Can other medications make bg spike?

Hi @Shari68

What pain relief medication are you taking? What guidance have you been given about when to take it?

If you have a look on the information sheet that comes with each type of medication, there will be a list of all the main contraindications and interactions with other meds.

If you look online, you may find longer lists (because there isn’t room on the leaflet for the full list.

There are many medications which may raise blood glucose, from statins to pain killers to cough medicines, so it is worth checking every time you take something new.

In addition, the simple fact of being stressed and in pain can raise blood glucose, without taking any meds at all.

Shari68 said:

I'm on 10g morphine twice a day, 300mg pregabalin, twice a day. 50mg amitriptyline and 1000mg paracetamol 3 times a day.
I haven't been given any guidance. My DSN knows all the meds I'm on but didn't say whether or not they attributed to a reason why my bg is higher.
I just started insulin 2 weeks ago, the long lasting one for first week, and meal time one for a week now. Dosage of these are 12 tresiba , 6/6/6 of Fiasp. My bg is never below 10 atm.

Click to expand...

Sounds like it would be good for you to have a good read of the information leaflets as suggested by @Brunneria and then have a conversation with your doctor.

How long have you been taking insulin? Have you had good blood control with insulin before? If you began using Tresiba and Fiasp fairly recently then it’s possible that you’re at the stage where you’re needing to discover the dose that suits you. You could ask your DSN to advise you about dose adjustment. Do you count the carbs for the 6 Fiasp at mealtimes? I doubt any of the courses that deal with carb counting will be running for a wee while but there’s information online: Bertie is recommended. There may be some FaceTime courses in your area, ask your DSN. Do you have an app or book to help find the carb content of foods?
I find that my own insulin needs vary occasionally. There are many things that can affect them, illness, stress, more activity, less activity, the season of the year, and as one ex member of the forum famously used to say, the colour of the socks you’re wearing.
There are some good books too, you can get them online. I like Stephen Ponder’s Sugar Surfing.
Do you use a Freestyle Libre sensor, or a Dexcom to see your blood sugars? The Libre is now prescribed on the NHS but there are certain criteria to meet, maybe talk to your DSN about this too. I self funded and got them from the manufacturers for eighteen months before it was prescribed for me and it was worth it. I’m grateful I had enough saved during my working life to afford it. It made a great difference to my control.
Good luck.

Oh and yes, I agree, look at the bumph that comes with the meds

morphine, pregabalin and amitriptyline can have effects on blood glucose levels so I would recommend keeping a close eye on your levels, reading the the bumph in the leaflets and discussing it with your doctor.

Hugs that you require such strong pain management.