desidiabulum
Well-Known Member
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Metformin doesn't squeeze more insulin out of your pancreas -- that's sulfonylureas like gliclazide. Metformin is always recommended to the newly diagnosed because it can help with BGs and potentially has other health benefits (including weight loss and potentially on cancer though depends on which type of metformin). But most of all it is recommended because it is CHEAP. Like so many other people, my first few weeks after diagnosis were awful because of metformin side-effects -- it is not a great way to start coping with a new condition, but it also feeds the assumption that you just fix diabetes by taking a pill. I wish GPs would begin with a strong push on taking personal control of diabetes by rethinking diet, then introduce metformin after a couple of months if BGs are improving, to be discarded if necessary. That way it doesn't screw up the initial response.