Living with diabetes
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Cortisone
Back in December I had treatment for some knots in my left arm and hand with cortisone shots to see if these shots would help reduce the size of the knots. I bring this up cause being diabetic I need to watch how medicines affect my blood sugar levels.
I noticed a slight difference in my daily glucose readings, but nothing too off the wall. The dermatologist who did the cortisone shots did mention it could possible raise my sugar levels, but that she was only going to use a little bit.
My three month blood level average (A1c) went up .8 pts from a 6.2 to a 7.0. Granted that is still not bad, but since this is the first time in 16 years I'd had these levels I choose to stop the cortisone treatments since they did raise my sugars.
The reason I write about this is to let anyone who may not be aware that any steriodal medicines can affect your blood sugar levels, so be sure to consult your doctor, find out if it is steriodal, and weigh your options.
I noticed a slight difference in my daily glucose readings, but nothing too off the wall. The dermatologist who did the cortisone shots did mention it could possible raise my sugar levels, but that she was only going to use a little bit.
My three month blood level average (A1c) went up .8 pts from a 6.2 to a 7.0. Granted that is still not bad, but since this is the first time in 16 years I'd had these levels I choose to stop the cortisone treatments since they did raise my sugars.
The reason I write about this is to let anyone who may not be aware that any steriodal medicines can affect your blood sugar levels, so be sure to consult your doctor, find out if it is steriodal, and weigh your options.
22 Comments:
hi,
I had 2 cortisone shots 2 weeks ago and 2 two weeks before that (I've been diabetic for 19yrs) and my blood sugars hav been insane ever since. They tend to be around 20mmol/l (360 mg/dl) regardless of doing loads of extra insulin. The doctor warned me that it would temporarily raise my blood sugars, but they didn't really warn me how much it could increase or how long this would last for. I'm still waiting for it to wear off. I think in future I will refuse cortisone shots, as it didn't help the pain / inflammation enough to outweigh the horrible effect on my blood sugar. I'd advise people to think very carefully before accepting cortisone shots, and get your doctor to explain the pros & cons properly!
Take care out there :-)
Hi,
I'd like to know if you are still experiencing highs. I had a cortisone shot 10 days ago. After about 4 days it seemed like my sugars were getting much better. Then they shot up again and have been high ever since. I'm really scared since I may need another shot. I hope your sugars have gone back to normal by now.
Lucy
To anonymous,
The affects on my sugars from my cortisone shot lasted I say about a month. I noticed them being slightly higher for a month and my Hemoglobin A1c seemed to go down from the check after the shot was given.
JUst wanted to say thanks for this information and I', jsut sorry I hadn't seen your blogg sooner...fro, 1.0 to 9.5 and trying hard to get it under control. Again, thanks.
I have very recently been diagnosed with diabetes type 2. I have seen that if I exercise vigorously and maintain a strict control on my diet the sugar levels are in the range between 6 and 7.
I have also noticed that my sugar level is higher in the morning then in the evening.
I live in a third world country and all my life I have had to face many adverse situations which had obviously raised my stress levels.
Is it possible that I have developed diabetes due to prolonged stress and is it possible that the secretion of cortisone when I am asleep is the reason for my sugar level being higher in the morning due to the decrease of insulin sensitivity that cortisone causes.
arshad,
I would say that stress is not the cause of your diabetes. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, while very different diseases, are hereditray.
The reasons for the high sugars in the morning could be numerous. You could be going low at night and your body does its best to repair this issue, which winds up making your sugars high in the morning. You may need to possibly look into taking insulin. I'm type 1 diabetic and when my sugars are high in the morning that normally means I haven't given enough insulin. I say talk to whomever it was that diagnosed you and see what they say about these problems.
I have fibromayalsia (sp) and the pain can get very bad. Being a diabetic I have found that there are certain medicines that I cannot take, either because they cause a reaction, or because I am allergic. I called my doctor and talked to his nurse who relayed my message about the pain, and he tole me immediately that I cannot take the cortisone shots because while they may help with the pain, then can cause my blood sugars to rise, and I am having enough trouble keeping them under control as it is.
Thank you for this blog because I was serious;y thinking of asking my doctor to give me the shots anyway.
I can totally relate to wanting to go with cortisone no matter what. I'm still dealing with knots on my left hand and arm that my dermatologist injected with the cortisone, which seemed to be one of the only things to help, but since I know high bloodsugars can cause worse diabetic complications in the future I keep reminding myself of that.
Thanks for reading the blog and I hope you come back.
Thanks for the posts - I've been having knee pain for nearly a year now, sometimes to the point of inability to do my job (teacher). I had 7 wks. of phys. therapy which helped some. I finally saw an ortho. doc this week who suggested cortisone shot and told me there'd be a bump in my sugars "usually a couple of days." I was shocked by how high they went and continue to be. To me, it's a spike, not a bump. Very scary for someone who works to control her sugars w/ oral meds! I was glad to read here that it can take more than a couple of days. I was starting to "freak" about my sugars being so very high so long after the shot. I have added a med. that I still take at a very low dosage, but at the higher doage that I used to use. That makes me fell like I'm trying to offset the effects, but if the highs continue through the weekend, I'll call my diab. educator on Monday to see what else we might need to do. I am not in pain now, after nine months of it, so it did what it was supposed to do. Now that I know how I react to cortisone, I will need to give it more thought as to long-term usage for the knee problem. Thanks for giving real people a place to help one another! It eased my mind today.
Anonymous,
I am glad you found my blog and that this post helped you in regards to the "bump" in your sugars. I've had several doctors mention that there should be only a slight rise in blood sugars after cortisone shots. These comments have come after I had the shots done. I know my body and I saw what they did. So do not ever listen to what a doctor says if it does not go with what you've seen happen before. I will not do these kind of shots ever again. I've worked on my sugars for years too and while these doctors think it odd that it effected my sugars that much, I know it to be true and am listening to my body.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to read. Let me know if there is anything you may want me to write about or look into.
I also wish I would have read this BEFORE I got my cortisone shot on Friday (3 days ago). I am a diabetic and my sugar levels are always 140 or below. That evening, my sugar shot up to 262 and has just barely been under 300 for the past 3 days. My doctor didn't even warn me this could happen and he knew I was a diabetic! I didn't know what was going on until I called the Walmart Pharmacy and asked them about the possibility of cortisone shot/diabetes situation. And the pharmacist told me that he had a man that had came in and had (not knowing he was a diabetic) that had a cortisone shot... and he went into a diabetic shock from the shot. I am upset with my doctor that he didn't warn me up front that this could happen.
My knee started hurting out of nowhere. No injury, etc. Diagnosed with arthritis (very general term they give). Got a cortisone shot 3 days ago and (diabetic) blood sugar has been over 250 and higher since. My dr. never warned me about this and I am generally very mad about it. Scared the you know what out of me. I'm drinking water constantly; however, only makes me up all night emptying my bladder. Dr. should know better. Knee still hurts, too
I am so sorry you doctor never warned you before your cortisone treatment. Was this a primary care doctor or your endocrinologist? My Endo always told me not to do steroids if they were offered so I was aware of the risks when I got my cortisone shots.
hello,
i had a cortizone shot in the shoulder from an injury 3 days ago i also have been a type 1 diabetic for 18 years i was told i would see a slight rise in bg levels since the shot on friday i have not been able to get a bg lower than 300. i have taken over 80 units of humalog. this is excessive for me. iwish i would have found you blog sooner because i would not of had the shot but my only other option was surgery cortizone seemed easier now i wish i would have said surgery will probably have to because shoulder does not feel any better. i hope i this goes away soon not feeling so good. going to doctor tomorrow.
I'm so sorry to hear you took the shot for your shoulder and it isn't helping. Unfortunately, that seems to be what all doctors say, "You will only notice a slight rise in blood sugar levels." When my A1c were messed up do to the shot I was pissed. My dermatologist who mentioned it to me, and the one who administered my one and only shot, continued to mention them to me. I have gone to someone else. I've told her numerous times I will not do the cortisone shots again. I should not have to repeat myself continuously to a doctor in regards to this.
I hate this happened to you and I hope things get better with it soon.
Well, again, I wish I had read this before I had a cortisone shot today for a pinched nerve in my hip. My sugars ususally run near 130-140 and now they hae gone up to over 250. I am monitoring them and not eating any additional carbs. I hope they go back to normal soon. The shot seemed to help my hip pain which was pretty severe, but I do not think I will get another cortisone shot.
This is a great blog. I got a series of cortisone shots from my dermatologist a month ago. At one point i checked my sugar and it was at 530! I am still running between 275 and 400. I knew that I could possibly see a "slight increase" but didn't know it would be so bad and for so long. My endo. doctor says that we need to let it run it course now. I think he is annoyed that I took the shot since he's always warned me about cortizones. Hopefully things will get back under control. I was staying between 100-140 before this.
Thank you for the compliment on this blog.
I can't remember if I noticed my day to day sugars being majorly out of sorts, but the cortisone shot messed with my A1c levels for a year or more, which is what had me the most livid. Then this dermatologist kept telling me I should only see a change in my sugars for a short period of time. I told her that was not the case and she had no clue. So I found another dermatologist.
Im so glad I found this blog! I have been a diabetic (type 1) for 33 years and on tues (2/3) four days ago I received a cortisone shot in my foot for torn cartlidge and ligaments in my ankle. The podiatrist who knows that Im diabetic never once mentioned that this shot would raise my blood sugars. I am outraged that it wasnt even mentioned.... since the injection I have not been able to get my blood sugars under 200. The day after the injection and all thru that night I was running 400 - 500!! And it didnt matter how much correction humalog I was pumping into me. I did get my BS's down to around 180 today but as soon as I ate a turkey sandwiched it shot back up over 300. I wear an insulin pump and my sugars are always between 120-150 and these high numbers are making feel so bad. I WISH I would have known the effects of the cortisone injection. I did know that steroids increases BS's but did not know how bad this is... unless I have a infection going on somewhere else - which i find hard to believe. I have even bought new insulin and changed out my infusion sets, ect. When I called my doctor on friday and asked them whether the cortisone injections caused blood sugars to rise the nurse there said no.. She said the dr. said that would not increase blood sugars since it was crystallized and just stayed in the ankle/joint. I totally disagree.... I am very upset.
Alot of doctors will try to tell you that it doesn't effect your sugars much. I had a Dermatologist try to tell me that over and over. Unless they live with your body daily to see the fluctuations then they have no say. My endocrinologist did tell me to stay away from steroids though. I just didn't think about the cortisone when I had it done. Like you I thought it wouldn't bother my sugars that much. It did though.
I have had problems for weeks with muscle spasams. Started in my back then thigh muscles. Walked with pretty bad posture during the whole time. Finally everything went to my knee. The ortho gave me a shot in the knee yesterday with a commment that my sugar may rise for a while. WOW! I had been used to seeing 105 on my meter for a year now. It was getting pretty boring checking it every morning. This morning when I got out of bed, I fell just as I put my feet on the floor. Picked myself up and made it to the coffee pot and my meter and checked the reading. 264!! More than double. I take oral med and 40 units of Levimir. Should I check about rasing the Levimir?
Anon,
I would consult your endo about this. Let them know about the cortisone shot, bloodsugar results, and see what they recommend for your treatment. I can only guess on changes for myself and would hate to give you wrong advice.
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