Increased blood sugar readings from steroids
 

I had blood drawn and my sugar is increasing. The consent forms for the medial branch blocks, ESI, etc... all say that these can raise sugar. Has anyone 1) experienced this and 2) gone on to become a diabetic? Thats the last thing I'd need but I'm getting concerned since this is the second high reading I've had since starting with these proceedures.

EE03,

Did you have your blood drawn shortly after injection? If so, just know that there can be a transient increase for a few days. It has happened to me on occasion but never really went over the line at all; just a slight increase. What they usually say is to adjust any medicines OR watch your diet. I personally don't know of anyone that turned diabetic after injections but I have seen a few posts where people said that it did. It could be that you are pre-diabetic. Anyway, what I normally do is to have an A1C done periodically since I have received injections for the past 9 years or so. So far so good; the A1C's have all turned out just fine in other words and as the doc says I am controlling my blood sugar just fine. Oops, I should have also added that I have my own glucometer. Sooo...when I get an injection I test for a few days and kind of adjust what I am eating IF I see it increase a bit. Oh, and I am having an annual exam done next week; all the labs. So, I will let you know if anything shows up haywire...the AIC will also be done. I hope this helps a little bit. Others might know more. I will just add that I was a gestational diabetic years ago so I have been watching my blood sugar for a long time.

Anabolizant Steroids: Are They Worth Taking?
 

Many young people take anabolizant steroids to obtain a fast increase of their muscular mass, but is this the best choice? Androgen steroids have some negative effects on men and women who use them for muscular mass increase. Anabolizant steroids may produce long-term side effects for different organs or sometimes even lead to behavioral changes for those who use them.

My blood sugar goes up for a while following a cortisone shot.

My doc explained I can either up my metformin (I take a low dose for insulin resistance) or I can add more cinnamon softgels that I use to help my blood sugar.

Thanks for responding and for the info. My blood was drawn six days after my last MBB and there hasn't been any indication that I'm prediabetic. It was elevated once before following another MBB so my doctor is now telling me to watch what I eat and of course, he'll continue to watch it, and to also lose weight, but that seems to be futile right now since the last three months of trying has yeilded a slight drop and it isn't budging beyond that.

Any advice on food would be welcome.

I'll search for cinnamon softgels at the health food store. Thanks for the tip.

Have your doctor order a HbA1C ...this will show long term trends in blood sugar levels, and is more predictive of long term elevations than single readings.

If the A1C is normal for your age, I wouldn't worry yet.

All corticosteroids raise blood sugar to some extent. So do infection and stress. Typically treatment is not ordered for temporary steroid blood sugar increase.
You can moderate your diet some to account for this. Avoid sweets, and eat modest portions, including good amounts of protein and veggies during this time.

If your HbA1C starts to rise, then that would be more problematic.

Thanks mrsD. I hope I'm worrying for nothing but I'd like to try to do what I can incase its trending upward and I still have a boatload of procedures ahead of me.

food help
 

Hi EE,
I know lots about blood sugar because I have several diabetics in my family. Here's what I can tell you as a layperson:

First, if you can, eat 3 meals and 3 snacks per day, this will help keep your blood sugar level. If you try to lose weight by denying youself food, it fails because your blood sugar see-saws and that makes you crave things. Usually carbs, which give you a quick fix, as they turn into sugar in your blood. It's the body's way of correcting low blood sugar. Problem is that carbs make you crave more carbs-ever eat potato chips and then go back and get more? That's what's happening.

Okay so when you have these meals, you should be aiming to eat every 3-4 hours. When you have a meal, it doesn't have to be BIG, but it ALWAYS needs to include some form of protein. This would be things like: Low fat cheese, an egg, small serving of meat, yoghurt, a latte, small serving of nuts or peanut butter, etc.

Some healthy snacks would be:

-a slice of low fat cheese and an apple

-a hard boiled egg

-jello with low fat whip cream

-yoghurt with a table spoon of granola (with nuts)

-a tall, low fat latte

-22 almonds (PLAIN-no salt-raw almonds)

-a couple of slices of fat free ham and 4 crackers

and so on...if you need more snack ideas, google weight watchers 1 or 2 point snacks. You will get LOTS of ideas. (The idea being 1 or 2 point snacks are about 100-200 calories, which is a reasonable serving.)

When you get up in the morning, you MUST eat breakfast, even if it's a small one. Try and eat within an hour or so of getting up. The longer you are up and active without eating, the more insulin your body thinks it needs and that will cause your blood sugars to be off. If you exercise before eating in the morning, this too will cause your pancreas to work overtime.

Water is super important. It helps keep your kidneys functioning properly and flushes toxins from your system. Often people think they are hungery, but what's really happening is you are feeling dehydrated. Aim for 8 c of water per day. This is 3 bottle of the bottled water. Start with a small amount and work your way up if you are not a water drinker. After awhile, it will become a habit and your body will crave it.

Just so you know, you have to eat like this to lose weight. It seems counterintuitive to eat to lose weight, but it does work. I have lost 65 lbs. over 2 years. I have 40 left, to get to my healthy body weight. Just dropping 10 lbs. can make a difference in your health. I was pre-diabetic and my cholesteral was a concern and my BP was high when I started taking better care of myself. After losing 10 lbs, I had my blood sugar re-checked and it was normal. My cholesteral is no longer an issue and my BP is much lower and I was able to go off one BP med and am only on a very low dose now. (Though my ON issues do not help my BP, but spikes when I am in pain are normal, apparently.)

Anyway, there is a very good and FREE website online-google "spark People". They have all kinds of free weight management tools and boards you can use.

Also, talk to your doc about consulting with a dietician. I don't know how it works in the US, but in Canada, if you have other health issues, you can see one as part of your health care, with a referral. If it costs you in the US, then check out the Spark People site-it's not medical, but it's free.

Sorry this got so long, but I wanted to help, as this is something I know about and you have been very kind and supportive of me. I wanted to return the favour.

Any questions, just holler and I will try and help. If I don't know, I will say so.

:)

PG, thanks for all this great info. I'm going to incorporate your suggestions today. I've also read that eating acidic foods also effects blood sugar but I don't have anyway of verifying that. Is that something you've heard/know of?
Thanks so much for passing on all this great info and I will holler if I need help.

Best wishes and :hug: