My son was diagnosed with Type 1 in Nov, and was having an asthma flare up starting at the exact same time. He was diagnosed with cough variant asthma in 2018, and gets wheezy/deep cough after having upper respiratory illnesses (colds, allergies, etc), which had been in good control for most of the year. We had to do a 10 day course of oral steroids to get the asthma settled down, which made for a really rough start to managing blood sugars and insulin doses. Now, just 2 mos later, he is having another asthma flare up, and taking another round of oral steroids. The steroids are necessary to get the asthma settled, but requiring at 3x amt of insulin.
Anyone else out there trying to manage both conditions? I’m looking for input on your experiences, whether you have noticed a increase in asthma flare ups with diabetes? Any research on the 2 and their management?
TIA
Karen
I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1963, and was diagnosed with cough variant asthma myself the summer of 2018. In my case the asthma was diagnosed without any serious medical emergencies (just some VERY messy coughing which led to some embarrassing situations).
As a child I had allergies that “just” made me sneeze - they were more of an annoyance than anything and over the counter meds generally did the trick. We didn’t know that they could progress to something more serious, so we bypassed the allergy shots at the time.
I’ve been getting allergy shots since my asthma diagnosis and things are improving as my resistance to my triggers grows. If his doctor recommends them I would seriously consider it. It’s a slow process but managing the triggers should be a big help.
Thanks for your input. He takes zyrtec and nasacort, but may be worth looking into more specific allergies. We have had an unusually warm winter and pollen counts have been high. I appreciate your help!
As an older adult, I have only very mild asthma, and I have T1D. Any steroid is going to cause blood sugar raises. I’ve been on pumps since 2001, and managing the impacts of variables like steroids seems much easier on a pump, using temporary increases in basal insulin.
My pleasure. My allergist/asthma specialist ran a series of allergy tests so she could pinpoint treatment. I’m basically allergy to anything outdoors that’s green, so grass, trees, bushes - probably frogs🤣… I’m doing much better now - have been coughing a bit lately but we’ve had a warm winter in my area so that’s expected.
My doctor told me one of her patients is a little bit who had gotten shots for quite a while. He was doing so well they took him off shots - with the option to go back on if necessary - but without them he couldn’t play outside with his friends so he asked to go back on them - you don’t hear that often from a child. Keep us posted on how he does.