[Ed B]

Hello all

I found this message board while Googling for diabetes discussion boards. It looks like a great community.

First a little history:

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 4 years ago. At the time we found out that my average blood glucose level was about 300 over the past 6 months. I pretty much knew intuitively that I had it before the doctor confirmed it, because of frequent urination and because of the ill feeling in my “core” when I tried to drink sugared drinks and any food/candy with high sugar levels. A couple of sips and I would pour out the drink or throw away the sugary foods.

My doctor prescribed the standard type 2 Diabetes starter kit with Actoplus and a statin drug - Lipitor in my case. I quit taking the Lipitor because of the muscle and joint pain it caused. After about 4 months I was able to get my fasting blood sugar levels down to a reasonable level and I didn’t have to take the Actoplus very often if I was careful with my diet.

To the issue:

This past August, my doctor switched me from Lipitor, which I wasn’t taking, to Crestor to help better manage my cholesterol levels. The blood tests that led to the change showed a very good a1c with a fasting blood glucose level at a reasonable 125ish that morning. I was controlling my sugar level with diet and had not taken Actoplus for several months because my numbers were good. My overall cholesterol was at 200 and my triglycerides were high. That being so my doctor had me try Crestor for a few weeks and told me to come back to be tested again.

I took Crestor for a few weeks as he directed and went back for another blood test. My cholesterol numbers were remarkably improved - went from an over-all of 200 to 130ish. I have never seen my cholesterol that low and I asked the nurse to double check, assuming that was my LDL level. Nope, that was my total cholesterol number so we were all happy. However, my fasting blood sugar level was higher - about 160 that morning.

Since then, my blood sugar levels are averaging about 30 to 40 points higher for similar testing intervals. Early this morning, I forgot to take the 10mg of Crestor as I usually do. I took the Crestor about 4 hours after eating my typical Saturday morning breakfast. I tested my blood sugar 30 minutes after taking Crestor and my blood sugar was 277. That is 4 1/2 hours after eating. I haven’t seen 277 in a few years, but this is also the first time I have checked my BS level within 30 minutes of taking this medicine.

I love the way Crestor is controlling my cholesterol. And I haven't found any mention of elevated blood glucose being a side-effect of Crestor. But it sure seems to be affecting me this way. I am taking the Actoplus again to help get the numbers down.

Have any of you heard of Crestor or any other statin drug causing an increase in blood sugar?


Thanks

Ed B

[xMenace]

No. Not at all.

Are you testing regularly or only when you see teh doctor? A 130 and 160 are plausibly the same given a possible 20% error rate in testing. Reconsider taking your meds.

[Ed B]

Thanks for the reply

I test at home and at the office occasionally. After first diagnosis I tested a couple of times a day. First thing in the morning and just before bed, but got lax when the numbers remained good and stable for several months.

Now I've gone back to testing more often at home and work in the past few months and the average for fasting levels are noticeably higher since I started Crestor. Another possible culprit could be how different meds work with and against each other. I started using Avodart around June (that had to happen!!) and I have been taking Quineretic (sp?) for high blood pressure for about 3 years.

Some symptoms have returned since starting Crestor, such as the frequent "productive" urination (in other words not prostate related) and intense thirst especially at night. I am getting that back under control as I've begun to tight up the diet and take the Actoplus again.

I certainly need to go ahead and talk to my doctor about this. It may not be Crestor. It may be that adding one more medicine - even a very beneficial one - has at least temporarily screwed my body chemistry again. Might be time to revisit all my meds and see if there are unexpected conflicts between them.

Cheers

Ed B

[pinkytricia]

Hang in there Ed...

[mosha]

I have been having a similar experience with Crestor. Just tonight I was at 110 before taking Crestor and 147 1 hour after taking it. I have been experiencing unusually high numbers since starting Crestor last week.

[kgm0612]

Over a year ago I was switched from Lipitor to Crestor. I take it before bed. I have not seen any fluctuation in blood sugar readings from it.

Karen

[Subby]

I suffered side effects from 3 or so months of Crestor. Increased urination, some back/kidney pain. Did not feel right at all. Kind of sluggish as per a hang over. I believe it may have caused higher insulin reqs but I will not swear on it.

Of course it's all circumstantial but I think I'm relatively good at working out what's causing what (as per lots of type 1s dealing with BGs!) and it was certainly a particluar set of symptoms on vs off.

I took Lipitor before with some success and returned to it, with no problems. I wonder if there is another choice for you to try, if you feel that Crestor is causing ill side effects.

[WillG]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 in Nov. 2008 and was placed on Metformin ER 500mg twice daily. Due to my cholesterol being extremely high (289) my Dr. wanted me to begin taking Crestor, but I refused because of the side-effects I read about. I opted to try diet and exercise first to reduce my cholesterol, but I decided to go ahead and try the Crestor when I found out my sister has been taking it for over a year. She too tried unsuccessfully to diet and exercise only to find out it was genetics and family history at play.

I began taking Crestor yesterday and did not check my BG until after working out, it was 140 before bedtime last night but usually at 87 to 120. When I woke this morning it was at 161, and jumped to 223 one hour after eating breakfast and taking my Metformin and Crestor. I immediately got on the treadmill and exercised for 45 mins. I checked my BG again and it had dropped to 132. My BG had been fairly stable and under control, the only difference in my routine is the Crestor. I will continue taking it and see if my BG will again stabilize and continue with more exercise to control my BG. I hope this info helps.

[WillG]

Checked my BG at 3:00pm and it was back up to 214 without eating anything since breakfast and my exercise session.

Called my Dr. and was unable to get hold of him, so I called my pharmacist. The pharmacist told me that this is a common interaction with my Metformin pills as Crestor alters certain liver functions to regulate cholesterol production. In doing so it some how prevents Metformin from working. I found much more information by Googling "Crestor Blood Sugar". Pharmacist advised me to discontinue Crestor until my Dr. can figure out what to do.

[Ed B]

All

Thanks for the replies. I am going to set up an appointment with my doctor as soon as possible and I will mention what I am seeing and what has been reported here.

WillG, thanks for sharing what your pharmists said about Cretor and Metformin. I am also on Metformin (Actoplus Met), so perhaps like you, those two medicines may be working against one another in my case.

For a little over a week, I have greatly reduced my carb intake, and my BG numbers are getting better. They still aren't as good as they were on average before I started Crestor, but they are much better.

[ShottleBop]

Controlling your blood sugar should take precedence over keeping your cholesterol down. Some interesting reading: The Great Cholesterol Con, by Miles Kendrick, and The Great Cholesterol Con, by Anthony Colpo.

[ShottleBop]

According to the "Diabetes Update" blog for November 10, 2008, data from a recent study showed that "[b]oth A1c and the incidence of diagnosed diabetes rose in the group taking Crestor."

[Janet Wilder]

Originally Posted by ShottleBop

According to the "Diabetes Update" blog for November 10, 2008, data from a recent study showed that "[b]oth A1c and the incidence of diagnosed diabetes rose in the group taking Crestor."

I think the study Diabetes Update is talking about is the JUPITER study that AstraZenica sponsored to study the effect of Crestor on a certain group of people with decent cholesterol but high inflamation. Crestor cut heart attack risk by 0.9% but diabetes risk rose by 0.6%. Apparently raised blood sugar is a known side effect for statin drugs. They cut the trial way short. You don't hear much about the blood sugar issue.

[matingara]

Originally Posted by Ed B

For a little over a week, I have greatly reduced my carb intake, and my BG numbers are getting better. They still aren't as good as they were on average before I started Crestor, but they are much better.

how many grams of carbs are you consuming (in the reduced state)?

my experience has shown that reduced carb intake significantly drives down cholesterol and triglyceride numbers.

in fact, my doc has begun to reduce my crestor and we may even stop it completely. these reductions in cholesterol and trig levels, in my case, are completely due to reduced carb intake.



-- Joel.

[Ed B]

Hello Joel

When I had the blood work done that showed the much improved cholesterol numbers, I had not yet cut way back on carbs. I was eating the same as I did before he had me try Crestor which included potatos and pastas fairly regularly. I got serious about reducing carbs in mid December when I was startled by some BG readings.

Originally Posted by matingara

how many grams of carbs are you consuming (in the reduced state)?


-- Joel.

I don't measure my carb intake close enough to be able to answer.

What I am currently doing to reduce carb intake is I don't eat any potatoes, rice, pasta, almost no bread (2 pieces of toast each Saturday morning), no corn, no packaged foods with a total carb content that is double digits or higher for the amount I will eat. In other words if a packaged item says 8 cabs per serving and there are 2 1/2 servings per package I aint eating it. If there are less than 10g carbs in the package I MIGHT consider it.

I eat green vegetables in place of obvious carbs, but I will eat a very modest amount of carrots in place of potatoes in stews or soups that I a make. I will also eat a modest piece or raw fruit some days becuase I believe they are a great source of vitamins. Yesterdat was half of a medium sized apple. Some days I might eat a small orange or tangerine. Today was half of a banana.

Today was a fairly typical food day for me.

I drank a protein shake for breakfast that has 1g total carbs. For lunch I have a small Caesar salad with about a tablespoon of dressing with a bowl of chili and a glass of water. For supper I had a Chicken Taco salad comprised of a lot of lettuce, some white-meat chicken, tablespoon of sour cream, tablespoon of guacamole, some picante sauce, some jalapeños, and grated cheddar cheese.

For snacks I ate half a banana. My BG was 107 at the time and I was very hungry. Plus I have been experiencing some odd almost constant twichiness in the very small muscle fibers mostly below my knees. It doesn't really hurt but it does become distracting. I thought the potassium in the banana might help a little. I also had a handful of peanuts roasted in the shell and unsalted. I drank at least a gallon of water throughout the day.

That's a fairly typical day for me right now, though most days that Taco Salad is replaced with something like a steak with green veggies; a hamburger patty covered with cooked onion with those same green veggies; or perhaps a couple of pieces of fried chicken if I have to eat fast food (the breading is the only other source of bread/flour that I eat ).

And yes, I am slowly losing weight and seeing much better BG numbers eating like this.

I go to the doctor in the morning for a diabetes check-up. I plan to let him know about the possible Crestor / elevated BG connection for me. I am not sure I want to get off of it just yet since my BG numbers are looking much better, but we shall see what the overall numbers look like and what he and I decide together after tomorrow.


All the best

Ed B