• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Can't get levels down!

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
G

glitter$gloss

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi everyone, I do hope someone here can give me some advice on my problem.
10 days ago I had to have an intercostal nerve block injection for pain in my ribs. I was warned it may affect my bs levels for a few days.
I am very concerned that they have stayed high ever since and even though I have raised both basal and bolus to counteract the affects, my levels are still on average 17 during the day.
I have been Type 1 for 9 years, diagnosed late in life at age 46 so it has been a steep learning curve for me!
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I can't find any information on what to do at all anywhere!
Many thanks in advance.
Sarah
 
Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum. 🙂 Yes, steroids are well known for pushing up blood glucose levels. I had to take prednisolone for 4 days and it sent my levels into the stratosphere. My insulin doses increased massively and were still affected over 2 weeks later. I think you may just need to firefight until the effects of the steroid wear off. Have you spoken to your DSN about it?
 
Last edited:
Hi Matt, thanks for your reply.
I expected my levels to be raised for a few days but not this long and I'm worried about the damage being caused because of it.
My levels before I had dinner tonight were 21.5!!
I'll try and contact the DN at my surgery tomorrow but don't find them very supportive.
Thanks again.
 
You obviously need to increase insulin a good bit more - and don't forget that whatever percentage you increase basal by, needs also to be applied to all your boluses. Talking especially of correction doses - when your BG is in double figures to begin with - you need an increase in the normal correction dose anyway.

It's not 'just' the steroid which causes the higher BG - any inflammation, anywhere in your body, also causes it. hence it's a vicious circle inflammation requiring steroid treatment - double whammy to the BG of any diabetic. This will continue for some time once the steroids stop until your whole system is free of whatever needed them and the steroids themselves. Nobody can actually say to you 'double/treble/quadruple your insulin for X/Y/Z amount of time' for the simple reason that every single one of us will be different as the how much and for how long, we need the extra.

So - just don't be afraid to increase dosage rates until you get your BG a bit more normal.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top