My blood sugar has never been the same, and now I am on diabetes meds. After I started taking prednisone, my blood sugar shot up to 300 mg/dl, and it took me three weeks on Actos to bring it back down. I have type 2 diabetes, which I controlled then with diet and exercise. Three years ago, when I was 65, I was prescribed prednisone during a very bad cold. Can Steroids Have A Lasting Effect On Blood Glucose Īt the end of the article, I will also describe the rare situation where steroid therapy may actually cause type 2 diabetes by triggering a complication called steroid-induced diabetes. In this article, I will describe exactly how steroids affect blood sugar and what you can do about it. If youve ever been prescribed a steroid, you may know that they spike blood sugars easily and quickly, and can lead to stubborn hyperglycemia for days on end. Where Was The Warning About Prednisone And DiabetesĬorticosteroids, or steroids for short, are a common medication prescribed for a multitude of ailments, but can often cause blood sugar issues for people living with diabetes. Several studies have reported that transient increases in serum glucose are associated with acute inflammatory processes and endothelial dysfunction in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Similarly the diabetic patient possesses a traditional cardiovascular risk factor for microvascular and macrovascular complications.įluctuations in serum glucose levels have been associated with increased cardiovascular mortality associated with increased LDL cholesterol, endothelial dysfunction, activation of the coagulation cascade, increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and oxidative stress resulting in macrovascular disease progression.
Therefore, it is thought that the coexistence of inflammatory diseases and steroid-induced hyperglycemia may lead to worse cardiovascular consequences. It is known that rheumatic diseases per se represent an important cardiovascular risk factor, which makes them the leading cause of premature mortality in these patients. Then I finished tapering off prednisone after nine months of high-to-low doses of prednisone.ĭon’t Miss: When To Check Blood Sugar After Eating Effects Of Steroid Hyperglycemiaĭespite its frequency, little is known about the impact of hyperglycemia associated with steroid use on clinical comorbidities and mortality. I rode that roller coaster of blood draws for six months before they eventually resorted to chemotherapy which cured my problem, at least for now. They pricked my arm each week to check my platelet level and decide whether I could continue tapering or whether I needed to go back up to a higher dose. Eventually, that failed as well, so my doctor started me on a slow taper down from prednisone 60 mg.
The dose of dexamethasone I took equals approximately 267 mg of prednisone. I took #10 of the highest strength dexamethasone tablets each day for three days. So the hematologist prescribed another steroid, dexamethasone.
That only worked for a week to boost my platelets until they started to crash again. In the hospital they started with prednisone 60 mg, given as three prednisone 20 mg tablets. Because my immune system killed off so many of my blood platelets, doctors worried I could bleed to death. My High Dose Prednisone Experienceįirst, I want to share my personal experience taking high doses of prednisone and other steroids. So which prednisone side effects get worse the higher the dose? In this article, I will share the side effects to expect at higher doses of prednisone according to the five most comprehensive pharmacy databases. If your doctor prescribed a prednisone 20 mg tablet or higher, then youve been given a high dose. Which Side Effects Are Worse On Prednisone 20 Mg Tablets If youre taking topical steroid creams or gels or inhaled steroids, they do not typically affect blood sugar levels. Steroid injections start to affect blood sugars soon after the injection and can remain high for 3-10 days afterward.