High sugar levels on Chemo

Hi Micha
I find that my bg is high on chemo day and a few days after due to steroids. The levels come down a few days after I finish the course of steroids and my dn nurse said that having high bg for short periods would not course any long term problems. I hope she is right. i had my last chemo yesterday so i am 1/3 of the way through my treatment now. I have surgery in September followed by radiotherapy so am beginning to feel I can see the end of the tunnel so to speak.
I wish you well with your treatment and hope you are able to to manage your bg levels during your chemo. i really admire people with T1 and the way they cope as it is a much tougher regime to stick to than T2.
Good luck Micha

I would like to wish you ladies the best of luck with the remainder of your treatment and for the future. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2012, then spent the next 17 months going through treatment, surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and Herceptin, finally finishing in April 2014. It is a long haul, and being poisoned every 3 weeks is no walk in the park, but it passes. As things stand I am cancer-free.

I wasn't diabetic during my treatment. I was diagnosed 12 months after my breast cancer diagnosis, and am convinced to this day it was caused by the treatment. Not just the steroids, but everything else that came with it including home remedies for the side effects and fatigue (in the form of Lucozade, cranberry juice, comforting carbs and chocolate amongst other things) not to mention the lack of exercise. All these goodies got me through treatment, but did me no favours blood sugar-wise. I can only imagine what it must be like to have diabetes at the same time.

Best wishes to you all.

Hi Bluetit1802
It is good to hear from someone who has completed their treatment for breast cancer and is free of the cancer now. It must be hard though to discover you have now developed diabetes but please don't blame yourself for what you did during your cancer treatment. It is hard enough to cope with all the side effects of the treatment and sometimes we have to eat or drink what we can. I have found that some foods and drink that I could once eat just tastes awful at the moment. I cannot eat cereals as they just taste like cardboard but luckily the only thing I can't drink is tea but water tastes great. Dried things seem to get stuck in my throat so really its just a case of trying things that you can eat or drink. I am just coping with each day and eating and drinking what I can knowing that eventually I will hopefully get my food tastes back to what they were before.
Best wishes.

I found the taste changes and the progressive fatigue were the worst things. I was lucky in that I had no pain and was never sick or nauseous, although I did end up in hospital on my first cycle with neutropenia. I couldn't taste cereals either, nor salmon, in fact very little. I found myself adding sugar to sweet things (unheard of before) and masses of salt to savoury stuff (also never heard of before). They did tell us not to try to eat favourite meals because the taste would put us off forever! I never had a sweet tooth, but my goodness I got through mounds of it on chemo! I don't blame myself, I blame chemo. To be honest, diabetes management is a doddle compared with cancer treatment as I felt well prepared to tackle it head on. You will get through it, and hopefully your sugar levels will get back to normal when its all over. If I can help in any way with your chemo, please feel free to PM me.

I had my last chemo yesterday so just the next few weeks to get through. I have been lucky with side effects and apart from going to the hospital once for a very bad mouth have managed not to be admitted. My Oncologist did however double the strength and length of time for taking antibiotics my GP gave me for an infection in my toe and said I should have gone to the oncology unit. I have suffered a bit with aches and pain in my back but think they can be caused by the neulasta I have to inject myself with. I have also felt very tired with no energy and unlike some people I have been signed off sick while I have my treatment due to the risk of infection from the children. I am hoping I can go back after half term or at the latest after Christmas.
My need for sweet things hasn't increased really but Ive never had a very sweet tooth, always preferring savoury foods.Having said that i have had the occasional need for chocolate nuts and raisins for some reason but have managed to only have a few at a time, something I must stop once I finish this cycle.
My next big step is the surgery in September although I have now been told I don't need the mastectomy now just a WLE as I have had such a good response with chemo although I still need to have my lymph nodes removed. I feel a bit apprehensive though as it was not just the tumour as to my having a mastectomy. I had orange peel skin and inflammation round my nipple but the consultant seems to think this is no longer a problem. I am seeing my breast cancer nurse on the 11th August to go through the operation so will have a chat with her about it.
Take care

Well done on getting through chemo. Brilliant news you don't need the mastectomy. Your tumour must have shrunk a lot, which shows the chemo did its job. Mine was caught early on a routine mammogram, so I had a WLE, then a cavity shave to get a better margin, and only 3 lymph nodes removed for a biopsy, which was clear. Mine was HER2+ but hormone negative, so 12 months of Herceptin infusions but no tablets. I was given the Neulasta injection from cycle 2 after getting neutropenia in the cycle 1. The district nurse came to my home to give it me. I was prepared for the awful bone ache everyone told me about, but got none at all! I had 6 cycles of Docetaxol and Carboplatin. I'm retired so no problems with having to work, but it took me quite a long time after chemo and radiotherapy to get my energy back. All we can do is put our trust in the Consultant Oncologst, and I have to say mine has been magnificent, as has my surgeon. On the other hand, my breast care nurse has been noticeable by her absence .... saw her at diagnosis, never seen her since and only one phone call from her. Now treatment is finished I get an annual mammogram and review appointments with oncologist every 6 months and surgeon every 12 months for 5 years. Its a good safety net, because once treatment is finished you can feel a bit vulnerable when you aren't being checked so often. Good luck with your surgery - and your chemo recovery.

Hi Jackalina,

You must be so happy to be 5 years on. Good to hear from you. I know I didn't have diabetes when I was diagnosed with cancer because I had a routine fasting test coincidentally at the same time, and that wasn't even pre-diabetic, so something happened during treatment. I had to have the steroids on my regime to prevent serious reaction to the Docetaxol infusion. I also drank gallons of Cranberry juice and orange juice and Lucozade. You would think that they could do a glucose test at the same time as the pre-chemo blood tests.

Well done on your diabetes control, excellent HbA1c.