Diabetic

Was wondering if anyone has experienced this problem.  After attending a few seminars on WLS and finding out I needed a 40 BMI or above to qualify without a co morbidity (which I did not have).  Struggling with bronchitis the past few weeks the doc put me on a large dose of prednisone.  After taking only 5 day of a 10 day script I find myself diagnosed with steroid induced diabetes.  In the last 6 days my eyesight has diminished at an alarming rate.  After researching this disease my symptoms are classic.  Has anyone ever dealt with this?  And will having RNY rectify this problem??

Once you stop taking the prednisone, and wait a few days ~ your BS should return to normal. 

It is very typical to get HBS while taking prednisone. Google side effects. 

I stopped the prednisone more than a week ago and I am told it will not stablize now without meds.  Their saying the steroids pushed me over from pre diabetic to full blown diabetic.  That's why I asked if anyone has experienced this

ouch... 

I was there but mine eventually went back to normal...

Not sure how high the sugar it is now... but.. trying low carb diet would be my first choice.. Not too much proteins - because our body can turn proteins into sugars...

prednisone effects may linger on for a 2-3 weeks...

Ia lot of people get eh diabetes into remission postop RNY... note "remission" - not cure..

Because sometimes the diabetes return a few years later even if the person maintains their diet. 

a lot of people see improvements even with losing just 10% of body fat...  

at one time I discovered book;dr Bernstein diabetes solution.. you may look into that....

My Doc said it should have been out of my system in a couple of days.  9 days out now and still high numbers.  Thank you for your advice and the link, I will look into it.

yea.. that's' what they told me.. " a couple of days.."   - my ass... 

I don't have exactly the same experience.

In 2005 I was not a diabetic.  I got pregnant in April and was repeatedly tested for it due to my higher BMI.  I passed with flying colors again and again until my 7th month.  Suddenly, I became a diabetic badly enough to need to inject insulin 4 times per day.  I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  For most people, gestational diabetes clears once you give birth but the risk of developing type II remains high.

As predicted, once giving birth, I was back to normal blood sugar levels.  Yay!  Except almost nine months to the day I started to notice symptoms of diabetes again.  Sure enough, upon testing my blood sugar numbers, I was a diabetic again.  I was put on metformin, which controlled it for a while.

How does this apply to you?  Well, I was well-controlled with metformin from 2006 until about 2010 despite the fact that I ate like crap.  That was until I got pneumonia and was put on steroids to help my breathing.  That was the catalyst that pushed me into needing insulin again.  During the doses, my blood sugar was wacky!  So, they had me bolus insulin during that time.  They predicted my needs would drop back down after the course of steroids was done -- but unfortunately, that never happened.  From that time on, I needed metformin and insulin to keep my numbers acceptable.  I was diagnosed as insulin dependent 20 days after completion of the steroids.  So, I guess that relates to your experience somewhat.

Since my 2010 use of prednisone, I had one other incidence of needing steroids -- for 3 days.  During that time my blood sugar was terrible but it did go back to it's normal readings afterwards.  It took 15 days for them to return to the pre-steroid level.

Upon having surgery, I was on 3 doses of Novolin per day with insulin R boluses as needed.  I also took 1000 mg Metformin twice a day.  My fasting numbers averaged 110 to 130 with post-prandial from 160 to 250. My a1C was between 6.5 and 7.8.  

Three days after my surgery I was in remission and off all medications.  The Cleveland Clinic puts diabetics like me on their "metabolic" diet as what they consider the best possible chance of staving off the return of this awful disease.  This means that I eat very low carbs -- less than 40 a day for life.  I rarely eat fruit other than a few berries and never eat processed carb-y food such as rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, etc.  I concentrate on high protein, moderate healthy fats and eating whole foods.  Doing this, my A1C hoovers from 3.8 to 4.2.  My fasting numbers run between 65 and 78 with post-prandial readings of under 100.  

It is unusual that a doctor would diagnose you as a diabetic less than 20 days after the prednisone was ceased, but since I am not your doctor and I don't know your history, I will assume that he has good reason.  I do know that it can often take up to 30 days for the steroids to clear from your system -- post menopausal (Not sure if you are even a woman or your age) almost always take closer to the 30 than to the 15 day mark.  In any case, diminished eyesight, etc are usually long term consequences of uncontrolled diabetes -- ones that I didn't even get with years on insulin.  So, I hope you are wrong about that...

I guess if there is any good news about getting a diabetes diagnosis, it would be that you have your co-morbidity.  It hardly seems worth it though.   

Not worth it at all.  Thanks for the info

About 85% of diabetics who get the RNY achieve total remission, often within a matter of days, or even HOURS, after surgery. Better than 98% of diabetics who get the DS achieve total remission, again, often within days or hours.

It seems that the less time you've spent diabetic, the better your chances of achieving total, permanent remission. I'd IMMEDIATELY start pressing my insurance company for preauthorization!

That's what I've been told but its nice to have it confirmed.  I have my first Dr. Appt tomorrow and am trying to make a list of some pertinent questions to ask. Any suggestions?