November 16, 2004
Hyperglycemia and DKA, Other
Question from Mohawk, New York, USA:
Seven months ago, I had gastric bypass surgery and stopped taking all medications. I had a root canal a couple of weeks ago and, since that time, have been really tired. I checked my blood sugar and it was over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L] again. Could this be due to the medication give at the time of the root canal? I just do not eat that much to set off my sugar and I have lost 80 pounds!
Answer:
It is good that you have lost the weight. However, how do you know you don’t need any medication at all to treat your diabetes? It may still be the case that you need to be treated. It just may be that what is required is a lower dose of the medication. Some surgeries can antagonize blood sugar values, but a root canal seems fairly minor to cause such a high sugar. I am concerned you still need to be treated. You may want to have your physician obtain an A1c to see what your average blood sugar has been over the last three months and see if there is evidence of chronic glucose elevation.
JTL
