Can You Just Stop Taking Metformin?

[Lorraine Cannell]

A simple question can you just stop taking Metformin or should you reduce it slowly.

A friend of mine, no its not me, has recently been diagnosed Type 2, (219 mg/dl 12.2 mmol/L) and was stuck straight onto Metfornin with very little guidance. He has been taking it for the last 4 weeks, but in that time has been doing some research and decided to following Micheal Mosley's 'The 8 week Blood Sugar Diet' with great results. So he would like to stop the Metformin and control his diabetes through Diet and exercise. Any help or advice gratefully received. I have now but him onto this forum.

I was given Metformin nearly 10 years ago and was suffering stomach cramps for 8 years before my GP investigated. I was originally given 1 tablet twice a day and then suddenly changed to 2 tablets twice a day as the Diabetes Nurse felt everyone should take this quantity. The stomach cramps got worse and so did pain in my feet and legs. It has taken all this time to find out the cause. The stomach cramps were caused when the Metformin released itself inside my body so finally my new GP said "We can prescribe you these drugs but you don't have to swallow them. So I stopped immediately an have for the past two years controlled my sugars with diet alone and if I get indigestion with anything I have eaten then I don't rely on tablets for that I have Green peppermint tea and relief in 20 minutes. However remember that too much sugar will build up on your liver so a daily dose of lemon juice in water first thing will keep that clear as well as green tea. A fatty liver can make you very ill so address that. I have only just discovered that the statins that had been given to me in a manor of "You will have to take these now!" were causing pain in my legs and feet so have stopped them immediately too and feel so much better. I sought advice from the Pharmacist on those. They take 14 hours to get out of your system but maybe a year to improve the damage they cause some people. Follow the low carb diet available through Diabetes UK change over to high fat low carb diet with their advice but remember to have the good fats which will be lower in sugar than the low fat products and some will help lower your bad cholesterol too. Study the diet in great deal and you will be better in the long run. My last two visits to the diabetes Nurse has been great and she congratulated me on better control and a lower HbA1C. My meds are down to the bare minimum now and I feel so much better and not having so many side effects. I love the natural way. Tell your friend "Good Luck and Go for it!"

 

[Freema]

After getting my numbers down in a normal range and having an Hb1Ac of 34-35 for almost a year my GP wanted me off of metformin , and I just stopped now and it seems my numbers are almost as low as when I was on 2 x 850mg metformin Daily .... But the next blood test will show more clearly . I also wanted to stop it because I am on levothyroxine as my thyroid gland is killed and my GP halved my dose , and metformin is know to tamper with the TSH hormon so it looks like ones metabolism is much higher than it actually is , and as I am gaining weight rapidly I guess my metabolism is not as High as she Think it is , so hopefully it will show at next blood sample so she dont keep pusling my metabolism lower and lower by lowering the levothyroxin , so we are all reacting differently to metformin some get very bad sideeffects others dont , I did feel no problem when just stopping from one day to the other

 

[ringi]

Remember that Metformin helps you lose weight and fat. We all know that losing the fat from the liver is required to get control of BG. Therefore I personly think that anyone who can take Metformin without the side effects should do so until there BG have been in the normal range for a long time. Even a small dose can have a large benefit, halving the dose does not half the benefit.

 

[membrew]

Remember that Metformin helps you lose weight and fat. We all know that losing the fat from the liver is required to get control of BG. Therefore I personly think that anyone who can take Metformin without the side effects should do so until there BG have been in the normal range for a long time. Even a small dose can have a large benefit, halving the dose does not half the benefit.

Hello Ringi. I find your post interesting regarding the thyroid. I take 100mg thyroxin daily for underactive thyroid. Also I am taking 500mg x two metformin twice daily. For a few months now I have had itching around the thyroid area and a friend suiggested I should attend the Doctors because it could be metformin causing a problem.What caused you to discover the connection please?

 

[membrew]

Remember that Metformin helps you lose weight and fat. We all know that losing the fat from the liver is required to get control of BG. Therefore I personly think that anyone who can take Metformin without the side effects should do so until there BG have been in the normal range for a long time. Even a small dose can have a large benefit, halving the dose does not half the benefit.

Sorry Ringi, I should have sent the replyto Freema.

 

[membrew]

After getting my numbers down in a normal range and having an Hb1Ac of 34-35 for almost a year my GP wanted me off of metformin , and I just stopped now and it seems my numbers are almost as low as when I was on 2 x 850mg metformin Daily .... But the next blood test will show more clearly . I also wanted to stop it because I am on levothyroxine as my thyroid gland is killed and my GP halved my dose , and metformin is know to tamper with the TSH hormon so it looks like ones metabolism is much higher than it actually is , and as I am gaining weight rapidly I guess my metabolism is not as High as she Think it is , so hopefully it will show at next blood sample so she dont keep pusling my metabolism lower and lower by lowering the levothyroxin , so we are all reacting differently to metformin some get very bad sideeffects others dont , I did feel no problem when just stopping from one day to the other

Hello Freema
I find your post interesting regarding the thyroid. I take 100mg thyroxin daily for underactive thyroid. Also I am taking 500mg x two metformin twice daily. For a few months now I have had itching around the thyroid area and a friend suiggested I should attend the Doctors because it could be metformin causing a problem.What caused you to discover the connection please?

Information or adviced from all would be welcome.

 

[Freema]

Hello Freema
I find your post interesting regarding the thyroid. I take 100mg thyroxin daily for underactive thyroid. Also I am taking 500mg x two metformin twice daily. For a few months now I have had itching around the thyroid area and a friend suiggested I should attend the Doctors because it could be metformin causing a problem.What caused you to discover the connection please?

Information or adviced from all would be welcome.

I just fell over it when reading some scientific articles of thyroid hormon and metformin...most GP´s turn their deaf ear to what information the patient come with... sadly mine seemed to do that too.. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/9/1589
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/832394

 

[Jo123]

Personally I stopped 1x500mg Metformin SR immediately after an endoscopy that showed it was giving me bleeding gastritis - the only effect was my gastritis pain stopped and my iron levels recovered with injections

That said, if I could tolerate metformin I would probably take it - not just for the BG benefits but because it shows benefits as an anti-cancer and anti-CVD treatment. There is a whole raft of metformin research currently ongoing in many areas of metabolic medicine, so for the people who can tolerate it (as opposed to the rest of us who have all sorts of GI issues from it), they're probably the lucky ones.

Blimey indy, that was a bad reaction to metformin!

I totally agree with you about taking metformin, the benefits seem good if you can tolerate it. As I'm not even prediabetic now, and was only prediabetic for one blood test I've never been on it.

 

[BaliRob]

AND - how many of you been told that Metformin is CONTRAINDICATED for those with heart problems
and especially Congestive Heart Disease (CHF) ?? I have been off Metformin for 3 months now and find that I am clearer of mind and thought and, in general, have a sense of well being which I had not experienced for many many years notwithstanding I am seriously affected by Diabetic Neuropathy..

This change in me was not so profound as when I came off STATINS and became a new man at night having
quickly lost all the aches and pains that go with that evil drug.

Furthermore, but for the FDA, I would be dead by now if I had not come off Quinine Sulphate (8 years continuous use 2 x 500mg for wicked nocturnal leg cramps) - that Authority having proved conclusively that 90 sufferers had died as a result of continuous long-term use. I got away with Stage 4 Kidney Disease as a result - lucky me.

My message to you all is to carefully Google ALL OF THE DRUGS THAT YOU ARE PRESCRIBED - take nothing for granted - remember that doctors have a FIXED MINDSET ABOUT EVERYTHING.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Remember that Metformin helps you lose weight and fat. We all know that losing the fat from the liver is required to get control of BG. Therefore I personly think that anyone who can take Metformin without the side effects should do so until there BG have been in the normal range for a long time. Even a small dose can have a large benefit, halving the dose does not half the benefit.

Just what my doctor said a small dose is better than none at all . I can only manage one 500gm tablet of SR metformin a day any more than that and my appetite goes completely

 

[ringi]

I think a lot of doctors put people on too high a dose of Matformin, that results in them taking none.

 

[Lynnzhealth]

Way to go, everybody.

 

[finsit]

You should follow the standard advice to consult your medical bods first.....

However, I stopped taking Metformin (3x500mg) after my first 3 month test, when it had dropped from 88 to 32.

I stopped it all in one go, and had no effects but without telling my GP.

I did cancel the repeat prescription, so someone should have noticed.

My HbA1c has since fallen to 22.

My DN thought that my 22 result was too low, and suggested I reduce my Metformin dose, and was surprised when I told her I hadn't been taking any for 9 months.


As for your friend.

If I was being asked the same question as you, I would advise (other than consult your GP) to wait until you have seen a significant improvement in your BG before taking the step to try and rely on Diet alone. The cost of failure is too great.

Impressive stats. Would you mind telling your weekly food/exercise routine as a guideline please? I know every body is different but just a generic guidance to see how can someone get his a1c below 30 which is absolutely amazing and very well with the normal ranges Dr. Bernstein suggests 4.2-4.6%