December 15, 2004
Hyperglycemia and DKA, Other
Question from Dove Creek, Colorado, USA:
I have type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed at age 2. I am now 33 and have bulged discs in my back. The doctor wants to do steroid injections, but I know it cause my blood sugar to skyrocket. I took prednisone orally for a different injury once and it caused my blood sugar to go up to 600 mg/dl [33.3 mmol/L] after only one dose, so I stopped taking the pills and fought with my diabetes for several days. If I do the injections, how long will it affect my blood sugar and how high could my blood sugar get? Are there any other alternatives besides steroids for bulged discs?
Answer:
The approach to your problem has to be decided with a risk/benefit analysis. It is true that steroid injections can raise blood sugars. They typically raise sugars for around five days after the injections. On the other hand, if the benefit of the injection means you can avoid surgery, have symptomatic relief, or both, those would be good reasons to have the procedure done. I would say the rise is sugars is not an absolute reason not to do the treatment. However, you would need to speak with your physician about ways to improve your blood sugar control surrounding the time the sugars might be elevated.
JTL
