SugarMD - Medications That Could Have Caused Your Diabetes! Wait What!!??

Short Summary

Main recommendation: If you are taking a medication that may raise blood sugar, check with your doctor about whether it can be stopped, lowered in dose, or shortened in duration, since the video says some drug-induced diabetes can become permanent if the drug continues. The video, presented by an endocrinologist, reviews several drug classes that can raise blood glucose or increase type 2 diabetes risk: corticosteroids, beta blockers, thiazide diuretics, statins, antipsychotics, and birth control pills.

Key Points

• Corticosteroids (used for inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, in creams, inhalers, pills, infusions, or injections) can raise blood glucose, sometimes returning to normal after treatment, but long-term use can cause irreversible type 2 diabetes.
• Beta blockers (such as atenolol, carvedilol, metoprolol), used for blood pressure, heart rate, angina, or heart disease, can impair insulin sensitivity and raise type 2 diabetes risk, especially long term.
• Thiazide diuretics (such as hydrochlorothiazide) can cause high blood sugar, along with low sodium, magnesium, and potassium; blood sugar may normalize after stopping but not always.
• Dr. Ergin cites a 2011 JAMA study linking higher-dose statins to higher diabetes risk, which led the FDA to add warnings in 2012 about blood glucose and memory problems.
• Dr. Ergin says antipsychotics can cause significant weight gain, which raises blood sugar, and lists thioridazine, clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, and quetiapine as higher-risk atypical antipsychotics for diabetes, with Abilify, Geodon, and Risperdal as lower risk.
• Birth control pills do not necessarily cause diabetes but increase insulin resistance, and can raise blood sugar in people who already have diabetes.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: Do not stop or change medication on your own; the video advises talking to your doctor about lowering the dose, shortening duration, or discontinuing the drug if possible.
• Concrete instructions: Monitor blood glucose and, for antipsychotics, weight closely; report significant changes to your doctor for dose adjustment or discontinuation.
• Concrete instructions: Follow a healthy diet and meet recommended exercise guidelines to manage blood sugar more effectively, especially if the condition worsens.
• Concrete instructions: If you already have diabetes and take high-dose steroids (such as those used for COPD or knee injections), you may need insulin during treatment; after the steroid course ends, you may be able to switch to a less potent prescription or stop blood glucose medication.
• The video notes that some drug-induced diabetes may go away on its own, but if the drug is not stopped soon enough, permanent diabetes may result.
• Steroid-related blood sugar rises may return to normal after therapy, but prolonged use can lead to irreversible type 2 diabetes.
• Dr. Ergin says statins work by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme needed to produce cholesterol, and that they were first introduced in 2003.

Bottom Line

Many common medications can affect blood sugar, so anyone on these drugs, especially long term, should track their glucose and discuss risks, dosing, and alternatives with their prescriber rather than assuming the medication is harmless.