Prednisone and Blood Sugar: How This Steroid Affects Glucose Levels

When you take prednisone, a synthetic corticosteroid used to reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. Also known as corticosteroid, it helps with conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune disorders—but it doesn’t play nice with your blood sugar. Even short courses can spike glucose levels, and for people with diabetes or prediabetes, it can turn a manageable condition into a medical emergency.

How does this happen? prednisone, a synthetic corticosteroid used to reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. Also known as corticosteroid, it helps with conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune disorders—but it doesn’t play nice with your blood sugar. It tricks your liver into pumping out more glucose, while at the same time making your muscles and fat cells less responsive to insulin. This is called insulin resistance, a condition where cells stop responding properly to insulin, leading to elevated blood sugar. It’s the same process that drives type 2 diabetes, and prednisone can trigger it in people who never had it before. That’s why some patients on prednisone end up needing insulin—even if they’ve never taken it before.

It’s not just about dose and duration. A 5-day course of 10 mg daily might nudge your numbers up a bit. But 60 mg a day for weeks? That’s a different story. People over 40, those with a family history of diabetes, or anyone already carrying extra weight are at higher risk. And it’s not always obvious—you might feel hungrier, thirstier, or need to pee more often. These aren’t just side effects—they’re warning signs your body is struggling to manage sugar.

What you’ll find below aren’t just general warnings. These are real cases and clear explanations from posts that dig into how prednisone and blood sugar interact. You’ll see how hospitals track glucose in patients on steroids, why diabetic kidney disease can worsen under steroid treatment, and how insulin resistance from meds like prednisone mirrors the early stages of type 2 diabetes. There’s also practical advice on monitoring, diet tweaks, and when to talk to your doctor—because this isn’t something you ignore.