Any asthmatic diabetic's around here...???

[MadRebel]

Well, it's official. I'm mildly asthmatic! GREAT! (Not)!

And I just got my inhaler packet delivered with instruction's from the Lung Specialist on how much to use and how to use it. So, after reading everything I get on the telephone to him to ask a few question's and, naturally, because it's Friday afternoon, he and all the assistant's are gone home for the weekend. So, I place a call to my diabete's specialist and, natually again, both he and the assistant are gone for the weekend as well. :confused: :confused: :confused:

So maybe, and hopefully, someone in here is knowledgeable about all this.

The stuff I'm supposed to inhale is Ciclesonide once daily. Either in the morning's or the evening's but it must be the same time each and every day. My choice. Supposed to spray that stuff into an inhaler tube, breath slowly in and out five time's and that's it and then swish and gargle with room temperature water for a few minute's because this stuff can cause a fungus infection in the mouth. Simple enough.

But like anytime that I'm prescribed a new medication I do a little research on the internet to learn about it and I've found out that since Ciclesonide is a sort steroid that steroid's raise a diabetic's blood sugar value's and that's the reason for this posting. That's what I'm worried about and that's why I wanted to speak with one of the Dr's. about it. I've worked too hard to get my value's under control and I don't like the idea of this stuff putting me back at square #1! And I don't fancy having to increase my insuline or med's for this.

Has anyone had any experience with this stuff and if so, does it in fact raise our value's and if so, is it just a little or is it a drastic increase?

I'm worried (and it takes a **** of a lot to get me to this state), and so much so, that I'm prepared to wait until Monday to take this stuff so that I might be able to get in touch with either one of the Dr's or one of the assistant's.

All help and input on this is GREATLY appreciated and look forward to your response's.

Take care all.

[christie]

i would'nt consider myself asthmatic however if its really cold out and i lose my breath i have a hard time or if i'm around alot of dust i can't breath like if i go in an attic or that.i have a proventil inhaler for as needed i probably use it once a year.

[blacklightmike]

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I'm not asthmatic, but I have Pulmonary Sarcoidosis. I've been on Prednisone for eight years, starting with a dose around 60mg, down to 35, and finally, a bi-daily maintenance dose of 5mg. I consider it one of the factors that made me diabetic, but certainly not the only one... it does raise the BS, that's for sure.

My recent hospital stay required me to increase the dose to 5mg daily, and there was a 20-30 point spike in my sugar the entire time. Aagin, I can't blame the drug entirely, as the infection and stress, (and baaad food), I was experiencing helped raise the BS, but it did go down again as soon as I switched off to bi-daily.

[FTW]

Hi MadRebel,

I'v had asthma all my life, except for a period during my teenage years when I had no symptoms, so I brilliantly started smoking. (Invincibility complex of the young....Yay! Also, I started Chantix in another attempt to quit about a week ago.)

From looking on the web, it seems ciclesonide is an inhaled corticosteroid.

I don't use this brand. I use Advair, which is also an inhaled corticosteroid with another added med.

I used an inhaler long before I was prescribed with D, (which was last Nov.), so I can't tell you how this med changed my readings.

However, I can assure you that I can maintain normal readings while using inhaled corticosteroids. Here are my averages for your reference for the last week:

Before breakfast: 99
After breakfast: 113
Before lunch: 87
After Lunch: 104
Before Dinner: 86
After Dinner: 99
Night: 88

(I test anywhere from one hour to two hours after eating.)

Now, taking an oral steroid, like prednisone, can really jack up your readings. I don't find the inhaled type to have the same insta-highs as I've had taking the oral steroids.

I for one, would be interested to know if you have any change in your BG#'s when you add an inhaled steroid.

I hope this helps!

FTW

[Funnygrl]

I'm fairly severely asthmatic. I take Advair 500/50 twice a day, Singulair 10mg once a day, and Albuterol or Xopenex, and Pulmicort as needed.

Inhaled steroids are not absorbed systemically and should not raise bs much, if at all.

The tube thingy is called a spacer, btw.

[blue eyes]

Had asthma for nearly 10 years.


I take an inhaled steroid (Seretide 250/50) - my diabetes educator told me inhaled steroids shouldn't affect bsl, different for oral steroids though!
I’m fairly sure Ventolin (albuterol in usa) can raise bsl too. I know Ventolin nebs raise my bsl quite a bit. Not sure about ventolin/albuterol taken via inhaler.

Good luck... :wavey:

[Funnygrl]

Albuterol nebs raise my bs.

[bluesgirl102]

I also have severe asthma as well as copd. I've been using the advair inhaler for about 3 years now. It hasn't raised my blood sugars at all that I can tell. Even though it's inhaled a small amount is absorbed by the stomach but it must not be enough to impact blood sugars.

[lilituc]

I take Advair and haven't noticed any effect on my blood sugar. I also take Flonase and Lotemax (an opthalmic steroid) and haven't noticed any effect from those, either. I'm supposed to take albuterol as needed, but I don't think I've taken it the entire time I've been diabetic; my asthma is really well-controlled now that I know what the triggers are.

[mommaterra]

I was using an inhaler every evening for allergic asthma, and then a doctor suggested I use a steroid inhaler along with albuterol each time I needed help breathing. I went from every evening/ twice an evening to now once every year or so.

I don't like using either inhaler, but using the albuterol first and the steroid second is amazing in my case.

And I was an invincible younger, too. I quit smoking in 2001. Choice between breathing or not. Tough, but I haven't smoked since. Off inhalers except for once a year or so, now for close to three years.

My son had asthma frequently and then we got food allergy tests, which alleviated almost all. I think low-carbing helped me some, and being aware of my allergens helped, too. BG fluctuations minimal for me, but noticeable at maybe 5 - 10 mg/dl in a rise of fairly short duration (maybe an hour). FWIW. --diana