Have been having some kind of pinched nerve or something in my back for the last week or so that’s really got be pretty immobilized… Have been putting off seeing a real doctor because I know they only thing they’ll recommend is a steroid treatment. I’ve never had one but of course have read many times of the frustrations they cause with blood sugars.
How bad are they for blood sugars really? And how long do those effects last?
This is definitely a question for @daisymae!
I’ve had a steroid injection into my knee many years ago but mostly all I remember is that it was extremely painful. I was not controlling my BGs at all at that time so I can’t say how bad it was, just that it was bad, and seemed to last forever.
I think DM who has excellent control would tell you it is controllable!
It’s worth it, IMO, if it’s something for which steroid injections are likely to be useful and it’s really causing a problem. You’ll likely need to bump up your Tresiba significantly (I would say for me, +30-50%ish, it has varied) and also be a little more aggressive on bolusing/corrections for a week or slightly more. It’s a gradual taper off, so as long as you drop back down once you start to see lows, the three-ish day window it takes for Tresiba to adjust should also be roughly ok. Just expect less than your usual levels of control for the 1-2 weeks following, but nothing catastrophic.
That said, I’d say only about 50% of the steroid injections I’ve gotten over my life have felt worth it in the end, just because it’s hit or miss for me whether they have helped much. Try to get an ultrasound guided one if you can, much better—that may be the norm anyway for the back.
Also did you do anything to your back when it started? Might want to r/o a problem that could be addressed with manual therapy, i.e., subluxed rib or SI joint or something (all of which result in back pain and spasms, in different areas). I get them super easily bc of my connective tissue disorder, but normal folks can get them too from lifting something too heavy or other physical trauma. Takes a lot more force to relocate them on a normal person, but an actually good chiropractor or some PTs who practice manual therapy can do it. Only tricky thing is they don’t show up on x-rays at all, so lots of MDs won’t realize that’s going on and diagnose them—you need someone who knows how to feel for one to find it (or to be experienced enough with the subjective sensation yourself of what it’s like).
I needed to start at 180% Basal increase(beginning the second day) for about 5 days post injection through my pump using NovoLog insulin, and I needed to increase my ICR 200% as well as my ISF 200% for corrections. I did NOT experience a tapering off effect; for me, AND YDMV, it was as if a light switch went off (one day I needed all of that extra insulin, and then the next day right back to normal), I didn’t need anything extra. Just regular amounts of insulin across the board.
I want to add a cautionary remark/bit of information : When my “light switch” went off and I no longer needed the extra insulin, I crashed very dramatically. And my BG dropped to 21 !!! I was fortunate that I did not pass out. My husband was able to get me to drink about a quart of apple juice. I don’t wear a Dexcom, so I had no alarms going off to tell me I was dropping so quickly. I had been testing with finger sticks frequently and looking at my FS Libre (no alarms on it). so it could have been deadly.
And, unfortunately the injection did not help me at all. I am going for another MRI this coming Tuesday to see if there is another matter going on that is causing so much pain. I am most likely looking at authoscopic surgery as the cortisone did nothing for me.
But remember this, if you are to take anything away from my experience/ information: with the exception of only a few minor bleeps, I was able to maintain my TR BGs for the entire time. I don’t think I ever went above 130.
You are in my prayers.
It’d be an exceptional day for me to never go above 130 without steroids!
Luckily they just injected a bunch of lidocaine into a certain muscle group and prescribed muscle relaxers… so hopefully I won’t have to learn about steroids quite yet
No I don’t think I really did anything to cause a specific injury… I just woke up with a stiff and painful neck and back about a week ago and it’s just gotten worse since… I’d rather be able to say I strained it lifting a burning car off of a pregnant woman or something but no such luck