Are there any medications prescribed for other conditions that can improve or worsen my diabetes?

Yes, there are a number of medications used to treat other conditions that can affect your blood sugar con- trol. Most of these effects are small, but can be quite dramatic, such as the effect of certain types of steroid medications. Examples of various drugs and how they can affect your blood sugar are shown in Table 5.

Medication

Antiretroviral drugs (some) 

Antidepressants (some) 

Carvedilol

Estrogen 

Etanercept 

Losartan 

Niacin 

Octreotide 

Pentamidine

Pentoxifylline

Pseudoephedrine

Ramipril 

Steroids 

Thiazides

Use

HIV/AIDS 

Depression 

Blood pressure

BCP, menopause 

RA, SLE, psoriasis 

Blood pressure 

Cholesterol

Various 

Infection 

Arterial disease

Colds & allergies 

Blood pressure 

Inflammation 

Blood pressure