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Steroid-Induced Diabetes question

DavyJones

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello everyone.

As you might remember my thread from "Newly Diagnosed", I am the person that developed diabetes from taking high dose prednisone for several months. I am about to cease all medication next month. My diabetologist says there is a chance that my diabetes will go away once I stop taking steroids altogether - however, he didn't give me a timeline. While nowadays on low dose I can maintain blood sugars of 5-7 mmol/L range by not eating carbs and exercise daily - yet when I try to eat bread or noodles my glucose shoots through the roof.

I was wondering whether someone knows when would be the best time to test my carb tolerance and insulin resistance? a day, week, month, year after stopping steroids? I wanna know whether I have developed full-blown type 2.

Please forgive me - the very thought of developing diabetes by taking some pills makes my blood boil.
 
You have my sympathy but be glad you are able to ditch the steroids it will depend on how soon your system starts producing it's own cortisol this could take weeks but I think days would be to soon to see the difference so I would personally start checking in the first week or so if it were me. Good luck with it in most cases the diabetes will go away for some it is permanent..
 
I wish you well. I am currently reducing steroids, but firmly T2 before I started taking them. From what I have read, it can take a good while before your normalise to whatever your "normal" is. Have patience. I will keep everything crossed for you.
 
Maybe I was being optimistic

"Secondary adrenal insufficiency can result from insufficient stimulation of the adrenal glands due to inadequate secretion or synthesis of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This can be caused by hypopituitarism, central nervous system injury (tumors, radiation, and surgery) or long-term glucocorticoid therapy. Glucocorticoids were introduced in the 1950s, and have been used for their anti-inflammatory and other pharmacological effects, and also as replacement therapy for adrenal insufficiency. However, chronic glucocorticoid use may lead to suppression of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis through negative feedback. This may lead to secondary adrenal insufficiency. Typically, the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis recovers after cessation of glucocorticoids, but the timing of recovery can be variable and can take anywhere from 6–12 months. Understanding the effect of exogenous glucocorticoids on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, recovery of the axis, and tests used to assess the recovery, are crucial to avoid prescribing unnecessary steroid replacement or missing a critical diagnosis with detrimental consequences."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5682381/
 
Hi I read this with a lot of interest, even though there’s words that I just cannot comprehend, I ended with full blown Type 1, 6-8 months after coming off Prednisone in 1975 which I’d been on for 12 years for kidney failure. The doctors did comment that the diabetes was probably caused by the bodies shock to coming off a high steroid dose. It was never fully explained to me though.
 
I wish you well. I have been Type 2 for 18 years following taking prednisolone for 2 years due to an RA factor showing in my blood. Having had all oral medication that is going I am now on insulin as my GP and hospital have decided my pancreas is either no longer producing or producing very little natural insulin. Apart from gaining a little weight all going fine. Have cut back on carbs but difficult some days. Give it time you may be lucky and your diabetes will go.
 


I know just how you feel. I was not told that steroids could cause steroid induced T2 before I developed steroid induced T2 about five or six years ago after I was given a large dose of prednisone for inflammatory arthritis,
Fortunately I was also taking part in a pre diabetes study and I had my first annual check up about three months after I started the steroids so it was discovered very early on.

Even after that though a GO in my practice prescribed steroids for something (can’t remember what) I mentioned that I had had steroid induced T2, was told that there was no chance of that as the prescribed course was too short etc. She didn’t know that I had my own blood sugar monitor at home and could check - needless to say it did seriously spike my blood sugar - so much for her theory!
I wasn’t really given much help from my practice nurse other than a ‘healthy plate’ diet sheet!!! Loads of carbs, low fat etc. Enough said!
I had been wondering how I would know if my efforts to eat well and exercise were working when I had no way of testing my blood to see what was going on.
I went online and discovered a book by Dr David Cavan, I read that from cover to cover , I bought my own blood sugar monitor, made myself a simple spreadsheet and recorded everything I ate exactly what Dr Cavan recommended and in three months my blood sugar was in a very good place.
I found that things I would have thought were healthy really spiked my blood sugar - for example a nice healthy baked potato and salad, my favourite oat bran muffins, loads of things that fitted nicely into the ‘healthy plate’.
Recording before and after eating meals was a really interesting experience, I discovered that anything involving grains of any sort (I eat a totally gluten free diet) were real no, nos for me. Whereas I could have a slice of pavlova with cream and berries with very little increase in blood sugar. I now know what to eat and not to eat.
It was an upsetting experience discovering that T2 was caused by treatment for a medical condition. The steroids did make me feel like superwoman but I’m not sure it was worth it - other than make me aware of how closely I need to monitor my blood sugar for the rest of my life. I would have to think very carefully before I took steroids again and be8ng pre diabetic I’m not sure I would have taken them in the first place if I’d known about steroid induced T2. If only the doctor I saw had mentioned the link. I think statins can have a similar effect.
I was tested a year after I met the diabetes nurse which was shortly after I finished the steroids and will be checked by my GP every year but I think that’s a long gap in between so now (because I know I eat stuff I shouldn’t) I pay and have my own finger prick HbA1c blood tests done by Medichecks.com so that I can keep an eye on my HbA1c.
With a bit of luck once you stop the steroids completely your bloods will go back to a good place.
 

Hi, I have just re-joined the forum today after catching up on some threads. I came across yours and it prompted me to reply as I too have T2 diabetes through being given steroids which I explain in my introduction about me. I thought I’d had diabetes for about 7 year or more, but looking at my profile again I see it was in 2014, just before I discovered about the steroids!. I totally understand how you feel about it making your blood boil, but to be fair, in my case I feel they saved my life, so there is a place for them. Unfortunately we are never told of the consequences of being prescribed them or not told of the alternative to get us well again. Had I known of the life changing aftermath I would have asked if I’d had any other choice.

As for measuring carbs, I’ve just downloaded an app which takes away all the fuss about measuring everything, so for me it’s the best thing since sliced bread, (well maybe Not bread ;/! Lol.

Its taken me a long time to accept I have diabetes at all, but like you to get it from other medication without being told or acknowledged openly, it’s hard to swallow.

But it is what it is and I’m finally in the right place to do something about it. We can only try, and Oh Boy, have I tried and failed miserably over these last few years! I think the turning point was being prescribed an extra Gliclazide I’m already on 2 at breakfast along with 2 x 500 metforman twice a day! So I have been asked to take another one! The diabetes nurse informed me that Gliclazide actually helps puts weight on you! So I fell like I’m on a hiding to nothing, or catch 22 situation! But I’ll give this low carb another go.
Good luck in all you do, I know we are all different in how we manage our diabetes, but it’s helpful to hear how each person copes.
Mo
 




I discovered I had developed steroid induced T2 diabetes. I had been prescribed a large but reducing dose of prednisone for inflammatory arthritis, I was also taking part in a pre diabetes study. Fortunately I went back for my first annual check up just after I stopped the steroids. Bottom line is I was thrown off the study.
I saw my surgery diabetes nurse who gave me three months to sort out diet and exercise. I was also given the ‘healthy plate’ diet and the usual NHS diet advice.

I got thinking about how would I know if I was improving etc. and was lucky enough to discover a book about How to reverse your Diabetes by Dr Davis Cavan, not only was it a great book but it pointed me to this site. From that I bought a blood pressure monitor, made myself a little spreadsheet to record my blood sugar readings before and 2 hours after every meal, record what I had for each meal etc. From that I could analyse exactly the things that were spiking my blood sugar - like you they were anything grain / pasta based - and cut them out of my diet. Nice ‘healthy’ jacket potatoes are another no, no for me. Yet funnily enough a slice of pavlova made very little difference to my blood sugar. Weird eh!

By the time I saw the diabetic nurse again after three months, I had eaten and exercised my way out of T2. I’m still careful about what I eat and although I eat carbs I am very careful where I get them from - veg that grow above ground mostly. However I’ve been silly with my diet recently, a bit of brownie once a week developed into a bit of brownie several times a week plus puddings that I knew I ought not t have had. Not only that my exercise regime had fallen by the wayside.

Last week I decided enough was enough so I stopped eating things I knew I ought not to be eating, bought myself a Medichecks home finger prick blood test and fortunately when the results came back my HbA1c is 41.02 so I feel good that it is ok. I’m going through continue back on my previous LCHF + lots of exercise regime because my HbA1c was 38.00 before my eating got out of control and I do feel that I’ve had a lucky escape by staying under 42. (Just!) I don’t think I will ever be able to eat bread again, although that’s not too difficult as I am on a gluten free diet and gluten free bread isn’t all that nice - not compared to a nice slice or two of sourdough, wholemeal or granary loaf spread with butter and a scraping of raspberry conserve!
 
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