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I have diabetes now 10 months, uncontrolled even on 28 units of insulin and 8mg of gilipride a day. I can't eat any carbs unless they are in salads and veggies. I was given 2.5 years of steroid injections in my neck every month and over one year I gained 10-15 pounds a month (total of over 110 pounds in one year) eating one meal a day. Total shots were over 30 times (2.5 years) with 3-4 shots each time and 1-2 epidurals each year. After I stopped the shots, my weight leveled out but I could not loose any weight due to high blood sugars and immobility for the last year.
I have diabetes 2, high blood pressure, medium to high cholesterol, fatty liver, and my thyroid requires synthroid.
I now cannot tolerate gluten, wheat, milk or even rice anymore.
Since taking the insulin shots, if my blood sugar spikes over 50 points or more, I have attacks where I break into total body sweat, I cannot breathe or have shortness of breath (need inhaler), I cannot walk, I cannot move my arms, and I cannot think or keep my eyes open and my oxygen saturation drops from 98-99% to 90%.
Doctors say that they cannot find anything wrong with me when I get these attacks as I was in the emergency room just 2 weeks after starting insulin, Lantus 10 units at the time. They did find a high level of infection in my bloodstream from 2 abscessed teeth (since then have been removed and was on 15 days of antibiotics) and there was too much sugar in my urine (blood sugar was 265), but the ER doctor told me that there was nothing wrong with me medically that they could find? I guess it was all in my head? WRONG! The last severe attack happened while I was sleeping and I was awakened not being able to breath around 9:00 am.
For three years my legs have been so painful that I could not walk far or even stand for any amount of time. I used to walk my dog over 1 mile each day for years, but the cold intolerance and leg and back pain stopped that 3 years ago. The pain in my legs was felt in my veins and swollen skin, not in my muscles.
Not eating carbs in the last 4 weeks or really low carb diet, my legs have stopped hurting and I have lost 12 pounds so far. But I still am getting the spikes and drops in blood sugar.
When eating even 20-30 carbs, I get blood sugar spikes of over 200+ points after 2 hours of eating something. Feel like heck and am in bed for days with no energy and just feeling crummy. It is a roller coaster to try and get this blood sugar stuff under control. I didn't realize that controlling diabetes is an art.
I have just realized that if my blood sugar goes into 2 digits (99-70), I feel bad. I need to keep blood sugar between 110-140 which is hard to do with 24 hour insulin. Also, my blood sugar after eating a small snack before bedtime will drop to 70-80 then reads out at 150-160 when I wake up. This doesn't make any sense for it to drop after I eat something with no carbs then go up after 6-8 hours while I am asleep.
Is it possible that the steroids caused me to have diabetes? It is not in my family at all. And as soon as I told the pain doctor that I had diabetes and other complications, he dropped me as a patient like a hot potato! My primary dr. told me that the steroid shots did not cause diabetes but I still do not agree with him especially since my diabetes has been so difficult to control over the last 10 months.
I am also very overly sensitive to medications and cannot take metformin or statins or all kinds of stuff even supplements! With metformin, I get constant lower abdomen pain on left side and it keeps me in bed. And I get blood in my urine and clots every 2-3 months for a week to 10 days then it goes away but it comes back for over a year now (I do have a very small kidney stone).
Anyone else having the blood sugar spikes and drops that debilitate you?
Any suggestions?
I will simply note that if your doctors opined that steroid treatment did not lead to the diabetes, I would take them at their word. I will add that in my 25+ years of reviewing medical records for disability claimants, I have never read anything suggesting that steroids causes blood sugar problems.
I also have no family history of diabetes, but now I am insulin-dependent. It began, some 20 years ago, after an illness during which I was on large dosages of antibiotics for a prolonged periods. About a year later I was diagnosed with diabetes. The doctor ordered that insulin test (in which one fasts; has blood drawn and insulin and glucose level tested; then have breakfast, wait two hours, then have the tests redone), which revealed meager insulin production out of the pancreas.
Long story short: a few years ago my pharmacist told me that antibiotics can harm the pancreas. Now, while interesting, it does not change the fact that I have to deal with the hand dealt to me.
The same situation now exists for you. Regardless of why you developed diabetes, you will have to manage. If you have not seen a diabetic specialist (endocrinologist), do so. You mention Metformin: I also did not do well on it, but I was put on another medication that does do well.
I take three insulin's: Lantus (50 units a day, divided between morning and evening dosage), Novolin 70/30 (also 50 per day, also divided), and Novolog for when I eat more carbs then I should, or when my blood sugar spikes (which it will, regardless).
I will add that your leg pain may possibly have been from a potassium deficit. I had such pain for several years, and believed that it was diabetic neuropathy. I was told to take a potassium supplement, which helped very quickly.
I did develop neuropathy in my fingers. I read a book by Richard Bernstein, M.D. (the Diabetic Solution) whom has had type I diabetes since 1948 (he is now 80). Follow his recommendations, which includes, alas, a very restrictive low carb diet. He suggests no more than 30 grams of carbs, in total, during the day. I did so, and the neuropathy went away.
I also used to feel a bit 'shaky' when my blood sugar level was in the target range of 90-120. However, with time, my body adjusted. Indeed, only when my level gets down to the 60s do I start feeling symptoms.
Good luck. Focus more on managing, and forget about the 'cause'.
Thank you for your input.
Yes, I am an infant to all of this and so glad that I found this forum.
I have seen an endocrinologist and have 2 diabetes nurses.
The doctor had my meter dumped and told me I was eating too many carbs.
I wasn't, I had been following my nutritionist's guidelines to a tee.
She looked at a 160 8 hours after eating, then 3 weeks later a reading of 396 2 hours after eating. Totally unrelated to each other, not even the same time of day.
I really don't know about why my legs started hurting 3 years ago but without carbs, the pain has gone away.
I do have fibromyalgia and chronic pain in my neck from bad disks for 16 years. And am overly sensitive to pain.
My Podiatrist prescribed Foltanx and that helped, but not like now where the pain is just gone and the swelling and redish colored skin has returned to normal color.
I was thinking that maybe I need to get the fast acting insulin as you are on and will talk to my dr. and nurse this week. I have only taken insulin for a little over one month and am learning tons. I have also started taking glycomanna, chromium, tumeric and tons of fiber to clear out my gut and intestines.
I really appreciate your input, thank you again.
As was mentioned above, I highly recommend Dr. Bernstein's book. IMO, it is a must read for all diabetics. If you are going to go low carb, which is the best course of action you need to adjust your dose of insulin to avoid the lows. If you are type 2, then your pancreas still produces some insulin. Diet is the key to controlling the disease. Educate yourself as much as possible. Do not always believe every word that the Endo's and nutritionists/dieticians will tell you. Many of them follow the ADA's guidelines which in many people's opinion are flawed to some degree. You mentioned that you are already low carb. How are you on proteins and fats? You must substitute for the lack of carbs. The fats/proteins will slow down the metabolism of the carbs and allow your numbers to rise more slowly and not as much. One other supplement that I will mention that I take is Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). It has helped me tremendously with my nerve pain. I actually regained some sensation in my feet after suffering terrible pain/numbness for years. It does take several weeks to start working. Can you give me an idea of the types of foods you eat...
CGM Continuous Glucose Monitor, Get Started with Dexcom G5 Mobile | Dexcom ,
Keeps the guess work of sugar levels and insulin amount out of the picture and actually lets you control your levels manually or with a pump.
Thank you all for your input.
It is greatly appreciated.
I learned about the Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) and will get that tomorrow.
I have a problem reading books due to learning disability, don't remember what I read.
Are there videos for that book?
Thanks again all.
I think people with this condition are the best resources of them all.
I will follow your suggestions.
About the proteins and fats, I eat a lot of salad, fish, meat, chicken, eggs, bacon, cheese, steamed veggies, avacoados and take a lot of fiber to get my gut going with the lack of natural fiber. I take 3 capsules of Glycomanna, 3 caps of pyslium seed husk, take powdered ClearMax and Benifiber powder and drink a gallon of water with lemon juice a day. I cook with olive and coconut organic oils. No fruit or starches or anything with carbs. I believe I am carb intolerant as my blood sugar spikes over 100-150 points even if I eat 1/4 cup of rice.
All food has carbs to some degree. The only thing that has no carbs is pure fat and we don't consume that regularly. As to being carb intolerant, I've never heard of that. It could be your pancreas has a very slow response. There is no video for the book that I know of BUT he does have a youtube channel with many videos on many related topics. BTW, it is normal for your BG to go up after a meal to the numbers you mention. Even non-diabetics BG will go up, that is normal. The important thing is how fast and to what level your BG will come down. These are the ADA guidelines which I think are a kind of high.
His voice is rather mundane, but you will get used to it. The guy is 82 (I think).
As for your learning disability and the book, I don't remember every detail about what I read either and I don't have a disability but I remember the important, key facts that I need. You can always go back to the book. It is general scientific knowledge about diabetes as well as a lot of advise on diet and the day to day management of this condition. I do not follow his diet to the letter but I do follow his general guidelines on LCHF (Low Carb High Fat). There are many resource available all over the web. Youtube is a good start. Start doing some searches on YT for 'LCHF'.
I was diagnosed with diabetes after taking a steroid (Megace) for several months. Megace has warnings that it may cause diabetes. I had to take it because I was hemorrhaging and weaker medications (Provera) had not controlled the bleeding. I was probably diabetic for several years before I was diagnosed, although at the time I wondered if the Megace had caused the diabetes. Looking back on the symptoms I had for several years before diagnosis...excessive sleepiness, weight gain even when controlling food intake, frequent UTI and yeast infections, leg pain and crawling sensations in legs, excessive sweating...I'm sure I was diabetic before taking the steroid, and that it just made the problem worse, but didn't cause it.
It's been two years since my diagnosis. I've been taking metformin since I was diagnosed and Victoza for the last year and a half. My a1c has been below 5.6 since I started taking metformin...my last a1c was 5.1. Sometimes I limit my carbs and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm really good about exercising and other times I'll stop for a few months. The things I eat and the exercise I get (or don't get) don't seem to affect my BG, which is odd. So I'm kind of having the opposite issue from you...it sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to do and it's not helping you at all.
About feeling weird when your BG is below 100, it does make you feel weird at first. You may feel shaky and have blurry vision, but that goes away after a couple of weeks when your body adjusts to the lower level. It's pretty normal for my BG to be 72 or 73 when I wake up and that doesn't make me feel weird at all anymore.
I was taking Alpha Lipoic acid and it helped a lot with my leg pain and the crawling or burning sensations, but it upsets my stomach too much and I was vomiting almost every day after I took it.
I wanted to suggest one thing to you...when you get the very high readings after meals, do you wash your hands and try again? I can't get my dad to wash his hands anymore (he has dementia) and I've noticed sometimes he will have a very high reading after a meal, then I'll use an alcohol swab on his finger and test again and he'll have a much lower reading. The worst readings I've ever seen were when he let the dog lick his hands before I tested him.
I was diagnosed with diabetes after taking a steroid (Megace) for several months. Megace has warnings that it may cause diabetes. I had to take it because I was hemorrhaging and weaker medications (Provera) had not controlled the bleeding. I was probably diabetic for several years before I was diagnosed, although at the time I wondered if the Megace had caused the diabetes. Looking back on the symptoms I had for several years before diagnosis...excessive sleepiness, weight gain even when controlling food intake, frequent UTI and yeast infections, leg pain and crawling sensations in legs, excessive sweating...I'm sure I was diabetic before taking the steroid, and that it just made the problem worse, but didn't cause it.
It's been two years since my diagnosis. I've been taking metformin since I was diagnosed and Victoza for the last year and a half. My a1c has been below 5.6 since I started taking metformin...my last a1c was 5.1. Sometimes I limit my carbs and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm really good about exercising and other times I'll stop for a few months. The things I eat and the exercise I get (or don't get) don't seem to affect my BG, which is odd. So I'm kind of having the opposite issue from you...it sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to do and it's not helping you at all.
About feeling weird when your BG is below 100, it does make you feel weird at first. You may feel shaky and have blurry vision, but that goes away after a couple of weeks when your body adjusts to the lower level. It's pretty normal for my BG to be 72 or 73 when I wake up and that doesn't make me feel weird at all anymore.
I was taking Alpha Lipoic acid and it helped a lot with my leg pain and the crawling or burning sensations, but it upsets my stomach too much and I was vomiting almost every day after I took it.
I wanted to suggest one thing to you...when you get the very high readings after meals, do you wash your hands and try again? I can't get my dad to wash his hands anymore (he has dementia) and I've noticed sometimes he will have a very high reading after a meal, then I'll use an alcohol swab on his finger and test again and he'll have a much lower reading. The worst readings I've ever seen were when he let the dog lick his hands before I tested him.
Those are excellent A1c readings! Well done indeed!
Good post. I will second about making sure your hands are clean before testing. My brother-in-law kept moaning about his very high readings, and even did one test in front of me to prove it. I pointed out two obvious problems during the test: 1) he was, even as we sat, drinking a cola (regular); and 2) he had some cola on his hands. I said no wonder your readings exceed 250 or whatever.
I will add that since he claimed he could not do without his liter of cola every day (and refused sugar free), my wife and I bought him a Soda Stream (Amazon). Turned out he liked carbonated water, so now he sits and drinks that all day, which has helped his blood sugar levels (since he will not stop eating carbs, he will always have problems).
I can tell you from my son's experience with treatment for Guillian Barre, when given steroids, his blood sugar went up to extremely high levels. They had to stop the steroids.
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