Giving it a go with no metformin

Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I wonder if anyone else has given this a try?

I was diagnosed type 2 in July and have been taking 500mg 3 times a day.
I have just had a hba1c result of 35.
I have lost 2lbs in wt every week since diagnosis and now weigh only 9st 9lb.
So I'm going to try a few days / weeks with no Metformin to see how it effects my bg readings and weight loss.
I think my good hba1c result may be due to my low carb diet - we shall see!
 
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bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I wonder if anyone else has given this a try?

I was diagnosed type 2 in July and have been taking 500mg 3 times a day.
I have just had a hba1c result of 35.
I have lost 2lbs in wt every week since diagnosis and now weigh only 9st 9lb.
So I'm going to try a few days / weeks with no Metformin to see how it effects my bg readings and weight loss.
I think my good hba1c result may be due to my low carb diet - we shall see!

Highly likely.. I stuck out metformin for 3 weeks before binning it. Since then diet only with a bit of fasting. You are starting from a great place with a 35 HbA1c
 

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
15,808
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I wonder if anyone else has given this a try?

I was diagnosed type 2 in July and have been taking 500mg 3 times a day.
I have just had a hba1c result of 35.
I have lost 2lbs in wt every week since diagnosis and now weigh only 9st 9lb.
So I'm going to try a few days / weeks with no Metformin to see how it effects my bg readings and weight loss.
I think my good hba1c result may be due to my low carb diet - we shall see!

Oh that’s a quick change of mind, only yesterday you were saying you were happy to continue on Metformin. What made you reconsider?
 

Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Oh that’s a quick change of mind, only yesterday you were saying you were happy to continue on Metformin. What made you reconsider?
yes - It made me think - I realised that perhaps I have some side effects. Also after the discussion I wondered to what extent the Metformin was having on my bg levels. So the only way to know is give it a try.
 

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
15,808
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
yes - It made me think - I realised that perhaps I have some side effects. Also after the discussion I wondered to what extent the Metformin was having on my bg levels. So the only way to know is give it a try.
Best of luck! Let us know how you get on.
 

russo

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I've been off my Metformin for a while now. It went fine until November/December when Christmas duties got in the way of my exercise regime, then my levels started to rise a little. Now I'm getting back into it and they're coming back in again. So I'd suggest you exercise regularly and keep monitoring so you can adjust if necessary.
 

ringi

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,365
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Clearly, you must talk to your GP, and not do what anyone of us says, as we are not GPs, but this is what I would be doing myself.

Firstly have I lost all the weight I wish to lose? (It is likely the weight loss will slow down a little without Metformin.)

If so, then it would be more sensible for me to reduce the dose of Metformin and confirm I am still in the low 30s in 6 months time, rather than stopping all the Metformin in one go.

If I wished to check for side effects, I would stop the Metformin for 2 weeks and see if I feel better, then restart it, remember to increase the dose slowly, and expect side effects for the first week of the restart.

I would not tell my GP what I was doing, as it is likely a GP would refuse to put me back on Metformin if my A1C increased a little a bit but still remained outside of the range for Type2. I would just stockpile the Metformin boxes, remembering to collect them every month, so the records showed I was still on them

It is sad we need to play these “games” with GPs, but they have to keep to the NICE guild lines, or at least their computers much show they did…..

Personly I am aiming for an A1C before 30 before I ease up on drugs or lifestyle.

--------------

Remember that Metformin reduces insulin resistance a little, this results in insulin levels that are a little lower, and therefore our body reducing its own insulin resistance that then results in insulin levels that are once again a little bit lower. Hence we need to consider the long-term effects of Metformin on our insulin resistance, not just what our BG says over one week.

The above does not work, if we eat up to our meters, and hence stop the cycle by increasing our carbs. We can clearly make the above cycle go a lot faster by "low carb" etc, and without diet changes, Metformin just slows down the increase in insulin resistance.

When in double-blind studies, Metformin people were given Metformin or a "fake pill", the people on Metformin had their long-term A1C reduced by about 10, some people had it reduced by as much as 20. Yet we all know that on a day to day bases, we can't see much improvement from Metformin on our BG meters, as unlike "low carb" the effect cannot be measured on a meal by meal bases.
 
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Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thats complicated - so if I can keep my bg figure below 7.8 after meals (as I try to do now) once I stop metformin surely my A1c figure should remain low?
 

ringi

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,365
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Thats complicated - so if I can keep my bg figure below 7.8 after meals (as I try to do now) once I stop metformin surely my A1c figure should remain low?

There is also your BG levels overnight etc, and the change from stopping metformin could take many months before it is large enough to measure on a normal BG meter. (A CGM looking at the area under the curve may show it up quicker.)

Also remember that the high level of insulin our body makes to overcome our insulin resistance is what gives us the increased risk of stroke and heart problems, not the high BG levels. Yet the NHS will not measure fasting insulin levels for us, so we don't know if they are creeping up. (A single private test will not tell you much, as you need lots of data points.)
 

Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
oh - perhaps I should stay on the tablets after all for peace of mind. also I am only on a yearly review.
 
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ringi

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,365
Type of diabetes
Type 2
oh - perhaps I should stay on the tablets after all for peace of mind. also I am only on a yearly review.

Personally, I would keep on them unless you have a good reason to come off them. If you start to get the side effects, that's the time to reconsider.
 

Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I just found this - very interesting. from this my understanding is that Metformin helps protect the pancreas even if the 1Ac levels are the same (the pancreas has to work less hard to get the same results)?


One of the many good things Metformin does is treat the resistance to insulin. As a result, the pancreas can be effective at lower levels of insulin production. Thus, Metformin not only protects pancreas from wearing out (ADA recommends Metformin be started when Prediabetic to prevent more damage to Pancreas and preventing progression to full Diabetes), but protects against everything associated with Diabetes. This was proven in the series of studies known as UKPDS done in the U.K. In the 1990s.
 
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Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Well after a few mind changes I decided to give it a go and stop Metformin 3 days ago without talking to my Doctor.

I now feel much better - I dont think I realised how tied it made me feel.
Its strange that when driving I have not wanted to listen to any music - now I do! strange how I can feel so much better.
Antone else have a similar experience?

Also my BG levels are pretty much the same as before (5.0 before breakfast this morning)
 

Ajax

Well-Known Member
Messages
100
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I take my medication in accordance with the ℞ ..so that I do not distort my biannual ✻test results✻
 

Maradona

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Ok. I hope your figures are ok. Its not too bad to go back on them. I just feel a lot better without. Maybe a reduced dosage (I was on 1500mg a day) may be the way to go if our tests are not what we hope.
 

RFSMarch

Well-Known Member
Messages
676
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Well after a few mind changes I decided to give it a go and stop Metformin 3 days ago without talking to my Doctor.

I now feel much better - I dont think I realised how tied it made me feel.
Its strange that when driving I have not wanted to listen to any music - now I do! strange how I can feel so much better.
Antone else have a similar experience?

Also my BG levels are pretty much the same as before (5.0 before breakfast this morning)

Metformin SR blocks me up solid, so I have reverted to one a day at the moment and building up again... but it doesn't seem to have had a hugely adverse effect on my BG...
 

ringi

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,365
Type of diabetes
Type 2
doesn't seem to have had a hugely adverse effect on my BG

Metformin reduces insulin resistance a little, this helps with losing fat from the liver etc, that then reduces insulin resistance even more. In well control studies Metformin lowered A1C by about 10 sometimes as much as 20, but it does not have much effect on BG levels over a few days.