What might be behind muscle pain with high blood sugar??
Ask the doctor
Q. Can high blood sugar cause muscle pain?
A. High blood sugar is not a direct cause of muscle pain.
The way to approach this is to consider the cause of your muscle pain, which might also be leading to abnormally high blood sugars if you have diabetes or prediabetes.
For example, if you are having muscle aches all over, you may have the flu or some other viral illness. Any infection will raise your blood sugar levels.
If your blood sugar levels are extremely high, it could cause dehydration and an imbalance of the electrolytes in your blood, both of which could make your muscles ache.
Today, one of the more common causes of diffuse muscle aches is the statin drugs used to lower blood cholesterol. Many people with diabetes take a statin. If you do, call your doctor's office for advice. Depending on your heart disease risk profilem your doctor may suggest temporarily stopping the statin, lowering the dose, or ordering a blood test (called a CPK, for creatine phosphokinase) to rule out the possibility that the statin is causing muscle damage.
If your pain is limited to your hip or thigh, you could have a rare disorder called diabetic amyotrophy. The pain of this disorder is quite severe. It feels different from usual muscle pain. It has a burning, shooting sensation.
Also, it is just as likely that your muscle pains are unrelated to your diabetes.
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About the Author
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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