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Metformin no effect

dwelldon

dwelldon

Well-Known Member
Messages
190
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I went for my usual bloods back in march and got my results back. My HBA1c had increased to 60 and the doctor has since put me on metformin and I have now been taking them for roughly 7 weeks. But I have since not noticed any differences in my blood sugar levels, it's normally on a morning where my levels are high, I am talking 7.5 plus.....

I have had some side effects with the metformin as well, which have been feeling on nauseous and faint at times, feeling basically like energy has been sucked from me. I am also taking statins so not sure if the pair of them are causing this.

I am wondering if anyone else has add similar issues or does it take a while for metformin to start to work.

Just thought I'd see what others thought before I go back to the doctors.
 
@dwelldon Metformin doesn't usually have a dramatic effect on your BG - generally thought to be one point maximum.

It does help you to manage your BG by reducing uptake of glucose a bit, reducing production of glucose by your liver a bit, and decreasing insulin resistance a bit.

Side effects hit different people in different ways. Statins sucked the energy out of me.

The main reported side effects of Metformin are in the gut (which is why it is also known as Metfartin).

So Metformin is an aid, but it won't reverse diabetes symptoms on its own. People usually have to investigate and modify what they eat to improve BG control.

Note I am pointedly not pushing low carbohydrate as the only choice, but it is an option much loved on this forum. :)

A good strategy is to test your BG for a while, morning and evening, before and 2 hours after each meal. Keep a food diary and you can see what foods are pushing up your BG. If you post what you normally eat and what your BG readings are on a day-to-day basis we can offer suggestions.

In my opinion it is not enough to rely on just HbA1c to work out why your BG control is getting worse.
 
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Metformin is not a silver bullet but it is imo a useful adjunct to a lower carb approach to improving blood glucose management.

Have a careful look at your diet and cut down or cut out foods that raise your blood glucose levels, you may then see an improvement in levels, a lessening of any symptoms you may have and weight loss (if that is one of your goals).
 
Metformin and a statin were dreadful for me - I had no quality of life, it frightened my husband so much he stopped taking the statin he was on - he has gone back to being the man I married not some grumpy stranger.
The side effects of tablets are often not recorded - I was pressured to restart taking them three times before I was taken seriously and a note made on my records.
To reduce my Hba1c to normal I eat low carb foods and that seems to do the trick.
 
I am a following a low carb diet myself. I find it easy to follow. I really aren't your typical diabetic either, as I have always been fit and active, never smoked or been over weight. All the advice from the NHS is typically steered towards these areas which I find really frustrating. Its like a one thing fits all approach, which is never good for anything.

My friend who is type one and has been for 25 years, thinks that my issue is that I have more intolerance than anything else to insulin.

D
 
All the advice on diet I've ever had from doctors and dieticians and nurses has not just been useless. it has been quite detrimental to me.
When it started I had a 24 inch waist, but weighed 147lb as I was very muscular - and the ideal was Twiggy, the model. I got up to 264lb at my heaviest - so full of aches and pains and feeling that I'd never be well again.
 
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