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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Cortisone Shots Cause High Blood Sugar Levels?

My father is 91, and diabetic. He told me that he has lost 14 pounds in the last 2 months and that his blood sugar levels are much higher than normal. He has had a couple of cortisone shots in the past 3 weeks. His wife is telling him that the cortisone raises his sugar levels. Should I be worried about this? I don t know what the numbers were. They live on their own about 5 hours from me so I can t drop by and check in. Thank you for your time.
Fri, 21 Jul 2017
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Anesthesiologist,  's  Response
Hi, I have gone through your question. I am a practicing anaesthesiologist and pain consultant.
You have not mentioned, why your father is taking steroids. Anyway, steroids do cause increase in blood sugar level. Increases in blood glucose are common among people taking steroids.
Insulin increases in the blood after you eat. Insulin controls blood sugar by taking the sugar from the blood and moving it into your body’s cells. Steroids causes insulin resistance. This can cause you to have too much sugar in your blood after steroids.
Steroid treatment is usually prescribed for short periods of time, and blood glucose returns to pre-treatment levels a few days after the steroid is stopped.
You can consult your physician, if there is any need to increase the doses of antidiabetic drugs for the duration of steroid treatment.
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Does Cortisone Shots Cause High Blood Sugar Levels?

Hi, I have gone through your question. I am a practicing anaesthesiologist and pain consultant. You have not mentioned, why your father is taking steroids. Anyway, steroids do cause increase in blood sugar level. Increases in blood glucose are common among people taking steroids. Insulin increases in the blood after you eat. Insulin controls blood sugar by taking the sugar from the blood and moving it into your body’s cells. Steroids causes insulin resistance. This can cause you to have too much sugar in your blood after steroids. Steroid treatment is usually prescribed for short periods of time, and blood glucose returns to pre-treatment levels a few days after the steroid is stopped. You can consult your physician, if there is any need to increase the doses of antidiabetic drugs for the duration of steroid treatment.