Do you drink diet soda?

@ess77 Thanks for the tip and reminder on the Greek yogurt!
I do like it, but tend to forget it's in the fridge.

@jim18 I drink occasional diet soda, especially those sodas without caffeine. I especially like diet ginger ale and for a sweet treat diet caffeine free root beer. I believe moderation is the key. With the food restrictions when one has diabetes I think it is important to enjoy some foods even if they contain artificial sweeteners.

No only sparkling spring water.

@ess77
Hi Elizabeth,
You are the first person I read that has steroid induced diabetes! I also have steroid induced diabetes, which thankfully, improves when my prednisone goes down. I am on insulin when this happens. I am a steroid dependent asthmatic and finally my endocrinologist has acknowledged that it is from my steroid exacerbations when I am on very high dose prednisone. Sometimes diet soda is needed to help combat the severe insomnia and needing caffeine to stay awake during the day (I don't drink coffee, tea, and limit severely chocolate due to DM). Caffeine also is known to help asthma slightly. Thanks for sharing about this - as most only believe it is from diet that people develop DM. Diet plays a big role, but so do medications. Good luck. Pam

Hello, Pam. What a treat to meet you. Yep. I just took my a.m. pills, including 14mg Prednisone, as low as I can get and still move, use my muscles and have less pain. At 13mg, I can not lift or move my feet. Glued to the floor. And all muscles scream in pain. My muscles refuse to respond to nerve directions! And, glucose spikes like crazy with each steroid pill. So, insulin throughout the day. Low glucose alarms at night, from the sensor I wear that sometimes malfunctions, falls off, or won't even start. They have recalled some, replaced defectives, and I love it generally, if I trust it. But, it has been quite difficult adjusting to the severity and multiple issues caused by this diabetic emergency a year ago caused by Oxympic and steroids!

I'm now on insulin daily. Keep my diabetes bag with me at all times! Thank you, Prednisone!

Diet coke is such a tiny thing in the scheme of this life! But, it improves my little quality of life, so I'm thankful. Helps resolve tummy issues of gas, nausea, Gives me a bit more energy in this extremely fatigued body. All good.

I'm virtually bedridden now, due to Oxympic attacking my system, my muscles, my autoimmune diseases, causing the muscles to stop listening to nerve instructions.

It's been quite a ride on a very scary roller-coaster, since May 2025 and the glucose ER visit. Hospital stay, rehab facility, paralyzation of my legs, high Prednisone, PT to learn to walk again, infections, sepsis 3x, 2 NH rehabs from hell,

Need help daily now at home to survive and not getting it.

Quality of life is a joke now! I exit. Function at a limited basis, but can get to potty, little fridge and drinks, Greek yogurt that he1¹lps my gut work when added to Probulin Extreme Support Probiotic, diet coke, 1 cup of coffee, 2 glasses of iced green tea, 3-4 bottles of spring water, and deli food.

So, there you go. And, of course, my 57 year old precious son, lawyer who was struck by VmCervical Dustonia st 35 years, bright, successful life wit bright future... life gone. 100%disability since. Worsening daily. Constant, screaming at times pain. Loss of mobility daily. Decades of fight to get help!!! Still fighting!

But, i'm running out of fight. So, how does he survive... anyway....

That's my life now. Struggling to succeed today with a modicum of acceptance, positivity???, little depression, lots of frustration and anger at life at times and determination to survive!

Blessings, Pam. Stay strong and see the joy. Elizabeth

Never touch the stuff. Have never trusted any sugar substitute for anything.

So what I do drink are the flavored bubble waters. Crystal Geyser used to make the best - but they discontinued! What they did is use natural mineral water and then add carbonation and flavoring.

(Perrier used to use naturally carbonated mineral water but their spring was declared polluted about eight years ago!)

So if you want to make it really good (IMHO), buy some club soda that is artificial carbonated spring water and mix it with any of the flavored carbonated waters, and the result is better!

Yes, I miss the cola syrup a little, used to drink regular Coke or RC Cola like a fiend, back in the day, sometimes I'm horrified by what I used to eat and drink, but I cut it out a long time ago now.

Kroger's "Simple Truth" house brand has some new two-flavor carbonated water drinks that I was just off to get!

@ess77
Hi Elizabeth, So sorry for all you and your son are going through. Don't give up the fight! I am currently on 14 of Pred daily, but I divide it in am and pm doses to help keep my asthma more steady during the day/night. Dupixent and my nebulizers help. Something that can help with the DM is that you keep yourself hydrated well (even though it really is difficult to get to the bathroom). The hydration (as long as it is not contraindicated with limiting fluids due to other things), is essential to help the insulin get to the cells to manage blood sugar. Saying watch diet, carbs is necessary - but people have to live with DM. I hate when people assume that it is all diet related - which it is not. There are so many factors. Hope you are wrapping your legs or using support hose - to prevent blood clots. They also give support to the legs as well (I do this everyday - though it is a pain, and gets very hot at times. Deli food is delicious (I love corned beef), but dangerous from the high sodium, which depletes the fluids you have and leads to retention. (I also have other health issues.) Keep up the fight - even though it is difficult. When I was very sick 2 years ago, I was permitted to work from home and have someone do my daily classes as I worked behind them from home. Grateful and blessed that I improved and was able to go back to work, and also have a wonderful husband/family who are very supportive and also works. It is not easy to manage chronic illness and still maintain life. Good luck to you and your son! Sending prayers and blessings. Pam

@pht1123 and all... Thanks so much, Pam. I need to hear the support. I am very isolated, basically live in my bedroom and upstairs, made a small bedroom my little kitchen to have an apartment uptairs and avoid the stairs... downstairs bedroom. I actually enjoy it, sort of...do have a huge live oak tree outside my large window and see the beauty and life in the tree. I stay very active all day on my laptop, when able, taking care of medications, medical appointments and researching for hours to find new or better treatments for my son. Order groceries for delivery, and everything else.

It takes all my energy to do the daily things to keep going... feed cat, clean litter, wash used dishes in 2nd bathroom sink, normal paperwork and medical. I'm now handling my son's mail and bills, etc. I am his assistant! I do enjoy that kind o thing and love researching things, learning and digging to find answers. As long as there's no deadline!!!

I have a stair chair I bought from the family of a 92 year old neighbor and friend after a hospital stay. Caught Covid in the hospital, was discharged and died! Horrid! The stair chair is fairly new, a good one, slightly damaged when my handyman moved it poorly. Should have called the company to transfer and install. It's been sitting in my 2nd bedroom used for storage until I re-floored the stairs. Now done and I'm calling Monday to have the company fellow check it out and give me an estimate for installing it for me. This is exciting! Actually, the first bit of hope for getting that part of my life moving again, enjoying the downstairs, the bird feeders, etc. If I can handle keeping them clean and filled, I have a nice feathered family of friends who are regular visitors. Need to get that back in my life... pure joy for me.

All that depends on how infection free I can be this year. God and I are working hard on that one, too. Sepsis 3X last year, several ER visits, hospital stays, 2 long rehab stays that almost killed me! Not happening again!!!!

Thanks again, Pam. Good getting to know you. You have a great support system and are living a good life, while dealing with the medical junk some of us face for whatever reasons. A lot of my issues through the years were caused by medication side effects, multiple meds, some genetics-pernicious anemia, and such...but, when I learned to stop fighting to control what was out of my control, for sure, to accept what is but be a strong advocate and insist on the best care available, I began to reduce the fight/flight merry-go-round and stress levels reduced. Helping my body deal with the issues it was facing.

If only I could get good help for my son... have his 'electrocutions' throughout his body controlled or stopped!!!! Relieve his horrid pain, have him help other than from me... Working on that now. Finally, I have a doctor who is helping him and is a facilitator, tapping into available resources for disabled on all levels. I tried, but wasn't successful. Partially due to my son's fierce independence refusal to be 'disabled'. That's changed now.

So, there you go. And, no husband or family, etc. You are indeed blessed! Elizabeth

@ess77
Hi Elizabeth,
Good luck to you and your son. Yes, fighting for the best care, and trying to be kind to yourself is so important. Glad to read that your son is doing better and you may have found the right doctor to help him.
It is difficult to accept when things happen and we are not in the best health. Even with getting better - the mind may have a "plan" of all the things that can be done - until the body lets us know that - nice plan - but things may not be done the way we want them to be done. In my mind I will have a list of things to do - and once I start to do things - not so much as I try to return to my previous level of activity - not always with success. Learning to be patient with myself - though I am much improved - is still a work in progress. Just getting older - though I am not old - is challenging and difficult to accept. I am blessed to have my husband/family and working full time.
Hope the days ahead are improved for all. Best, Pam

@@pht1123 and all... You do understand how this goes... I havecalways thought in outline fotm, sort of, with clear, orderly plans of the day or the project I have before me. I worked very hard, long hours, stress was involved in my whole adult life.
I find at this older age, once I understood I couldn't accomplish what was in my mind, no chance of completing even the most simple if projects, I was overwhelmed. For years. Then, after spending a few weeks of serious quiet meditation, focusing on how and what path to take, I began to accept the facts of my illnesses and work to move forward. Doing pretty well accepting and accomplishing what I can. Still overdo. Still am overwhelmed at times. But so much improved after accepting life as it is.
It's especially hard being alone and the added issues with my son. I lost him as he was when he wasc35. He lost his whole life. Nobdreams. No interactions with friends. Isolation. Breaks my heart.
But, it is. God is guiding me in withbhis needs, the next step. Leaning on my faith.

Blessings, Pam. Elizabeth