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Covid?

P

Pittston

Active Member
Good morning
I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic about eight years ago. Since then I’ve been able to control my blood sugars with diet alone ( low carb) reasonably well popping in and out of being pre-diabetic and non-diabetic. InFebruary 23. I contracted Covid. Immediately I noticed my blood sugars were high, which I thought would be down to having the virus. I struggled to keep within the prediabetic range. Last September yet again, I contracted Covid. In November my HbA1c was 44. Since then I have felt extremely unwell, waking suddenly in the middle of the night with very high BP and a racing heart as though I have been frightened by something. So last week I asked for another test of HBA1c, the next day I received a message from the surgery that I was to have a repeat test in two weeks time as I had become possibly diabetic, my reading was 50. That weekend I was very unwell with very high blood pressure. I was put back on amlodipine 5 mg since then I have monitored my blood sugar levels regularly and the lowest I can get on any time of day readings is 7.2 sometimes they are around 8 to 9.00 last night when I went to bed, they were 8.3 but an hour later they were 7.2. This morning upon waking they were 7.7 and after having a cup of tea walking around the kitchen, they were 9.00. My BP was 123/73 I am sticking rigidly to low carb.Is it likely that my levels will come back down again and could Covid albeit eight months ago be the root cause of my dilemma? I hope I have explained myself and would appreciate any feedback and hope you could give me. I’m 80 years old and not very technically minded.
 
Pittston said:
Good morning
I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic about eight years ago. Since then I’ve been able to control my blood sugars with diet alone ( low carb) reasonably well popping in and out of being pre-diabetic and non-diabetic. InFebruary 23. I contracted Covid. Immediately I noticed my blood sugars were high, which I thought would be down to having the virus. I struggled to keep within the prediabetic range. Last September yet again, I contracted Covid. In November my HbA1c was 44. Since then I have felt extremely unwell, waking suddenly in the middle of the night with very high BP and a racing heart as though I have been frightened by something. So last week I asked for another test of HBA1c, the next day I received a message from the surgery that I was to have a repeat test in two weeks time as I had become possibly diabetic, my reading was 50. That weekend I was very unwell with very high blood pressure. I was put back on amlodipine 5 mg since then I have monitored my blood sugar levels regularly and the lowest I can get on any time of day readings is 7.2 sometimes they are around 8 to 9.00 last night when I went to bed, they were 8.3 but an hour later they were 7.2. This morning upon waking they were 7.7 and after having a cup of tea walking around the kitchen, they were 9.00. My BP was 123/73 I am sticking rigidly to low carb.Is it likely that my levels will come back down again and could Covid albeit eight months ago be the root cause of my dilemma? I hope I have explained myself and would appreciate any feedback and hope you could give me. I’m 80 years old and not very technically minded.
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Hi @Pittston
Firstly, it's important not to get too hung up on individual readings. The main reason fot this is that blood glucose meters for home/personal use are not precise. They are usually only accurate within about +/- 15% due to the biological nature of the enzymes in the test strips. (I don't know which meter you're using). So look for trends over several days if at all possible.

As a T1 diabetic I had pretty good control of my glucose levels but after Covid it went haywire. It does seem as though a couple of years on and it's starting to settle down again - thankfully. But my insulin requirements have almost doubled since contracting Covid. Of course, it could be incidental and I am not claiming cause and effect.

In the UK an HbA1c result over 48mmol/mol is usually used to indicate (Type 2) diabetes so if this result is repeated at your next test it will give doctors an idea of what's going on. But I notice you write that you are on a low carb diet, so if your glucose levels are still rising your doctors may want to give you medication to lower it.
 
@Pittston we are not allowed to give medical advice on the forum. If this was me I would be asking my Dr if the amlodipine, a calcium blocker, is the cause of my rise in blood sugars.
 
Since posting my situation just over a month ago things have become much worse and I am desperate for advice and very frightened. About three weeks ago I started to suffer very intense cortisol/ adrenaline rushes which wake me around 6 am every single day.This increases my BG which goes from waking at around 6 am at 7.3 to immediately shooting up to 9.3. I am completely wiped out by all of this and feel that I have almost died. It takes around four hours before I can start to function. My A1C was 50 at the beginning of May and I have been on a strict low carb diet since then. I saw my GP today and he has prescribed low dose metformin of 500 mg once daily only rising to a maximum of 1000 mg as I am very sensitive to all drugs. I am very unhappy about all of this as I feel my diabetes is not really high enough for drugs and I am not allowed another A1c test for another 6 weeks. I am also terrified of being sick on metformin. I am almost 81 years old and feel this is the end for me. I am certain there must be something else wrong. I am sorry if I am being a baby but I have no one to turn to.
 
Melgar said:
@Pittston we are not allowed to give medical advice on the forum. If this was me I would be asking my Dr if the amlodipine, a calcium blocker, is the cause of my rise in blood sugars.
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Would amlodipine cause a rise in blood sugars? - I am only asking as I am on that drug to control my blood pressure, thanks
 
Pittston said:
Since posting my situation just over a month ago things have become much worse and I am desperate for advice and very frightened. About three weeks ago I started to suffer very intense cortisol/ adrenaline rushes which wake me around 6 am every single day.This increases my BG which goes from waking at around 6 am at 7.3 to immediately shooting up to 9.3. I am completely wiped out by all of this and feel that I have almost died. It takes around four hours before I can start to function. My A1C was 50 at the beginning of May and I have been on a strict low carb diet since then. I saw my GP today and he has prescribed low dose metformin of 500 mg once daily only rising to a maximum of 1000 mg as I am very sensitive to all drugs. I am very unhappy about all of this as I feel my diabetes is not really high enough for drugs and I am not allowed another A1c test for another 6 weeks. I am also terrified of being sick on metformin. I am almost 81 years old and feel this is the end for me. I am certain there must be something else wrong. I am sorry if I am being a baby but I have no one to turn to.
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You are not being a baby, it sounds very frightening to be woken in a panic like that! Stress can raise blood sugar levels, and chronic stress is probably a significant factor in my developing diabetes. Any illness such as a virus can also lead to raised sugars.

An HbA1c of 50 is not terribly high, and I have read elsewhere on the forum that people over a certain age may prefer a more lenient target than younger people. It's always your choice whether to take any medication, having weighed up the pros and cons for yourself. You can always decide in 6 weeks' time after the next HbA1c test.
 
Your BG levels as you describe are not particularly high and may also be linked to what your liver does in the morning - produce glucose to get you up and about. It's possible that the anxiety itself is causing part of what you're seeing - stress of any kind does tend to result in higher blood glucose levels, again because of liver action.

This is a link to the NHS description of amlodipine

www.nhs.uk

About amlodipine

NHS medicines information on amlodipine – what it's used for and key facts.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

and its side effects:

www.nhs.uk

Side effects of amlodipine

NHS medicines information on side effects of amlodipine and what you can do to cope.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

I can't find any mention of an impact on blood glucose there.

However, this 2018 case report says that "the risk of hyperglycaemia induced by use of amlodipine is rare and not well established. This case report provides evidence that significant and reversible changes in glycaemic control may occur with standard use of amlodipine as an antihypertensive agent."


In other words according to this source yes, it can happen but it is rare. I'd strongly advise discussing all this with your doctor.
 
KennyA said:
Your BG levels as you describe are not particularly high and may also be linked to what your liver does in the morning - produce glucose to get you up and about. It's possible that the anxiety itself is causing part of what you're seeing - stress of any kind does tend to result in higher blood glucose levels, again because of liver action.

This is a link to the NHS description of amlodipine

www.nhs.uk

About amlodipine

NHS medicines information on amlodipine – what it's used for and key facts.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

and its side effects:

www.nhs.uk

Side effects of amlodipine

NHS medicines information on side effects of amlodipine and what you can do to cope.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

I can't find any mention of an impact on blood glucose there.

However, this 2018 case report says that "the risk of hyperglycaemia induced by use of amlodipine is rare and not well established. This case report provides evidence that significant and reversible changes in glycaemic control may occur with standard use of amlodipine as an antihypertensive agent."


In other words according to this source yes, it can happen but it is rare. I'd strongly advise discussing all this with your doctor.
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I am no longer taking Amlodipine as my Bp became too low. I have to monitor it at home daily. This morning the “ rush” awakened me at 4 am. I feel completely shattered by it all and only now 6 hours later have I got the forward motion to have a shower and get dressed. My pharmacy just messaged to say that the metformin is awaiting collection.
 
Thanks everyone, just a bit of an update. The metformin has given me dreadful nausea but no improvement in bg levels. Worst of all the cortisol/ adrenaline rushes are occurring each morning very intensely and I am almost legless for about four hours after. I feel as though I have run a marathon.I am desperate but GP and DN are of no help. They look at me very quizzically. I feel completely overwhelmed.
 
Pittston said:
Thanks everyone, just a bit of an update. The metformin has given me dreadful nausea but no improvement in bg levels. Worst of all the cortisol/ adrenaline rushes are occurring each morning very intensely and I am almost legless for about four hours after. I feel as though I have run a marathon.I am desperate but GP and DN are of no help. They look at me very quizzically. I feel completely overwhelmed.
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Metformin is a slow and steady med so will take a while to bring down BG levels - it's taken me about 8 weeks to feel like it may finally be doing something noticeable. I've been lucky to only get mild, tolerable nausea and loose bowels, perhaps because I'm on the slow release version.

Those adrenaline rushes still need sorting, or at least investigating. Is there another doctor at the practice you could take just that issue to? To my amateur eye it doesn't sound like a standard diabetes symptom. I don't want you to worry but it shouldn't be something you just have to put up with.
 
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