Steroid induced diabetes

Good morning to those in other parts of the world (and good "very early morning" to my fellow Aussies).

I am on pred (again), last time I developed diabetes which promptly went away when the pred was stopped. As soon as I started back on the pred this time, my sugar levels went up again. I am taking one Diaformin XR tablet with meals (metformin). It isn't really doing anything to keep my levels down - as soon as I take my pred, my levels rise to quite high levels. My main concern is how ill I feel from such high sugar levels, and possible damage it may be doing. My other concerns are that it says in the drug info sheet that it may have adverse interactions with pred, and also the fact that I'm currently on 150mg of 6mp which isn't very kind to my pancreas. I have been told by my Mother's endocrinologist that I should be treated with insulin whilst on the pred as the tablets are ineffective for the type of diabetes I have.

Has anyone here had any similar experiences and can offer some advice?

Thanks for listening.

Every time I've been on that high doses of steroids (usually IV doses at that level) I turn diabetic also. This only happens when they do the IV dose - 120 mg twice a day of solu-medrol (like prednisone/methylprednisolone). They've always given me insulin during these times. I've never been offered the oral medication. I have one of the sugar testers (finger prick test) and just continue to test until my steroid dose comes down low enough so that the sugar levels are ok again.

I would see an endocrinologist and get advice from the specialist in that field. It's no fun to feel the high sugar levels (makes me thankful for Crohn's instead of diabetes!). I would think that the warning that prednisone interacts with any diabetic medication with prednisone likely have to do with the fact that since pred can induce diabetes, a person with diabetes normally may need a medication adjustment while on the steroid. But, I'd double check with your pharmacist as they are a wealth of knowledge on the meds!

Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies.

tsitodawg, I am overweight however since I stopped the pred last time I've lost 22kgs. So when I was told I had to go back on it, my biggest fear was putting on weight again. I should've been more concerned about my sugar levels lol.

sr5599, you are correct about the medication adjustment. I saw my Dr today, who told me it's usually for a med adjustment. He also explained why it's usually treated with insulin - because the prednisone interferes with the way the body deals with glucose. So even though it's diabetes, it's a different cause. It's still all very confusing to me. I got an appointment with my GI tomorrow, and I am being referred to an Endocronologist. My sugar levels are still high, so we are increasing my dose of metformin to see if that helps at all. I'll be interested to see what my GI says tomorrow, as he's the Boss at the Hospital I go to and a specialist in the IBD field so very knowledgable in all things.