reaction to steroid shot?

Hey all,

As you know I went to L&D yesterday and got my first dose of Betamethasone. I came home from the hospital around 2 and laid down for a nap and when I woke up at 5 my whole face was numb. I tried to practice even breathing and all that and it never went away. Around 730 I checked my blood sugar for my 2 hours post meal check and it was elevated at 189. So I checked it again at 8 and it was 229, then at 830 it was 247. I went ahead and called my OB at this point and she said that she should have warned me that with gestational diabetes the steroids can raise your blood sugar and that it would probably be high for the next few days, especially since I'm due for another shot after 24 hours. And as far as the face numbness goes she wasn't worried about that either because it wasn't localized to one side of my face and I didn't have any "drooping".

So...I went to bed and tried not to worry about it (although I told DH to wake me up several times to make sure I'm still "kicking" lol) and I just got up to pee at 330. I'm doing a 24 hour urine catch for pre-e and after I went through all the motions for that and finally woke up enough to realize my right hand is numb! My thumb, first finger and right half of my palm is just numb. I thought at first I had been sleeping on it but it's been almost half an hour now and there is no improvement. I checked my blood sugar and it was 122. I had DH help me check my BP (in the opposite arm) and it was a little elevated at 140/95 but nothing outrageous. My face is still tingly, although it doesn't seem as bad as it was before...

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Do I just hang out and wait until I go back to L&D in the morning (I'm due to drop off my urine after 1040 and due for my second shot at 1120)?

I hate all this not knowing what's going on. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

I had the shots at 29ws. But I was fine, no reaction. I think You should go straight to L&D now. You have GD and your BP seems high. They should monitor you. If it were my Ob, she'd already told you go straight to L&D. Good luck! Hope you and your babies will be ok!

 

*whew* What a day! Okay so everything is "normal". lol I hate that word. They said the tingling and numbness in my hands is probably a coincidence and could be related to carpal tunnel syndrome. Especially since I'm not having any other neurological symptoms. So that's good. I got my second shot and now am home relaxing. So I'm hoping we can keep these babies cooking!

 

Thanks for the update!! glad everything is "normal"!!
Take it easy! and fingers crossed no more numbness, oh that would be scary! :hug:

 

one of the main side effects of steroids is an increase in blood sugar, it will probably last 3-4 days. hope you're feeling better soon!

 

lisa- they told me the same thing about the numbness- that is was not directly related to the shots. my arms and legs were completely numb after the shot- they told me it wasn't a reaction to the shot but i really think it was. it went away the next day.

good luck!!!