My husband blood sugar numbers fell from 120 to 43 and so he was taken off glicazide, he is however receiving drug treatment for prostate cancer which involves steroids which can cause a medically induced type 2 diabetes. At his blood test in Oct he has gone up to 63 and although we are trying with low carbs etc I think he will always need medication all the time he is on steroids, the doctors don't seem very worried but I am. Has anyone else been in this situation, feel as though we are floundering around the minute.
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Back in high numbers
- Thread starter Carolp
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Ljc
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Hell @Carolp . Welcome to the forum. Sorry I can’t help , I just wanted to give your post a bump up.
I am going to tag @everydayupsanddowns.
I am going to tag @everydayupsanddowns.
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Hello @Carolp
Sorry to hear about your husband’s cancer diagnosis, and the effect the steroids seem to be having on his BG.
Well done on embracing low carb - I would think that will certainly be a good strategy going forward. It may be that you need to cut back in the carbs still further while your husband is on the steroids?
63 is nearly 8% in the old measuring system, which is quite high. The gliclazide seemed to put your husband down into a non-diabetic range. Did he have much problem with hypoglycaemia? Or perhaps glic was contra-indicated by some of the other cancer meds?
Have you explained your concerns to the clinic(s) treating your husband? Hopefully he has a proper MDT in place with both cancer and diabetes specialists who can offer some good support and put your mind at rest.
let us know how you get on.
Sorry to hear about your husband’s cancer diagnosis, and the effect the steroids seem to be having on his BG.
Well done on embracing low carb - I would think that will certainly be a good strategy going forward. It may be that you need to cut back in the carbs still further while your husband is on the steroids?
63 is nearly 8% in the old measuring system, which is quite high. The gliclazide seemed to put your husband down into a non-diabetic range. Did he have much problem with hypoglycaemia? Or perhaps glic was contra-indicated by some of the other cancer meds?
Have you explained your concerns to the clinic(s) treating your husband? Hopefully he has a proper MDT in place with both cancer and diabetes specialists who can offer some good support and put your mind at rest.
let us know how you get on.
Thank you for your reply. We have been to the prostate cancer research nurse today and she is horrified his 63 number and the fact that the surgery don't seem that bothered. She is ringing them today to voice her concerns. No he had no problems with glicazide and our research nurse doesn't know why they took him off it as it was doing the job and had lowered his blood sugar to 39. We are going on tues to see the diabetic nurse so they will have to give him medication as they think his type 2 is probably steroid induced and not very easy to manage by diet alone. this is becoming more difficult to manage than the prostate cancer!. onward and downward we hope, ha ha.
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Fingers crossed it's a good appointment with some joined-up thinking that provides a good plan to suit both his cancer treatment and the effect the steroids are having on his BG!
Hi Carolp,
I can only assume that the GP took your husband of Glic because he had such well controlled Glucose levels that he was almost out of the pre-diabetes range.
Obviously the current need for steroids changes everything!
Drummer
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There is some speculation that some cancers which cannot metabolise ketones by their basic nature are unable to grow in low glucose conditions - and whilst I can't even guess about prostate cancer, if it might have some chance of helping then low glucose is even more desirable for your husband.
Funny thing is we have been told that one 'arm' of the research STAMPEDE trial he is on is trialing metformin as a prostate cancer drug so although he is not on that 'arm' of the trial he is in an involuntary way., so his prostate cancer is stable but his diabetes is running riot!
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