cellcept and elevated blood sugar
 

Im getting answers all over the place, so I figure let me ask here where people are on this drug and have experience with it.
I was put on cellcept, reluctant as Ive been, I agreed and went on last month.
3 weeks later, I wasnt feeling well, urinated all night long, sure enough, I was diagnosed with diabetes.
Im fat, live a sedentary life style(myasthenia doesnt afford me great strength, but I cant blame it), and I have a horrible family history of diabetes.
I questioned both my neuro and my physician.
the neuro's response was something like anything is possible, but going by my body type, and my family history, its unlikely cellcept had anything to do with it.
Physician was sort of same thought.

But this isnt my question, my own stupidity caused the diabetes.
But from anyones experience, does the cellcept raise the sugar levels in blood?

Im very frustrated right now. My vision went all blurred and today my eye doctor explained to me once the diabetes is under control(and Ive been dieting and decided to grow up and eat like an adult), it will take up to a month to get my vision back. Im extremely agitated. Unhappy.

everything I read on cellcept indicates it does raise blood sugar in 30 % of patients on it........is this all nonsense?

Im lucky I have 8 pairs of glasses for all different application so now I use my computer glasses for driving and watching tv and my readers to work the computer. I have a great eye doctor. I love the guy.

Hi Allen. Sorry this is happening to you. Don't know about cellcept, but prednisone can contribute / induce high glucose in some people too.

How high was your glucose, did they do a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), and have they given you any medication . . . or are they trying dietary and lifestyle changes first? If your fasting glucose levels are not too high - this may very will be controlled by dietary and lifestyle changes. Not easy..but doable.

Please take care and let us know how you are doing.

My blood sugars dropped drastically.
The first week the doctor put me on a strict diet, and my readings were mostly in the ranges from 140-200.
Not good enough, (I did stop the cellcept although I started again 2 days ago), he put me on metformin twice a day and I dont have a problem staying on the diet the nutritionist explained to me. She set the guidelines of how much and of what I can eat.
The past week my sugar levels havent gone over 149, and average close to normal again.

Now that I dont have the pressures of work, the stress, I dont have children who live at home, and my life is pretty much "free", I dont mind growing up and acting and eating like an adult.
I even push myself each morning after breakfast and take a walk, since I always feel stronger when I first get up.

So glad to hear of your improvement. That's awesome!

No, it's not nonsense - what IS nonsense is doctors thinking that being fat or having diabetes has anything to do with a "healthy" diet.

Diabetes (and, I'm becoming more and more convinced each day, obesity) is an AUTO-IMMUNE disease. If you are on medication that is suppressing your immune system and you develop diabetes almost immediately afterward (like I did on steroids), it isn't because everything you had been doing for years before all of a sudden "caught up with you", it's because your immune system was suddenly (and significantly) suppressed more than it had been before.

While doctors may be scientists, most of them don't think like ENGINEERS (who analyze data and patterns).

My family - on both sides, mind you - has NO history of diabetes. NONE. I'm significantly overweight, 50 years old, eat all of the "wrong" foods, and have NEVER had high blood sugar (always drove my skinny, fit, pre-diabetic husband CRAZY!). A month after I started on Prednisone, the blood sugar shot up to pre-diabetic levels.

You aren't imagining things - an underactive immune system WILL make you more predisposed to developing Diabetes. However, you might want to do more research before you start following the "recommendations" of the ADA - most people find that their diabetes gets WORST on the ADA's recommended diet (which is high in grains and low in fat), rather than better.

A high-fat, high protein, low-carb diet will actually do more to help diabetes than anything else. And stay away from artificial sweeteners of ANY kind; there is a large, well-documented study out there (from April, 2009, using data gathered from the MESA study) that shows a significant correlation between artificial sweetener use and the risk of developing Type II Diabetes.

Cellcept gave me high blood sugar as well
 

HI ALLEN! WHEN I WAS ON CELLCEPT MY BLOOD SUGAR WENT THROUGH THE ROOF! I'M NOW ON METFORMIN (?) FOR MY BLOOD SUGAR........I WAS ALWAYS HEALTHY AND MAYBE EVEN A BIT UNDERWEIGHT....NO HISTORY OF DIABETES IN MY FAMILY..........SO I WAS SHOCLED WHEN THE DR TOLD ME I WAS ON THE "VERGE OF DIABETES".........
CYCLOSPORIN WAS THE WORST, THO! CUSHINGS, BRITTLE BONES, THE WORKS...........FEMUR BREAKS, EVEN!!!! TRY AND STAY AWAY FROM THAT ONE!
THE SAD THING IS THAT THE MEDS WE TAKE TO STAY ALIVE ALSO HAVE WICKED SIDE EFECTS...........
HANG IN THERE, SWEETHEART! IT DOES GET BETTER!
LOVE,
ERIN:hug:

Im on what is basically the plate method.
I dropped approx 20 lbs the past 2 weeks, IM sure alot of it water, but since I started watching my diet, I sleep so good at night I feel its helping out my MG tremendously as I dont feel sluggish in the late mornings and notice Im just feeling a bit better overall.
The fuzzy vision is a bit trying at this point, having finally overcome the MG eye issues.
Im confident I will adjust to my new diet, and I started the cellcept again and havent noticed a spike in the sugar levels.(Ofcourse it could take time, or the damage is done already)
Thanx for the responses.

Hi Allen L!
 

WHAT WONDERUL NEWS!!!!!:hug: I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! 20 LBS! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!:hug: I WOULD LOVE TO SLEEP @ NITE - CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I THINK I MAY SUFFER FROM POST TRAUMATIC STRESS FROM ALL OF MY HOSPITAL - LATE NITE NEEDLE PROBES AND TOO MANY WAKE UP VISITS FROM DRS AND NURSES TELLING ME THAT I'M GOING TO DIE - NO JOKE! :eek:

I STILL WAKE UP @ 4:00 AM - BLOOD DRAW TIME.....AND IT HAS BEEN 4 YRS! CRAZY, HUH? ANYWAY - PRAISE GOD FOR YOUR GREAT RESULTS!!!!!!! IT CUOLDN'T HAPPEN TO A NICER PERSON!

LOVE
ERIN:hug: