How long do steroids mess up your BGs?

[desidiabulum]

After years of fairly tight control my BGs have started going crazy -- suddenly leap to 14 (and always to 14 -- hadn't seen a number anywhere near that since diagnosis) for no discernible reason. Steroids are assumed to be the root cause and I have stopped taking them after discussing all this with the diabetes clinic, but even with very tight controls over every meal and lots of exercise I get a sudden 14. It's going to mean having to go on to insulin if it keeps up much longer. My only hope is that, rather than having permanently messed up my system, this is just the lingering effects of the steroids and that it will stop after a while. My doctors are very vague about how long the effects of the steroids might last, so I was just wondering whether anyone had any personal experience of this sort of thing?

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi,
You do not say how long you have been taking the steroids @desidiabulum.
I sometimes take them twice a year for 6 weeks, depending if on an autoimmune condition that I have flares up and the effects can last for about 10 - 14 days after I have stopped them. Mine are gradually decreased over the 6 week period.
If you give us more information then other steroid users may be able to help.

 

[desidiabulum]

Hi,
You do not say how long you have been taking the steroids @desidiabulum.
I sometimes take them twice a year for 6 weeks, depending if on an autoimmune condition that I have flares up and the effects can last for about 10 - 14 days after I have stopped them. Mine are gradually decreased over the 6 week period.
If you give us more information then other steroid users may be able to help.

Thanks, @catherinecherub. I had been taking the steroids 4 times a day for 2 weeks. The effects now seem to be wearing off after a week and a half. But I thought it was interesting that in these cases one expects 'can cause higher blood glucose' to mean a general rise in levels, whereas what I experienced was more volatility and a drastic amplification in the size and frequency of spikes. I don't know whether other people have found the same. Anyway, it looks like my insulin supplies will remain untouched in the fridge...

 

[Heathero]

Type 1 Diabetes -Having had 2 X Hydrodilations re frozen shoulder have found my background and ratio re bolus has to be doubled for approx 2 weeks. Otherwise extremely high / risks of ketoacidosis. I use an omnipod and today spent most of day
adjusting as mentioned following procedure yesterday.

 

[JohnEGreen]

I have been taking steroids for about 15 years now, even so by diet and weight loss have been able to control my bg levels now.

But as I still take them I do not know how long the effects would last once you stop I'm afraid.