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Losartan and blood glucose..

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Posted 9/3/2011 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
I read something in another post about losartan elevating blood sugar levels. I've been on 50mg/day for about 2 months. I had some blood work (non-fasting) a few days ago and I got a call from the nurse telling me my BG was slightly elevated so they wanted me to go have a 4 hr torture test.

I've been hypoglycemic for years but I've never been high. I wasn't fasting and had eaten 1/2 of a peanut butter on whole wheat sandwich about 1.5 hrs before the blood was drawn. I haven't received the lab results yet so I don't know how "slightly elevated" I am. I was diagnosed with a sinus and ear infection while there so would that make a difference in my readings?

Could the losartan be the reason I am elevated? How much does it elevate the readings?

I've always dropped really low during a "torture test" and I feel lousy all day afterwards so I'd rather avoid it if I can.

Thanks!
Posted 9/3/2011 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
As with all medications the side effects one may experience and the level of those effects vary from person to person.

Does your doctor know that when you had that lab work done you were not fasting? If they don't, they may be assuming you were and that could be the cause of their concern. It would be advisable for you to make sure that they know you had eaten a short time before having the blood drawn.
Posted 9/3/2011 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Dagger, if the Losartan does not have hydrochlorothiazide (hctz), then I doubt it's the Losartan.  Hctz is added to several high blood pressure meds as a diuretic and for some reason it elevates blood sugar (as well as depletes potassium).  "Elevated" blood sugar means different numbers to doctors, nurses, labs, etc. and it's hard to say what it means in your case.  However, I find it interesting that the doctor would order a glucose tolerance test right away.  Normally, if there's a suspicion of elevated blood sugar, the doctor starts to "watch" your blood sugar tests first and may order a fasting test.  On the other hand, maybe the doctor is very pro-active about blood sugar levels and wants to find out immediately if you have problems metabolizing carbs (which is what the GTT will tell).  Good luck and keep us updated then.
Posted 9/3/2011 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't talked to my doc yet, the nurse called while I was working and I had to keep it brief. The results should be in my mailbox today so I can see what "slightly elevated" means.

I went in because I was sick. I hadn't had any lab tests in a while so he had his nurse take about a gallon of blood to check for everything I was behind on. While we didn't discuss fasting, it was 3 pm so I doubt they would assume I was fasting. I'll discuss this with him before I decide whether to go ahead with the test.

I'm just curious as to how much illness (with a mild fever) and losartan can affect the test results.
Posted 9/3/2011 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes when a body is stressed from illness, blood sugar may rise but I don't know how much it would rise.  It may depend on the person.  The Losartan by itself shouldn't affect the blood sugar (according to what I read online) but if it's got hctz that would do it.  The prescription bottle would say that. 

If the peanut butter has sugar in it, the half sandwich has a fair amount of carbs and if you can't metabolize carbs efficiently, then your blood sugar would be elevated even after 1 1/2 hours. 

So, the only thing you can do is see what the lab tests say.  If there is diabetes in your family, if you have elevated blood sugar on several lab tests, if you are overweight, then the doctor would (or should) be concerned about catching this early.  I'm sure waiting is frustrating!  mad

Posted 9/3/2011 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the information. I'm taking plain old losartan. My doc is usually pretty good but I never assume anything so I wanted to check.

I've been really hypoglycemic for over 20 years. I passed out and had a seizure the first time I had to prep for a colonoscopy -I've showed up for surgery with low blood sugar (42) after a clear liquid diet from noon on the day before- they had trouble maintaining my sugar after resection surgery and had to change the standard treatment.

The last 18 months have been extra stressful and I've just been eating whatever I felt like resulting in a 30 lb weight gain. I developed ileitis a few years ago; the GI doc was telling me to eat mostly simple carbs but I need low carb for the hypoglycemia. Dieticians and docs didn't help at all. Eat salad, don't eat salad, eat protein, don't eat protein. It seemed like I had to choose between comfortable digestion or overall health so I went with the comfortable digestion. I'm in the process of balancing it out better now, I will just have to experiment to see what works.

Either way it was a wake up call and I am making the changes I need to so I can get healthier.
Posted 9/3/2011 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes other illnesses complicate this (keeping blood sugar normal) as well as the meds prescribed, like prednisone.  That really drives blood sugar up and has lasting effects.  And stress, both physical and emotional.  I once had a pounding headache that nauseated me and after I threw up, my blood sugar was over 160.  I'm glad I don't have migraines!  So, you see that lots of things can affect us.  Oddly enough, having episodes of hypoglycemia is sometimes a precursor to diabetes later in life.  It's about how our bodies have problems regulating insulin output and usage as well as carb metabolism.  In any case, you can only wait for these results and take it from there.  Keep us updated.  It will be interesting to see what they mean by elevated.  eyes
Posted 9/3/2011 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
Just got the results in, and I'm a mess. Iron and D are in the basement and B12 is borderline. No wonder I am tired!

Anyway, the glucose is 104 (99 is cut-off for normal) so the description of "slightly elevated" is accurate. The note says that I need to fast for the lipid panel so I may as well have a 2 hr GTT since these readings are not normal for me and I'm fasting anyway. He's having me do the 2 hr because he thinks it will be easier on me than the 4 hr.

My doc is a bit more aggressive about my blood sugar because of the hypoglycemia, he checks me more often than the average patient my age.
Posted 9/4/2011 5:14 AM (GMT 0)
Good grief.  Why are your levels of iron, B-12 and D so low?  I have read that so many people have low D levels nowadays.  And low D levels seem to go with diabetics for some reason.  In any case, those are easy to bring up to normal levels.  104 about 1 1/2 hours after you ate that half sandwich is very good!  Well, let me say it's good for a diabetic or someone who's insulin resistant.  A nondiabetic would see levels under 100.  The glucose tolerance test is the one test that will absolutely show if you're not metabolizing carbs normally.  Depending on the outcome, he may say you should 'watch' your diet.  I really think doctors should be more aggressive in this.  Mine wasn't and my fasting glucose crept higher every year for several years until she ordered the tolerance test.  I could have been on top of this earlier so you're lucky that your doctor is having you do this.
Posted 6/14/2012 11:34 PM (GMT 0)
Dagger,

It was the "whole wheat" in your peanut butter sandwich that caused your blood sugar to spike.  The glycemic index for wheat flour is 72 --the glycemic index for white sugar is 59.  Whole wheat will cause a blood sugar spike within two hours of eating.

I am currently diabetic courtesy of the VA.  They checked my blood sugar in 2008 during a short hospital stay and said I was "pre-diabetic" -- blood sugar below 125.  They put me through a diabetes awareness program where the dietician stressed the Federal Govt. food pyramid and eating multiple servings of whole wheat.  I followed their advice and came down with type II diabetes within a year. 

In January 2012, I found the book "Wheat Belly - Lose the Wheat Lose the Weight" by William Davis, M.D.  It seems the modern Hybrid Dwarf Wheat we have all been eating since about 1985 has gluten that gives us a sugar high, then a sugar low (roller coaster ride) after eating it.  I started cutting the gluten and carbs in February.  My Blood sugar has dropped 20 pointa and I have lost over 2 inches of my wheat belly. You might want to get a copy of the book and/or CD at Amazon.

 

Posted 6/15/2012 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
Jess, this is quite an old thread.  Normally we encourage posters to start new ones rather than bring up old threads.  Low carb or "no white food but cauliflower" diets help lots of people control their blood sugar if they are insulin resistant or full-fledged diabetics.  Several books have been written on this, in fact. 

Gluten is a protein found in grains and I don't think gluten by itself is what affects blood sugar.  Eliminating grains means also eliminating gluten but I don't think it's the gluten that is the problem unless the person has celiac disease. 

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