Dyazide

[Windbreaker]

I just read that the blood pressure medicine Dyazide can cause high blood sugar readings.  Does any one know how much higher than a normal reading?  I take it in a healthy dose and have high blood sugar.  I have never had a doctor mention this.  I read about it on the Joslin Website.  In other words, if my morning reading is 125 and without dyazide it would be 105, then that is significant.  If eliminating dyazide would only lower the reading a point or two, then it is not significant.  I know it probably affects different people in different ways, but is there some guildline or rule of thumb?  My pharmacist doesn't know the answer?  Thanks,  Jerry

[JDRF-Team-wak]

I am not a pharmacist or a physician, but the mom of a type 1 and the daughter of a type 2 diabetic..
Whenever my daughter takes a medication we call the manufacturer of the medication and asked 2 very important questions.  The first is how many carbohydrates are in the medication, and the second is have they done research and know how it effects the blood sugar in diabetics.  You would be surprised at how many carbohydrates are in medications. At one point when my daughter was having an asthma attack we were giving her 20 carbohydrates that we were not covering with insulin so her blood sugars were running high.  Almost all the drug companies that I have called were able to give me this information.  Your local pharmacy should be able to give you the phone numbers for the drug company that you are using.
I suggest contacting the manufacturer of your particular medication.  
Hope this helps.

[Christie2004]

I'm curious--what does your doctor say about all these issues?

  That would be the place I would start to get the best information that would be specific to YOU, and would take into account all your medical history.

It seems as though you are looking for some specific guidance as to your medical plan of care.  No one on the internet can provide such guidance.  

If you haven't already, write down all your questions and make an appointment to discuss them all with your personal physician.  Don't leave until you have your answers and are satisfied.

Good luck!

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

As Christy said, we're not physicians here & you've asked an important question for your own physician.  We're diabetics and/or folks who care for diabetics.

From the little I know about Dyazide, it's a diuretic that limits the loss of potassium.  Other diuretics can cause a loss of potassium so this formulation is intended to keep a good potassium balance.  Because mineral balances are so important & so delicate, folks taking dyazide must have periodic blood tests to make sure potassium levels are not too HIGH.  Another good reason to check in with your doctor.  Thus, there are issues with potassium being too low OR too high.

Just with age and effects of long-term diabetes, our BP can creep up over time.  It's great that you're monitoring your BP at home, too.  As you know many things can affect BP in the short term (stress, foods, alchohol, exercise) so it's our overall pattern of BP that our docs are trying to stabilize.

Good luck.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Jerry,
So sorry, I read your msg too quickly & thought your BP was elevated, not your BG.

Some bp meds do include in their side-effects/precautions info about blood sugar effects, even if there're no carbs in the formulation.  I was on a calcium channel blocker and once I got the BP dose right, I needed about 20% more basal insulin (I use a pump).

Because that med wasn't working as well as we'd hoped, I'm switching meds.  If it had worked, I would simply have kept my higher insulin dose to keep my blood sugars where I want them.  If you're not on insulin, it's tougher to make small adjustments.  If your BG was consistently about 105 every morning before starting the meds and now its consistently 125, you're also seeing about 20% increase.

Hope this comment was helpful ...