I have AFib and am usually what I would consider a pre type diabetic. Some think there is no such thing either you are or your not.. But I do have less reaction to some things I eat than many others do. Still it can go really up at times and often its hard to know why. I agree about it being caused by heart medications. I never had it nor anyone in my family till I was put on statins for nearly 10 years at a pretty high dose. I was lucky in that a newer young doctor who came to our area for a bit pointed it out that my numbers were running higher than it should and that I should start learning what to do about it. He gave me several web sites to check out and I quickly based me plans on exercise and diet. So far its been nearly 8 years since and I have still had lower numbers normally than what I had seen at the beginning.. So when a few months ago I had a some readings that hit nearly 100 points over my normal range for the same meals I started to check some medications I had recently had added for my heart. I found not on the list from the drug store but on the net some reports that one of them had been reported to cause spikes in glucose in diabetics. My cardio said he never heard of that. But I quit taking it and the number came back down. Since he has insisted I try it again to see if the same results happen. Its only been a few days since I started it again so I am not sure what its doing yet. But I think there is way more issues with many of the drugs today than one would normally think acceptable.

Larry

Thanks so much for sharing, Larry! I have been taking metoprolol for AFib since 2010. March of this year (2013) I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I read the pharmacy insert for metoprolol, which says: "this drug may cause blood sugar to go out of control". I got off of it, but now that I'm back in AFib, my Cardiologist put me back on it at double the dose. Since then my blood sugar has gone up. I am scheduled for another cardioversion next week, and then to be put on another betablocker, which will also make blood sugar spike. VERY discouraging!! I feel that if I could get out of AFib and off ALL meds, I could get rid of diabetes altogether, but of course, I am dreaming, as AFib is insidious. I wish you well. Thanks again for sharing. Dolores

Hi Delores and Larry: I also have heard that some of the older rate drugs (beta blockers) can cause blood sugar to go up. My last two fasting glucose tests were over 100-107 but below 125 and my doctor advised me that he thinks I may be pre-diabetic. I am also on a beta blocker. I am due for bloodwork again and have been working hard at diet and exercise to see if anything improves. I have done some research and read somewhere online that newer rate control drugs like Bystolic do not cause weight gain or elevated blood sugar levels like some of the older beta blocker/rate medications. I might ask my doctor about this and see if I might try it.

Hello, C Lane!
Thanks for your input. I hope you are able to avoid diabetes, as this complicates everything. There's always hope that a new medicine without bad side effects is on the horizon. In 2009, I had viral cardiomyopathy ( what country singer Randy Travis had). It led to congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and A Fib. At one point, I was told I may need a heart transplant. Thankfully, my heart went back to normal rhythm after a cardioversion. In August, 2010, our house caught fire. I went into instant A Fib. Amiodarone did the trick -( BAD side effects though) . No A fib until this past summer, when a sinus infection and chronic, severe, cough, put me back in A fib. Because of past heart problems, I am severely limited in what I can take. My cardiologist is also an A fib patient. I wish you well. Dolores