Testing Soon...

[Tengudreams]

Hi everyone, glad to have found this forum. Im freaking out a little and need some steady guidance. Im 38 years old and very fit, with what I would consider an overall healthy diet. I am a full time martial arts instructor. I also have asthma. Recently I have been on one pump per day (Symbicort 200/6), but two weeks ago I had a flare up and went from once a day to seven puffs a day. On the day I took seven puffs, due to oddly tight chest, I went to the ER and had tests done. All my test came back normal, but I noticed my random glucose was 7. No one flagged it and I wasnt even asked about it. Thing is, I had my blood test at 6am and I dont think I ate anything after midnight. So now Im scared its diabetes. I have no family history, I exercise daily. I dont know...I have no symptoms. Could the big increase in Symbicort that day, along with the anxiety of having an asthma flare up, have upped my glucose that day? Ive got a baby daughter on the way any day now and its just stressing me out.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi everyone, glad to have found this forum. Im freaking out a little and need some steady guidance. Im 38 years old and very fit, with what I would consider an overall healthy diet. I am a full time martial arts instructor. I also have asthma. Recently I have been on one pump per day (Symbicort 200/6), but two weeks ago I had a flare up and went from once a day to seven puffs a day. On the day I took seven puffs, due to oddly tight chest, I went to the ER and had tests done. All my test came back normal, but I noticed my random glucose was 7. No one flagged it and I wasnt even asked about it. Thing is, I had my blood test at 6am and I dont think I ate anything after midnight. So now Im scared its diabetes. I have no family history, I exercise daily. I dont know...I have no symptoms. Could the big increase in Symbicort that day, along with the anxiety of having an asthma flare up, have upped my glucose that day? Ive got a baby daughter on the way any day now and its just stressing me out.

It is quite possible, as you're on steroids for your asthma, and steroids up blood sugars. We make them ourselves when we need extra energy: the stuff signals the liver to dump glucose into the bloodstream, and our liver can't tell the difference between our own steroids and the kind we inject, inhale or ingest. So it's taking its cue and running with it. Also, the stress and the flare itself can up blood sugars, on top of there being such a thing as dawn phenomenon: when you haven't eaten yet on a morning, your liver dumps more glucose to get you energy to start the day.

While there are quite a few reasons why your blood glucose may be slightly elevated, you might want to ask for a HbA1c test to make sure and get some peace of mind. But if you had gestational diabetes, it probably would've shown up during your check-ups. GD babies are rather large and often have to be delivered/induced early due to their size. If that was the case it would've been known to you by now.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[Tengudreams]

Hey sorry but I should clarify I am a male . I meant more so my wife and I have a baby on the way. Yes I will be getting a test done. Thanks so much for your words and knowledge.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hey sorry but I should clarify I am a male . I meant more so my wife and I have a baby on the way. Yes I will be getting a test done. Thanks so much for your words and knowledge.

Oh yeah, that would make gestational diabetes even more unlikely.

Diabetes, considering the circumstances, isn't very likely. Hold on to that eh. And should results be disappointing, we're right here to help.

 

[Tengudreams]

My next post may be about how I gave birth myself to a girl...hopefully there is a forum for that. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and reply. Your kindness is noted.

 

[Marie 2]

Steroids do raise blood sugars. Another thing you can do is get a meter. They are not very expensive and you could keep track of what your blood sugars are doing randomly. Test on a better day and then test on a day you've had to use your inhaler a lot. Fasting when you first get up is a place to start. If that's irregular you might want to test before and then 2 hours after meals. But they are nice to have on hand.

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi everyone, glad to have found this forum. Im freaking out a little and need some steady guidance. Im 38 years old and very fit, with what I would consider an overall healthy diet. I am a full time martial arts instructor. I also have asthma. Recently I have been on one pump per day (Symbicort 200/6), but two weeks ago I had a flare up and went from once a day to seven puffs a day. On the day I took seven puffs, due to oddly tight chest, I went to the ER and had tests done. All my test came back normal, but I noticed my random glucose was 7. No one flagged it and I wasnt even asked about it. Thing is, I had my blood test at 6am and I dont think I ate anything after midnight. So now Im scared its diabetes. I have no family history, I exercise daily. I dont know...I have no symptoms. Could the big increase in Symbicort that day, along with the anxiety of having an asthma flare up, have upped my glucose that day? Ive got a baby daughter on the way any day now and its just stressing me out.

Tengudreams - A test to ease your mind will certainly be worthwhile, but bearing in mind your body was very stressed by your asthma flare-up, plus your increased steroid use (although via inhaler has less impact than tablets or infusions), plus actually being in A&E could all have a hand in increasing blood glucose a bit.

If you think about it, you likely had a fair bit of adrenaline coursing through you - just from the situation. Your body likely released some (naturally and healthily) stored glucose from your liver to be circulating, in case you need to act on the stress your body was under.

I'm hopeful when you have your test it'll be fine, but better safe than sorry, for sure.

Hope you're feeling better soon.