pavlosn
Well-Known Member
Hallo
Can someone advise if there are any long term adverse effects of using metformin.
I was prescribed 1500mg of the medication as soon as I was diagosed last August and, in combination with some drastic diet and lifestyle changes, it has helped me to quickly bring my diabetes under control, as summarised in the info given with my signature below.
My current fasting blood glucose level is around 5 mmol. Current readings taken 2 hours after a meal very rarely rise above 6 mmol. This is on a daily intake of about 150 - 180g of Carbohydrate.
The reason I am asking is that I am about to see my endoctrinologist next week and would like to discuss with him the possibility of decreasing the dosage of metformin.
Although I could reduce my carbohydrate intake slightly, if at all possible, I would prefer not to do it as I am happy with my current diet (I am losing weight and in addition to controlling glucose levels,my lipid problem is greatly improved) and feel that it is one I could happily maintain for the long term. ..... But it does mean that I stay on the medication, hence my question.
At the moment, other than the general feeling/awareness that all medication has some unwanted side effects, I am not aware of any specific reason why I should try to get off/ reduce the metformin. Does using oral medication mean that your diabetes will progress to insulin dependence faster than with diet alone? Any other known adverse consequences of the specific medication? I do not suffer from upset stomach and show no symptoms of Acidosis.
Please treat this as a request for specific information and not as an invitation for more general debate on the subject of "to low carb or not", which although very interesting is in my opinion covered extensively in a number of other posts.
At any rate, I fully respect both approaches if they lead to the desired effect.
Thank you
Regards
Pavlos
Can someone advise if there are any long term adverse effects of using metformin.
I was prescribed 1500mg of the medication as soon as I was diagosed last August and, in combination with some drastic diet and lifestyle changes, it has helped me to quickly bring my diabetes under control, as summarised in the info given with my signature below.
My current fasting blood glucose level is around 5 mmol. Current readings taken 2 hours after a meal very rarely rise above 6 mmol. This is on a daily intake of about 150 - 180g of Carbohydrate.
The reason I am asking is that I am about to see my endoctrinologist next week and would like to discuss with him the possibility of decreasing the dosage of metformin.
Although I could reduce my carbohydrate intake slightly, if at all possible, I would prefer not to do it as I am happy with my current diet (I am losing weight and in addition to controlling glucose levels,my lipid problem is greatly improved) and feel that it is one I could happily maintain for the long term. ..... But it does mean that I stay on the medication, hence my question.
At the moment, other than the general feeling/awareness that all medication has some unwanted side effects, I am not aware of any specific reason why I should try to get off/ reduce the metformin. Does using oral medication mean that your diabetes will progress to insulin dependence faster than with diet alone? Any other known adverse consequences of the specific medication? I do not suffer from upset stomach and show no symptoms of Acidosis.
Please treat this as a request for specific information and not as an invitation for more general debate on the subject of "to low carb or not", which although very interesting is in my opinion covered extensively in a number of other posts.
At any rate, I fully respect both approaches if they lead to the desired effect.
Thank you
Regards
Pavlos