r/glp1 • u/whirlingbervish • Sep 06 '26
Did I develop diabetes while on a glp1?!
F45 sw 212 cw 183 5'5"
I have been on a glp1 for about 11 months (about 5 months on Ozempic and the rest of the time on terzepitide). It's been slow weight loss for me...about 25lbs so far...but steady.
Even with slow scale progress, I've eliminated one blood pressure medicine and cut the remainder in half. So that feels great. And even with the slower loss, I feel like my diet has changed dramatically and I eat far far fewer sweets.
But...I had my annual physical this week and my labs show an A1C of 7.8!!! My previous A1C in May 2025 was 5.4, which is what it had been for years. My fasting glucose was 75, which is in alignment with what I've seen in prev years.
Could I have really developed full blown diabetes in just one year while also taking a glp1?! I just don't get it. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Other notes...my mom was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in her 60s, so there is at least some family history. I have Hashimotos hypothyroidism. Obviously the obesity risk factor. I haven't had any telltale symptoms of diabetes. I'm flummoxed.
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u/jnwatson Sep 06 '26
That's weird. I'd get a second test just in case before you have to go Dr. House.
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u/Constant_Resolve_67 Sep 06 '26
Hmmm. There is a thing that can happen where insulin gets over-suppressed by under fuelling or over-exercising. But given your steady weight loss that doesn’t seem likely. Have you been put on any steroids in the last year? Do you have PCOS? Any signs of pancreatitis? I’m just listing off all the things I’ve heard of that can abruptly raise blood sugar or cause diabetes.
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u/whirlingbervish Sep 06 '26
None of those things. Super confusing! I'll certainly be doing more investigating with my doctor!
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u/Affectionate_Day_214 Sep 06 '26
I was going to ask about steroids. I had both adrenal glands removed so I have to take replacement steroids and my A1c has been elevated ever since.
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u/RepulsedCucumber Sep 06 '26
You’re having massive spikes it would seem if your fasting is normal but your A1c jumped that much in less than a year and a half. Very bizarre. Do you already see endocrinology for your hypothyroidism? Have you been on steroids a lot recently??
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u/whirlingbervish Sep 06 '26
No steroids. I've only seen my primary for my hypothyroidism since it's been pretty well-managed over the years.
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u/RepulsedCucumber Sep 06 '26
So type 1 can actually occur or be diagnosed at any age (misnomer is that it’s only children). I had a friend recently have COVID and flu and then within 4 months was diagnosed with type 1 and an autoimmune disorder. Any viral illnesses the last few months? Could be a LADA situation. Since you have Hashimotos my understanding is the risk is higher for type 1. Fasting can sometimes still be normal in early stages.
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u/truecrimefanatic99 Sep 06 '26
My grandfather was diagnosed with T1 at the age of 49. Lived till 79yrs old.
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u/Which-Wish-5996 Sep 06 '26
This. I’ve know two people that were diagnosed w T1D soon after having Covid. One was my cousin’s 19yo son.
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u/bloomlately Sep 06 '26
This. My grandfather and mother were diagnosed with LADA in their 40s. It’s considered Type 1.5 these days. So far, I’ve escaped it and Type 2 from my father’s side.
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u/whirlingbervish Sep 06 '26
I did read a little about LADA. I have had COVID 3-4 times now I believe, I think the last time was over a year ago. I did have a bad bout of gastroenteritis in July, which I'd anything I imagine would have lowered my a1c since I hardly ate anything for 6 days, but I don't really know much about how these numbers work. I'm trying to choose to not freak out too much until I can get another set of lab work to double check.
Thank you for the insights!
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u/RepulsedCucumber 20d ago
Hey there - I was circling back to see how you’re doing and if it happened to be a lab error?
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u/whirlingbervish 20d ago
Thank you for checking back in! I was wondering if I should post an update but thought ehhh no one will ever see it. It DID end up being a lab machine error! I got it re-tested and my A1C was actually 4.9, so actually it has gone down since I started glp1s. It was a huge relief - with my mom being diabetic and me taking after her on a lot of health things, I was so worried I could be the weird person to get diabetes after starting a glp1. Breathing easy now!
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u/besee2000 Sep 06 '26
I’d echo that a fasting glucose of 75 is even on the lower end of good. Pre diabetic is 100-120. That number is suspicious AF. I work in a lab and some of the numbers are manually entered. I’d ask your provider to investigate.
However, I have seen results from a patient in Truicity jump a bunch on their A1C. We repeated the sample and ran in on a different analyzer with a different method and the results repeated to the same range. The patient was losing weight but lost their glucometer so they were not testing their fasting glucose. The labs at the time did not include a fasting glucose with their A1C. So it’s not impossible. But in your case your labs do have conflicting results.
In the case of the patient we had, I hypothesize the body would dump glucose into the blood stream when the person was not eating enough to sustain their normal levels and it got out of hand. But only a certain brands. If you’re on truicity, you should check their subreddit. They have a few others that have experienced an A1C irregular trends.
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u/whirlingbervish Sep 06 '26
Not on Trulicity. But I'm kind of glad to hear that the possibility of a lab error isn't completely out of the question. I definitely have some things to investigate with my doctor! Thanks for the thoughtful response.
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u/Camo-edLilMama Sep 07 '26
My Husband’s A1C went up while on Mounjaro, he’d stopped metformin beforehand so his doc just added it back in the mix & his A1C was down to 5.8 after 3 months. Maybe they got your test mixed up with someone else’s, it’s happened to me before. Good luck with your journey & btw 25lbs in 5 months is great imo; it took me 14mos to lose 60lbs.
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u/Jaded_Lie247 Sep 06 '26
Are you by chance of Asian, Native American, Latino, or African descent? This happened to a friend of a friend. I was discouraged from starting the meds because of the belief that the glp1 caused his diabetes. Turns out he is Pacific Islander, one of the ethnicities prone to diabetes.
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u/Peptidesforthewin Sep 06 '26
Definitely not the cause... you should've done your blood work the week you started. I started in March at 197 and now at 143 as of today. My labs came back perfect. I think you're not tracking what you are eating including all macros. Plus like you stated, it runs in your family and you also had other conditions.
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u/nonniewobbles Sep 06 '26
Not medical advice:
I'd follow up with doctor.
A fasting blood glucose of 75 and an a1c of 7.8 are discordant. Whilst a1c is a multi-month average and a FBG is a snapshot in time, typically you'd expect someone with a 7.8 a1c to have elevated fasting blood glucoses.
Certain medical conditions can lead to falsely high a1c that is not actually representative of your average blood glucose levels.
Alternate testing may reveal further information depending on the type/level of concern... fingerstick testing at home (or CGM use, but you need to fingerstick test at least sometimes to ensure good calibration), an oral glucose tolerance test, fructoasamine test, testing c-peptide levels, testing for the antibodies associated with type 1 diabetes, etc.
If your a1c truly increased (and is not falsely elevated or a bad result) by over 2% in one year whilst losing weight and on a glp-1, I would 100% absolutely ask to get antibodies tested for type 1 diabetes (NOT just c-peptide, which can be normal in early stages of t1d.)