Metformin after 10 years

[Reikikate]

After having managed my type 2 diabetes without medication for 10 years I have finally decided to accept taking metformin due to a sharp rise in HbA1c since I had Covid.

My doctor wasn't concerned that I should have it because I have brought my glucose levels down before but I am struggling with post exertion malaise from Long Covid and think maybe it might help.

I'm scared about taking the medication and what effect it will have on my gut and how I manage my bg. Also read it can affect taste and appetite.

Any suggestions for me?

 

[IanBish]

For me, I took the slow, extended release tablets for several weeks before stopping them. They gave me bloating and flatulence, so I decided to try reducing my HbA1c by diet only. Some people are fine with the standard tablets, and for others it gives them gut issues. But you won't know how you'll react until you try. Others will probably explain more, but metformin doesn't reduce blood glucose that much.

 

[Rachox]

Hi @Reikikate and welcome to the forum. I took Metformin for six or so years without problems (aside for a few gastric issues for the first ten days) For reasons which I won’t go into here, but nothing to do with the Metformin itself I changed to another med. There were then problems obtaining the new drug so went back on Metformin. Second time around I got terrible bloating and pain so had to stop it. No one will know unless they try it. Metformin doesn’t directly bring down blood sugar levels but helps with stopping the liver chucking out glucose when it’s not really needed and also helps with insulin resistance. It didn’t affect my taste, it reduced my appetite a little but again you won’t know til you try it.
Let us know what you decide and how you get on.

 

[Chris24Main]

It turns out that Metformin is a natural product at heart... nobody fully understands all the ways it works, but there is broad consensus that it's the drug with least side-effects, but as @Rachox says, the primary function is to throttle your livers ability to create glucose from storage. Whether you think that's a good thing is more subtle (in my opinion), but the effect will definitely be less glucose in the blood - my issue is that this only gives the appearance of improving insulin resistance;

(it may be that it does actually improve insulin resistance, but it's mightily complicated trying to follow the possible mechanisms, and I haven`t been convinced that there is anything more than an appearance because more glucose stays trapped; my GP has agreed to let it lie there.. <grin>)

Covid will have a huge impact. There is good science around the idea that we should think of Covid as being metabolic in nature, with respiratory side effects, rather than a respiratory disease - simple version is that it will affect the same things that drive blood glucose, so do not be surprised that what used to work no longer does while you are dealing with this pesky virus.

If you need metformin to keep things under control for now, do not feel that this is a step backwards... just get well, and then see where you are.

 

[Reikikate]

Thanks for all the responses. I am hoping that the metformin will help my body get back into a better balance as it seems to have settled on a homeostasis level that is just a bit high. Yes it's very complex and I am aware that it's not just about what we eat but also the stress responses which Covid mucks with too. So yes hopefully this will be a short term thing which is actually what both my doctor and diabetes nurse expect. Dr said 'you have brought your levels down before so I am sure you can do it again' and the nurse has said 'we would normally check how things are going after 6 months but knowing you we'll check in 3' i.e. expecting my HbA1c to have come back into the pre-diabetic range. So I will be concentrating on healing over the next 3 months and will hopefully be even better than before.