how long before i give up on metformin

I didn't realise Metformin was given to pre-diabetics. I thought pre-diabetics were only given bad advice.
Carliannie, stick with the low-carb diet. A lot of people find it works well.

Going on metformin as a pre-diabetic is about buying time and delaying the onset of diabetes. Studies have shown that starting metformin as a prediabetic can delay the onset of diabetes for up to ten years and will also help to delay any potential complications of T2 diabetes by a similar length of time. The earlier it's started the more time you buy.

I took 1500 mg of metformin each day for six years as a pre-diabetic and by doing so I seem to have slowed the progression of T2 by about five years. My HbA1C is better than I would expect compared to T2 family members at a similar age, and I can more easily keep it at a healthy level, so I believe it works. Considering that the life expectancy of a T2 in my family is 60, I will do anything I can to buy time.

If you are on regular metformin -- doesn't have SR or MR after the name on the box -- then ask for slow release metformin. The slow release version is much easier on your digestive system and most people can take it with very few of the side effects of the regular version. And stick with it, you may not think it's necessary to take metformin as a pre-diabetic, but five years from now you'll be happy that you did it.

I'm interested in this as I am (not yet formally diagnosed) prediabetic and there aren't any options for me, my diet has been good though im eating less now, I'm skinny with no weight to spare and I can't exercise. I can't see what changes I can make in my situation. I reckon I'm as 'controlled' as i can be and it's not enough. I may well have to ask for medication rather than be fobbed off with the NHS mantra of 'lifestyle changes'. If it helps delay the onset of T2 then it can only be worth it.


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Hey Jane,

If ur skinny with no weight to spare then it's very unlikely you would develop type 2 diabetes. Not impossible but very unlikely... Type 1/1.5 perhaps but lifestyle doesn't cause those types of diabetes.... The NHS are a postcode lottery at the best of times but getting a meter and keeping an eye on things is defo one way to make a point to the docs


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

Elaine,
I got T2 after years of being a skinny cyclist doing up to 300miles a week. My T2 came on when I cut my cycling back (family&work) and put a bit (not a lot) of weight on. People said I was still slim, just not as skinny as I was. From the research I've done about the connection between low birthweight/low early growth babies and T2, it seems I was meant to be really skinny. Slim was just too fat. :?

Omg I've never heard of this low birth weight thing but I was only just 4lbs at birth. I've never felt 'comfortable'' at what others considered normal weight, hence anorexia and all this blood sugar problems and PCOS business only seems to have been triggered since hitting a 'normal' weight (110lbs) So a lot of people up start out skinny, 'slim' is just as bad as 'fat' to their body?

OP as much as I generally hate the pharmaceutical industry you are lucky your Prediabetes was spotted and you're being offered help to stave off diabetes. Honestly, stick with it a little longer. Are the side effects worse than feeling ****** with high BG?

Alternatively if you're not already skinny do you think a diet and exercise regime would benefit you more? If you believe that, go for it! Lots of advice on low carbing (trying to wean myself off certain foods myself...) and exercise here. Im going to take up Ballet/Pole Dancing fusion :0

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. I understand the frustration when the pills they throw at you don't seem to help anything at all! I'm immune to painkillers lol


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An international team of researchers have found a genetic link between low birth rate and the risk of going on to develop Type2 diabetes in later life.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/New ... etes-risk/

More evidence for the low birth weight link here...


http://link.springer.com/article/10.100 ... 9-1#page-1

Elaine, I've wondered about T1.5/LADA, but my problem re diagnosis has been missed by having a fasting blood sugar in the 'normal' range. I have a meter and I'm testing on waking, before and after each meal, and before bed. I'm taking those figures to the doctor this week.

As for low birth weight, well that's another 'risk factor' I don't have…


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Hi. If you adopt a low-carb diet at the right level you will lose weight. Metformin helps reduce insulin resistance due to being overweight and it does help reduce glucose in the blood but not by much. It's worth taking but diet is the key. If you are unlucky and have a diabetes type nearer to T1/T1.5 then you may have to go thru all the meds over time but for most the diet will resolve most of the high blood sugar problems for a long time.

I've been low carbing for 18 mths now and not lost a scrap of weight, I was skinny too gained a bit of weight after the menopause and can't shift any of it, talk about frustrating.