Infection Can Raise Blood Glucose
| Author: Judy Kohn, RN, BSN, CDE |
| Last Updated: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 |
Q: "I am taking amoxicillin for an infection and my blood sugar readings have suddenly gone up a lot, 172 this morning and 202 this afternoon. Can the antibiotic cause false readings or raise blood sugar?"
A: You ask a very important and frequently asked question. Generally, antibiotics do not interfere with a glucose meter’s ability to accurately read the blood glucose. The FreeStyle® and Precision® monitoring systems are unaffected by common interferents, including antibiotics.
Instead, infection is a common cause of high glucose. Any type of illness, infection, stress (emotional or physical), surgery, dental problem, or injury will cause stress on your body. When this occurs, your body needs more energy to "fight" this stressor, so it releases hormones (they're called "counter-regulatory hormones") that tell the liver to release extra glucose to provide you with this energy. These hormones also inhibit the effect of insulin--which means you become somewhat insulin resistant. As a result, blood glucose rises; then it can become a vicious cycle because high glucose can delay healing. Depending on the extent of the infection, your blood glucose might be more difficult to control for awhile.
Treatment:
- If you are diet controlled and the glucose elevation is temporary, your doctor may just advise you to check your glucose more frequently and notify your diabetes team if the glucose reaches a certain level.
- If you take diabetes pills or insulin, your doctor may advise you to temporarily increase the dose.
- Regardless, it is very important that you contact your doctor to report the elevated glucose, as well as to learn about sick day rules.
- You should also have a plan for the future regarding when to call your doctor.
Related Questions
When to call the doctor
Q:
"I always read about target goals, but they don’t say when to call the
doctor. What is really too low or too high? Although I am often under 130
before meals, sometimes I’m not; yet I can’t imagine tha..."
Related Links
Joslin Diabetes Center
http://www.joslin.org
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
http://www.diabetes.org
Important Notice: The responses provided by the team of Diabetes Educators are based on their personal experiences and expertise as practicing diabetes healthcare professionals, and are not to be considered diabetes management advice from Abbott Laboratories. Remember that information provided by the team of Diabetes Educators is for general background purposes and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment by a trained professional. You should always consult your physician about any healthcare questions you may have, especially before trying a new medication, diet, fitness program, or approach to healthcare issues.
All tradenames and trademarks not owned by Abbott Laboratories are the property of their respective owners. For details on tradenames and trademarks and their respective owners, visit the non-Abbott trademarks listing.
