How long for Metformin to show the effects

well cut the sugar out completely your body cant do it. artificial sweeteners are bad news try stevia instead. im very impressed you sound amazing. have you considered the low carb route its very effective at reducing bg. metformin is not going to reduce your bg by a lot. it reduces your insulin resisdence. seems daft telling you about living healthy when your windsurfing and jogging your amazing

Hi ittiandro and welcome to the Forum!
First I’ll tag @daisy1 who’ll post loads of useful info for you.
Can you give us a bit more info about yourself so we can help you better? Do you have a Diabetes diagnosis as your profile says “I don’t have Diabetes”. What was your HbA1c result and what do you eat on a typical day?
Metformin will only help your blood sugars a tiny bit. What you eat has way more effect.
I take Metformin but I also eat a low carb diet, around 50-70g per day. On diagnosis last May my HbA1c was 70 but I got that down to non diabetic numbers in 4 months.

Hey @ittiandro and welcome!

Take heart - Metformin isn't a miracle drug and fasting BG is the slowest of all to come down. Are you aware of Dawn Phenomenon?

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose/dawn-phenomenon.html

It sounds like you're someone who hits the ground running upon waking up in the morning - it could well be that you're just one of those people who has a strong liver dump as you wake up (I'm one, too - it's frustrating when it comes to the first meter reading of the day).

I'd say give it a bit more time, consider what you're eating (a food diary will really help - you'd be surprised how much sugar you consume unknowingly through the day, in fruit, processed foods, jars of sauces and so on) and don't stress too much. There's loads and loads of info on this forum and loads and loads of people happy to answer all of your questions.

Welcome again - I hope you find some answers and support here.

Sock x

ittiandro said:

I am 76, very active ( gym, swimming, treadmill, windsurfing). My doctor put me on Metformin ( 500 mg/day, 2 half-doses) because my blood sugar is hovering on borderline with occasional spikes to 14 mmo/l.

I started Metformin last week. I still can’t get my fasting glucose below 7.5 avg measured at wakeup. Not much difference 2hrs after a meal( between 7.6-9.0 mmo/l. I use mostly aspartame , refined sugar very moderately. I weigh 85 kgm ,athletic build, except for some fat around the belly. I could do with losing a few kg, if anything because the more I weigh, the harder it is to ….sail on my windsurfer. Also, fewer kg would be less of a strain when jogging..

How long before I see the effects of Metformin, both in terms of blood sugar and, possibly, weight loss ?


Thanks


Ittiandro

Click to expand...

metformin only does very little , optimistically around 10% but most of the work is done by changing food choises... if you go under 150 grams of carbs in total in day a I think you´ll maybe see rapid changes.. Metformin is like a stick to lean at but it really doesn´t do the whole job

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am glad to hear that you are testing at home with a meter, it is the first and best tool with regards to monitoring your reactions to foodstuffs.
As has been said, Metformin doesn't impact the blood glucose greatly but it does help with those morning/fasting readings, however, this can take a few months for some people so patience is needed.
Lowering the amount of carbohydrates in your diet should help with weight loss but your activity levels are admirably and enviably great, I am impressed. This will also help with those raised levels you are seeing after eating.

Hi. As others have said, Metformin will only help a bit. A low-carb diet (not just sugar) will help your weight and blood sugar. Don''t worry too much about early morning readings as these will be affected by the overnight liver dump

@ittiandro

Hello Ittiandro and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Hi and welcome,

I agree with the others about Metformin, which is a very mild drug. You cannot carry on much as normal and expect it to do the work that a more suitable diet will do. Diet is the key, definitely not Metformin. It is also not enough just to cut out sugar. Sugar is one of many carbs, but all carbs turn to glucose once in the system, and as your body is struggling to cope with glucose it makes sense not to eat too much of it. Your spikes to 14mmol/l are very high, implying you are eating too many carbs.

Try testing immediately before you eat and again 2 hours after first bite (without any exercise in between) and look at the difference from before to after. It should be as little difference as possible. Anything above 2mmol/l more and there are too many carbs in the meal. Try it and see what happens. Keeping a food diary and recording your levels alongside will show you which foods are your danger foods and enable you to either reduce the portion size or eliminate some.

Do read round the forums and ask questions.

You’re right that there is not a lot of official info on the success of low carb diets to control type 2 diabetes, however there is masses of anecdotal evidence, take a look at the ‘Success Stories and Testimonials’ subforum on here.
You don’t need carbs for energy, fats and protein can do that in the absence of carbs. I eat 50-70g per day and actually feel more energetic now. I can’t explain the science, so I’ll tag in a couple of people who I’m sure can. @NoCrbs4Me and @bulkbiker can you help out here please?

Well - I do not need to be burning off glucose in order to lower my levels.
After Christmas dinner my reading was 5.6.
I eat the same way I ate in my twenties, long before diagnosis, as low carb has always been the right way for me to eat as an adult - though the two extended periods of taking antibiotics might have had something to do with it.
There is no research on the way low carb makes people feel great and keeps them full of energy, allows them to control their weight and generally gad about in old age - because of course it is well known that it can't possibly be true.

All I know is that I have normal blood glucose levels, I'm quite healthy and I have lots of energy while eating virtually no carbs for a few years now. I think it's magic.

ittiandro said:

Actually my main staple are milk, cheese, cereal, oatmeal, polenta, all in moderate quantities…

Click to expand...

Some of those may be where your problem lies..

I'd pick out cereals - kelloggs way of sugaring our first meal of the day
oatmeal another carby start
polenta.. another carby delight

Eggs bacon meat fish? do you not eat these at all?
Milk too can be fairly high in carbohydrate depending on the quantity you have.

As for metabolism you can help it to speed up a bit by doing a bit of intermittent fasting.. maybe skip breakfast and replace it with a coffee with cream.

You sound a bit sceptical about low carb.?
I would suggest checking out your fellow Canadian Dr Jason Fung. His videos about Type 2 and how to control/reverse it are easy to follow and up to date science.

I tend to think of diabetes as a carbohydrate intolerance. I may have "got away" with eating loads when I was young but I certainly can't now. LCHF is definitely the way for me and has kept me medication free so far.
If you have any doubts have a good read through this thread
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/low-carb-success-stories.3763/page-24

well it brought by bg down from 24 to the mid 5s. hba1c down from 106 to 39 its taken me off insulin and if not for the additional benefits of metformin i would be drug free. compare that to your diet. any diet that reduces your intake of carbs will work. there is no set diet. you need to find what your blood test results are dont rely on others to monitor your results they often fail to do so. look at the hundreds of diabetics that through strict control are in remission. simply put carbs are your enemy

Heya!

An interesting reply - and something that we've all thought or otherwise argued at some point or another. Here's the basic logic for low carbing:

All carbs turn to sugar. All sugar is dangerous to a diabetic. If you want to control your diabetes, find a different macronutrient (fat, protein, carbs) to feed yourself for energy.

Carbs - all carbs (except dietary fibre which we class differently in Europe to how North Americans see it) are dangerous to a diabetic. If someone has a nut allergy, we don't tell them to eat nut products. Diabetes is a kind of sugar allergy: we overload our pancreas and liver and we are unable to process the sugar effectively until it makes us ill. The logic of someone with a sugar allergy eating more sugar is flawed. (Incidentally, high-GI and low-GI is irrelevant: they're still sugar, they just release it slower. You still have all the sugar that metabolises from those carbs to deal with).

Further, the companies that sell predominantly foods based on carbs and sugar are also the companies that invest most heavily in dietary councils and nutritional boards around the world. There is money to be made, and they intend to keep making it. And if you don't believe me, check out your own CFDR board:

http://www.cfdr.ca/about/board.aspx

That's right, 2 directors from Nestle and another from PepsiCo, and that's just one branch of Canada's fairly tricky dietician organisation: with more than 2 minutes, I'm sure I could find more.

But consider how, 35 years ago, everyone was told to quit eating red meat and fat and start replacing them with carbs. And how, 35 years ago, we had the start of the T2 diabetes explosion. There are lots and lots of incredibly smart (independant) people asking why that might be, and they - by and large - arrive at the same conclusion: an over-reliance on carbs.

Ivor Cummings: https://www.dietdoctor.com/ivor-cummins-talks-heart-disease-insulin-resistance

Prof Tim Noakes (who wrote the running bible and taught everyone about "carb-loading" before completely reversing his position) https://thenoakesfoundation.org

And many more besides. And all the evidence is here on the forums, as well as why it's not handed out freely by Health Authorities and Nutritionists around the world. In this case, it actually is a conspiracy:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin

(But, also, I completely understand where you're coming from - I was horrified and struggle to accept the logic - and the scope of the problem - at first, too).

Oh, also, Dr David Unwin, our very own in-house guru, who started DCUK after this happened:

http://www.norwoodsurgerysouthport....s_release_low_Carb_GP_wins_National_Award.pdf because he realised that patients who actively manage their sugar intake (again, carbs turn to sugar) will require less meds and complex / life-changing medical procedures and, therefore, save his GP surgery cash. In a single year, he saved his surgery more than 45k in prescriptions alone.

It's not made-up. It's actual. Our bodies don't need carbs, and once we've hit a state of insulin resistance, it's time to leave the carbs alone.

Sock x