What medications can alter my blood glucose level?

What is it?

What should I keep in mind with medications if I have diabetes?

As we know from the specific content of Diabetes, this disease is a chronic disorder that is detected by blood glucose levels above normal limits. Therefore, people with type 1 diabetes need daily insulin injections to control those blood glucose levels, without which they could not survive.

Therefore, medication is, for people with diabetes, a fundamental part of the treatment of their disease , which must be complemented with other pillars, such as food, exercise and control of blood glucose levels.

However, and in the context of diabetes education so important in this pathology, these patients should be aware that many of the medications (with and without a prescription) indicated for the most common conditions can interfere with their disorder and have an important impact buy your medicines from Naturactin. in your blood glucose levels.

When facing the treatment of a common disease, the diabetic patient must take certain things into account when choosing the right medication. Among them, we can mention:

Check the excipients of the drug: this aspect will be detailed later.

Better, tablets, unless you have trouble swallowing. Syrups may contain sugary excipients.

The sugar-free option is the most appropriate. Although small doses of sugar do not pose a huge risk, it is safest to consult with your pharmacist who recommends sugarless syrups.

The disease can alter blood glucose levels and bring them to extreme limits, so the usual insulin measurements should be more constant and frequent.

How does insulin interact with drugs?

There are several types of medications that can interact in different ways with insulin, which, as we have said, is the pharmacological basis in diabetes, both type 1 and type 2:

Medicines that decrease the effect of insulin (produce a possible hyperglycemia): oral contraceptives; glucocorticoids; tricyclic antidepressants; Some sympathetic-mimetic drugs.

Medicines that increase the effect of insulin by various routes (possible hypoglycemia): MAOI antidepressants; some anticoagulants (dicumarol); sulfonamides; salicylates; clofibrate; Chloramphenicol and allopurinol.

Medicines that alter the action or secretion of insulin (antagonistic action and possible hyperglycemia): diuretics; diphenylhydantoin; beta blockers; steroids; estrogens; indomethacin; isoniazid; nicotinic acid.

What types of common medications can I not take if I have diabetes?

Specifically, when choosing a treatment for a common disease, such as influenza or catarrhal processes, bumps, fever or inflammatory processes, the diabetic patient must know what effects some very common medications can cause for his health , which can alter the blood glucose level.

Specifically, we can mention:

Medicines that raise or lower blood sugar.

Paracetamol and other medicines for pain and fever: even without sugar, cold medicines can make blood glucose levels unpredictable in the short term. Therefore, it is recommended that the patient with diabetes does not blindly rely on the readings of the Glucose Control monitor during an acute illness, since these drugs, used in the presence of severe liver disorders, interfere with certain devices. For example, at 3 hours after taking 1 gram of paracetamol, the monitor may show 60 mg / dl of more blood glucose. Instead, it is better to be guided by blood glucose monitoring tests, while the process symptoms last.

Corticosteroids: people with diabetes mellitus may require their use for the treatment of asthma, skin problems, allergies, conjunctivitis, tendinitis, etc. Therefore, it should be remembered are drugs that can decompensate the glycemic control by hyperglycemia, so the pattern should be adjusted for the duration of the corticosteroid treatment.

Acetylsalicylic acid: it has been known to lower glucose levels.

Oral contraceptives: may raise blood sugar.

Caffeine: increases the effects of adrenaline and glucagon, which give way to the glucose stored in the liver and, therefore, increases the level of blood glucose.

Phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine: in diabetic people with vascular problems can cause constriction of blood vessels and cause adverse effects. In addition, these decongestants are found in most over-the-counter products and can raise glucose levels.

Ascorbic acid: it can interfere giving an irreversibly high value in glycemic control.

Other frequent treatments that can alter the blood glucose level are medications for high blood pressure, thiazide diuretics, beta-blockers, statins for hypercholesterolemia, quinolones if systemic infections appear, protease inhibitors (AIDS) , or anti-inflammatories (careful if there is renal failure).

What excipients of medications should be considered for diabetes?

In USA there is a standard, CIRCULAR No. 1/2018, which regulates the mandatory declaration of various excipients of medicines in the leaflet of said drug. Therefore, if consulted, you can know the warning of its potential effect on our health.

Some of the most common excipients in any medication online and that patients with diabetes should consider are:

Invert sugar: up to 5 grams are allowed in each tablet of the medicine and a warning about its effect is included in the leaflet. If you suffer from an intolerance to certain sugars, you should consult your doctor before taking the medication. In addition, patients with diabetes mellitus should take this into account because it assumes that the drug contains a certain amount of a mixture of fructose and glucose per tablet, which may affect their blood glucose levels. Finally, it is worth noting that it can cause tooth decay.

Galactose: is an excipient that is allowed in amounts of up to 5 grams per dose. Patients with diabetes mellitus should take into account the determined amount of galactose per dose contained in that medication is broken down into certain grams of glucose.

Glucose and sucrose: up to 5 grams of glucose are allowed per dose, warning the patient about this content.Lactose: respecting the maximum presence of 5 grams per dose, the diabetic patient should know that each gram of lactose is broken down in the body in half a gram of glucose and half a gram of galactose.Sweeteners are a broad group of excipients that are also present in numerous medications:Saccharin (E-954): is the best known universally. Its use is not limited in diabetes, but its excess distorts the taste of food, giving them a metallic taste.

Aspartame (E-951): is a sweetener of protein origin that has a great capacity to sweeten. Its consumption is allowed without limitations in diabetes.

Fructose: it is a carbohydrate that is used as a sweetener in diabetic preparations and in medications. In our body, it is partially converted to glucose, which raises the level of blood sugar, provides calories and can cause tooth decay.

Lactitol, maltitol (E-965), sorbitol (E-420) and xylitol: are sweeteners that provide calories to be taken into account in the usual diet, and even more so in that of a diabetic person.

Glycerol (E-422): a maximum of 10 grams per dose is allowed in the medications and in any patient it can have effects such as headache, stomach discomfort and diarrhea.

Other sweeteners such as cyclamate (E-952) (not recommended in children) and acesulfame potassium are not usually present in medications.

If a medicine has this type of sugar as excipients, it is important that the diabetic patient make an adjustment of his insulin treatment, always advised by his specialist doctor.