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if I start metformin and statins, will I be able to come off

J

juditb

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I wonder if you can help. I was diagnosed with type two diabetes last november but decided not to take metformin but try and control things by eating no sugar and cutting down carbohydrates (much against the advice of the dietician who told me diabetics need carbohydrates! I felt much better and attempted a no carbohydrate diet prescribed by a canadian doctor and felt amazing but suddenly it was my birthday and once I came off i had difficulty going back on. My exercise is also limited by acute arthritis in both knees.(but i could take anti-inflammatory medication and increase that again) i have now been told that I should take metformin, my bh level is 7.3 and statins for my cholesterol which is 130 and am afraid to start as I do not wish to take them for ever. Also my life style is a little erratic and I am concerned to take these medications without changing my erratic eating habits as i think they could be dangerous. I am very excited to see that you promote a low carbohydrate diet, as it was only on the no carbohydrate diet that I felt really good and totally energised. Please tell me what you think of the medications,and whether i should start and hope to be able to come off.
Yours gratefully
Judit B
PS MY sister (a pharmacist) has suggested I take pycnogenol to lower sugar levels and it seems to make a difference and I have also been advised to take magnesium too as well as caprillic plus and chromium. What do you think of these supplements?
 
The medication helps by increasing your insulin sensitivity. Your GP will tell you that once you take them you will always take them - which I why I have resisted them so far. There are many on these boards who have found they tolerate them well and have got a lot of benefit from them. There are also people who have come off the Metformin as they have made dietary chages and lost weight, which increases insulin sensitivity too. There will be others along shortly who have far more knowledgethan I and who actualy use the medications you are talking about.

You need to do something to bring you glucose levels down. This is about changing your diet, you already know that reducuing your carbohydrate intake brings benefits. However, you perhaps need to think of reduced rather than no carbs as that is more likely to be sustainable in the longer term.

To be a succesful diabetic you have to find a diet that you can stick to for the rest of your life, which is how long you will be diabietic. Once you have good control you can plan occasional off-diet treats, although I have found that I don't enjoy realy sweet things any more and I don't feel deprived because of this. Excercise also helps, but that is sometimes easier said than done, I have fallen off that particular wagon over the last week, my excuse being it was just too hot.

Look around, especially in the food forums.

As far as cholesterol and statins are involved, the accepted norm is male :shock: Women are different to men. I have posted a link to a womens health website called "Our Bodies Ourselves" which has some excellent information in easy to understand formats, I can't find the link I have posted this morning. The other place I tend to look is "What Doctors Don't Tell You", the information section is excellent, but be very wary if you venture in to the forums.
 
Hi Judit B.
Welcome to the forum.

Spiral has given excellent advice here.

As I use both Metformin and have been on statins of one sort or another for several years now I will give my personal view.
There is an argument for and against statins. In my case I found that my Cholesterol levels all reduced pretty quickly once on them and with no ill effects to me. Therefore I can see nothing wrong with them. There is a contrary view which If you search the internet you will find both. You have to make your own mind up. Coming off them - well I tried leaving them off and my Cholesterol levels rose significantly. So that is not something I plan to do again. I have various medications which I have to take for life. Not a problem. No one wants to take meds, but sometimes they are the lesser of two eveils ?

Metformin is another med that some people can't seem to tolerate ? I have never had any problems with it other than when I first went on it. After a few weeks it was fine. I was taking the maximum dose of this (3g) until January this year when I drastically reduced my carbohydrate intake. I have just had the dosage reduced to 1g a day and hopefully will be discontinued later. My Endo is amazed at the reduction in my Bg levels and overall fitness and vitality. He is happy to cut them back and eventually stop them. I don't envisage any problems when coming off them.

As for supplements I have no intention of taking any unless shown to be something missing from my diet. the only one I take is Omacor, a prescribed Omega 3 fish oil. Anything else I put in the category of snake oil !! I am sure there are others here who will take an opposite view. (ducks down) :D

Pycnogenol.
There are many claims for this. As for Diabetic patients this is what I found. First a link to all the information:
http://www.zhion.com/herb/Pycnogenol_Be ... fects.html

Here is an extract:
Liu X et al, Guang An Men Hospital of Chinese Medical Science Research
Institute, Beijing, PR China conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled,
randomized, multi-center study was performed with 77 diabetes type II
patients to investigate anti-diabetic effects of the French maritime pine
bark extract, Pynogenol. They found that supplementation with 100 mg
Pycnogenol for 12 weeks, during which a standard anti-diabetic
treatment was continued, significantly lowered plasma glucose levels as
compared to placebo. And, it also improved endothelial function. [28]

Make your own mind up. :wink:

Ken.
 
Hi Judith
I too can vouch for the safety of Metformin and Statins.
I've been on both for 6 years with no side effects. I take , 1, 2 or 3 Metformin 500s perday, according to what I eat( which is reduced carb.) I keep my BG below 6. Last HbA1c as 5.6%. Next one is due in a few weeks.
Metformin seems to have protective effects on blood vessels and they've now found that people taking it have lower incidence of the more common cancers.
My cholesterol was never above 4, but my GP wants me to keep on the statin, for its protective effects. In fact he wants to increase my dose to 40mg. Apparently that's the level at which it has most effect. It can sometimes cause muscle pains, but I don't have them.
 
I started on Metformin last November 2008. As I gathered information and began low carbing my BGL dropped and kept dropping as I tightened up what I ate. I began to reduce the Metformin by Easter I had stopped taking it altogether and am able to maintain BGLs around the 4.7 (+ or - 10%) all day long, providing I low carb and have just returned a HbA1c of 5.0.

My cholesterol was 4.4 when I was started on statins but I immediately had some worrysome side effects and the most concerning was to read that it caused peripheral neuropathy in some people. I already had significant PN plus an ulcer that refused to heal under one toe. I gained more confidence that I did not need to risk further damage, am female so no positive benefits could be found for me and as my BP had normalised and I no longer needed the BP tablets and my BGLs were those of a non-diabetic, I decided that I would not continue the statins I started twice and lasted less than a month on. After more than 12 months my ulcer finally closed which I directly attribute to control over my BGLs.

So I would say that it is possible to kick the medication if you are able to find the diet that controls your BGLs which in turn resulted in a 13.5 kg weight loss for me to this date. I did not increase my exercise in this time as I considered I already was doing plenty but before the LC eating I could not lose weight.

Although my total cholesterol has increased, my ratios of HDLs, LDLs and triglicerides are much better and will continue to improve I anticipate once my weight loss has finished - less than 3 kgs to lose!
 
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