Steroid induced diabetes

Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
hi there I’m 37 year old male and suffer with type 2 steroid induced diabetes I am on tablet form medication and two lots of insulin humilin m3 and nova rapid my sugar is most high 15 plus ranging in to the 20s most day I use my insulin as accordingly to what my sugars are but I find it very difficult to maintain a good sugar level due to eating most of the day as a side effect of the steroid medication I’m on very very frustrating
 

LouWilk059

Well-Known Member
Messages
376
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
dishonesty, people who throw garbage out on to the streets,
Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm type 2 but no meds so can't help with your concerns. Have a look around in the meantime. @daisy1 will drop by with some information for you.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@ashbudgiefish1980

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

MargaretR

Well-Known Member
Messages
125
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
hi there I’m 37 year old male and suffer with type 2 steroid induced diabetes I am on tablet form medication and two lots of insulin humilin m3 and nova rapid my sugar is most high 15 plus ranging in to the 20s most day I use my insulin as accordingly to what my sugars are but I find it very difficult to maintain a good sugar level due to eating most of the day as a side effect of the steroid medication I’m on very very frustrating

Hi,

There are a few of us on the forum who are steroid induced Type 2 so you are welcome.

I’ve had steroid induced diabetes for about 3 years and went on a very steep learning curve in the first few months. One of the things I took some time to get my head round was that although it was the steroids which induced the diabetes in the first place, there is also an on-going effect. I currently take 10mg prednisolone in the morning, and the prednisolone kicks in after lunch, and raises my blood sugar level. However careful I try to be about what I eat I will get a bs rise which is greater than that outlined in the excellent notes posted by daisy. Today’s readings were 5.3 before breakfast, 4.6 before lunch. Lunch was tuna with ginger, 1 spelt crisp bread, celery, and some strawberries. I’ve just checked now, and bs is 7.5 ie higher than is desirable.

At first I got very worried, because all my readings were far too high (15 wasn’t unusual) but stuck it out with low carbs, and gradually things got under control, and my HbA1C is now within the prediabetic range. So even though I know there is a spike midday which is the result of medication not food, I am more or less under control.

I currently take enteric coated prednisolone (red pills) which are slow release. I saw the nurse yesterday who suggested that I switch to the non-enteric coated prednisolone, so that the prednisolone gets into the blood stream quicker, and should prevent me going too low before lunch, and spiking after.

Everyone is different, so you may not react in the same way as me, but I learned an awful lot by testing a lot and keeping a food diary.

Nearly everyone gets the munchies with steroids. If you search through the threads on the forum you will find lots of suggestions for low carb snacks and meals. Some will work for you, some won’t, and steroid users have a double whammy, because the steroids cause raging hunger, so we eat, and the bs goes up. What worked for me was something to nibble which was low carb, but also had some fat. I usually reach for cheese. The fat stops you feeling so hungry. The overall effect for me was that I lost over 10 stone. There are lots of threads on here about food. The ones about ‘What have you eaten today’ have lots of ideas.

Sorry to fire a lot of information at once. It took me a couple of years to work it all out, but once I understood it it helped a lot.

Good luck

Margaret
 
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JohnEGreen

Master
Messages
13,188
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Tripe and Onions
After several years of being on steroids I ended up at 18 and a half stone. And diabetic. I am still on steroids but have reduced weight dramatically took me over a year to do it though.

Prednisolonefat.jpg
 
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