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Metformin Dose and Effect

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paul_melb

Well-Known Member
Messages
46
Hi
I'm a bit confused about some aspects of Metformin. I take 2x500mg and have been since diagnosis 3 weeks ago. I notice that some posters here suggest that at that level it would have little , if any, impact on BG levels. Is there a rule of thumb by which Metformin does impact BG? Or if it is not really effective at low levels , is the main advantage it its use for cardiac protection? Having tried to cut back on carbs as well as taking the Metformin, by levels have fallen quite quickly ( 15 at diagnosis with Hba1c of 10.3%, now BG ranges from 4.7-6.1). It is clear to me that the carbs are a major factor just from looking at spikes, but I wonder to what extent the Metformin is contributing to the drop. Any thoughts?
cheers
paul
 
Hi. Metformin is probably more useful for those who are overweight and have insulin resistance. It doesn't work miracles but may reduce your meter reading by perhaps 1 mmol; it does vary from person to person. Although there are higher doses than 1000mg, it's a law of diminishing returns so moving to 2000mg wouldn't have that much effect. As you have found, reducing carbs and having exercise are the most important factors. There are other tablets, for example ones I'm on, if your pancreas is running low on islet cells. Metformin has no effect on the pancreas; it tends to influence the liver and help insulin use by the muscles.
 
All, maybe most, of the clinical data and prescribing literature say that a dose of 1500mg is the lowest where you see "clinically significant results." But I agree with what's said previously, it depends massively on the person, how they eat and how active they are. The one thing that studies show for anyone is that in people with diabetes, taking metofrmin in any dose lowers your chance of dying compared to if you weren't taking it. No specific cause of death, just in general.
 
metformin is just supposed to stop your liver from releasing too much glucose into your bloodstream. I got results to start with when I was placed in metformin... although I also got the unwanted side effects of it. It didn't matter what dosage or type of metformin tab they put me on... I didn't tolerate it. I was on it for about 5 years... not the best time I must say. But what docs tend to do if metformin doesn't work entirely on its own is they throw in other drugs to stimulate your pancreas. I pretty much had quite a few of them and in the end none of them worked. It pays to keep on top of regular diagnostic testing and making sure you're on the best suitable treatment for what is happening to you. Docs can be ignorant in my experience and they keep trialling all the oral drugs when with me the fact was I actually needed to be on insulin. Wishing you the best. :D
 
Thanks for the answers....very helpful. I will continue to use the meter to experiment with foods. Milk has been a problem for me but I have discovered that unsweetened almond milk ( never knew it existed until a couple of weeks ago) does not affect me at all....and it tastes pretty good
cheers
 
I lowered my Met intake from 1000 x2 to 1000 once a day with GP advice to try to gain some weight .Now after about 1 month my BGs have risen by 2 - 3 points I was sure that Met only lowered BGs by about 1 point but not in my case
CAROL
 
Metformin lowers my BG by about 1 to 3 points (I think). It works very well for me because I'm still overweight. I have classic insulin resistance, and I'm pretty sure it helps my muscle cells with that, in addition to the liver. If it's not working for you then a different drug might. Keep questioning and asking and pushing for the best regime for you.
 
If i drank any alcohol at all,metformin gave me a monster hangover in minutes so i decided to do the lot by diet alone.[tried it twice, once was enough]

Wont go near the stuff unless i really have to and i hope its many years away.

Andy
 
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