Can take a Medrol dosepak increase blood glucose to a dangerous level?
ANSWER: Hi there, It is very good that you are trying to establish a connection between a drug’s effect and eventual changes in the blood glucose level. This is very important for the normal life every person no matter if he/she is diabetic or not. Besides the chemical structure, this drug is also having almost the same effects on the human body as the above corticosteroids have. One of the effects is the elevation they are causing in blood glucose level; therefore, they are classified as contra-insulin hormones. The bad thing is that synthetic corticosteroids (like Medrol Dosepak) are also able to cause blood glucose elevation. In normal people, synthetic corticosteroids are not causing severe blood glucose elevation, because of the normal insulin secretion. However, diabetics are at higher risk for hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose level) especially those, who are not controlling well their diabetes. The dangerous levels of blood glucose are observed when the patient is taking Medrol Dosepak for more than two weeks and the insulin therapy is not adjusted well. Please pay attention to the fact the hyperglycemia is a slow process drinking a lot of water, frequent hunger and urinating a lot as symptoms of both hyperglycemia and diabetes. So, when you are taking this drug and having diabetes at the same time, you should watch closely for these symptoms. Once you notice some or all of them, inform your doctor immediately. During the examination, you have to ask him about eventual changes in the insulin therapy, and if it is possible to changes Medrol Dosepak with another drug. Hope it helped! Dr.Alba |