Steroid Hyperglycemia: How Steroids Raise Blood Sugar and What to Do

When you take steroid hyperglycemia, a condition where corticosteroid medications cause elevated blood sugar levels. It's not diabetes, but it acts like it—especially while you're on the drug. Also known as steroid-induced hyperglycemia, it affects up to 30% of people taking oral steroids for more than a week, even if they’ve never had blood sugar issues before. This isn’t a side effect you can ignore. It can lead to dehydration, confusion, or even hospitalization if left unchecked.

corticosteroids, powerful anti-inflammatory drugs like prednisone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone. Also known as glucocorticoids, they’re used for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune flare-ups. But they mess with how your liver releases glucose and how your muscles and fat cells respond to insulin. The result? Your body can’t use sugar properly, even if you’re eating normally. That’s why someone who’s never been diabetic can wake up with fasting blood sugar over 200 mg/dL after just a few days on steroids.

blood sugar control, the process of keeping glucose levels within a safe range. Also known as glycemic management, it becomes critical when you’re on steroids. You don’t need to stop the medication—your doctor prescribed it for a reason. But you do need a plan. That means checking your sugar more often, adjusting meals to avoid spikes, and sometimes using insulin or metformin short-term. People on high doses (over 20 mg of prednisone daily) or those with a family history of diabetes are at highest risk. Even if you’re healthy, your body’s insulin resistance can rise fast.

What you’ll find in these posts isn’t just theory. You’ll see real strategies from people who’ve managed steroid hyperglycemia while treating lupus, COPD, or severe allergies. There’s advice on how to talk to your pharmacist about monitoring, what foods to avoid during treatment, and why some people need insulin for just a few weeks while others don’t. You’ll also learn how this connects to other drug-related issues—like how antibiotics can trigger C. diff, or how generic drugs sometimes fail unexpectedly. These aren’t random topics. They’re all part of the same reality: medications save lives, but they also change how your body works. Understanding those changes keeps you safe.