Can coming off medication become a reality or is it a dream?

[carina62]

I think I may have posted this question before but I take quite a lot of medication ie I have been taking statins for years, I take a small tablet for BP, x2 metformin tablets daily and sometimes take Omeprazole and am on Nortryptyline (for migraines) I also take some supplements ie R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, Co-enzyme Q10, Vit C and Vit D. I am doing very well on SW at the moment and have lost nearly a stone in weight but I do have about 4 or 5 more stones to lose so it will take some time. My dream is to come off my statins, metformin and Ramipril for BP and omeprazole (not sure yet about the Nortyrptyline as I am being monitored annually for this).

Doctors are so ready to increase one's medication rather than encourage you to come off them so wonder if this can be possible for me. I am due to see the diabetic nurse next week and will ask her this question too and see what she says. It just seems to me that once you go on the 'merry go round' of taking medications, it's very difficult to come off it. Would most of you on here agree or not? Would love to hear some positive stories about coming off medication once and for all.

 

[paulus1]

if your dependent on insulin it usually means your going to remain on it controlling your carbs will reduce the amount you need but its usually diet or pill folks that can go into remission. even those if they then start eating normally will end up back on meds. try and get as healthy as you can the standard advive reduce weight dont smoke seriously dont. reduce drinking or stop try and maintain a decent bp once youve done all that. your jab of insulin wont be an issue. if your able a low carb diet will reduce your bg levels.

 

[carina62]

if your dependent on insulin it usually means your going to remain on it controlling your carbs will reduce the amount you need but its usually diet or pill folks that can go into remission. even those if they then start eating normally will end up back on meds. try and get as healthy as you can the standard advive reduce weight dont smoke seriously dont. reduce drinking or stop try and maintain a decent bp once youve done all that. your jab of insulin wont be an issue. if your able a low carb diet will reduce your bg levels.

hello. I am not on insulin and that's why I want to get as healthy as I can so that I can reduce my meds rather than have them increased. I am classed as obese (I am 5"1' and weigh 13.5 stones) so am about 4 or 5 stones overweight which is a massive amount and I'm sure once I get there I should improve my health.

 

[paulus1]

your tag says insulin dependent type 2. i wish i had only 5 stone to lose. dont worry if you willing to try the lchf i would switch high to healthy. ie less beef more chicken or fish. it will drop weight quite quickly. ive lost 50kg twice on it. this time its a slower not as tough level. my bg are in the 5-6 range and nearly flat. if it can work for me it really can work for anyone. excellent that you want to get healthier and reduce your medication.

 

[sally and james]

@carina62 I'm sure that if you search the Diet Doctor site and Jason Fung's Intensive Dietary Management you will find examples of people who have dropped large numbers of drugs. Also google "de-prescribing". There's not much help there, but one message that comes over is, wean yourself off things slowly, don't just stop. You should, of course, only do this with the approval of your doctor.
My husband, James, has weaned himself off a series of blood pressure medicines over the past 3 years by not taking a pill every third day, then taking it every second day, then half every second day. Careful home monitoring has shown no ill effects. There is much discussion in the medical literature (especially the BMJ) about excessive poly pharmacy, so do talk to your doctor.
Sally

 

[lucylocket61]

your tag says insulin dependent type 2. i wish i had only 5 stone to lose. dont worry if you willing to try the lchf i would switch high to healthy. ie less beef more chicken or fish. it will drop weight quite quickly. ive lost 50kg twice on it. this time its a slower not as tough level. my bg are in the 5-6 range and nearly flat. if it can work for me it really can work for anyone. excellent that you want to get healthier and reduce your medication.

thats interesting, i see @carina62 's tag as type 2 and no mention of insulin. Perhaps its a glitch?

anyway, yes, I do believe its possible to reduce or stop some meds with the consent and help of your medical team. My MIL (who is 84 years old) has come off statins this year, and the metformin which she didnt need once she came off statins as the statins, for some reason, had been pushing her blood sugars up. I dont know why. Her blood sugars are now normal again.

 

[sally and james]

This is what I'm seeing:
carina62Insulin-dependent Type 2 · Well-Known Member
on an old fashioned desk top computer.
Sally

 

[Jaylee]

This is what I'm seeing:
carina62Insulin-dependent Type 2 · Well-Known Member
on an old fashioned desk top computer.
Sally

On my iPad... I see the same.
Which could affect the type of resposes you get @carina62 .

 

[Bluetit1802]

thats interesting, i see @carina62 's tag as type 2 and no mention of insulin. Perhaps its a glitch?

So do I. It is a glitch. It has been the same since the last upgrade. Some of us see one thing, others see the other. It doesn't seem to matter how we access the site. The Admin team are aware of it and it is on their list to rectify it, but they are taking one heck of a long time to do it.

Edited to add - @carina62 can change this status to type 2 only if she goes to her settings and uses the drop down box.

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @carina62

I’ve never taken medication for diabetes, but have managed to get off meds for migraine. Over the years I’ve run through just about every prophylactic for migraine and finally had a break through a couple of years ago and was able to gradually decrease and then stop that form of medication completely (involved a spell in hospital and a lot of perseverance). That still left me treating between 6 and 8 migraines a month with frovatriptan. However since going low carb high fat and dropping a lot of weight (78 pounds so far), the migraines have vanished - haven’t taken any medication for it since mid-July.

So yes it is possible, but you’ll need to work with your doctors to develop a plan.

 

[Goonergal]

So do I. It is a glitch. It has been the same since the last upgrade. Some of us see one thing, others see the other. It doesn't seem to matter how we access the site. The Admin team are aware of it and it is on their list to rectify it, but they are taking one heck of a long time to do it.

Edited to add - @carina62 can change this status to type 2 only if she goes to her settings and uses the drop down box.

I see Carina62, type 2

 

[bulkbiker]

the statins, for some reason, had been pushing her blood sugars up

It's a fairly well reported side effect of statins.. and yet another good reason to investigate if taking them is a good idea for anyone.

 

[Mbaker]

You can make it your reality. Food is also medicine, it is something most use everyday and is a powerful alternative to some of the drugs. I think as you are on multiple medications it is sensible to fully involve your medical team, as they may want to graduate a change. Losing weight as you are successfully doing is likely to impact your cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes as a minimum.

I think your goals are admirable and attainable. I would keep doing what you are doing and keep monitored.

 

[shrinking_violet]

Coming off medication - a reality?
Yes, yes, yes!!! (For me anyway)
I was prescribed insulin 2/3 years ago which frightened and shamed me greatly. I set to and reduced my weight by 2 stones with diet and 10,000 steps a day. Insulin removed from my repeat prescription. Left with 2000 mcg Metformin with Victoza injection daily along with aspirin, statin and Ramipril.
After a gradual creep of weight gain and a life-changing fright in a long length mirror - where on earth did she come from?! I have embraced a low carb lifestyle including intermittent fasting (this is now how I eat) I have lost another 3 stones, reduced my HBa1C from 56 to 35, and lost Metformin and injection from my repeat prescription.
I still test 1st thing in the morning and have seen a slight rise in fasting BG without meds. I have persuaded DN to redo bloods in 3 months (this area NHS trust was moving to annual reviews) I truly hope to keep control with this way of eating but will take Metformin if I really have to. Keeping my toes and eyesight is more important!
Sorry for rambling - this is my experience but we are all different - I can only encourage those who hope to reduce their risk of future complications - try it, it's a-maz-ing!!!!!

 

[Art Of Flowers]

If you want to lose some weight then take a look at Jason Fungs videos on Fasting over on www.dietdoctor.com

I watch the whole series before doing some intermittent fasting and found that it helped be reduce blood sugars and lose weight. as my HbA1C dropped I reduced and then stopped taking Metformin. It was giving me pins and needle sensations in my hands and affecting my memory. My HbA1C did not go up after I stopped Metformin.

GPs seem to be pushing statins on all people with diabetes. Personally, I think this is a mistake and have refused them when asked. Statins can raise blood sugar (as reported by many people here) and can cause severe muscle pain and dementia like symptoms which can take years to reverse once stopping statins. See

About 80% of people who have heart attacks have glucose spike or are diabetic. Google "glucose spike nhk documentary" on youtube and watch the video. High glucose levels and high insulin levels cause arteriosclerosis and this is the real reason why diabetics are at high risk. Cholesterol is a transport mechanism to fix inflammation in the arteries. It is better to avoid the inflammation in the first place and that means avoiding glucose spikes.

 

[Guzzler]

I am doing this at the moment. It is taking time, though. I have managed to drop one drug altogether which I am really happy about because it is addictive. My next target is the Naproxen, if I can lower/drop it then I can drop the accompanying Lansaprozal. It is going to be a slog and I am under no ilusion that some of the drugs I am on are for life but I wish to keep them to a minimum. The day I picked up the Metfotmin the four 3xtra tablets meant a total of seventeen tablets per day. I am now on eleven so for me, I am winning.
My advice is to have your HCP be aware of your goal, do it very slowly and the lower your carb intake is then the better you will feel. LCHF has been shown to help with lowering bp and improving migraine among other things. Good luck.

 

[Mike d]

Metformin, BP tablets and statins and now none, so yes, can be done ... hasten to add statins ban was my decision

 

[lucylocket61]

I am doing this at the moment. It is taking time, though. I have managed to drop one drug altogether which I am really happy about because it is addictive. My next target is the Naproxen, if I can lower/drop it then I can drop the accompanying Lansaprozal. It is going to be a slog and I am under no ilusion that some of the drugs I am on are for life but I wish to keep them to a minimum. The day I picked up the Metfotmin the four 3xtra tablets meant a total of seventeen tablets per day. I am now on eleven so for me, I am winning.
My advice is to have your HCP be aware of your goal, do it very slowly and the lower your carb intake is then the better you will feel. LCHF has been shown to help with lowering bp and improving migraine among other things. Good luck.

My husband was on Naproxen, but he had to come off it as it made him anemic. Have your iron levels been ok on Naproxen? Anemia is a little know side effect, according to his GP.

 

[Freema]

it differs from one person to the other how well we are able to control our diabetes and get down to non-diabetic levels and get rid of medications.. some can if they do all they can, and others can´t not even when they do their best...

in my world and understanding statins is not really a diabetic drug... but most GP´s seem to want all diabetics type 2 on that drug too as well as on metformin...

I am about to get rid of metformin too, in my case my normal numbers are due to very much excercise and not too high eating of numbers of carbs daily... unfortunately getting rid of metformin will also force me to go even lower in carbs... and I´ll miss the carbs I am in fact able to eat without getting too high numbers..

but then on the other hand , maybe this is the kick in my ass that I need to go even lower in carbs longterm... hope so anyway

 

[paulus1]

My husband was on Naproxen, but he had to come off it as it made him anemic. Have your iron levels been ok on Naproxen? Anemia is a little know side effect, according to his GP.

cant take them it cripples me the only nsaid i could take ive been banned from taking. my joints are not happy. the gps seem to love giving me opiates which i hate. i ve detoxed of tramdol