solu medrol and blood sugar

[willowwoman7]

I had a first 500 mg iv dose of sol u medrol today and my blood sugar post meal is 259. Doc told me this afternnon just to watch it. I take no meds for diabetes and I am controlled by diet and exercise (lost 43 pounds this year) and blood sugars have been normal. I don't know if I should call the doctor or not...I'm a bit concerned while he seemed to blow it off.

[Erin0313]

Congrats on the weight loss!! My hubby was dx with diabetes a few months ago and he is not a good boy with diet or exercise. I don't want to nag him but I worry. It took 2 months to get him to start his meds (pills) because the dopey doctor said that most people get diarhea from them so he just kept putting it off until this weekend - he didn't even get it!


Anyway I just wanted to agree that blood sugar goes up on iv steroids and "they" really don't worry until it is in the 300's. I don't have diabetes but every time I have been on the iv solumedrol my sugar has been in the high 200's too and several doctors have told me it's normal no worries and sure enough it goes away after.

Keep up the great work!
Erin :)

[Sarahsmom46]

Wow, losing 43 pounds is significant. Good for you.  

Your blood sugars being up while being on solumedrol is completely normal. Having a 256 while on steroids and post-meal is expected.  It will come back down within a few days after you stop you last dose of steroids.  So, don't be too alarmed about it.  

But, like you docotr said, keep an eye on it.

I used to not get eleveated sugars when I was taking steroids, but now it happens every time I take them.  I can assure you that we kept a close eye on my sugars as I am pre-diabetic and have 2 parents with diabetes as well as my brother, but it went right back to my normal range within a week and now I don't worry too much about it.

You'll be fine, but also be diligent to make sure there are no complications as Mary had already stated.

Julie

[twopack]

It's got to be hard to be so diligent about keeping your blood sugar in check without oral agents or insulin only to see it zoom up with one dose of steroid.  This is a totally expected side effects of the steroid.  It's not a question of if or when the blood sugar will go up.  Just how high will it go?

I wish your doctor had given you some better guidelines about what "watch it" means.  Maybe you can call the office in the morning and ask how high it needs to be before he wants to hear from you.  Longer use of steroids can sometimes create a situation where people temporarily need pills or insulin to bring the blood sugar down.  I doubt you will be taking it that long.

Who is following your diabetes treatment while you are on IV steroids?  The neuro might not be the most qualified to decide what is acceptable for you when it comes to monitoring and treatment of your diabetes during steroid treatment.  It's like asking the bone doctor to deliver your baby.  He could do it but not with the same expertise and confidence as the OB.

Your blood sugar will fall back into it's normal range once the steroids have cleared your system.  You just don't want to chance any unnecessary organ damage from diabetes while you're treating the MS.  My guess is the doc won't be concerned enough about this number to do anything and there's nothing saying it will get any higher.  You do need to ask him to get more specific about the numbers and what you should do though.

Congratulations on that weight loss too!  I've been trying hard but can't see to get the scale from see-sawing between a couple of favorite numbers.  You've done a great job of taking care of yourself.

Mary