Understanding Steroids and Diabetes Greater Manchester Wigan Tameside NHS
If you normally wear contact lenses, you might need to avoid wearing these while having treatment with steroid eye drops. This page is about steroids that can be taken as tablets, liquids, creams and eye drops and ointments. They’ll discuss your addiction with you, how to safely stop taking steroids, and any obstacles you may face when trying to stop, plus tips for dealing with those obstacles.
- Regular exercise, especially things that involve your bones carrying the weight of your body, such as walking, can also help to reduce the risk of getting osteoporosis.
- They are sometimes used very occasionally to stimulate muscle regrowth after surgery or as part of treatment for an unusual type of anaemia.
- These can include an increase in your blood glucose levels caused by a lack of insulin in your body.
But there is no evidence that any of these methods actually reduce side effects and harms from taking anabolic steroids. Steroids, also called corticosteroids, are anti-inflammatory medicines used to treat a range of conditions. As there is limited space inside the skull, too much oedema will lead to increased pressure in the brain. This in turn can cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea/vomiting, drowsiness, weakness down one side, speech and language problems or even fits (seizures).
Side effects of anabolic steroids
You may be able to have the live shingles vaccination (Zostavax) if you’re on a low dose of steroids. Alternatively, there is a non-live shingles vaccine (Shingrix) that you may be able to have instead. Steroids can affect the eyes, for example by making glaucoma worse or causing cataracts.
- Steroids, also called corticosteroids, are anti-inflammatory medicines used to treat a range of conditions.
- But sometimes they can cause unpleasant side effects, such as an increased appetite, mood changes and difficulty sleeping (insomnia).
- Once you start taking steroids again, however, you may also need to restart diabetes treatment.
- Anabolic steroids are known to make users feel aggressive, paranoid and this can result in violence.
- But it’s important they’re up to date with other vaccines beforehand to avoid catching one of the diseases that vaccination prevents.
Your child’s face may appear rounder than usual, particularly after long-term steroid treatment. We’ll monitor them closely throughout treatment to reduce the chance sportsbeenhad.com of these happening. Your child needs to be closely monitored while on steroid treatment, which may include checking their weight, blood pressure and urine.
How people think they can get around side effects
Steroids are taken in different ways, and the dosage may vary depending on the condition you have. The table below gives an idea of how often you might need to take steroids. If you have systemic sclerosis, prednisolone could cause problems with your kidneys at certain doses, so you might not be able to take this type of steroid. Steroids can be taken in a number of ways for many different types of arthritis and related conditions, as shown in the table below.
If your steroid treatment is intermittent, e.g. if you only take it with an acute recurrence of your illness, you may need to be on a different diabetes treatment while you are taking steroids. If you are prescribed steroid pills on a frequent basis or in large doses, then the risk of developing diabetes increases. This risk is further increased if you have a family history of diabetes or if you developed diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes). Corticosteroids have their own side effects, including difficulty sleeping, mood changes, and weight gain.
You might not be able to start steroids if you have an infection, or if you have any wounds on your body, as steroids might delay these getting better or cover up some of your symptoms. Steroids won’t cure your condition, but they’re very good at reducing inflammation and will ease symptoms such as swelling, pain and stiffness. Users tend to exercise more when they’re taking high doses to make the most of their improved performance during this time. In professional sport, most organisations ban anabolic steroid use and test competitors for banned steroids.
It is the anabolic steroids that tend to be misused, mainly because they are similar to the male hormone testosterone and they can improve endurance and performance and stimulate muscle growth. If you have diabetes and you are prescribed steroids, then you may notice a rise in your blood glucose levels, which will usually mean that your diabetes treatment needs to be adjusted. If you are concerned that your diabetes is getting out of control while you are on steroids, contact your diabetes care team.
If you think you might be addicted to anabolic steroids, you should try and see your GP. They might refer you to a specialist addiction service or a trained drugs counsellor. These services will also be able to help with advice on weaning yourself off the steroids.
Are there any side effects?
Your GP will have been sent a copy of your discharge summary, including the list of medication you were prescribed on discharge from hospital. They will continue to prescribe all your medication, so please ensure you inform them if you need any repeat prescriptions. Steroids may be prescribed if there is evidence of swelling in the brain caused by a brain tumour. Evidence of swelling can be seen on the CT (computerised tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans which you will have had undertaken.
