What medications can increase blood sugar levels?
What Medications Can Raise Blood Sugar Levels?
- Over-the-Counter Medicines. When you have a cold or the flu, it’s natural to take decongestants and cough syrups. ...
- Anti-inflammatory Medications. If you have arthritis, joint or muscle pain, asthma, or allergies, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication or steroids.
- Mental Health Medications. ...
- Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Medications. ...
What medications increase blood glucose levels?
Prescription medicines that can raise your glucose include:
- Steroids (also called corticosteroids). ...
- Drugs that treat anxiety, ADHD, depression, and other mental health problems. ...
- Birth control pills
- Drugs that treat high blood pressure, such as beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics
- Statins to lower cholesterol
- Adrenaline for severe allergic reactions
What drugs raise blood sugar?
OTC medicines that can raise your blood sugar include:
- Pseudoephedrine, a decongestant in some cold and flu medicines
- Cough syrup. Ask your doctor if you should take regular or sugar-free.
- Niacin, a B vitamin
Can blood pressure Meds raise blood sugar?
The BP medications that raise blood sugar levels can lead to serious complications. However, if the blood pressure is left untreated it can cause complications for the diabetes. This is one of the dilemmas that many diabetics face when treating their condition.
What medications can raise blood sugar levels?
Medicines That Increase Blood Sugar: Antidepressants (Zyprexa, risperdal, Clozaril, Seroquel, Abilify, Geodon, lithium) Beta-2 stimulators (Proventil, Alupent, Serevent, Foradil, Brethine, Theo-Dur) Caffeine. Corticosteroids (Prednisone, Decadron, DepoMedrol)
Can medications affect A1C results?
Drugs that cause subtle hemolysis without anemia may interfere with the accuracy of A1C measurement (6). Reported examples of such drugs include dapsone, sulfasalazine, ribavirin, and antiretroviral drugs (4).
What can falsely elevate A1C?
Several medications and substances have also been reported to falsely elevate A1c including lead poisoning2, chronic ingestion of alcohol, salicylates, and opioids. Ingestion of vitamin C may increase A1c when measured by electrophoresis, but may decrease levels when measured by chromatography.
Is it possible to have a high A1C and not be diabetic?
Yes, you can have a high A1C level and not have diabetes. This is because an A1C test measures the amount of glucose that's attached to hemoglobin. So anything that affects hemoglobin can alter the results. Certain medications, such as steroids, can also raise blood glucose levels in people who don't have diabetes.
Can you take meds before A1C test?
The day before your test, take your diabetes medicine (such as pills, insulin, or other medicines you inject) as usual or as your healthcare provider tells you.
What medications affect HbA1c?
Drugs causing hemolysis. Any drug which causes hemolysis can potentially lower the HbA1c by reducing erythrocyte lifespan, thereby increasing the proportion of younger cells in the blood. Dapsone, ribavirin and antiretroviral drugs have been reported to reduce the HbA1c in this manner.
Can statins increase A1C levels?
A recent meta-analysis found that statin treatment was associated with a modest increase in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, or glycated hemoglobin) in patients with diabetes [7]. Atorvastatin, a high-potency statin, had a particularly marked effect on HbA1c.
How fast can A1C drop in 3 months?
Remember what your A1C measures: your average blood sugars over the past three months. The good news is that if your A1C is on the high side, say, 10% or higher, it will likely start to drop within two to three months (in other words, the higher it is, the faster it comes down).
What meds affect blood sugar?
Let’s look at some of the most common meds that can affect blood sugar control: 1. Corticosteroids to Lower Inflammation in Arthritis, Asthma, Allergies, and Joint Injuries. These drugs are used to treat many conditions associated with inflammation, including arthritis, asthma, allergies, and joint injuries. Corticosteroids used in inhalers ...
What to do if a doctor prescribes diabetes medication?
If a specialist, like an orthopedist or psychiatrist, prescribes a new medication, check in with your certified diabetes educator or primary care doctor to ensure that it’s okay to take and to coordinate any necessary adjustments to your diabetes medication, Hsieh says. Take care of yourself.
Why are statins used?
Statins to Help Lower LDL, or ‘Bad,’ Cholesterol Levels. Statins are used to lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol levels and can be a vital therapy for preventing heart disease and stroke. But they can also increase blood sugar levels, and for people with prediabetes, using a statin is linked with a greater risk of developing full-blown diabetes. ...
How to control blood sugar spikes?
Take care of yourself. Prioritize diet and exercise if you’re taking a medication that may affect your blood sugar control. “Physical activity and healthy nutrition help to prevent as significant of a spike, so we may not have to make an aggressive change in the medication regimen,” says Vivian. NEWSLETTERS.
Is there a good alternative to statins for diabetes?
But both Hsieh and Vivian emphasize that heart attack and stroke are major killers for people with diabetes, and there aren’t good alternative drugs for statins. “The benefits of heart attack and stroke prevention far outweigh the risk of elevated blood glucose levels,” Vivian says.
Does niacin help with cholesterol?
Niacin to Bring Down Bad Cholesterol. Niacin is a B vitamin available as an over-the-counter (OTC) supplement. It can have cholesterol-lowering effects, but like statins, it can also raise blood glucose in people with diabetes.
Do antipsychotics cause diabetes?
But a study published in May 2016 in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin found that among schizophrenia patients with newly diagnosed diabetes, those who took antipsychotics ended up with fewer advanced diabetes complications, despite the potential for these drugs to increase blood sugar.
What causes blood sugar to spike?
Many things can trigger a spike in your blood sugar. Foods high in carbohydrates, processed, and with added sugars are known culprits. Foods high in saturated fats can worsen insulin resistance.
What happens if you take steroids?
If you take steroids orally or by injection, they will enter your bloodstream and change glucose levels.
How does insulin work?
Insulin sends excess sugar to the liver to be stored and used as energy in between meals. It is stored as glycogen. The hormone glucagon sends a signal to your liver to change the stored glycogen back into glucose so it can be released back into the bloodstream, providing energy for cells.
Why are statins used?
Statins are used to lower LDL or bad cholesterol. Studies have shown statins are connected to higher blood sugar, and people are at risk of developing diabetes. Researchers found that statins prevent insulin from doing its job.
How does blood sugar get into the body?
Blood sugar, also known as glucose, is the sugar found in the blood. Glucose gets into your blood by eating carbohydrates. The endocrine system and the pancreas keep blood sugar levels from getting too high or too low. Two specific hormones maintain balance, insulin, and glucagon.
How high should blood sugar be before eating?
Normal blood sugar levels should stay near 100, but they will be lower for some, especially before eating anything.
Can cough syrup raise blood sugar?
When you have a cold or the flu, it’s natural to take decongestants and cough syrups. However, these products contain sugar, which means these medications can raise blood sugar levels. Search for sugar-free varieties instead.
What medications can increase blood sugar?
Beta -Blockers. Beta-blockers, which include medications like Lopressor and Tenormin, and thiazide diuretics, like Thalitone and Microzide, both have a tendency to increase blood sugar levels. Beta-blockers can reduce the body’s ability to secrete insulin, which can lead to some people needing to supplement with insulin shots, ...
What are the drugs that cause blood sugar spikes?
Fluoroquinolones. Fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics that includes drugs such as Cipro, Levaquin, and Avelox, have been shown to cause severe blood sugar spikes and drops leading to dangerous hyper and hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. These types of antibiotics are typically prescribed to treat urinary tract infections ...
Why do people with diabetes take other medications?
People with diabetes often take other medications to support their heart, weight, blood pressure, and more . While these medications are important to your overall health, they can also make controlling your blood sugars more difficult.
How do diuretics work?
Diuretics work by flushing sodium and, by extension, potassium from the body. Since potassium is vital for glucose uptake into cells, these meds can cause blood sugar levels to rise.
What is the best medicine for diabetes?
Steroids are another frequently prescribed medication for people living with type 2 diabetes. These anti-inflammatory meds are often used to treat arthritis, skin conditions, asthma, and other diseases characterized by swelling and inflammation.
Why do people take antidepressants?
While these meds are important for helping people overcome or at least deal with the emotional imbalances that are often present when living with diabetes, they can also make things worse by increasing blood sugar levels and making it more difficult to find success in treating the disease.
Do statins raise blood sugar?
Statins are well known for their blood sugar raising effects. Like certain beta-blockers, these cholesterol meds appear to decrease insulin secretions, making it even harder for your body to deal with excess glucose in the blood. Additionally, statins can also increase insulin resistance, further elevating blood sugars.
