Metformin vs Insulin?

[Cocosilk]

Has anyone tried either Metformin or Insulin in isolation and can explain the side effects and how it is to come off them?
I suspect I may be asked to take one or the other for Gestational Diabetes and am wondering how the body adjusts postnatally. How do these medications affect your body's chance of going back to normal (if at all)?

 

[dancer]

I don't know about Metformin but I think, if you were put on insulin, after the birth when blood sugars reduced, your Insulin would be reduced till (hopefully) you were back to pre diabetic levels and wouldn't require any medication.

 

[DCUKMod]

Whilst I have no experience of gestational diabetes, I have observed man you forum users come off their Metformin once their condition is in a good place. Most reduce it over a period of time, just to ensure their numbers don't go haywire.

Metformin doesn't drive blood sugars down, per we, but helps our bodies cope with food a bit better, which reducing insulin resistance a bit alongside the way.

To be honest, if you have these concerns, it would be useful to discuss them with your prenatal or maternity team. I doubt they'll be keen to keep people on medication any longer than absolutely necessary

 

[stuart.howard]

Has anyone tried either Metformin or Insulin in isolation and can explain the side effects and how it is to come off them?
I suspect I may be asked to take one or the other for Gestational Diabetes and am wondering how the body adjusts postnatally. How do these medications affect your body's chance of going back to normal (if at all)?

 

[Cocosilk]

Whilst I have no experience of gestational diabetes, I have observed man you forum users come off their Metformin once their condition is in a good place. Most reduce it over a period of time, just to ensure their numbers don't go haywire.

Metformin doesn't drive blood sugars down, per we, but helps our bodies cope with food a bit better, which reducing insulin resistance a bit alongside the way.

To be honest, if you have these concerns, it would be useful to discuss them with your prenatal or maternity team. I doubt they'll be keen to keep people on medication any longer than absolutely necessary

After a recent appointment, my OB has decided to leave me manage it with my diet for now. The diabetes counsellor at the hospital raised her eyebrows because she knows the hospital is normally strict if pregnant women have fasting levels over 5.1 mmol (this was reduced from 5.5 mmol in Australia a couple of years ago).
My fasting levels have been around 5.3 or 5.4 this week but if I wait another hour or so after getting up and before eating breakfast, they will be 5.1. Last week I had them lower but this week, I'm finding a breakfast with eggs, avocado, spinach, tomato, cheese and mushrooms with no obvious carbs lets my 2 hour post meal reading be 4.9. And then before lunch today it was 4.5. But that's because I totally avoided carbs.
Yesterday, I ate a large piece of my husband's sourdough rye bread (no sugar added) and 2 nectarines with a coffee and I had a 2 hour post meal reading of 8.0... (They don't like the 2 hour post meal to be more than 6.7) So if I want to stay off the medications, it seems I have to eat very low carb. I just hope the baby doesn't get affected negatively with the sudden reduction in carbs but I figure a lower blood glucose environment has to be better for both of us, doesn't it? I have the feeling the diabetes counsellor, who laughed at me when I asked her about ketogenic diets, won't agree that I am doing the right thing by 'eating to my metre' and avoiding the carbs that give me the spikes above the targets they have given me. And I'll have to increase my carb intake after the birth if I want to breastfeed I think so I'll have to see how it goes. I just read about the side effects of the medications and I'd prefer not to need them if my diet is good enough with the new changes.

 

[DJC3]

@Cocosilk here’s a good article to allay your fears about low carb in pregnancy
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/pregnancy

 

[Cocosilk]

@Cocosilk here’s a good article to allay your fears about low carb in pregnancy
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/pregnancy

Thanks, I did read this one just a week or so ago when I started looking on the net for answers. It just seems like there haven't been many studies done and I wonder what difference it makes if you were already eating very low carb from the beginning of pregnancy vs diving into low carb late in pregnancy (30 weeks for me).

 

[DJC3]

Thanks, I did read this one just a week or so ago when I started looking on the net for answers. It just seems like there haven't been many studies done and I wonder what difference it makes if you were already eating very low carb from the beginning of pregnancy vs diving into low carb late in pregnancy (30 weeks for me).

If you’re not accustomed to v low carb I’d take it very gently at first to avoid ‘low carb flu’ but then eating a wholefood diet full of proper unprocessed ingredients like fish, eggs, nuts, cheese, avocado, real meat - can only benefit you and your baby. You wouldn’t be cutting out anything essential, just the rubbish.
I know what you mean about the lack of studies though - I guess researchers are understandably wary of using pregnant women as a study group.
Hope you find a way, I wish you all the very best for the remainder of your pregnancy and birth.

Edit for typo

 

[Cocosilk]

If you’re not accustomed to v low carb I’d take it very gently at first to avoid ‘low carb flu’ but then eating a wholefood diet full of proper unprocessed ingredients like fish, eggs, nuts, cheese, avocado, real meat - can only benefit you and your baby. You wouldn’t be cutting out anything essential, just the rubbish.
I know what you mean about the lack of studies though - I guess researchers are understandably wary of using pregnant women as a study group.
Hope you find a way, I wish you all the very best for the remainder of your pregnancy and birth.

Edit for typo

Thank you! Yes, the first two weeks were not nice. I stopped all sweets and caffeine at once and cut my portions of low GI carbs and didn't have many other carbs much. I was also anaemic and just got an iron infusion at the beginning of this dietary change. The caffeine and sugar withdrawals were a bit much to take and I ended up going back to a coffee or a couple of cups of tea a day after 5 days. But today was the first day where I really didn't have any grain or legume forms of carbs (except for a cup of miso soup). I had a couple of small handfuls of raspberries and blueberries, and half an apple with my salad lunch. Otherwise it was all meat and salmon, salad vegetables or lightly steamed beans, broccoli, oh, and half a carrot, which is a bit carby, and then yogurt, goat's milk, a number of different nuts, miso soup with seaweed, and a few cacao nibs. And coffee. I made it through my first day and I actually feel okay this evening. Not craving too much - not like the last couple of weeks There is hope!