Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
I have multiple
autoimmune
conditions, including
type 1 diabetes.
I've tried to maintain strict control of my diabetes with
HbA1c
results in the mid-upper 5's. The last couple of years however
my results have been below normal: 2.9, 3.0, 2.7, which doesn't equate with
my
blood glucose
levels. However, over this period I was diagnosed
with
dermatitis herpetiformis
and required to take the drug
Dapsone. My
question: are you aware of whether this drug could be altering my HbA1c
readings and giving false low values?
Answer
You are quite right; dapsone can lower A1c values, but it doesn't affect blood glucose levels.
Dapsone may cause
hemolysis
(decreasing red cell life span), causing decrease in A1c value, making it extremely difficult to use the A1c to monitor diabetes control.
I looked, but there's not much at PubMed
— only one article I could find, and it has no on-line abstract:
Interference of dapsone in HbA1c monitoring of a diabetic patient with polychondritis.
Perhaps your doctor may want to contact the drug's manufacturer for more information.
Your doctor may want to change drugs for DH, or perhaps start monitoring your diabetes with
fructosamine.
wwq
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