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CFRD
- Thread starter anonymous
- Start date
A person with CF becomes diabetic when the pancreas (usually already affected) quits producing insulin as it should. It just depends on the severity of the disease on the pancreas. Medicines do increase blood sugars....but if your pancreas works correctly...it regulates it without any problems. Once the pancrease quits working properly.....you start seeing high blood sugars...and need other means to help correct it. Nothing causes diabetes other than the fact that the pancreas quits working properly. I hope this helps to answer your question. I will be 31 this month...and have had diabetes now for over 5 1/2 yrs....so if you have any questions...I'll try to help!Dea
I've had cf related diabetes for 24 years now and was always perplexed as to why the heck i have it. My health was great at that time (i was 15), no lung involvement at all, my pancrease was never really a big problem for me ( still isnt) i take very low amounts of enzymes always did. My pancrease still secretes insulin, just not enough . Over the years i notice that right before my menstral cycle comes around my pancrease secretes plenty of insulin, and i do not have to take my daily injections for a day or two . This would kind of make sense, since insulin is actually a hormone. I have been on long -acting insulin the whole 24 years and it hasnt been a problem. One of the reasons we also get cf related diabetes is because our bodies have too much mucus and this can plug things up and gets in the way of our pancrease being able to secrete enough insulin. In answer to your qusetion about how high the blood sugar was when diagnosed, i know mine was over 1000, but i do not recall the exact number. It took many blood tests to get it diagnosed, because as i mentioned my pancrease does secrete insulin. They just had to catch my blood sugar at a time when it wasnt secreting enough. HOpe this helps, ~Diane 39 / diabetes / b.cepacia
the period thing gave me something to think about then diane. lately my sugars have been going a bit crazy without steroids. my doc said id get cfrd pretty soon because my pancreas cant cope at all even with low dose steroids. when i had my port put in they were a bit high and they were concerned but they slowly went down. i dont know if it was just the stress of the operation or if it was because it was just before my cycle? either way ill remember that.
Just curious - why are so many CFers on steroids? I myself have only been on prednisone once and that was years ago for some reason that I don't remember. And I was only on it for a week or two. I know that alot of us are on steroids and I've always wondered for what reasons. Any ideas?Martha 29, CF
Does anyone know anything about CFRD and pregnancy? I have CFRD without fasting hyperglycemia (i.e morning blood sugar is normal) and the Dr. did not put me on insulin. BUT(!) I just found out that I am pregnant and don't know if I should be put on insulin or not. My CF doc has no experience with pregnancy! Anyone know of any resources or have experience? Thanks so much!
I was gestational diabetic. I saw a high risk Dr, an OB/gyn Dr & my CF Dr during pregnancy. I had to do glucose tests where you drink that awful liquid & check sugars after that pretty often & was just at the point where I would need to be started on insulin, but had my daughter 3 wks early, so didn't ever have to have the insulin.I was p.g. at Christmas time & fudged on candy, cookies, all the normal stuff around on Christmas & the nurse really came down on me & told me that any sugar I couldn't handle, I was forcing my baby to handle & that wasn't fair. That's what it took for me to be pro-active in keeping my sugars under control & if that meant insulin, then so be it.Just keep in close contact w/ your Dr & OB/gyn. Good luck<img src="i/expressions/present.gif" border="0">
I have had CFRD now for almost 6 yrs. I became a gestational diabetic during my last couple months of pregnancy. My doctor induced me at just a little over 3 weeks early....so I didnt have to start on the insulin during the pregnancy. They did keep a close eye on my sugars though...because it can be very harmful to the child. I also was seeing a high risk OB/GYN along with my CF doc. I had my daughter in March 98....and in the following October...I was diagnosed with diabetes. I started on insulin because my glucose levels were in the 600 range....but about 6 mos later I was able to go to oral meds and have been on them ever since. I still eat the same....I just eat different portions and try not to eat several different carbs at one meal. It was such a shock to me when my doctor told me I had diabetes...I was so upset....but it was just another bump in the road! I got over it....good luck! Take Care!Dea
Hey Dave, From what I was told by an endocrinologist is that basically the tubes in your pancrease become clogged with mucus the same way the other side is messed up. So the insulin can't get to where it needs to go. You take insulin for the same reason you have to take enzymes when you eat. Hope that helps JK
Hopfully this answers your question about steroids. I am 25 I have cf and I'm going to school to be a respiratory therapist. (you know those people who drop of your albuterol when your in the hospital, yeah thats me.) Anyway, Steroids are used for there anti-inflamatory effects. Inflamation is a immune response that your body uses to fight infection. When you get sick you body flushes the area with blood, thus allowing white blood cells and phagosites to clean the area out. The problem with the inflamation in the lungs, is that it causes them to get very wet. A wet lung is a stiff lung, which makes it harder to breath. It also narrows your airway and causes you to wheeze. It can also enter your alveoli and make it harder for oxygen to diffuse into the blood. ABPA is another reason to take steroids. Most fungal infections don't do much damage to people unless you are immuno comprised. Like some of us are. ABPA is not infectious but does cause an asthma attack like response in the airways. It is similar to having a mild asthma attack all the time. ABPA is treated with a three week twice a day dose of an anti-fungal med and high dose steroids(predinasone or methol-predinasone). Steroids have been effective in supressing the inflamatory respones of the body and getting rid of that crushing feeling you get(like someone is standing on you chest). However they do come with side effects. One is steroid induced diabetes, this is why i stopped taking them. Also, when you get rid of the immune respones of the body, it makes it easier to get an infection. It's a catch 22.
<blockquote>Quote<br><hr><i>Originally posted by: <b>Anonymous</b></i>Thanks so much for your reply- I'm looking for a high-risk ob now so we'll see what they say.By the way, what was the point that made the Dr. decide you needed insulin? Fasting hyperglycemia?<hr></blockquote>Sorry it's taken so long for me to respond. It wasn't my fasting blood sugar level, but the post (1-2) hour blood sugar levels that indicated that I may need to start insulin.I was diagnosed w/ CFRD a couple of years after having my daughter and now take a pill to help control sugars.How are you feeling w/ your pg overall? Good luck & God Bless.
Thanks for your message-- so far I feel pretty good in week 8 of pg, no morning sickness (yet). I've just got the usual pg anxiety plus more due to the CF. The endocrinologist said my CF Dr. should decide how to treat me and the CF DR. said the Ob/Gyn should decide. The Ob/Gyn couldn't fit me in for another 2 weeks, so can you see why I'm anxious??Thanks and take care!
If this helps any, my CF Dr told me "I'll take care of you and your OB/Gyn will take care of the baby." Maybe this would be a good rule of thumb. I don't know you're health level of your CF, but I really did exceptionally well during pg and felt pretty good, and some others that have posted here seemed to do pretty well too. The actual delivery process kind of caused some anxiety, but that went as well as could be expected. I was very, very weak after giving birth, and I think some of that was being gestational diabetic & them not giving me any thing to eat during labor & I think my sugars were low. I insisted on some orange juice for some type of sugar in my system, even though they said that I would throw it up & they were right, it came right back up=)Good luck & try not to stress too much. Just take the best care of yourself that you can & enjoy the whole process. I'll say a prayer for both of you<img src="i/expressions/present.gif" border="0">