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Metformin

Hi @Nicola M

Like @Cumbrianjudith , I too had more pressing needs then just T2D.

But I was prescribed it early on (2018)
Tolerated it well, but I was a lot more active & mobile.
So I dropped the Metformin successfully

Cue major RTA, 4 years back , from which I'm still struggling to recover.

Less mobile & able, I'm back to taking Metformin.

A plethora of meds now the norm, with the Metformin changed to slow release .

I take 2x500 before bed, no food & thankfully no issues .

You can but try it to see how it affects you,
We are all so very different in our responses .
 
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I was on Metformin for quite a few years. It did nothing for my BG levels but did give me low-level nausea, which was quite debilitating. In the end I just stopped using it. It is the first drug of choice likely because it is very cheap. What made a big difference to my insulin resistance was to lose weight by following a low carb diet (you need to monitor BG closely when doing this and adjust insulin doses accordingly - getting a Libre system allowed me to do this with confidence). The weight loss has resulted in almost no insulin resistance, so it worked for me
 
I've been on Formet 1000mg qd for two weeks now—since my
initial T2 diagnosis two weeks ago. Thus far, no digestive upsets
after taking it with evening meal.
 
Chris24Main said:
this goes back to the very first person to start measuring blood glucose - Richard Bernstein.
Click to expand...
Do you mean his own blood glucose or any blood glucose?
 
Hi @Nicola M

I have been on Metformin since diagnosis 14 years ago, I take 500mg with my breakfast and again with my evening meal. I never had any problems with it. I always took it in the middle of my food in the beginning but now I just take it before I eat. I mainly take it now for its purported other benefits like heart protection etc. it does help my insulin resistance in the mornings especially.

Not everyone has the side effects, though they are common, you could give it a try for a few weeks and see how you go?
 
Yeah I’m willing to give it a go, my insulin resistance is bad and it’s not helping with my weight. My carb ratio is 1:7g all day now and whilst it works it’s a lot of insulin sometimes!
 
Grant_Vicat said:
Do you mean his own blood glucose or any blood glucose?
Click to expand...
The answer is really both, because before Bernstein there wasn't even a concept of there being a connection between measurement and control - as obvious as that sounds now.
 
Chris24Main said:
The answer is really both, because before Bernstein there wasn't even a concept of there being a connection between measurement and control - as obvious as that sounds now.
Click to expand...
Ah, I took the sentence "the first person to start measuring blood glucose" literally. I have a copy of my hospital diagnosis notes, dated 31st July 1959, which state Blood sugar: 920mgs.%. [which equates to 50mmol/L.]
 
You're quite right... I should have used the word "monitor"
 
@Nicola M
I have T2 and I am probably old enough to be your granny, so not sure my experience is relevant, but here goes….
Twenty years on from diagnosis, that was grimly explained as a chronic, permanent, condition that would need ever increasing amounts of meds, and would end with terrible, disabling events, but I wasn’t to worry, because “You will be looked after”, I have only ever had Metformin for my T2. I am still overweight, but not anywhere near as overweight as I was, before. My latest HbA1c was 44. No complications , such as neuropathy or retunopathy have thus far emerged. I have never had the gastric issues some report with Metformin, either.
 
ViktoriaM said:
Another thing with Metformin is that it can reduce your vitamin B12 levels. Make sure they test your level when you get your bloodwork done.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I’m already on B12 Injections for life (the joys ) but still very helpful information for anyone starting on Metformin
 
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