Diabetes after hormone therapy

[PercyVear]

Hi Folks, last year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Had successful treatment with radiotherapy and Prostap hormone injections. PSA now 0.01. Was very happy until suddenly hit with type 2 with terrifically high blood readings HbA1c over 120, glucose at 26. So bad they thought I had Pancreatic cancer, but MRI all clear. Soon after had heart attack and had stent fitted. Could have been caused by diabetes. Two questions, I was on Gliclazide which was quite effective, but they wanted me off it and I am now on 2 x Sukkarto SR (Metformin Hydrochloride). Before meals my blood is reading 6 to 7 to 8, during day and 8 to 9 in the morning. Is that acceptable ? Also thinking of stopping Prostap after 14 months, to see if there is any effect on my diabetes ?
Thanks, Percy

 

[Windy]

Hi PercyVear, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your prostate cancer, heart attack and T2 diabetes, it sounds like you've been through a lot recently.

I'm afraid I don't know about the Prostap and have no medical background whatsoever, but I googled it and found information on the MacMillan website and it says:
"Hormonal therapy drugs that can increase your blood sugar level include:
...
leuprorelin acetate (Prostap®)"

"Your blood sugar levels will usually go back to normal once the hormonal therapy treatment is finished." and that sounds hopeful to my non-medical mind.
It's a question for your consultant/GP next time you see them, or perhaps contact MacMillan or Diabetes UK's helpline to ask them.

There's information on BG testing here on the Diabetes UK website (about half way down the page) which shows what the levels should be. Yours are a bit higher than that, but not by much. You may need to look at your diet to see if there's things in there which are causing it to be raised, or see if going for a short walk after meals helps, or keeping a food diary along with BG testing to see if there are particular foods which put your levels up more than other foods.
Sarah

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @PercyVear

It does sound like it might be helpful to chat things through with your practice pharmacist (if you have one) or your GP.

The Diabetes UK helpline are also on hand Mon-Fri 9-6 on 0345 123 2399 to chat things through if that would help.

I would suggest consulting your surgery and speaking to a healthcare professional before making any changes to your medications.

The 6s - 9s you mention on your blood glucose meter are roughly within the normal range.

 

[AndBreathe]

@PercyVear - Sounds like you've been through the mill, health-wise in recent times.

It sounds like you have made decent progress, bringing your levels down, certainly to far less dangerous levels.

Whilst stopping your hormonal treatment might seem attractive in terms of your diabetes, it strikes that you are on that for a reason, and in your shoes I would have to be clear how my cancer would be monitored if I did decide to stop the horones.

Of course, it's easy for me to comment upon a situation I am not living, nor, as a woman, ever will, but cancer scares me - a lot. I have always said if the Big C comes calling, I'll want ALL of the treatment, then glibly say I'd want it twice to be sure of the best chance of a great outcome.

I would say it is possible to lead a good, healthy life with T2 diabetes. If your current medical regime isn't ideal, perhaps there are tweaks you could consider.

For me, I wouldn't want to tweak anything that could perhaps allow something bad to creep back into my body.

One of our neighbours was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer during lockdown and has had a similar treatment path. It's a tough road. Whatever you do, I wish you the best possible outcome.

 

[PercyVear]

Thanks everyone for your input on this thread. Having a chat with Oncologist Friday morning for her prognosis if I discontinue Prostap. I am about to have my 3 monthly blood test for T2. I found that if I work at my allotment the reading I get afterwards is always around 5.4. I have to be careful as I cycle there and work and can sometimes over do it and get ectopic heartbeats and raised pulse levels that take time to normalise.
Percy

 

[Windy]

Hope it all goes well with the oncologist PercyVear.
Sarah

 

[trophywench]

Hi there @PercyVear ! Love your User name - I seem to recall either the Beano or Dandy or even the Eagle perhaps (all weekly comics which my cousin Roger used to have when we were kids) had a cartoon comic strip character called "Sir Percy Vere - the Good Knight" which even aged 5 or 6 I could appreciate the humour in the title of! - and enjoyed reading the tales of his exploits with his trusty steed.