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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Phentermine Cause Elevated A1C Levels In The Blood?

hello I am on the weight loss pill phentermine 37.5 have been for 4.5 months. I had labs done 3 weeks ago and now it shows higher A1c level I never have had a blood sugar problem.I also had changes to the liver.My question is can this be the results of this drug?
Mon, 10 Sep 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

Your A1c level and liver changes while on phentermine. It's always reasonable to suspect medications, especially when they are new, when we have some change in our health, and it is what I think about first as well.

In your case, however, phentermine has not been shown to cause any changes to blood sugar. In fact, if it were going to effect the blood sugar at all, I would guess it would lower it, since phentermine increases your metabolism and activity level.

So I would say phentermine is almost certainly not causing your elevated A1c. In the vast majority of cases a high A1c is related strongly to diet, and that would be the first thing I would look at. Phentermine also is not known to affect the liver.

If you have diabetes and are overweight, you may have a liver condition known as fatty liver disease, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This could be confirmed with an ultrasound.

I hope that gives you some things to think about and discuss with your doctor. Hopefully these problems can be quickly addressed with your doctor and you can continue to improve your health.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Aaron Branch
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Does Phentermine Cause Elevated A1C Levels In The Blood?

Hi, Your A1c level and liver changes while on phentermine. It s always reasonable to suspect medications, especially when they are new, when we have some change in our health, and it is what I think about first as well. In your case, however, phentermine has not been shown to cause any changes to blood sugar. In fact, if it were going to effect the blood sugar at all, I would guess it would lower it, since phentermine increases your metabolism and activity level. So I would say phentermine is almost certainly not causing your elevated A1c. In the vast majority of cases a high A1c is related strongly to diet, and that would be the first thing I would look at. Phentermine also is not known to affect the liver. If you have diabetes and are overweight, you may have a liver condition known as fatty liver disease, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This could be confirmed with an ultrasound. I hope that gives you some things to think about and discuss with your doctor. Hopefully these problems can be quickly addressed with your doctor and you can continue to improve your health. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Aaron Branch