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Metformin is it worth it?

T

Totham

Newbie
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2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Is there any proof that Metformin works long term? I have read in study of 13000 people worldwide it had minimal effect on long-term onditions such as amputation and eye failure between those who took it and those who didn't. I have taken it on docs orders for 4 years and it has ruined my digestive system (never leave loo paper at home, never pass a toilet- you get the drift). It has dominated my life. Stopped taking it as part of blood sugar diet a month ago. Now no problems on the toilet front at all. Blood sugars between 4.4 and 7.4. So,what is my gain for taking it? Any other stories or comments welcome. Ps: I'm 55 and otherwise fit.
 
It made all food taste like burnt plastic in my case. Nothing is worth that so I stopped taking them and notified DN. There have been a number of studies making claims various for long term benefits but I don't have long term left to enjoy them.

I understand that if they can find a fresh reason for making them then they can get a fresh patent. I said elsewhere on this board that I am going to hold out until they fix teeth and cure baldness.
 
I too had the same problems as you and toilet roll for 4 yrs the diabetic nurse and dietician said it was "something you are eating". My need for an urgent need for the toilet was ruining my life so I told the nurse I wasn't taking it any more. I've been off it for just on a year now. I had problems recently getting my BS levels down after I had a bad accident, but now I can exercise I'm getting back on track. I wish I had your BS levels, my lowest has been 6.1 recently and slowly my liver dump is giving up! Other more experienced T2's can tell you more.
 
Totham said:
Is there any proof that Metformin works long term?
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It's supposed to help with weight loss, which seems to contribute to its popularity among doctors. But I suspect that most of the weight loss shown in scientific trials was due to the GI effects. If you give most patients diarrhea, of course their weight will drop ... just not in a good way
 
After discussions with my diabetes nurse I dropped my Metformin usage from twice to once a day and this has improved my digestion. My morning fasting BG seems to be 6.3 rather than 6.2 before, so not a lot of difference.

I intent to stop taking Metformin once my HbA1C drops below 48, probably after my next blood test in May. I think Metformin has some benefits, but is nowhere near as effective as a low carb diet in reducing blood sugar.
 
The only thing positive I can think of regarding Metformin is at least it won't make you fat. Seems like a contradiction that losing weight is the main aim of T2D and then doctors prescribe you chemicals (medication) that makes you fat. I was going down the same path of more and more insulin and oral medications (and yes, Metformin made me uber regular!) and was gaining weight despite LCHF. So I thought, ****** it, go cold turkey and do intermittent fasting and low carb high fat dieting. Lost the weight and feel so much better! BSL is as good if not better than with all the chemicals in me. And now I'm in the 'bad books' with the health people because I've made myself healthier without their input
 

I'm sure that the only reason the health people are unhappy with us coming off medication with the LCHF diet is because they (the surgery) don't get any extra money from the pharmaceutical companies and the surgery profits are dropping???
 

 
Well my fasting blood glucose raise quite a lot if I don´t take my metformin 2 x 850mg a day.. like from 5.9 to 6.5 the next day.

So I´ll keep taking metformin for a while more, it is my plan though to quit it finally, but guess I´ll wait till I have lost all I need to loose as it seems to also help me loos weight more steadily, which I am of cause very pleased with, started out morbidly obese with a BMI of 40.5 .. now gotten down to BMI of 28.3 when my BMI is around 20 I guess I´ll stop the metformin...

I only had stomach isues the first 1 week, not since that...

I do though have isues where I have to go to the toilets more times every nights, which I am quite sure is because of metformin, so now I take my metformin in the mornings, the whole dose and only if my numbers are really high before sleep I take an additional 425mg like half a pill.
 
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As a bit of balance I'm on metformin slow release and have never had any GI issues, and I do think they have a positive effect on my numbers. It's just a hunch though, I am higher if I forget to take them. I'm just settling into a LCHF diet and will 'experiment' more once I'm stable.

This article is interesting, and the reason that I'm not too worried about taking it, unlike all those other horrid drugs. http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045911.php

But of course I don't get any side effects :-(
 
I never had the frequent trips to the loo problem with the standard Metformin but it gave me really bad indigestion and bloating so was put on the SR version and those problems stopped but the other thing then was almost complete loss of appetite which made me loose weight that I did not need to as I have never been overweight.. GP told me to drop the dosage until my appetite came back had to get down to one 500mg tablet a day before I was eating normally again
 
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I can't tell if metformin caused improvement as I started it at the same time as modifying my way of eating. Too many variables.
 
Hi, when I was diagnosed with Type 2 in August 2012, I was put on Metformin (M) 500mg. My total cholesterol was 5.8. I started on 3 tabs per day of M but by August 2013, I was on 2 a day; by August 2014, I only needed one a day as my BG levels had dropped. I tried Slow Release but the side effects were even worse. In the meantime, despite all types of cholesterol-busting foods, my total cholesterol just kept going up. I refused statins whilst on M because of the side effects I already suffered. In February 2016, my BG dropped down to 4.8 so my diabetic nurse asked me to come off M but start on statins. I was given 4 weeks' worth. At the end of 3 weeks of chronic "poo-ing" 15 minutes after I ate, I tested my BG and it had shot up to 7.2! I came off the statins and returned to 1 a day M. My BG stayed Hugh; my cholesterol just kept going up. In November 2016, I stopped taking M. Three months on, I visited Lloyds Pharmacy for a cholesterol check. The total had dropped back to 5.8 with both LDL and HDL levels within the preferred ranges. Because I was no longer on M, I'd been able to eat wheat germ bread, barley, oats - all of which aided cholesterol reduction. My BG ranges between 6.2 and 7.2 but I'm just about to start on a regime which includes Fenugreek and Sprouting Moong, both of which I'm told will reduce my BG levels. I will never take M again.
 
Hi. If you aren't yet on the SR (Slow Release) version then you should be and your surgery should have sorted that a long time ago. Metformin helps a bit by reducing appetite, reduces the liver's output of glycogen a bit and helps reduce insulin resistance a bit. There is no point in taking it if it gives you problems that don't clear in the first few weeks. Sadly GPs treat it like statins and hand it out without talking about the SR version. I had the common metallic tastes for 6 months but have been taking SR for 14 years now with no side effects whatsoever. As it only helps 'a bit', the highest priority is diet for all of us and, especially if T1, the right meds.
 
I haven't experienced too many problems with it, fortunately, and have continued to take it, dispute my doctor trying to take it off me, on the basis that, even a small reduction in BG should help over several years.
 
Do these people actually know anything? Anything true, I mean
 
General opinion is it works, but not well enough.
 
Without, or in spite of
 

@Daibell I had the normal version with bad effects toilet wise, then was moved onto the SR for 3 yrs and that was HELL! I really had no choice but to either come off or continue to be really ill, 4,5, 6 times or more a day!
 
I think if one doesn't have adverse side effects metformin helps to lower BG levels and reduce the inflamation.

On the other hand if one doesn't tolerate it one has to talk with the doctors and find a suitable therapy.

OF COURSE metformin is an aid NOT a substitute to follow a diet and make more physycal activity.
 
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