What’s Going on in the Diabetes & GLP-1 World

Diabetes and Alcohol Testing

In a Medscape article, “Can Diabetes Lead to a False-Positive Alcohol Test?,” Anne L. Peters, MD gives two cases of men who were falsely accused of intoxication. One was because they failed a breathalizer test after being in an accident and was subsequently put in jail. There, he was denied insulin for three days. This is her statement and advice for Type 1 diabetics:

…breathalyzer tests can be falsely positive in people with type 1 diabetes if they are ketotic; therefore, people with type 1 diabetes should ask for a blood test to test their alcohol levels if they think it could be a false-positive.

I am adding Type 2 diabetics too. It might not be a bad idea to ask for a blood test if failing a breathalyzer test. Especially if you have not been drinking and had not eaten in a very long time. I am not a medical professional or in law enforcement, but it is certainly your right to ask for a blood test. I sure would!

The second case Peters discusses is the urine tests people might be asked to take, whether at their job or for any other reason. She says:

…a man who was on probation, who was having urine tests to show that he had not been consuming alcohol. He was started on empagliflozin, which, interestingly, made his urine test become falsely positive.

Empagliflozin is Jardiance, an SGLT2 medication for diabetics. People with Type 2 diabetes might be put on Jardiance first as step therapy, an insurance requirement, to try first before being permitted to take a GLP-1 like Mounjaro or Ozempic.

Peters continues:

Why? Well, it’s thought it’s because it caused fermentation of the sugar with the bacteria that was in his urine because the people who were processing the sample hadn’t done it correctly, and they kept it out at room temperature for a prolonged period of time before testing it. The urine samples should be kept refrigerated to prevent this from happening.

These are two people who had false-positive tests because they had diabetes.

So, again, if you have diabetes, especially Type 1, if you ever come up against this issue with being alcohol tested, ask for a blood test instead of urine or a breathalizer.

Food Buying Habits Changing On GLP-1s

Apparently, we who are on GLP-1s are affecting the grocery world. I wrote about my own massive changes in spending and food choices back on March 8, 2024 in “My Food Spending Plummets on GLP-1s.” It’s fun watching the grocery industry catching on. While I am sure they’ve been watching for awhile, it’s being discussed out loud now and in the press.

The first to talk about this was Walmart Chief Executive, John Furner who spoke in October 2023, to Bloomberg, who wrote, “Ozempic Is Making People Buy Less Food, Walmart Says.”

“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” John Furner, the chief executive officer of Walmart’s sprawling US operation, said in an interview Wednesday. “Just less units, slightly less calories.”

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer is studying changes in sales patterns using anonymized data on shopper populations. It can look at the purchasing changes among people taking the drug and can also compare those habits to similar people who aren’t taking the shots.

Furner continues:

Their grocery bills were down by an average of 11%, yet they spent 27% more on lean proteins from lean meat, eggs and seafood. Other gainers were meal replacements (19%), healthy snacks (17%), whole fruits and vegetables (13%) and sports and energy drinks (7%).

Snacks and soda took the brunt of reduced spending by consumers after GLP-1 treatment: snacks and confectionary (-52%), prepared baked goods (-47%), soda/sugary beverages (-28%), alcoholic beverages (-17%) and processed food (-13%).

Ages ago, I wrote GLP-1 Food Ideas for Manufacturers (October 15, 2023) right when I really started digging into GLP-1s. I thought of several different ideas for the manufacturers to consider and voila! they are taking up some things I said. Not that they are reading anything I write, but great minds think alike?

I find it interesting the food companies are finally watching what we who are on GLP-1s are eating. I look forward to reading more statistics in the future.

Using a Compounding Pharmacy to Augment My Rx Mounjaro

During this GLP-1 shortage stuff, I have been able to augment my lower dose pens of Mounjaro with compounded tirzepatide. As I write this today (July 25, 2024), I am able to get my 15 mg. Mounjaro, so stopped my subscription to Mochi while am insurance supplied with my medication. For the past three months, I have only been able to get 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mg. pens. A fourth month, I switched to 2.5 Ozempic, but it was like a shot of placebo. It was the hardest month I have had on GLP-1s.

I wrote a post about my switching around my medications in GLP-1: From Prescription to Compounding and included a personal message to Eli Lilly that I am sure they couldn’t care less about.

Dear Eli Lilly,

Eli Lilly, this really is ridiculous. Do you realize how much money you are losing as we who have prescriptions are having to abandon your company and pay other practitioners for prescriptions? That you are dumping our money right into the laps of compounding pharmacists so they can create the medicine we NEED out of the molecular ether? While I’m sure insurance companies are dancing in the aisles about the shortages, not everyone has the luxury, and it is a painful luxury, to pay for compounded GLP-1s. And, of course, none of this even begins to cover trying to make sure our compounded medications are not tainted, improperly measured, or downright fake. If you had enough medication for those of us with insurance-bound prescriptions, we would all be safer. And you would be even richer. (We’ll talk about that another day.)

At least I had my say.

So, as far as augmenting my shots, if I was given 7.5 Mounjaro, I would supplement with 7.5 compounded tirzepatide. The compounded tirzepatide acts the same as Mounjaro with me. I wrote about how I know it works in this post, My Compounded GLP-1 Arrives.

I just hope I can keep getting my 15 mg. pens. I do have four vials of tirzepatide as back up if I need it. I hope I don’t.

Lights On During the Night Can Bring On Diabetes

This was new to me. In Medscape, a wonderful medical site, an article written by Christina Szalinski, Light at Night Tied to Diabetes Risk in Largest Study to Date, says:

“A study in The Lancet found that people who were exposed to the most light between 12:30 AM and 6 AM were 1.5 times more likely to develop diabetes than those who remained in darkness during that timeframe.”

The entire study is in the The Lancet link above. I did not use the actual study because Ms. Szalinski summarized it more concisely.

Because of this study, I have begun turning out all the lights in my room, except the permanently on Christmas lights, and not watching Friends or I Love Lucy as I sleep. Not sure if it helps anything, but it certainly can’t hurt.

So Much News, I Need a Podcast!

This is my first whisper that I am preparing to start a podcast. Only my kids know I am doing this and they are nudging me hard to get going. I’m almost ready to start recording. A bit nervous, but I’m a decent public speaker so it shouldn’t be so bad. I am going to post the podcasts here in my blog, but they will, of course, be sent out to the various podcast hosts as well.

Here’s the hardware mess on my desk that I’m organizing. Waiting for a couple of more things to be delivered. Should be fun!

It will be called The Power of GLP-1s.

Coming Soon!