steroid induced higher fasting bloods.and porridge for supper

[Mommayorkie]

Hi, i was diagnosed as "borderline"type 2 about 12-18months ago. possibly longer. ive lost track of time now. for the past year upto last boxing day i had managed to keep my fasting bloods down to between 3.5 and 6, mostly around the 5 mark. on diet alone and exercise when i could do it. i am 71 and have numerous conditions which stop me doing normal exercise. mine amounts to going shopping with my daughter, walking slowly and stopping to sit down frequently,or my nephew takes me out, in his car and its getting in and out of the car if/when we stop to take photos of something.or a castle where i amble around the lower parts at my own pace while he does he own thing n gets pics that i cant get to take or see. on boxing day i went down with a bad cold and as usual, being asthmatic with COPD, it went straight to my chest. so i started my rescue meds of steroids and antibiotics. i had only just stopped a previous course of steroids due to my peak flow being down to 200, as prescribed by my doc, and a few weeks before had a 4 day course after walking into a room that had been sprayed with flyspray. which inflamed my tubes. my fasting bloods have always been ok in the past (been asthmatic for years). until this last time when they shot up to 23. on the 3rd day of taking the last lot. i couldnt call my surgery as it was weekend. so stopped the steroids on the sunday and phoned the doc the day after.. nothing he could do of course though told me to cut down on carbs and eat small meals. i did this for the next couple of days but was so hungry, miserable and tearful plus tired. i couldnt do a thing. i live alone.so have to do SOME things.so i upped my carbs a bit. n felt a bit better5. slowly the fasting bloods have been coming down . lowest was 8.3. that was last saturday so 4 days ago. but since then theyve been back to 9.1 sunday and monday then today was 10.6. i havent eaten anything much in the way of sweet things. cake et5c. though did buy and try a couple of morrisons fruit smoothies.i only have a small wineglass full, about 150mls. after lunch.which can be a proper meal or a couple of weightwatchers bread with ham or tomato. i have slice of melon, or 2 slices fresh pineapple,not tinned or half a large or 1 small banana after porridge or 2 slices weightwatchers bread toasted for breakfast. . tea is usually similar sandwich as lunch. or soup with 2 slices weight watchers bread. sometimes ill have another glass of smoothie after tea or a fruit scone. though im going off those as well as cake. i have porridge for supper and if im up late, a coupleof buttered slices of weightwatchers bread. i have IBS so dare not eat too much fruit. in a day. im only just starting to reintroduce fruit to see what does upset that. this morning i wasnt happy with my FBS so took it again just before i ate my breakfast. it had gone up slightly to 10.7.i9 don't get up til late these days around 10.30am so breakfast is about 11am. lunch around 3 tea 6-7 and supper 10pm-11.
ive known this happen before and its continued to go up for the next hour yet im hungry and need to have my breakfast. why would it keep going up like that when i last ate about 12-1am? and can porridge be the culprit? i only started eating it again just before xmas for breakfast but not regularly , but now like it for supper instead. used to eat rice krispies but after over a year for every supper got fed up of them.plus the porridge seems to stabalise my IBS. so is it still the steroids affecting me?its now 3 weeks since i started the last course. 2 and half since i stopped them. or is it the porridge now keeping them up? i can only afford to test on waking really as i have to pay for them (wouldnt have known about the steroids effect if i hadnt been testing them but my doc and diabetic team dont encourage us to test at all. they rely simply on the 3 monthly hbA1c). For the first week after i discovered it had gone up i did test every 2 hours and was shocked as to how much it went up between meals.at that time. sorry to go on so much. i really hope someone can tell me why it keeps going up and can porridge make it worse? my diabetic dietician told me it was better for me than rice krispies. and it is as i say for the IBS .

 

[Alanp35]

Steroids are known to raise BG levels. I have severe rheumatoid arthritis which is usually about bearable and when I got a flare-up my consultant would give me a steroid injection. Due to my LADA diabetes he now will not give me any of these injections. I'm fairly new to this and having spent years eating porridge, cos I like it, find that this spikes my BGs. Trouble is we are all different and while the basics are for us all we each have our individual spike causing foods.

 

[Pompeygirl]

Hiya im fairly new too. I have been testing since last september one of the things i noticed first was porridge. It spikes my BS higher than most things and also the spike lasts longer


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[Mommayorkie]

Hi,thanks.both of you. at least thats given me a pointer. must admit i too love porridge.but ive gone back to rice krispies tonight. see what my bloods are in the morning.was 9.this morning so a little lower.tho i had had porridge for supper and nothing else. didnt sleep too well. took till 4am to get to sleep then was awake every hour till 10am. only steroids or a really good cant put it down book does that to me usually. unless im hungry. but wasnt aware of being so. anyway will try without porridge and see what happens.will be gutted if another food i like has to be dumped. what with diabetic diet/IBS one, and acid reflux, i soon wont know what is left to eat.

 

[nicolan6534]

I had a cortisone steroid injection & my BG levels shot up, i was above 20 everyday & the usual correction doses had little or no effect. It took 2-3 week for things to settle down for me. Hope things improve soon x


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[Lazybones]

As previous mentioned 'Steroids' may be one of the principle culprits as to the unexplained rise in B/G levels. Another culprit that might be overlooked is the 'Porridge' which would normally have a Low Gi/GL loading unless that is it is of the "INSTANT PORRIDGE" variety which for us diabetics is best avoided.

 

[BramHall456]

Porridge I have this for breakfast every day supposed to keel colesterol low.mine 3.5. seems reading the threads that nothing is good for you.i eat veg, fruit, two slices wholemeal bread thre odd treat. Bg s started at 17 now average mmols 7 hba1c last 6.5. so assume from what I read im not so bad but get no exersise due to neuropathy.

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[Henry_Sugar]

Unfortunately as stated by others, steroids will up your BS levels so have about reducing the needs for them ?

Recently I've been told that I have "seasonal" asthma and like you I've had some chest infections that resulted in me having to take steroids.

In an attempt to combat this I've brought & have just started reading a book that IS helping my current situation.

Open Amazon & search for :-

"Close Your Mouth: Buteyko Breathing Clinic self help manual"

(not sure if links are allowed, so I haven't.....)
It's early days but I'm already starting to see some improvement, who knows maybe it could help you!!!!!

Whatever you decide the v best of luck

 

[Mommayorkie]

thank you everyone. as predicted, my levels went down to between 9.1 and 10. but stuck there. i have stopped having porridge for supper , gone back to rice krispies. last 3 days.. 7.5/8.8/7.4. so getting there. only thing is. breakfast is later recently as i seem to be tired all the time. not getting up till between 10.30 and 11am/ (i know..disgusting) and an hour later my eyelids start drooping. and have terrible probs all day with it. thought it was trying to do things online. like shopping order..staring at lists and trying to read them. or political articles which are a bit long.but went to my daughters yesterday and i wasnt on a computer. just sat there talking to her. and again i couldnt stay awake. admitted had had a rough night night before and not slept til 6am, then was up with cramp every hour.that happens sometimes when ive not drunk enough fluids the previous day. but like today, im trying to do mu online shop and dropping asleep with every item i try to look for. my Hb1Ac was within normal limits (waiting til monday to speak to my diabetic team for actual numbers as the ckerk at the surgery wont give those out over the phone.i think it was 8.8 in the middle there because i had my supper a bit later. and was up a bit earlier that day.
i will certainly look for that book you suggest henry, though its better if my friends and family stay away when they have colds/coughs etc. which ive noticed lately they have got lax about doing. perhaps because ive managed to stave off any chest infections colds etc for over 2 years til this last one which was my own fault for going to my daughters xmas day when she wasnt 100% over a cold plus someone else there had a really bad one. it was go or be on my own at xmas. which would have really depressed me.i already have SAD this year. (something i had managed to avoid for the previous 3 years by going out as much as i could during the lighter ,sunnier days of the previous years. last years sun was too much for me (and others) so didnt get as many outings.
theres a slight possibility too that because they gave me the uncoated steroids, they started working earlier, i.e in my stomach, where the coated ones start lower down,possibly in my gut. so arent in my body as long.? just an idea that one.you do look for reasons after all. its on my notes, at docs and chemists, that i need the red coated ones. but i have to remind them each time.as these were rescue ones i hadnt thought to look to make sure they had sent rigt ones. being boxing day when i needed them, i had to take them/ and by time the drs /chemists were open the damage was done.

 

[Mommayorkie]

forgot to ask. does anyone know what high energy foods there are that i can eat that dont contain sugar??? i am at a loss with that one.