Type?

Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge about diabetes brought on by prednisone? I mean I understand that I had to be genetically predisposed to it to begin with, but the Type 2 label the doc slapped on me doesn’t seem to fit extremely well. I’m only slightly overweight, and I don’t eat processed foods or most of the things he’s asked me to eliminate from my diet because of a pretty severe gluten intolerance. (I didn’t have the biopsy because I wasn’t willing to go back to eating wheat!)



I’m trying to track my BG and have eliminated most carbs (I still eat some brown rice) and have upped my activity level significantly. I take Januvia and have pretty good control other than my fasting is still around 130. Now my hair is falling out and I’m just so darn frustrated I don’t even know what to say . . .

Hmmm…I have never heard of prednisone triggering D. The hair loss symptom could be stress or an underlying thyroid condition.

What are the tests you have had done? And, what therapy does your doc have you on? Are you being rx’d meds other than Januvia? Usually Januvia is rx’d along with metformin or some other med to stimulate insulin production or decrease insulin resistance.

Amy, YES. I was given massive doses of pred for radiation pneumonia right after I had chemo 6 years ago. No family history of any autoimmune issues. I was also auto-dx’d type 2 but don’t fit it at all. I’ve had 2 docs say they have no question I’m T1, my body behaves like a T1, but my endo hasn’t changed my dx yet. We’re going to work on that at my next visit. It’s possible that I also had a virus or something around the same time - I was a pretty sick cookie for a while - but I’m fairly certain it was the pred. I’m not overweight either, though could prob lose 10 lbs, always ate well, bla bla bla. My hair is extremely thin.

I (usually) have pretty tight control with a pump, dexcom and around 40 carbs a day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all happy for you, but happy to find someone with such a similar story!

Most likely I have lupus in addition to the Celiac disease. I have a family history. He didn’t prescribe metformin due to my GI issues with cross-contamination. He didn’t seem to think that my BG would come down as it has without insulin, but from what I’ve researched so far it will with Januvia initially with those with LADA, but then things go downhill. I’m not really interested in getting that sick AGAIN!

I take neurontin (post herpetic neuralgia), topamax, clarinex & singulair as well as use a variety of inhalers. I also use have sleep apnea and use oxygen at night which is not weight related either (yay me!).

I developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome after I was put on penicillin for a sinus infection. I saw the NP the first day and started out on 40 mg for 4 days (I’d been on a dose pack already) Got worse so the upped it to 60 for 5 more days.Then checked my sugar which was 489. They called and said to drink lots of water and come back in 3 days. It stayed at 380 for a month before I was put on any medication.

Amy, have you given any consideration to going on insulin? You’ve had some pretty high numbers. That 489! Wow! I’m on insulin (basal and bolus) by choice, not by necessity, and it has worked out beautifully for me. In my case, the side effects of the oral meds were too much to deal with, so I opted for insulin and was taken off all oral diabetes meds. Insulin makes diabetes management much more attainable if your numbers run high. Anyway, it’s just a thought.



Also, have you had a thyroid panel done recently? The sleep apnea, hair loss, and other potentially-autoimmune-related issues you have make that an area you may want to explore. A lot of us diabetics also have either hyperthyroidism (Graves disease) or hypothyroidism (Hashimotos disease). The test for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is what most docs order. It measures the amount of TSH produced by the pituitary gland. However, you can ask to have your Free T4 and Free T3 tested as well. Those are the actual hormones that your thyroid produces. If not anything else, it can at least rule out a thyroid condition.

I have a 4 yr old T1 who was diagnosed at 2 - she was on prednisone a few times for asthma as an infant and I have always thought that the steroids contributed to it(messing with the immune system can’t help) - but I have not heard anything else about it being linked.

Have you had an antibody test done? That would help with ‘type’ diagnosis although it could still be inconclusive as there is classic autoimmune Type 1 (Type 1a) and atypical non-autoimmune Type 1 (Type 1b).

There are many Type 2s who are not overweight at all, and who don’t eat processed foods.

There are many different pathways to Type 2 and at the moment it is more of a ‘garbage can’/exclusion kind of diagnosis.

My doctor was pretty sure that I would be on insulin, but tried the Januvia first, but from the research that I’ve read on it seem to have some pretty significant autoimmune side-effects, so I’m not sure about staying that course.

I actually only have a portion of my thyroid and it has been a couple of years since I’ve had the panel done. I have an appointment tomorrow to discuss that very thing! I only have one lobe left from a surgery about 15 years ago when I had a nodule removed, so it’s completely possible that it’s burned out.

I hadn’t thought about all of the steroids I’ve been on intermitantly for asthma over the years. More than one person told me that the prednisone was the cause, but I don’t know.

I haven’t because I didn’t know enough to ask any questions until people started asking me if I was sure that I was a type 2. Then I start reading forums and I didn’t have much in common with type 2’s. And I wasn’t really worried about the “label” until I read that the medication that I’m taking can be dangerous if you’re LADA not type 2 and that it often works for those who are. It will stimulate insulin production which burns up what little capability your body had left and then you’re really in trouble. It isn’t really very effective at all for Type 2 diabetics. So that’s why I’m wondering. . .

Sounds like you have good reason to wonder. If I were you I’d ask for those tests to be done.

I myself have a weird form of diabetes that is the subject of water-cooler conversation in my hospital diabetes department. (I had long suspected this but had it confirmed yesterday by one of the doctors in the department.) But I have the treatment which works for me (insulin, 3 kinds) so it’s not an issue.

I have a distrust of all oral meds except Metformin so if I were you I’d be asking more questions at the doctor’s, and thinking about insulin as an option because at least you know that is safe.

I have asthma to get it under control I was on prednisone for months at a time and my ENDO and I believe that my type 2 at least was accelerated by the prednisone. My Dad was type 2 so I expected to develope type 2 eventually. My ENDO called it steriod induced type 2.

I’ve always been warned that steroids can elevate blood sugar significantly in diabetics (I don’t know if it has the same effect in non-diabetics), so it sort of makes sense that if you were headed down the diabetes road already and didn’t know it, the prednisone could have just made the symptoms more obvious by elevating your blood sugar much higher than it was. Good luck figuring out what type you have! This is a good place to come for help with navigating that road!

I too had prednisone along with chemo therapy some time ago. When I was dx with T2 my dr. printed off a link between lymphoma (which I had) and T2. I also have thinning hair, that is due to a horrid little thyroid problem I have, which is leaving me hairless and fatigued out of my mind. Well not quite hairless, but pretty thin on top.

I hope you get diagnosed properly soon, meanwhile exercise does help a lot, but not immediately, so don’t expect results too fast. Take care.

Helen, I was aware that steroids will cause elevated BGLs in patients and can be dangerous for diabetic patients due to causing extremely high spikes; however, I was unaware that long-term use could trigger diabetes. After doing a little research, you’re absolutely right. Thanks for pointing that out. Seems there is always something to learn when it comes to diabetes. :slight_smile:

I am not taking the prednisone any longer. In fact I am trying to put off using my inhaled steroids as long as I can, but when the choice is oxygen or elevated blood sugar?? I’m going to have to breathe! At least I don’t feel quite so insane now. I suppose I should be grateful that I only need to lose 20-30 lbs. Many type 2’s need to lose far more than that.

I mentioned my concerns about Januvia to the doctor and he kind of blew me off. I’m actually pretty good friends with my pharmicists, so I may need to go that route. He did recommend that I check with them to see if anything that he was prescribing could be responsible for the hair loss.

Yeah. Without the Prenisone I would have died. I can live with diabetes.