Out of Control Blood Sugar Due To Cortisone Injections

Hello all!

Yesterday I received two shots of cortisone due to bursitis in both hips (I am allergic to aspirin and NSAIDs).  I have had shots in the past but only one at a time.  I was told by the doctor that it may affect my blood sugar and boy has it!  Anytime I eat something, it shoots up to around 300.  I have stayed away from carbs and caffeine so I can't figure this out.  Tonight, in an hour's time went from 148 to 257.  Now it is slowly decreasing.  It seems that eating is making it worse and I don't know what to do.  I called the advice nurse (Veterans hospital) and she said that the first 24 hours it will be like this.  It's been over 24 hours and I feel horrible and my skin feels very warm (this my be due to just the cortisone shot itself.  On top of all this, I cannot take my BP med because it's a diuretic so my BP is up to 170/108.  What can I do??  I appreciate any help one can give!

Post Edited (MissyMousums) : 7/20/2008 4:14:52 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Lanie!

I was told to hold off on the diuretic (water pill) because it could make the whole thing worse.  I guess they figure I would be ok to go without for a day or so.  Normally without meds my BP is around 150/98 but my BP may be higher because I just don't feel well and I am a little stressed with this whole thing.  My blood sugars today are normal but all I have eaten was eggs.  I am really pushing the fluids so that may be helping.  I am afraid to eat anything with carbs because yesterday my blood sugar skyrocketed after eating a piece of toast.   The advice nurse with the VA said if it gets too high (above 400), I should go to the ER for insulin.  I have only been a diagnosed diabetic for a year so this whole thing is new to me.   I started going to the VA for this because my now former family doctor had me on meds and she kept diagnosing me as pre-diabetic which excluded me from getting help with the cost of test strips or getting a referral to an endocrinologist.  

I will contact the nurse again if things get bad but I think hearing from fellow diabetics who may have been through this would help also and it has!  Thanks for responding!  

I'm also allergic to aspirin but I have terrible joint pain and herniated disks in my neck and back.

I take feldene every day and when ever other people would use aspirin. It is Rx.

http://www.drugs.com/mtm/feldene.html

Hi Diane,

I guess it depends on the brand. Ensure is high in carbs but others may not be. They had told me to abstain from carbs as much as possible for the time being. I have a follow up tomorrow and I will ask and get back to you. I don't plan on getting any more injections unless I absolutely have to. If I do, I will only have them give one shot at a time. I think for me, it was just too much at one time.

Evening Diane,

Yes you are right about the Glycerna, my bad and I will buy some and see how that goes.

My sugars are slowly stablizing but I have avoid the carbs.  I went to the doc and she said I have a virus called Fifth Disease aka Erythema Infectiosum which is compunding the problem with the cortisone.  I remember my kids having it years ago but I never got it until now LOL .  Lucky me.  My doc said that my immunity is not what it was 20 years ago which is true because I rarely caught what my kids had and according to my mother, I never had it as a child.   Anyhoo..she also said it may be time to start taking Byetta injections.   She wants me to get some blood work done first and check my A1C just to be sure.  My daily sugar levels have been pretty good until this last weekend so I hope they are good and we can hold off on the Byetta. 

I appreciate all the responses, it really did help!  I am feeling better and hope to have the pep in my step back soon. 

 

I got a shot of Prednisone for a bad case of flu with asthma last year and had the same experience. Blood sugar up to the 400's. Even though I was on a solu-medrol dosepak, it came down every day until I was off the oral steroids for 24 hours, then went back to my normal readings.

I still blame my diabetes on steroid therapy for my UC.

Try eating proteins - scrambled or hardboiled eggs, cheese, etc. These should provide energy and satiate your hunger without adding significantly to the carb load.

Barbiek, welcome to HealingWell. I've had cortisone shots in the hip for bursitis and my blood sugar always rose after that but came down gradually after about a day or so. I only got one shot at a time but you had two, so I'm sure that's why your blood sugar went that high. Sometimes there is swelling at the injection site and I was told to put an ice pack on it for a few minutes a couple of times a day.

In your case, I think they should have given you more instructions about the knee and the effects on your blood sugar. Many times, they use something like lidocaine (spelling?) before the shot to numb the area. And if that area hurts afterwards I was told to use Tylenol. But I think the doctor and nurses should have given you more information at that time since your knee was already swelling in the office. And when you got home, you should have called them back immediately. But that's the past.

As far as eating, absolutely you must eat and adjust your diabetes meds to your blood sugar. Eating toast is going to keep your blood sugar raised, so as Judy says, I think you should be eating more proteins along with vegetables and stay away from the carbs.

I hope you're feeling better.

Sorry misspelled your name Lanie!!!

That is so true Lanie. I will keep a close check on it today and eat properly. I need to get back out walking!!!

I am in Marblehead, MA. Cold here!! 34 degrees and sunny but going down to 29 tonight! I fell two weeks ago in my home in the dark (silly me) and hit the doorframe of the bathroom hard.! No more in the dark. Nothing broken but bruised and inflamed badly.

I will. Thank you!! Toes are so painful!!!

Hi Dennis (is it Dennis?), steroids have been a problem for both diabetics and non-diabetics because they raise blood sugar.  While on steroids, the doctor usually tells the patient what to expect and if the blood sugar is too high, diabetes meds will sometimes be prescribes or adjusted if the patient is already on it.

I can't explain why the steroids do this but I found this:  http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/the_ups_and_downs_of_meds_and_diabetes_part_1_steroids/

I hope this helps. 

If you would like to make a new post and introduce yourself, please do! 

I got a cortisone shot for my shoulder today and to my shock my blood sugar level skyrocketed to 534. It took me 5 hours and several injections of fast acting insulin to get it down to 128 only to have it go right back up again within an hour of getting it down as low as I did and the ONLY thing I had on my stomach since getting it down to 128 was a few sips of REGULAR tea with 2 ounces of 1% milk and splenda. (the cup is a 20 ounce mug that my grandson gave me) Since reading the posts on this thread, I am relieved to know that this is typical with cortisone injections. I had a cortisone shot about 4 or 5 years ago and my sugar levels were fine.. I guess getting older is par for the course for elevated sugar levels with cortisone shots. I am hopeful that in a few days my sugar levels will return to normal.