Longevity of steroid shot, & its effects on insulin?

[Tigger's Friend]

Hi,

My cat Tigger was diagnosed 5/15 with diabetes, ostensibly after a steroid injection (depo-medrol) he was given 4/18 for a dental infection caused by stomatitis.

It was his first & only steroid injection.

Tigger 'was originally on glipizide for 3 weeks, & thanks to all the great people at this forum, we switched vets & started prozinc 6/8.

He has an up & down spreadsheet, with multiple rolling curves some days.

When Tigger got the injection the (ex)vet said it should last 2-3 months (she also said cats tolerate steroids really well & rarely have any problems & never mentioned diabetes at all cat(2)_steam )

I'm wondering if perhaps the steroid is still active in his system, & if so, would that effect the ability of the insulin to work properly / effectively?

Does anyone have any history / knowledge / information about this issue? I would really appreciate any insight you have to offer.

Thanks very much!

 

[BJM]

Answered this on your other post:

Steroids can elevate glucose levels until they wear off.

They also suppress immune response, which may allow infection to flare up. Check the gums and teeth for inflammation and tartar, check the eyes and nose for mucus discharges/congestion, and watch for signs of UTi (frequent, small urinations or nonproductive attempts to urinate).

 

[Tigger's Friend]

No Uti's yet (we have an FUS cat & a Uti cat, so I'm familiar)

Eyes & nose are clear

Tigger does have an occasional cough that I think is hairball related, but its been hanging on - when he gets a bunch of hair out in his poop he won't cough for a day or two.

He doesn't like me messing with his mouth, so that's harder to check, but will keep trying. His appetite is good, though.

 

[KarensPoe]

Poe is asthmatic too. First asthma attack came out of the blue about 4-5 years ago. I rushed him to emergency clinic where they gave him a steroid injection. They sent me home with oral steroids.

He was on those for probably about 2 weeks then. The second and recent attack came a month ago. Again to the emergency clinic where they injected him again and told me he was diabetic.

Between the 2 attacks, he was a dry food kitty, with wet (not low carb) 2x a day.

He is now on inhaled steroids with his rescue inhaler. The inhaled is Flovent, rescue is Albuterol. I get both from Universal Drugstore. I read up on a feline asthma yahoo group and data they had shared similar to studies with diabetes. Asthma is one of those things that might need life-long regular treatment.

I try to give him his asthma treatments at the time that they will least interfere with his insulin, but that doesn't always work especially when he starts to cough.

It's hard for me to tell how much the steroid is affecting is BG readings, but I am sure they are.

It's a balancing act, but I test diligently and keep in mind when his steroid treatment was.

 

[Tigger's Friend]

Hi Karen,

I'm so sorry to hear your Poe got diabetes from complications with the asthma attacks & steroids. With asthma I know there are few options other than steroids. It sounds as though you are taking this all in stride & doing well.

You're right - it is such a balancing act. I'm taking Tigger in to Anne's vet next week to see if the stomatitis is flaring up & possibly interfering with the insulin. I'll keep in mind that the oral prednisone is not as bad as the injections - but in an emergency you do what you need to do. Hopefully Poe's asthma will correct itself with treatment & diet change, & maybe then you'll get a double-domino effect & get OTJ, too.

Thanks for your input - I'll research the asthma/steroid/diabetes link, too to see if I can find more information.

 

[sjewell]

I believe my Salem also got Diabetes from the Medrol shot (only one shot) for a lip sore..which it didn't help. When we took him back to vet 4 weeks later, he had diabetes..well a BG level of 500 which I believe was due to him being stressed and he may have eaten before I took him (I had an apptmt right after work) so I basically just picked him up at home & took him to vet) so he could've eaten shortly before. ANyways, she recommended lantus right away. I decided against that and change his diet tojust canned food (Fancy Feast) took he dry away. I bought a meter and have been checking his levels. I also give him Pet Remedy which is a glucose supplement that a friend suggested after it helped her cat. Salem's level yest was 236 which is a lot better than 500! I know its still needs to go down but hoping these changes will help him.. If not, I'll have to take him back to a vet. I was so upset that he said the shot caused his diabetes! How is your cat now?