Steroids and raised blood sugars

[Jomaur]

I am seeing my GP on Tuesday for the results of my recent blood test. I already have been told that my blood sugar levels are raised but have not yet been told the reading. I am currently on 7.5 mg Prednisolone for PMR and hope to taper down to 7 mg in a week or two. Has anyone managed to successfully reduce their blood sugar levels while still taking Pred.?I have been on this for nearly two years during which time my weight and my blood pressure have both increased. Due to spinal issues I cannot walk far or stand for long without pain so exercising is difficult.

[Pusph]

HI, yes the Prednisolone caused me to be pre-diabetic with reading of 44 (under 41 is considered normal). I was told to cut out sugar, carbohydrates and at last blood test (couple of months later) my reading was 38. Now going back to eating pretty much normally except I shall lay off cake, biscuits and sugar in my tea etc as all unnecessary anyway. The problem I have is with still losing a lot of weight!

[Jomaur in reply to Pusph]

Should find out what my reading is on Tuesday. Know quite a bit about diabetic diet as we helped my late brother in law, who was Type 1 with many complications, for quite a few years. Just wondered how much steroids affect any dietary changes you make and a little peeved that my doctors haven’t done a blood test for well over a year!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Jomaur]

Pred triggers the liver to release spikes of glucose from the body stores. That of course raises the average level of BS over time - all you can do it reduce the dietary contribution to try to keep the average lower. But some people manage that very well.

[MrsNails]

Hi

Have a read of other Members Experiences of Weight Loss from FAQ’s

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

It can be done….

MrsN

[Jomaur in reply to MrsNails]

Thank you I will have a look.

[Kendrew]

HI Jomaur,

Personally, I've been fortunate enough so far to have not yet developed raised blood sugar levels, despite being on pred for over 3yrs now. I work very hard at eating a healthy diet though and have taken heed of all the advice given here in order to help prevent that situation occurring.

It's frequently mentioned here and if you scroll down beyond the 'posts' you'll see links to these past discussions. I know others with first hand experience and more knowledge will be along too with some reliable and more informed advice.

Certainly, keeping your weight down and a low sugar/carb diet is definitely required if any improvement is to be made. Sometimes though, simply cutting out cakes, chocolate etc, isn't enough and a serious reduction in carb intake is required. This means eliminating bread, pasta, rice, certain fruits and some veg....all of which are high in carbs...which ultimately means high in sugar.

Many people have had a high degree of success following this regime but it has meant being quite disciplined in controlling what they've eaten. It's worth the effort though as not only will it reduce your blood glucose levels, it will reduce your weight too.

I know from all the related posts I've read previously that it's definitely possible to turn things around and either reverse the diabetes and in some cases, even eliminate it completely.

Don't be disheartened because I'm sure you'll be able to improve things further.

Wishing you all the best.

[Jomaur in reply to Kendrew]

Thank you I know that this can be reversed by being really careful to watch carb intake. Sadly I’ve seen in a family member,no longer with us, the effects of not doing this and consequently being hospitalised for the last two years of his life.

[Kendrew in reply to Jomaur]

Rearly sorry to hear about your family member. That's very sad.

Our condition can cause many associated problems which unfortunately often require difficult and challenging interventions to remediate, but frustratingly, nothing that's worth achieving comes easy.

[Jomaur in reply to Kendrew]

Thank you. My late brother in law was diagnosed at about age 19 but never really accepted having diabetes and that was in the days of glass syringes and thick needles. Years of neglect and a lot of stress on his family led to him spending the last 18 months of his life in bed in hospital and an early death at age 60. Fortunately a diagnosis of pre diabetes does allow the chance to make beneficial changes it’s just annoying that the only treatment available to us carries so many serious side effects.

[Kendrew in reply to Jomaur]

Thats very sad to hear and I really feel for you..

The treatment does carry the risk of some serious side effects but we're extremely unlikely to experience every one of them individually, and many of them can either be minimised and in some instances, even prevented.

It does mean some work on our part though, as just taking the medication and hoping for the best will most definitely not result in a good outcome. An appropriate, healthy diet is essential, as is some form of exercise...however short or simple that is. These two things alone can help enormously.

Being aware of our own bodies and how we can best 'manage' any side effects will definitely be beneficial in the long term. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but it's most definitely worth the effort involved.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Cut your carbs - especially processed carbs and added sugar and limit fruit and root veg.

How much you need to cut them varies from person to person but several have reversed a pre-diabetes status and a couple have reversed Type 2 diabetes by doing so,

Tip - keep a food diary and be honest about quantities because it is all too easy for the amount of carbohydrate to build up - every small amount adds up and carbs hide in all sorts of places, especially in processed foods. I find this a useful site to identify what is going to contribute to your carb intake:

dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Scroll down to see picture guides to what is good and what to avoid.

[Jomaur in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you I will have a look at this.

[winfong]

I have no trouble with sugar (just not my thing), but reducing carbs is a whole other question entirely. I did, though, finally buckle down and make a serious effort, and have been getting great results.

In fact, I think that my normally measuring my blood sugar helped a lot here just by itself. Seeing how something that you thought was fairly innocuous could spike your numbers was very enlightening. Alternatively, it was also great to see how "sticking with the program" really did seem to work.

[Jomaur in reply to winfong]

Like you sugar and sweet things are not my thing. Carbs are my downfall and particularly in the winter. Still hopefully as I also reduce my Prednisolone together with cutting down in carbs and sugar my blood sugar levels will go down.

[Hunter134]

My sugar has been rising aft being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years ago Blood work in June showed a a1c of 11 and a morning blood sugar at 9.My Dr sent me a prescription of Metformin which I wanted to try if I could lessen my reads.I cut back on carbs and ate smaller portions.Mostly meat and veggies.Only one fruit a day.I was sent for another blood test ant to my surprise my A1c was 6.4 and my morning non fasting as I had oatmeal for breakfast was 4.8.So iam convinced it can be done and iam on 15 mg of Prednisone.Good luck you got this!!!

[Jomaur in reply to Hunter134]

Thank you and well done!

[Hunter134]

I didn't take the metformin by the way.

[Miserere]

Yes, Jomaur - low carb diet - in fact almost keto and I do go into ketosis sometimes. I've cut out sugars, wheat and dairy as well in my case. So protein and vegetables, nuts and seeds, lots of lovely salads and seasonal veg, plenty of oily fish etc. I was pre-diabetic but last test showed my numbers had decreased into the normal range. You can do it!