Can Nasal Steroids Raise Blood Sugar?

I recently had a co-worker who has Type-2 diabetes put on my team. Anyway long story short I take over the counter nasal steroid Fluticasone Propionate (glucocorticoid) and when she saw me taking it she told me I shouldn't take it because it can raise blood sugars levels and in some cases lead to steroid induced diabetes. That kind of got me worried because although I had my yearly physical in December and my blood sugar and H1ac levels were perfectly fine, my Grandfather lived with diabetes for 30 years, thankfully no one else in his lineage has developed it. But still something I consider since it can be hereditary.

Does taking nasal steroids for seasonal allergies increase blood sugar? Does it increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes? Does anyone with diabetes notice spikes when taking a nasal steroid?

Hi and welcome to the Diabetes Forum. I don't think steroid nasal sprays will affect your blood sugar. Here is a study that supports that: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23168154

Some years ago I had also asked my doctor about that and the topical steroid creams for rashes and she told me they didn't affect blood sugar.

Since you do have one person in your family that had diabetes I think you are wise to be aware of your blood sugar. If you see that your fasting blood sugar is rising even a little when you take your annual physicals, then take steps at that time to cut down on carbs. Unfortunately, through the years as my fasting blood sugar crept from 100 to 110 and hovered between that and 120, my doctor at that time just told me to watch my diet but I honestly didn't understand what that meant in terms of blood sugar and what I ate!

Here is a website that you might find interesting that has lots of information about blood sugar: www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

It's good that you're asking questions but I don't think you need to be worried about the nasal sprays.

I know anxiety very well and how it can take over! The best way I found to get control over it is to learn as much as I can about my health and what's going on at the time. Trying to stop the triggers is hard sometimes, I know.

In any case, being aware of your family's health history is the first step. When you have blood tests for physicals every year, blood sugar is normally included, so as I wrote before, make sure there is not upward trend on your fasting.

In the meantime, try to make some time on a regular basis to get up and move during the day. Take a 15 minute walk at lunch time. Take the stairs. Park farther away from the building, etc. Start using some hand weights - but speak with your doctor about that and learn how to work with dumb bells the correct way. Get a trainer at a gym, or check online about using them. Muscles use blood glucose more than fat does. Cardio (stairs, walking, exercise...) also uses blood glucose. These will help your heart, circulation and your mood, your overall health, not just blood sugar!

Have you spoken to your doctor about your anxiety?

That's what anxiety does to us. It makes us believe that fears are real. Have you posted in the Anxiety Forum here? With health anxiety we can have tests to show us that our fears are not real at least. I hope you are doing better in that area. In the beginning of my own diagnosis, I was already dealing with anxiety that wasn't related to health so being told that I had to test my blood sugar didn't particularly help matters but somehow I was able to overcome most of it and learning as much as I could about my own health has helped me.

But we do have to be realistic. Diabetes is on my mom's side of the family so I am determined to control my blood sugar with diet and exercise and now I'm also on metformin which is fine because this drug may be beneficial in other areas as long as my stomach can tolerate it!