Lipitor and Blood SUgar??? - High Cholesterol Message Board

art3 · 03-29-2003, 10:46 PM

hi---
my dad has been on litpitor for a while and when he saw his dr a few days ago they said--"u have diabetees." what? his sugar is at 145 and I read that lipitor can raise sugar levels. the dr wont hear of it. what is going on here??????? Im hoping all of u can help with this...
thanks
art in houston

ARIZONA73 · 03-30-2003, 06:24 AM

Yes, Lipitor certainly can raise blood sugar in some individuals, sometimes significantly. Your dad's doctor should be aware of this. It would be rather unethical on the doctor's part to ignore this possibility. So, before the doctor begins treating your dad for elevated blood sugar, he should first rule out Lipitor as being the cause of it.

CobaltBlue · 03-30-2003, 07:09 AM

art3,

Just out of curiosity, where did you read that lipitor can raise blood sugar in some individuals? I have only run across reports that it does not impact control of blood sugar level at all.

Based on those reports, the physician is correct, if the fasting glucose level is >127 mg/dL, he is diabetic and needs to initiate some action. He could request to be off lipitor and have another fasting blood sugar, but based on what I have read and keeping all other factors the same, I would not expect the faster sugars to come back putting him in the non-diabetic range.

Having said that, if someone can provide me with a reference where lipitor has been shown to increase or impact glucose levels, I would appreciate it.

HeyThere · 04-04-2003, 08:05 AM

My mother is on Lipitor and her tryglcerides are extremely high. She is also on Aetenol for BP. Thanks for your research.

Clover0411 · 04-09-2003, 05:08 AM

art3 ---- the addition of as little as 100 mg of niacin will help lower and control the sugar -- and perhaps even decrease the amount of Lipitor needed to control the cholesterol.