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Prednisone and blood sugar

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Posted 4/28/2016 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, I could stand your input on maintaing blood sugar while on prednisone and how high is too high when on this med. (Feel free to scroll past my rambling) Since my hospitalization I was on iv steriods for about two weeks and sent home with now 40mgs for atleast the next week (on top of all my other new meds). I don't think any of my previous flares required me to be at this dosage for this long and even with the last one they managed to go straight from iv to Humira without the long taper and had success. After coming home yesterday I feel "funny". I know I'm adjusting to the meds and some of the things in feeling I'm sure are from the prednisone that it's just been a while since I experienced.
The main one that is disconcerting is this funny floating feeling, kind of dizzy like or slightly off balance, spacy feeling in my eyes. I've been not too concerned because i wouldn't expect to feel normal with the steriods. But today I ate a small lunch which was just plain pasta and some tuna. I don't remember feeling tired but I was sitting on my sofa. I passed out and came to several hours later (side note: with my cat licking my face incessantly and shoving her head under my chin which just added to the bizarreness of it). It was a weird shocking feeling like a very unnatural sleep that startled me like having passed out not simply fallen asleep. I am wondering if it's blood sugar related (my mother is diabetic partially due to steriods in the past and has mentioned something that sounds similar to the feeling/passing out I had) I realized they never checked my blood sugar before or after meals while I was in the hospital but I don't know if that's usually done.
Has anyone else dealt with this? EDIT: I checked it with a monitor and seems to be fairly okay so far so now I have no clue.
Thanks for the input!

Post Edited (Labradorite) : 4/27/2016 10:02:41 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/30/2016 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, prednisone definitely affects your blood sugar levels. I found that when on higher doses (30+mg, which I know some might not consider 30mg very high) if a strict diet alone doesn't help then either medication or insulin needs to be started. It sucks. I struggle really hard when flaring to control the diabetes since my safe foods are full of carbs. It's always a fine line of which monster do I want to upset, Crohn's or Diabetes. I would continue to check your sugar (fasting, either before a meal or 2 hrs after) and keep a log of the results (Both of the food you ate and the blood results). That will help control some if you can see patterns.

My carb allotment is: 30g breakfast, 45g lunch, 60g dinner, and 15g for a snack between meals.
Posted 4/30/2016 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Oh yes. It elevates mine. When I was in the hospital last time they kept coming in and giving me shots of insulin. I was shocked and was like hey I don't have diabetes! That's when they informed me the steroids were raising my blood sugar too much. Pretty scary what that one drug can do to you!
Posted 5/1/2016 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
OH, most definitely!!! Both my parents had type 2 diabetes, mom developed type 1 later in life. I was on prednisone a number of times before my total proctocolectomy with end ileo in 2010. While returning from a camping trip, in 2009, I became incessantly thirsty and my fingers felt tingly. I knew immediately it was diabetes. Of course it just so happened to be on a Sunday evening, when doctors are not available, except emergency. When we returned home, I urinated on one of those test strips for urine glucose, which I had around from mom. It turned dark purple which is extremely high. I thought, OH my GOD...if it is this high in my urine, my blood glucose must really be up there. I called the doctor and the on call physician phoned me back. To my dismay, she didn't seem concerned shocked ! She said, "Oh, it is probably from the prednisone." Well, No **** Sherlock! I knew that! I was worried about going into a coma during the night. Needless to say, I hardly slept and saw my doctor first thing in the morning, sure enough, my blood glucose was over 200 and I hadn't eaten since 5 pm the previous day. YES, it was from the prednisone. The doctor prescribed Medformin and I bought a blood glucose monitor. Not only did prednisone give me diabetes (which I no longer have because of my operation and have been off prednisone for 5 1/2 years), but I had uncontrollable high blood pressure, with readings of 216/110 while taking 3 blood pressure meds daily. UGH. Prednisone is a killer, honey, and the sooner you are able to ditch that drug, the better. My blood pressure is now well controlled with 50 mgm of Toprol xl daily.
Posted 5/1/2016 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
I was blacking out from low blood sugar "spells" while being on prednisone for over a year, coupled with gall-bladder attacks which I think added to the problem. When I would have it happen, I felt paralyzed, which was very frightening.

Your cat was taking care of you. When I had a bad flare once that caused my heart to beat erratically, the cat we had would lie down next to my chest and start heavily purring. I eventually landed in the hospital. The cat had never lay down with me before that happened, and never did she do it afterward.
Posted 5/1/2016 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the input everyone! I'm watching it though it was slightly higher before my meal it never really went that high so I'm still a little confused what is causing this feeling.

JaSanne that sounds absolutely terrible! I'm so sorry! But you raise an interesting point I left out the fact that I've been having severe issues with my heart rate being erratic (sitting down it may either be low or high and standing up it is very high and has been exacerbated by the steriods) that was actually why I sat down, I was waiting for the cardiziem to kick in because it was way too high to move around. The heart rate might explain the cat and I'm wondering if the cardiziem or one of my meds, cardiziem, steriods, remicade, 6mp making me feel like this cause it seems to be mainly midafternoon after I've taken them. Feeling pretty crumby today on top of it with a runny nose.
Posted 5/1/2016 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Labradorite, is cardiziem a beta blocker? I take Medopropel (sp?), generic for Toprol xl. It is a beta blocker and slows the heart rate. I also had a rapid heart rate while on prednisone. I took 6MP for seven years and it never did squats. Don't know why I took it that long! Guess just blindly followed my GI doctor's orders. It did, however, raise my liver and pancreatic enzyme levels to very high levels..ugh. It's a wonder I am still alive. If the disease didn't kill me, I am sure I would have been a goner from the meds by now.
Posted 5/2/2016 12:26 AM (GMT 0)
Christine1946, I think cardiziem is, did Medopropel work for you? I believe that the physicians assistant suggested that drug to me on my last day in the hospital but we decided to give the cardiziem a little longer. So far it isn't doing the trick and the doctor I was supposed to follow up with is switching practices so I'm going to have to start over figuring out the heart situation with someone else but I'm glad you mentioned that cause I couldn't remember them name of the suggested one. I'm so sorry you were on 6mp for that long with no good out come. My doctor is suggesting it for 1 to 2 years since I'm still in my twenties and it would be risky for me to continue the combo with remicade beyond that time depending on how my body responds. Yeah it really is a double edged sword between meds and the disease. I am notorious for getting all the side effects so I'm just trying not to think about that right now since I have no other options. What do you take right now? Did your liver and pancreas recover after you were off of it?
Posted 5/3/2016 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry taking so long for me to respond. I just read your last post. It is Metoprolol Succ. ER 50 mgm/once daily. Lately, my blood pressure has been a bit erratic. The doctor isn't sure what is causing this. Could be the fact that I have been under some stress the last few months. I am supposed to be taking my blood pressure with my cuff, twice daily. I have been bad at that..lol...I fell a week ago Saturday and sustained a chest contusion. Hurts like the dickens and I think that is the reason my BP has been a bit high. Otherwise, it has been great! When I was on prednisone, it was 216/110 a lot even while taking 50 mgm of Toprol, Norvasc AND one other BP med (name escapes me now). I am shocked I never had a stroke! When I stopped the 6MP, my liver and pancreatic enzyme levels quickly dropped to normal levels. When I was able to get off the prednisone, two months after my total colectomy with end ileo, I was able to control my BP on the 50 mgm of Toprol. My blood glucose also returned to normal. I no longer have diabetes. I am 69 yrs old, hope to reach 70 in August.
Posted 5/5/2016 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the reply Christine1946! I am going to bring that medication up at my next appointment because I still have some times when the rate goes to high. My trouble is the blood pressure is normal/low which is great but makes medicating for the rate a little more difficult. I hope your blood pressure issues resolve soon! Glad your off the prednisone despite having to have such a major procedure. 216/110 is an awfully scary number. My mother had hers go up to that range when her medication needed to be adjusted and she would get spikes at night. She had symptoms of a TIA/mini stroke from it. And an early happy birthday to you!

I have pretty much ruled that is the 6mp causing me these feelings. I separated the times I take my meds and it always kicks in 1.5 to 2 hours after I take it. I get dizzy goofy drugged feeling, feel like the floors are moving sometimes and the only way to stay awake is to keep talking to people. Eventually I end up going to sleep because it leaves me so tired but I try not to right away or else I wake up to the "I think I passed out" sensation. I am going to post this in a separate topic as well since I am now confident it's not blood sugar.
Posted 5/6/2016 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
I'm wondering if the high heart rate could then also be from the 6mp? I'm on imuran and I started it with 40mg of Prednisone in late February, between then and now I went in to the ER and urgent care a couple times and my heart rate was always 110 or above usually 120, but I blamed the prednisone and they understood, but I've been off of prednisone and my heart rate is around 88 if I've been sitting for awhile but as soon as I start moving it goes above 100, not as high as it was usually. It will get above 120 if I'm like on a walk or playing with my dog or niece, but it is always above 100 if I'm standing up. I don't get the passing out feeling, but I do get dizzy/light headed but I just assume it's because I need to eat, I don't usually get hungry until I'm somewhere I can't eat like work lol, so I forget to eat pretty often.
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