General Medicine , Diabetes , Thyroid How can I control my thyroid and diabetes? By managing insulin resistance with medications, diet, and exercise, you may be able to avoid diabetes as well as complications of thyroid disease. By managing hyperthyroidism with medications, diet, and exercise, you may also reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. Does thyroid medicine affect diabetes? Possible Blood Sugar Responses. In various patient discussion groups, astute individuals who monitor their blood sugar have reported that blood sugar levels often rise 10-20 points after starting the thyroid med.