How effective is Metformin on it's own

Metformin is the first stage of medication used to treat T2 diabetes. Its effects are very limited, and even full dose of the med (2.000 mg or 4 tablets a day) will only reduce blood suagr by a couple of mmol/l (UK). Your level of 75 that you report will need stronger treatment. the NHS (i.e. NICE) recommend lifestyle changes to be included in the first stage. Measures such as diet changes, weight loss, and exercise are the prescribed ones.

I personally found changing diet to be very effective. There is a lot of evidence from others here that following a Low Carb or LCHF style of diet to be very effective, but some use calorie restrictive diets with success. There are specific threads in the Forum giving recipes and advice for diets. I take it exercise is not an easy option to increase, but gentle walking can be beneficial,

Metformin takes a couple of weeks to build up to full strength in the body. The early morning blood sugar reading is the last one to show reductions, and it will take months to be noticeable. You will need to average the results over time to remove the normal fluctuations to start to detect any trend.

Clappedout said:

Hi All

I am 71 and have been pre-diabetic for about 10 years. However, the HbA1c shot up from around 46 to 55 to 75 in the space of six months. I’ve since been put on 500mg slow release metformin twice daily. Up until six months ago I ran about 3-5 miles about four times a week (I’ve been running all my life). However, six months ago I got bilateral pulmonary emboli (for the second time in 10 years). So, I have been put on Apixiban for life. In addition, I am on Amlidopine and a statin. I am disappointed that I have finally become a fully fledged diabetic but there we go.

My question is this, how long does it take for the levels to start to improve. The reason I ask is that I take a reading before breakfast every day and depending on what I eat the previous day it fluctuates between 8 -11. I know exercise and sensible eating can play a significant role in controlling levels but assuming nothing has changed, can the metformin have any meaningful effect.

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Hi @Clappedout and welcome to our forum.
The easy answer is no!
Even though it is known as a diabetic drug, it does only decrease blood levels, a very small amount.
The drug is useful in protection of your organs from the diabetes.
I would surmise that you have not been put on blood glucose reducing drugs because of your other drugs!

I would recommend a lower carb diet, walking for exercise and trying not to increase your blood levels spikes.
Finding your dietary balance, is good for your diabetes.

If your tech savvy, dietdoctor.com is recommended. But even on the low carb forum on this site is a good idea.

If you get side effects from the metformin or the statins of any of your meds, see your GP.

Hope this helps. I've no doubt that one of our experienced posters will give you more information.

Clappedout said:

Thanks everybody, that makes it very clear. Metformin is an aid to diabetes control but diet with reduced carbs, weight and exercise are the main driving factors. I love bread and potatoes etc., so much less of them. Weight - I'm exactly one stone overweight and when my lungs recover, brisk walks and who knows a bit of slow jogging.

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Let us know how you get on.

GPs tend to over-sell the effectiveness of Metformin but it shows they are doing something and you walk away with a prescription. I've been on it for 20 years and it does help a bit and has some other protective properties

I concerned about that the "Metformin" will have an effect on those medications that I take. I am 60 years old and live on my own and very single, but would like to control my diabetes by the herbal route.
I looking into controlling my diabetes through diet, but looking for advice on which herbal supplement tablets that could be beneficial to as I am and never be into sports. I do a lot of walking one day a week as a volunteering at "IWM Duxford" as the site is just over a mile in size.

5Terry said:

I concerned about that the "Metformin" will have an effect on those medications that I take. I am 60 years old and live on my own and very single, but would like to control my diabetes by the herbal route.
I looking into controlling my diabetes through diet, but looking for advice on which herbal supplement tablets that could be beneficial to as I am and never be into sports. I do a lot of walking one day a week as a volunteering at "IWM Duxford" as the site is just over a mile in size.

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Metformin is a drug that is formally monitored in terms of quality, effectiveness, and prescription, It is part of the Yellow Card system of alerts, and is used daily by thousands of diabetics around the world. I am surprised that you think that using a herbal remedy that is not tested, is not controlled for quality,, and with variable dosage would be safer than Metformin, and just as importantly will not interfere with your other medications. They do say caveat emptor for a reason.

As it happens, I do use the occasional remedy myself, but have not found any that is as effective as Metformin, which is actually a very weak diabetic medication itself. So no, I cannot recommend any herbal remedy that I would consider to be superior or safer than Metformin.

Also Metformin is derived from French lilac so effectively 'herbal'.

Dr Snoddy said:

Also Metformin is derived from French lilac so effectively 'herbal'.

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Morphine is another example. Opium, Digoxin, Aspirin et al. But they have been studied extensively, Cinnamon, not to anything like the same degree of scrutiny or regulation.

Plant based does not guarantee safety. Dr Crippen would attest to that. He used scopolamine, which is an extract from the nightshade plant to poison his wife. This substance is also available as a medication to prevent motion sickness and was also used as anaesthetic during childbirth in my lifetime. Rhubarb can be poisonous if used wrongly. Aspirin itself is commonly available, but can be misused and harmful.

5Terry said:

I concerned about that the "Metformin" will have an effect on those medications that I take. I am 60 years old and live on my own and very single, but would like to control my diabetes by the herbal route.
I looking into controlling my diabetes through diet, but looking for advice on which herbal supplement tablets that could be beneficial to as I am and never be into sports. I do a lot of walking one day a week as a volunteering at "IWM Duxford" as the site is just over a mile in size.

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Changes in your Way of Eating, for life , should be sufficient. No need for herbal supplements. Tho I do take extra vitamin c and d but due to pandemic rather than diabetes

I had very violent reactions to Metformin and there was a noticeable reduction in the absorption of Thyroxine - which was hardly surprising.
Type 2 diabetes is an inability to deal with carbohydrate, so reducing intake until normal numbers are seen is the way to go.

I began taking Metformin 4 weeks ago because, after 7 years of LCHF and fasting, I could no longer keep my levels down. In particular the overnight liver dump was a problem no matter what I did. I am currently on 2 x 500g slow release. My fasting glucose has gone down by 2 mmol (UK) so far and I am happy with this progress. I have some leeway to increase the dose if I need to. The side-effects for me have been manageable, mainly nausea and thirst. I would rather not have to take them but the threat of heart disease has become very real to me lately. I'm glad I controlled my diabetes by diet for so long, but I should have got on the metformin 18 months ago. We are all different and our diabetes can change over time