Hi Dicey,
Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am glad that you found us and sorry I am a bit late with my response.
You ask an easy question and the answer is absolutely. Any steroid will increase your blood sugars. Cortisone, a steroid is known to increase glucose levels even in those that are not diabetics.
Are you on a sliding scale insulin? If so than you know how to adjust the dosage to accommodate for high glucose readings. If your levels are still high you need to contact a physician immediately. Any BS over 200 that does not respond to the protocol established by your physician requires immediate medical attention.
Please let us know how you are doing. I will watch for your updates.
Take Care,
Tuck
I am not on insulin just metformin. 500mg in the am and 500 pm. My sugar levels this monrning were 155 so it is going down, do I still need to worry? I have to have the same shots again next week in both knees, so I assume this will happen again.
Thank you for your time.
dicey47
Thank you for your quick update. I was concerned for you.
You should monitor your glucose levels closely for the next four or five days, depending on when you had the steroids. It can stay with you for approximately a week but everyone is different. If it climbs that high again you need to contact a physican. He/she can make some interim changes in your medication.
This is a normal response and doesn't mean that your diabetes is progressing. If you normally do finger stick once or twice a day, increasing them to four times a day wouldn't be a bad idea for a while. Please inform your treating physician of the rise the steroids are causing in your glucose levels. He may suggest a different medication regime while you are receiving these injections.
Again thanks for the update and please keep in touch.