Meds & raised blood sugar

[45sue]

My 86 year old brother, who has heart failure, was found at a routine blood test to have raised blood sugar in the prediabetic range. In response to this, he received a standard letter from the practice with the website of diabetes UK to consult for info. He can't use the internet and I was concerned after looking at the link on his behalf. The standard advice on all sites re prediabetes is: 1. to lose weight- my brother is already underweight 2. to take exercise, based on the recommendation of 150- 75 mins which raises the heart rate - impossible & risky in his case 3. To drink more - recommended 6 -8 glasses of water a day. This conflicts with advice from cardiology to limit his fluid intake. 4. To eat a healthy diet - he already does. Nowhere can I find any refence to the potential role of medication in raising blood sugar. Amongst other things, he is on 40mg per day of Furosemide which it seems may have this effect . I will be taking matters up with the surgery but do any of you have any experience or info?

[10gingercats]

There will be a lot of advice from people here so I will limit myself .My husband aged 86 has had diabetes for about 10 years but no heart disorders.He also is quite lean but sugar levels are pretty high and he is now on an advised' diet' which is quite complicated. You may have to read quite widely to get ideas re. lowering his sugar and carbohydrate level. .He is also vegetarian which adds to the problems. He had medications form the GP(still does) and these did work quite ell until recently. I would be inclined to asked the hospital for help since yourbrother has a couple of major health issues ...esp the issue of low liquid intake .

[Lowerfield_no_more]

As I understand it, the older you are, past 'middle age', the more likely you are to become pre-diabetic, leading to type 2. So at 86yo your brother has already become vulnerable. Further, there is a range of Hb1Ac readings to define pre-diabetes and if the reading is 42.5 that is clearly less concerning than 47.5. The surgery are less than impressive when they just point someone to a list of things they should be aware of when they are classed as pre-diabetic, especially when there are other factors involved as you mention, they should be providing individual advice, so I suggest you advise your brother to speak with his GP, since that is what they are there for. Hope he gets sorted.

[Vegart]

Hello, 45sue. You have written that you cannot find references to medication causing high blood sugar (glucose), also called Hyperglycemia. However, there are some medications that can cause blood tests, such as the HbA1c one to have a high level. Two recent HbA1c blood tests have been high, indicating the possibility. However my GP has said it is probably just a side effect. Nevertherless, he gave me internet links to prediabetes websites. Two medications that I am prescribed have that as a possible side effect: the statin Atorvastatin, and the thiazide-like diuretic Indapamide. What medications is your brother on.?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

I have been a Type I diabetic for around 60 years. At one stage I sat on the committee of a Diabetes Support Group. On Main Stream Media people are told they can go into remission from Type II (or pre-diabetes). However diet and exercise do not work for everyone, and medication like Metformin may be needed. Besides lifestyle as mentioned age is a significant factor. By 80 1/3rd of people will be Type II or pre-diabetic. This rises to 1/2 in the care home environment.. Genetics and even luck can also be factors.

I am on a stain (Atorvastain) and intermittent Furosemide. Neither seem to affect BG levels.

You need to talk to his GP but it may be that he needs Metformin or another medication.

What are his typical meals? I have heard some peoples version of a healthy diet and they are far from healthy!