Covid, steroids and raising numbers. Help and experience wanted.

HSSS said:

Yeah I’ve resigned myself to just doing what I can food wise. I’ve managed to get a carb list and going with the lowest easiest to eat options there are. That’ll have to do for now. Damage limitation but not stress.

I had a rough night coughing and no sleep so pain levels back up and a day 6 lft is still a dayglo line. I’m definitely a lot better than on admission (not in abject agony and at risk of airway collapse for starters) but still so far to go. It’s a bit up and down and hard to anticipate how I’ll feel hour to hour. I have some voice back to so at least I can speak with the staff a bit now making it less lonely. Waiting on drs rounds for the plan update and what tricks I need to perform to be considered safe at home. Support there is theoretically willing but a bit useless in reality. It’s kind of hitting me emotionally this morning. Obviously need a cuppa and a morning nap.

Click to expand...

At this stage, even though staying in feels like the pits, unless you have good back up at home then staying is a good idea so you get recovery time.

I found lists of what to do and when to do it helpful at home. My husband is willing but clueless, so he needed a plan to work to.

HSSS said:

I’m being let out .

Still feeling awful but have past the danger stage thank god. And not a moment too soon. Had a bad night emotionally with it all and need to be home.

Switching to liquid prednisone to tail off the dexamethasone steroids and crushable antibiotic to finish the course. I’m so glad to be getting off iv’s. I’ve had 11 cannulas since Sunday, 6 of which never made it as far as a line as they blew instantly only 3 lasted more than a couple of hours. I have some very colourful forearms- looks like a tatt sleeve.

I’ll be able to choose some food that won’t raise bgl any further too as that’s probably not helping my mood. And I’m sent shopping list ahead of me for my men to panic about before I get there tonight and I won’t be listening to any complaints. They got out of nursing me all week, time to step up the other way round for now. Life skills - even if I have to provide lists to make it work for me

Click to expand...

Glad you are going home. I will keep up the healing vibes

So pleased to hear you're home @HSSS Take care of yourself, and hope that you soon feel a lot better. Sending lots of virtual hugs xx

HSSS said:

I’ll be able to choose some food that won’t raise bgl any further too as that’s probably not helping my mood. And I’m sent shopping list ahead of me for my men to panic about before I get there tonight and I won’t be listening to any complaints. They got out of nursing me all week, time to step up the other way round for now. Life skills - even if I have to provide lists to make it work for me

Click to expand...

Glad to read that brain and intelligence haven't been affected. You tell those menfolk!

My experience was that my fasting blood sugars went from close to 4 to over 16 on the steroids. My A1C went up 2 points and has stayed there for 6 months so far, but my post prandial now is stabilised to my usual circa 0.9 to 1.6 ish. My strength / endurance is around 90% of my very best. I decided after some training set backups to build back slower.

So pleased you are on the mend. Although I wasn't admitted with Covid the cause of my eventual diagnosis is still unknown. I was rushed into hospital in July 2020 feeling very ill. I was just on Metformin at the time for T2D. My red blood cells were dropping at a really fast rate. I could hardly breathe and was really tired. The hospital acted quickly and ordered blood. I had a CT scan, enlarged spleen and lump in groin, so had biopsies and a bone marrow biopsy both of which were NAD and 6 bags of blood in total. I was on the chemo ward just in case for 3 weeks. They were needing blood from me every 12 hours, like you black and blue and hate needles! They fitted a PICC line as the doctors were having to come during the night because the nurses couldn't get any. To keep my blood levels up I was put on steroids 100mg and I then had to go on insulin to combat blood sugars of 20 to 30. I was eventually diagnosed with hemolytic anaemia caused by an unknown autoimmune virus. In answer to your query re steroids I was gradually weaned off over the following 6 months. Two years + on no recurrences but my blood sugars can be erratic no matter what I eat and I don't have the energy I had before. I seem to be lost to follow up sadly by haematology but I'm still on level 3 support for diabetes. Wishing you a full recovery but it will take time so don't rush it. I was told yesterday blood sugars of around 10 or 12 are not highly dangerous but obviously they need to be around 6 or 7. Will never be off insulin now. I take Trulicity, Toujeo, Metformin 2000mg and a multitude of other tablets.
Get well soon x

HSSS said:

Levels are better now the tail off prednisone has finished. Still hovering around the 9 mark instead of more usual 6’s but I’ll take the improvements for now. Heading downstairs and making a cup of tea now and again are my limits right now but day by day I’m improving slowly. Steroids and antibiotics gave me a raging case of oral candidiasis so on meds for that too now (And no white patches despite the drs claiming they should be there). This has not been “just a cold”

Click to expand...

I am glad you are on the mend. For what it's worth, I didn't get white patches from my recent bouts of thrush ( oral and skin due to lots of antibiotics)

Hi HSSS,

So pleased to hear you are feeling so much better now and that your BG is coming down slowly.

What an ordeal you have been through but at least you are home now and able to go make that cuppa now and again. Do hope those menfolk are looking after you as much as they can, lay or sit back and let them spoil you a bit for a change.

Hi HSSS:

Sorry you were so sick, however I'm glad to hear you're well enough to go home. When you say 6 - 12 range, are you meaning 6 mmol/L? I'm in Canada and sometimes the differences make me look to Google.

I'm like you, when my BG goes up past 10, I get very frustrated. I'm also on low carb, but with other things getting in the way, like stomach stapling 41 years ago, it's very hard to control. It's up and down all the time.

I was on low-carb since 2017 (when I was 69) when I was (mis)diagnosed as a T2. In 2019, I had a very serious DKA episode and ended up in ER for 4 days in bad condition. I had gone down in weight to 90 pounds (6.42 stone) and the specialists couldn't understand what was happening to me. I thought I looked great because I had never been that small. Everyone else was shocked. I guess I looked like I was dying. They did a blood test and found out that I was actually T1. It was scary. And, the hospital fed me like the rest of the patients. Not for a diabetic. Since I was starving, I ate what they gave me. I never thought of asking them for just protein and veggies. I guess my brain wasn't quite back to normal. It took me over nine months to give up the carbs again and get back on track. But still, it's up and down.

The weather also affects my levels. My dog and I could only walk a little bit because of the humidity all summer. My BG falls like a brick. So, I carry my 'stuff' to have on hand. I live alone, too, which kind of makes me nervous. Makes the medical team nervous, too. It's a good think I live quite close to our hospital.

Now, we have a big worry. We are sitting here in Eastern Canada, PEI, waiting for Fiona, the monster hurricane, to strike us starting tonight. I'm praying it will not be as bad as they predict. We shall see. It's at times like this that I really would like some high carb foods to ease the stress momentarily, like I did before diabetes.

I hope things improve greatly for you and your health and that you are soon back on your feet. Rest and take it easy for now. Take care.

Lynn

HSSS said:

I can only attribute the rise to covid/steroids even though that only occurred for the last month of the test range. I was hitting 14’s at one point and still have levels a bit higher than pre covid/steroids. Does this sound like a realistic explanation or am I kidding myself?

Click to expand...

Sounds very realistic to me.
Time will tell though.

Good luck!

HSSS said:

I do it all the time then kick myself lol And frequently need to delete what I just posted.

Click to expand...

Join the club!