Some of you guys (the Pro Members) know I've been taking steroids (getting ready for my debut cricket match, ha!) and so apparently the Prednisone is raising my sugar levels a bit.

Today I went in for a fingerstick and my sugar level was 140. That was at 11:00AM and was about 2 hours 15 minutes after eating breakfast (waffles, margarine, syrup and a banana).

They gave me a machine and want me to test myself twice a day. A couple minutes ago at 7:45PM I took another sugar level and I was at 163. This was about 2 hours 45 minutes after eating (two slices of peanut butter toast and some UTZ cheeseballs).

The book that came with the machine says I shouldn't be concerned unless it's over 180. However, I still need to eat dinner (which will most likely be pizza). Are there any other foods I should eat in order to lower my sugar level? Should I drink more water? I know I don't drink enough water in general, but would this help?

Thanks in advance guys.

There aren't foods that will lower your sugars, only foods that will not raise them as much. All food metabolizes into sugars, the rate and kinds of sugars are what's different.

AVOID starches: breads, pastas, potatoes. Pizza = uberbad. Sweet sauce + bread = double bad. Also, obviously avoid sweets. Meats and cheese are ok - low sugar in those. Vegetables are a good kind of sugar that doesn't effect glucose levels as much either.

Thanks Mike.

I ended up eating Chinese leftovers, probably not a good idea, but that's all I had.

I forgot also I had a Sprite with my peanut butter toast meal which probably didn't help. First soda I have had in over a month though.

Do I have to take my levels two hours before breakfast/dinner? That's what the nurse told me and I told her that I wasn't awake two hours before breakfast. And how long after I eat is it OK?

Also, what would I be feeling like if it was over 180? Any symptoms that I would pick up right away?

So, you take your sugars as a piss test? Or as a blood sample? Your post wasn't clear. Take a measurement after your morning constitutional, or pretty much right as you get up. It's not important to be 2hrs earlier than breakfast, as you have been fasting anyway. I'm surprised they want pre-meal measures throughout the day, but I guess you're not diabetic...

What exactly is "180"? My sugars are measured as Millimoles (which I'm sure is a metric measure), and appropriate fasting levels are 4-7, post-meal are up to 10. I'm not sure how that converts. There are no real symptoms up until you are pretty far over, normal people fluctuate depending on diet. Diabetics have to be more careful because the body can't bring you back down.

Symptoms for high blood sugar include (in increasing severity, ones that I've experienced)

-Feeling tired, with no real explanation
-Frequent urination/drinking like a fish (not alcohol)
-Blurry vision/inability to focus (I didn't have this as a symptom, however I have bad eyesight to begin with)
-Mental confusion (more than usual)
-Dry mouth (like the pasties, without getting high. Was the weirdest feeling ever)
-Collapsing from exhaustion

More than likely you will never see the last 4 symptoms now that you know what to look for. I got to pretty much all but the last one.

Eat lots of vegetables, as Hyun said they are not as sugary as other foods. Pretty much everything you like to eat is bad for sugar levels.

As a blood sample, sorry.

My thing measures in mg/dL. Apparently lower than 70 mg/dL is bad and more than 180 mg/dL is bad.

I don't think I've had any of those symptoms. So water intake doesn't really do anything?

No, water is fine, drink as much as you want. It won't flush out the sugar though. Soda (or pop as real people call it) is horrible for sugar levels, drink diet. Fruit juice is just as bad, but most people don't drink a ton of it.

Yeah, I don't drink soda often at all, but a free Sprite came with my chinese food last night (before I knew of the sugar problem).

So I guess that the difference between mg/dL and mmol/L is 18 times, therefore my morning level of 13.7 would translate to 246.6. I feel fine at that level, but I'm diabetic.

^246 is rather high dude. All the food you mentioned is rather bad for a diabetic diet James, lol, but at the same time, if you were able to take in all that crap and remain under 200, you're doing alright.

Milligrams per deciliter is the traditional unit for measuring blood glucose. Scientific journals are moving toward millimoles per liter.

You are correct Qyn that the conversion factor between the two is 18.

mmol\L mg\dL Danger level
2.0 35 Extremely low, danger of unconciousness
3.0 55 Low, marginal insulin reaction
4.0 75 Slightly low, first symptoms of lethargy etc.
5.5 100 Good
5 - 6 90-110 Normal preprandial in nondiabetics
8.0 150 Normal postprandial in nondiabetics
10.0 180 Maximum postprandial in nondiabetics
11.0 200
15.0 270 A little high to very high depending on patient
16.5 300
20.0 360 Getting up there
22 400 Max mg/dl for some meters and strips
33 600 Danger of severe electrolyte imbalance

Postprandial is after eating a meal.

Limit your sweets, eat often, be careful about when and how many carbohydrates you eat, eat lots of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables, eat less fat, and limit your use of alcohol.

Also you should exercise to offset any mistakes you make in your diet.

The thing here is that I'm not diabetic (or at least not yet) and they didn't tell me to watch my food intake at all (well, I'm not eating highly acidic or spicy things because of my ulcer).

I was just wondering what to expect if it does get over the 180 mark. I knew that Mike and Qyn (and figured others were) diabetic as well so I asked.

I would not get worried Sir, before my Dad was officially "diabetic" the doctors had him eat regularly for a month and take his blood glucose levels and write them in a journal. They then measured his A1C and looked at his journal and decided his course of treatment from there. I would just eat like you normally do unless your doctor instructs you to do otherwise. They may just be getting your base line to see how your blood sugars react to the food you eat.

The feeling of high blood sugars (for me anyhow) are cottonmouth, always thirsty and frequent urination. The side effects and feelings will vary from person to person though.

My mom is diabetic. Ideal levels are between 70-110.

Foods: Remember, carbs count as sugars while fiber reduces that. So its better if you have whole wheat products and veggies.

(TO be diagnosed: The docs told my mom it was 3 consecutive doc visits with blood sample reading higher than 120 and/or A1C being over 7.

My mom is diabetic. Ideal levels are between 70-110.

Foods: Remember, carbs count as sugars while fiber reduces that. So its better if you have whole wheat products and veggies.

(TO be diagnosed: The docs told my mom it was 3 consecutive doc visits with blood sample reading higher than 120 and/or A1C being over 7.

Correct.

I have the opposite reaction. My blood sugar runs low. I get the shakes when it gets low.

110 this morning at 6.

As far as what happens - at 180, probably hard to tell a difference. Since you are non-diabetic and have been in the normal 60-120 range your whole life, you might feel some symptoms that were mentioned above. Which symptoms you get kind-of varies by person. For me, when my sugars get high, I feel weekness in my legs, and a kind-of "tightness" in my abdomen. Rarely do I encounter the blurred vision, though I did when I was first diagnosed. Thirst is an "iffy" one. I'm sometimes thirsty when high, and sometimes thirsty when normal, so I can't use that one.

As for what happens - there really isn't going to be an acute concern for being at 180. You will go on living like normal, not fall over and pass out like what happens if your sugars are too low. You're going to need to be high for a long period of time to do any real damage to your body - and likely a lot higher than 180.


On a side note, at one time (when first diagnosed, before treatment started) I held the record at the local hospital with the highest recorded blood sugar of a conscious person - over 700. They were feeding me meals and not giving me insulin to see how high I would spike without insulin to calculate how much insulin I needed to take. I don't ever want to do that again.

(EDIT: 135 when I got up this morning).

That's a good level.

I was lax last night with my insulin (so hard to remember... I'm still new at the whole lifelong disorder thing), and have spiked to 338.4. I expect my doctor to give me the ಠ_ಠ eyes today.

Sounds fun Mike.

Had more peanut butter toast this morning. Yum.

And Ha! I beat you Mike! I was at 40 mmol/L (720 mg/dL) when I was diagnosed.

I had a day last week where we rushed out the door and were gone all day. First time in years I'd forgotten to take my daily insulin (I take 42u Lantus in the morning, and adjust with 1-10 units of Humalog as needeD). By the time I realized it and made it back home that evening - it as 415. That one sucked too - probably screwed up my A1C test levels for a while now.


And Ha! I beat you Mike! I was at 40 mmol/L (720 mg/dL) when I was diagnosed.

Well, maybe. I don't remember what the number was exactly, but I know it was in the 700s. Could have been 710,720,730,740 - dunno, i just remember the 7xx part.

I was diagnosed 28 years ago and can honestly say I don't remember any of it ( I was 3, lol.)

Sounds fun Mike.

Had more peanut butter toast this morning. Yum.

whats for dinner? a bowl if pixie stick powder with sugar water?

I'm a peanut butter fiend. Jif Creamy, oooohhhhh yummmmmy.

Don't eat/drink ANYTHING with high fructose corn syrup in it. Yes, you need to read the labels of everything you eat. If you see HFCS in the list of ingredients, put it down. Products you would never assume to have HFCS in them sometimes do. I picked up a bag of frozen chicken breasts (plain, not breaded) and they actually had HFCS in them. You're going to end up having to make alot of you own meals, rather than taking them out of a box. I'm not diabetic, but will be on 5 to 10mg of Prednisone daily for the rest of my life.


EDIT: When I was on dialysis, by sugar would get really low. I had to eat something as soon as I got home. If I didn't, about an hour later, I'd start breathing heavy and shaking really bad. I'd also feel so hungry, I'd literally want to eat the first thing I could grab.

When I was on dialysis, by sugar would get really low. I had to eat something as soon as I got home. If I didn't, about an hour later, I'd start breathing heavy and shaking really bad. I'd also feel so hungry, I'd literally want to eat the first thing I could grab.

I tend to eat smaller meals more often during the day. Easier to graze then have a meal 3 times a day.

My wife is pretty health conscious when it comes to food so we eat mostly good food.

I've been on two 40mg doses of Prednisone a day for the last couple weeks though. Just switched down to one 60mg dose a day, but that's still quite a bit. I'll be moving to 50mg a day tomorrow, then down 10mg every 4 days as long as my pain stays away.

My sugar has been down in the 100-120 range though the last three checks.

You're on high doses for an acute condition. I'm on a lower dose for a chronic condition. At least you'll get off it eventually.

so one of my coworkers is diabetic and hes dropped 80pts since this morning. hes at 86 right now and drinking a mt dew. i'm sure hes got it under control but i'm a little concerned. any other suggestions??

86 is fine - he's in the normal range and that Mtn. Dew is probably going to put him over to the high side. Dropping 80 pts. would be normal too, if you skipped lunch or something. No reason for concern, IMO.

thx for the input. i was just a little freaked that it was going to turn into something bigger. but he seems to be ok after a break.

I've been between 80-175, but normally between 90-130 since my last post. No problems. Down to 20mg of the steroids too.