ONE - Prednisolone

[Roselily100]

I was diagnosed with the above around 9 months ago. I believe this was caused by Vivid as I was perfectly healthy before. I have been tapering down a couple of times then it seems to get worse and I'm back on it. However intelligent to back on although my doc said my blood test was a bit high and I also have prediabetes caused by the steroid. He told me to cut out sugar and processed goods but I rarely have processed food and very little sugar. You cannot speak to a doctor so they just text and it's very frustrating.. I am concerned about diabetes so wonder if there is anything else other than this steroid.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Not really any viable alternative to Pred -but sounds as if you are trying to rush down too quickly (even if you think you aren’t).

Pre diabetes didn’t necessarily become diabetes -and hopefully once you reduce Pred your blood sugars should return to normal.

Koalajane has successfully reversed her diabetes -sure she’ll be along to give advice

For general info maybe have a look at this link -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

and there’s lots of info in FAQ re weight etc /

[SnazzyD]

Pred does a good job which is why other things aren’t used other than to help reduce it, which doesn’t always work anyway. Looking at your story, it does look like you’ve reduced way too fast. You need to go very slowly to find the lowest dose for your particular level of inflammation. Getting to zero in itself isn’t the cure and if you keep going at in the hope that this time it’ll stick, you can get into a bit of a mess. Yo yo’ing can end up with you taking more Pred over time than of you had been slow and steady.

Regards blood sugar, Pred usually demands more than a healthy diet and avoiding sugar and processed foods. Carbohydrates as a whole, even wholemeal needs to be watched. The Pred causes the liver to create more glucose before you eat a morsel so if you have carbs on top, it makes it worse. Refined carbs make the spikes steeper but carbs are carbs. You can have elevated blood sugars but not necessarily be diabetic but you can become diabetic if your sugars are persistently high if your pancreas can’t cope any more. You can also become insulin resistant. For most of my Pred journey I had to have no bread, rice, potato or flours but some can get away with a bit.

[Oh-my]

I managed to drop back from pre-diabetes by taking a few steps. I completely cut out cakes and biscuits (I ate very few anyway). The big change was reducing my carbs - I love bread - but also how and when I had them. When I do have potatoes, pasta and rice I cook them first thing and cool them down over the day in the fridge. This makes resistant starch which is less digestible. You can reheat all except potatoes which change back. Before eating any carb have a bowl of salad or veg first as this acts as a mesh and slows down carb digestion - reducing the sugar peak. Especially with a dash of olive oil.

Protein, as well as oil, slows down carbohydrate/sugar absorption so peanut butter on an oatcake or on a thin slice of bread also works.

Having a walk after a meal also helps reduce the sugar peak. For snacks I have seeds or nuts, and my treat for the day is very dark chocolate and a whole fruit. Berries are best but I have found whole fruit after a meal is okay for me because of the high fibre which also slows sugar absorption.

Maybe this year I’ll actually have a small piece of my birthday cake! After a bowl of cabbage.

[Koalajane]

hi, I put my diabetes into remission quickly by cutting carbs drastically and by walking after eating. I found also that my sugar spikes were around 4 hours after eating breakfast and taking pred and lasted for about 5hours so I don’t eat in that time. I don’t get the high spikes from the prednisolone now that I am down to 3.5mg of pred.

Good luck to you