Drugs raising BG

[bogwort47]

Hi.

I'm bogwort47.

Been around for at least 77 years and well over 10 years on line on other fora with this name.

September 2024 I received a text about 2015hrs one evening in an Italian restaurant, when I was 2 courses down and had just ordered a Tiramasu, which said I was pre-diabetic. It appears that I have been running a steady 42 on my HbA1c since 2020.
I had my Tiramasu.

Since then I have been beating myself up over diet and pricking every morning with a long term average this year of 6.3 for my Blood Glucose.
On 25 04 2025 I asked my heart consultant if I could come off Atorvastatin for a while to see what happens. He said yes. My HbA1c that day was 41; only a small improvement. Today, my average BG over the last 14 days is 5.5. This represents a drop of over 10%, not dis-similar to the increase in 2020 from 38 to 42 when I went on Atorvastatin and had a 3 x CABG. On line, the info says 5% effect mean with no range given. I could say ***, but could not possibly do so as it might be considered impolite at best. That is over 2 xs the mean. Long short if I am in the standard deviation range then the effect on Blood Glucose of Atorvastatin could be up to 15 to 20 %

I joined an NHS recommended course run by an USA Co Xyla after 2 cancellations eventually in February 2025; all about losing weight. I and none of the people on the course are noticeably over weight. I also keep reasonably active averaging 5 - 6000 steps a day on a rolling week and in January averaged over 8000 a day for over some 3 weeks plus, romping around in the Antarctic.

Whatever, I have come to this Forum to see if anyone else has had a similar experience of being put on/recommended for a course for weight which is not really appropriate and has been affected by drugs raising their Blood Glucose.

I really wonder just how many so called pre-diabetics are finding the same thing.

Please do not get me wrong. When the dust settles, I may still be drifting towards diabetes, it killed my Granny in 1950 and my Dad was type 2 plus meds but it was prostate cancer that killed him when his bones gave out in 1997.

Happy days and I look forward to hearing about your experiences. My guess is that the NHS is may be unnecessarily making the figures look a lot worse than they really are and worrying a lot of people totally unnecessarily - it will be very interesting to see what you responses say.

 

[MrsA2]

Hi @bogwort47
I've just started the NHS course and am biting my tongue hard in each session as I believe I am already expert in my own health and low carbing in particular. Last week they were making a slim 85 year old woman feel guilty for having ham in her sandwich. The daily brown bread sandwich was deemed OK but the ham berated.

I'm not on any other drugs except eye drops for a congenital condition. I don't see any connection between them and my bg. (But always happy to learn or change)

And yes I don't understand why diabetes gets the blame as much as it does. Long term and Uncontrolled yes, but well managed no. (T1s excepted)

I got particularly incensed when it was recorded as the second cause of death on my sisters death certificate. She died of a brain tumour but had had blood cancer for 20 years and faulty heart valves for 15 years. So had been on heavy medications, inactive and very poorly for decades. Yet her t2 diagnosis was only 6 months prior yet deemed responsible . They ignored all other possibilities. When I mentioned this on here, someone said they have put diabetes if its been diagnosed irrespective . That then means statistically it is seen to cause many many deaths, whether it actually was or not.

None of the above means that I don't think that diabetes should not be taken seriously . The long term complications can be devastating and expensive, but I think the message should be more positive about remission and future prevention

 

[bogwort47]

Hi @bogwort47
I've just started the NHS course and am biting my tongue hard in each session as I believe I am already expert in my own health and low carbing in particular. Last week they were making a slim 85 year old woman feel guilty for having ham in her sandwich. The daily brown bread sandwich was deemed OK but the ham berated.

I'm not on any other drugs except eye drops for a congenital condition. I don't see any connection between them and my bg. (But always happy to learn or change)

And yes I don't understand why diabetes gets the blame as much as it does. Long term and Uncontrolled yes, but well managed no. (T1s excepted)

I got particularly incensed when it was recorded as the second cause of death on my sisters death certificate. She died of a brain tumour but had had blood cancer for 20 years and faulty heart valves for 15 years. So had been on heavy medications, inactive and very poorly for decades. Yet her t2 diagnosis was only 6 months prior yet deemed responsible . They ignored all other possibilities. When I mentioned this on here, someone said they have put diabetes if its been diagnosed irrespective . That then means statistically it is seen to cause many many deaths, whether it actually was or not.

None of the above means that I don't think that diabetes should not be taken seriously . The long term complications can be devastating and expensive, but I think the message should be more positive about remission and future prevention

Hi MrsA2
Thank you for the feedback. Like you I have to bite my tongue. I have had 2 different presenters variously contradicting one another. Hey Ho. Anyway, I am trying to extract what I can from the course to help expand my growing knowledge on the subject and work out what is going on with me. The saddest thing is that there is no one on my course who has a noticeable weight problem. I note your concern about the Death Cert. The same happened for my father. It can be upsetting at the time I agree when really the principal cause of extinction of life should be the most important item followed by co-morbidities noted at the time which may or may not have contributed, rather than 'secondary causes' which I think I remember was where my father's T2 was listed. I would expect that when the data is analysed, by the ONS or whatever, a professional scientific view is taken as I indicated unless there was a detailed investigation after the event. Thank you again for your thoughtful response.

 

[Rosie9876]

Hi.

I'm bogwort47.

Been around for at least 77 years and well over 10 years on line on other fora with this name.

September 2024 I received a text about 2015hrs one evening in an Italian restaurant, when I was 2 courses down and had just ordered a Tiramasu, which said I was pre-diabetic. It appears that I have been running a steady 42 on my HbA1c since 2020.
I had my Tiramasu.

Since then I have been beating myself up over diet and pricking every morning with a long term average this year of 6.3 for my Blood Glucose.
On 25 04 2025 I asked my heart consultant if I could come off Atorvastatin for a while to see what happens. He said yes. My HbA1c that day was 41; only a small improvement. Today, my average BG over the last 14 days is 5.5. This represents a drop of over 10%, not dis-similar to the increase in 2020 from 38 to 42 when I went on Atorvastatin and had a 3 x CABG. On line, the info says 5% effect mean with no range given. I could say ***, but could not possibly do so as it might be considered impolite at best. That is over 2 xs the mean. Long short if I am in the standard deviation range then the effect on Blood Glucose of Atorvastatin could be up to 15 to 20 %

I joined an NHS recommended course run by an USA Co Xyla after 2 cancellations eventually in February 2025; all about losing weight. I and none of the people on the course are noticeably over weight. I also keep reasonably active averaging 5 - 6000 steps a day on a rolling week and in January averaged over 8000 a day for over some 3 weeks plus, romping around in the Antarctic.

Whatever, I have come to this Forum to see if anyone else has had a similar experience of being put on/recommended for a course for weight which is not really appropriate and has been affected by drugs raising their Blood Glucose.

I really wonder just how many so called pre-diabetics are finding the same thing.

Please do not get me wrong. When the dust settles, I may still be drifting towards diabetes, it killed my Granny in 1950 and my Dad was type 2 plus meds but it was prostate cancer that killed him when his bones gave out in 1997.

Happy days and I look forward to hearing about your experiences. My guess is that the NHS is may be unnecessarily making the figures look a lot worse than they really are and worrying a lot of people totally unnecessarily - it will be very interesting to see what you responses say.

I asked my doctor if I could reduce Atorvastatin from 4mg to 2mg, as my triglycerides are on the cusp of normal and it raising my glucose level is more important. She said no, because I am at risk of heart disease and stroke. My A1c is 57, stress and poor sleep responsible for some of it.

 

[bogwort47]

Hi Rosie

Thanks for sharing - clearly you are having a very difficult time.

Firstly, please could I clarify did you mean 40mg to 20mg?

I cannot presume upon your Dr's views. However, levels of knowledge of alternative meds and a willingness to change what may well be seen by your Dr as a controlled situation can come into their considerations.

Are you in the UK please and would you be prepared to share your BMI with the Forum and also any other meds?

I am currently trying to work out how best to approach sharing my own experiences to help others and would ask for your patience and keep an eye on this thread.

I am not a professional medic so I cannot advise you on these issues. However, before I saw my Consultant I had worked out what I wanted to achieve which was to get off Atorvastatin if I had enough 'head room' on my readings, and if not to explore the possibility of an alternative to managing my cholesterol. As it turned out he agreed, took bloods to baseline me, and made a note to check my levels in 6 mnths and if I needed help with my cholesterol levels again he proposed a new drug, Inclisiran ( 2 x injections a year), which works very differently apparently and appears not to suffer the Atorvastatin side effects.

If you can draw anything useful from my experience you are very welcome.