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Interesting study on Metformin..

Just when I was pondering taking mine again as I never have issues with the extended release... So it actually doesn't do what they originally thought it did? How curious. Seems like the exact mechanics of Metformin really are a mystery.
 
I am being thick here.

Ninety days of metformin treatment resulted in similar increases in EGP and glucose Rd ......
In the abbreviations it says Rd means rate of disappearance.

So is it saying it increases the disappearance, or it increases the amount in the body?
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I am being thick here.

Ninety days of metformin treatment resulted in similar increases in EGP and glucose Rd ......
In the abbreviations it says Rd means rate of disappearance.

So is it saying it increases the disappearance, or it increases the amount in the body?
Click to expand...

I think it increased both which they hypothesise in the conclusion as meaning

" Whether metformin increases basal glucose Rd by facilitating glucose uptake in other tissues such as the intestines remains to be further clarified."

i.e. it might still work by pushing the increased endogenous glucose into other cells thus explaining the increased rate of disappearance?

Now whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen..and if that's how metformin works then it may well not the the "oh so safe" medication that we have all been told it is..?
 
Well I am being thick here. Didn't understand a word of it. What I want to know is...does metformin help to reduce IR when combined with a low carb diet and exercise? Or is diet and exercise just as effective without metformin?
 
Thanks @bulkbiker

So it looks like it may "hide" the endogenous glucose by shoving it into other cells and out of the blood stream ???
That to me, sounds like it actually is likely to increase insulin resistance.

Or am I still being thick. (it is, after all, nearly wine time ;) )
 
zand said:
Well I am being thick here. Didn't understand a word of it. What I want to know is...does metformin help to reduce IR when combined with a low carb diet and exercise? Or is diet and exercise just as effective without metformin?
Click to expand...
Well I think what its saying is that no-one has a clue about how metformin actually works and that it raises blood sugar production in the healthy.. but it may send it all off into other parts of the body.. might well explain the "chronic progressive" nature of T2 if treated with Metformin and why people have to go onto stronger meds..
 
Bluetit1802 said:
So it looks like it may "hide" the endogenous glucose by shoving it into other cells and out of the blood stream
Click to expand...
That's how I read it.. unfortunately only have the abstract and much though I love you all £35 is a lot to pay to get even more confused!

Edit to add I'll ask my drugs rep cousin if he has access.. he'll be here in about 30 mins...
 
bulkbiker said:
That's how I read it.. unfortunately only have the abstract and much though I love you all £35 is a lot to pay to get even more confused!

Edit to add I'll ask my drugs rep cousin if he has access.. he'll be here in about 30 mins...
Click to expand...

I love you too, Des. :) but I wouldn't pay for it either.
 
bulkbiker said:
Well I think what its saying is that no-one has a clue about how metformin actually works and that it raises blood sugar production in the healthy.. but it may send it all off into other parts of the body.. might well explain the "chronic progressive" nature of T2 if treated with Metformin and why people have to go onto stronger meds..
Click to expand...
Hmmm. OK thanks.
 
Seems to me to be saying that we have been told that Metformin reduces production of glucose in the liver, however the study suggests that Metformin actually increases production of glucose in the liver.

Metformin does increase the rate of glucose being cleared from the blood, but nobody is sure which tissues take it up. More funding please.
 
Hmmm still not sure about this. My FBGs seem to be lower when I take metformin and I thought this was because it was stopping liver dump. Maybe my body does the placebo effect with that too?! :rolleyes:
 
zand said:
Hmmm still not sure about this. My FBGs seem to be lower when I take metformin and I thought this was because it was stopping liver dump. Maybe my body does the placebo effect with that too?! :rolleyes:
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From the study there wasn't a placebo effect.

Metformin does lower BG (as confirmed by the results) but the study is questioning how it does this. Looks like it may do it by clearing glucose from the blood stream more quickly.

No explanation about dawn phenomenon.

Bottom line - keep taking the pills because they work. One day we will know how.
 
bulkbiker said:
That's how I read it.. unfortunately only have the abstract and much though I love you all £35 is a lot to pay to get even more confused!

Edit to add I'll ask my drugs rep cousin if he has access.. he'll be here in about 30 mins...
Click to expand...

I bet Ivor will look at it, he’s a metformin advocate.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
From the study there wasn't a placebo effect.

Metformin does lower BG (as confirmed by the results) but the study is questioning how it does this. Looks like it may do it by clearing glucose from the blood stream more quickly.

No explanation about dawn phenomenon.

Bottom line - keep taking the pills because they work. One day we will know how.
Click to expand...
Oh trust me I can get placebo effect even when others don't lol. ;)

So if metformin clears glucose from the bloodstream and puts it into organs that's a bad thing right? So it's the equivalent of snake oil....or worse? Cos it may actually do harm rather than doing nothing at all. And to think I have been begging stealing and borrowing that stuff from wherever I can get it.

Or have I got it wrong again?

Oh, does it maybe stop the need for so much insulin to be released into the blood cos the metformin takes it out ? And that would be good cos too much insulin is worse than too much glucose?

Well whatever, my love affair with metformin is coming to an end...:arghh:
 
Shhhhh... just between us. I took my last Met on 31.12.2018. I wanted to see how much, if any, difference it was making. Then I was taken hostage to a review in February which showed my very first non D result. So I asked the nurse if I could lower the dose (of the tablets I hadn't been taking) and she said no, not yet. Still have not resumed and frankly have seen no difference in bg. Don't tell anyone will ya?
 
I wonder if you can get the placebo effect from not taking some thing if you see what I mean. and if you do see what I mean could you please explain it to me because I not sure I do.
 
@Jim Lahey is someone that talks frequently about having too much glucose in our cells being as bad or worse than too much in the blood stream, and that even when we follow a low carb diet and don't have much in our blood stream, we can still have it lingering in our cells, doing damage, and it takes a lot of effort to get rid of it. This is one reason he doesn't put too much emphasis on finger pricking or A1c tests because they only detect glucose in the blood and nowhere else. I hope he can come along and discuss this. He may find this article very interesting.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Seems to me to be saying that we have been told that Metformin reduces production of glucose in the liver, however the study suggests that Metformin actually increases production of glucose in the liver.

Metformin does increase the rate of glucose being cleared from the blood, but nobody is sure which tissues take it up. More funding please.
Click to expand...

Most likely muscles tissues. Only that has enough capacity.
 
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