Type 1 and Metformin

[alhubb]

Hi all,

I had my consultant appointment yesterday and he was asking about weight gain since I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago. I said I've put on about 10 kg since diagnosis and finding it hard to shift it and also my cholesterol had steadily increased. He suggested statins (understandably) and also taking Metformin. Now, I'm a scientist and have a good understanding of what Metformin is and what it does but for the life of me I don't get how taking it will help me loose weight (that's why he suggested it). I'm definitely not insulin resistant, I don't inject that much insulin (26 unit lantus and 25 unit rapid max).

On the other side since just before diagnosis I have been taking antidepressants, so I think this is the reason for weight gain and increase in cholesterol as my partner is also type 1 and takes the same anyidantidepres and the same has happened.

Thoughts? Thesis in advance

 

[kitedoc]

HI @alhubb, From experience as a T1D with depression, not as professional advice or opinion:
Did your consultant deign to ask about your diet?
I found that too many carbs meant more insulin and up went the weight.
Less carbs, carefully done regarding insulin doses to avoid hypos. down weight and down cholesterol.
It seems so elementary so why is the consultant only interested in giving you more drugs without exploring the more obvious causes??
In theory metformin helps lower resistance to insulin so less might be needed and I think it makes people a little nauseous and reduces their appetite and food intake. But:
a) he/she would need to explore for possible causes of resistance - ? infection tooth, stress, overeating --> weight gain etc and, as you noted, medication
b) see if any identifiable cause was amenable to treatment/relief such as stress relief, antibiotics, diet.
Yes I put on weight when I was prescribed an anti-depressant called duloxetine but lost it and been steady since being prescribed a different anti-depressant, desvenlafaxine. That may be my metabolism and response so not sure for you.
Just another point of interest my psychiatrist suggested I ease back the dose of this anti-depressant to see whether I still needed the dose I was taking. Within about 3 days of reduction in dose my BSLs went haywire, insulin usage went up 30% plus and this only settled down after I went back up to the usual dose again.
I know people can have unpleasant responses to stopped this medication suddenly but this was the most clear statement to me that the dose was not going to change anytime soon !!
Best Wishes with whatever you decide to do. Please post if we can provide any further clarification !!

 

[alhubb]

Thank you for the reply, you essentially confirmed what I thought, why stick me on more tablets when there are other options and I'm not insulin resistant? I know it'll bring down my insulin needs but even he said they're not high at all. I'm so confused!

Thank you for the other advice definitely food for thought!

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @alhubb Speaking from experience as I asked to try metformin when a number of years ago I felt I was suffering insulin resistance, apart from the fact of getting an incredibly upset tummy and also trying the slow release version I felt it made no difference at all, i was on it for about a month, so from experience it's not a medication I can see that offered me any benefits.

 

[kitedoc]

Thank you for the reply, you essentially confirmed what I thought, why stick me on more tablets when there are other options and I'm not insulin resistant? I know it'll bring down my insulin needs but even he said they're not high at all. I'm so confused!

Thank you for the other advice definitely food for thought!

The other thing though is, could you have ben underweight at diagnosis, so that part at least of your weight gain could have been just getting back to a normal weight.??
I assume he did check your weight and height to provide some measure of whether you are currently overweight or not??

 

[alhubb]

So yeah, I dropped from 85kg to 72kg at diagnosis and now gone up to 94kg in the last 2 years. Obviously I put the weight back on that I lost from becoming type 1, but gone up more than that since.

Yeah, they did my height and weight and I'm in the overweight category (which I wasn't pre diagnosis) but I've always been the high end as I've done a lot of sports/weight training so I've had a lot of muscle mass. My % body fat is in the "good"/"excellent" category though

 

[kitedoc]

Thank you @alhudd. Did he say what your ideal weight range should be? And how to achieve it without the need for extra medication ??

 

[alhubb]

Nope, he didn't say anything like that at all, just suggested Metformin

 

[karen8967]

hi alhubb i take metformin with my insulin but its because im very insulin resistant/sensitive i have not put any weight whatsoever on i could actually do with putting some on but i do notice if i forget to take metformin my numbers go sky high then the weight falls off me .

 

[alhubb]

Thanks for the reply @karen8967 that's exactly what I thought Metformin was for! I'm really week controlled (hba1c is 48) and not insulin resistant at all, so I don't get why I would be on Metformin to loose weight. I mean I would loose weight if I was badly controlled, but that's kind of punishing me for being well controlled!

 

[karen8967]

Thanks for the reply @karen8967 that's exactly what I thought Metformin was for! I'm really week controlled (hba1c is 48) and not insulin resistant at all, so I don't get why I would be on Metformin to loose weight. I mean I would loose weight if I was badly controlled, but that's kind of punishing me for being well controlled!

I would query this again alhubb as why would you want to take medication when its not doing nothing for your diabeties it doesnt make sense and i wasnt aware that metformin could control weight but i couldnt say for sure x

 

[hmcc]

Hi. I take metformin 500mg 3 times per day. Humiliation insulin 12 units twice a day
Putting on weight a real struggle. Any ideas? Type 1.