- Messages
- 3,291
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
Metformin is cheap, but that's not why it's the first line option for T2 meds. It's the only oral med for T2 that doesn't have the risk of serious side effects like cancer and heart attacks, and other things. It's not meant to do "a lot" for HbA1c levels - it has several benefits, including reducing the liver dump that drives up fasting BGs.I think GPs dish out the M&Ms (Metformin & more Metformin) is they are a generic and cheap tablet to dispense. I had terrible GI effects and they did not a lot for my HbA1c levels. Metformin is therefore cheap as chips to the NHS compared to other meds. Doctors should spend 2 minutes explaining on the extra toilet rolls you will need and what to do in event of an "accident" lol.
And yes, doctors should be a LOT clearer about the possible side effects... we see many stories about diarrhoea and stomach pain on the forum, but that is a self-selected sample. The majority of met users don't get those effects. It's appalling though that when I read the side effect stories on here, the doctor didn't warn the patient, and didn't say call me if you get bad side effects and I will look at the other options. People are sent off with no info. It's unethical and poor practice.