no better for diabetic control. The types of things you need to avoid are bread, pasta,, potato, rice, maize, pastry etc. You need some advice from people monitoring your diabetes also, especially if you are insulin controlled. As has been said, perhaps you need referral to a specialist as you are on moderate/high doses of Pred.

The sleeplessness is awful, I do remember. I lived on naps and gave up on the standard solid night’s sleep. Some people need to ask the doc for some medicinal help with that too. It does get better!

[Stradbroke13 in reply to SnazzyD]

I'm not on any medication for diabetes yet love ,that's why I so worried .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Stradbroke13]

Then for the moment you need to cut carbs, especially simple carbs and added sugar of all sorts. Cook from scratch and keep it simple: above ground veggies, little fruit, no cakes, bread, pasta. Meat and fish, eggs and moderate cheese are fine.

And get an emergency referral to the diabetes clinic.

[Stradbroke13 in reply to PMRpro]

Thankyou I'm feeling pretty shocking at the moment .last reading was 18.4

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Stradbroke13]

I think you need to go to the GP immediately - high BS levels can make you feel quite ill and even in the short term can be dangerous.

diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and...

[Stradbroke13 in reply to PMRpro]

Thankyou ,I've had awful night .trying to get through to drs now x

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Stradbroke13]

If the receptionists are unhelpful, I would turn up in person and insist on being seen, at least by the diabetic nurse. In fact, since your BS levels have consistently been above 17 for a while now, going to A&E wouldn't be out of place.

[SnazzyD in reply to Stradbroke13]

Yes to what PMRPro says! It may feel like everything is out of control but you can grab this by the horns.

[HeronNS]

I don't have diabetes but after I started 15 mg pred I had a reading of 12. This of course meant nothing to me but my doctor said it was high, I promptly cut out virtually all carbs, especially grains and sweet things. The level dropped but did not get fully back to normal until my pred dose was down close to 5 mg. If you had diabetes prior to pred you must be just as drastic as I was with diet, plus, as the others said, get professional advice. There is no added sugar of any kind which is good for you at the moment. Good luck. And do let us know how you get on. Hope you feel better soon.

[Stradbroke13 in reply to HeronNS]

Thankyou x

[HeronNS in reply to Stradbroke13]

Unfortunately it appears that artificial sweeteners are not good for diabetics either:

usnews.com/news/health-care...

so be careful until you get things sorted.