Type 2 Reducing Metformin

Hi. I had a blood test on 4 February with an HcA1C result of 56. I was diagnosed with Type 2 five years ago and have kept putting off getting to grips with my blood sugars. I am currently on 4 x 500mg Metformin daily.

In January I was diagnosed with some narrowed coronary arteries and prescribed statins and aspirin to manage this. My BP is reducing to normal levels. The statins seem to have dramatically reduced my cholesterol from 5.0 to 2.8 (LDL 2.7 to 1.0) in 14 days. Since 22 January I have lost 38lb and I am in week four of Prof Taylor's Newcastle Diet, which I have stuck to pretty well but not 100%.
On day one of the diet my FBG was 8.4. Since then it has been between 4.7 and 6.4, the one exception being a 6.9 after eating a slice of pizza! I have eating chicken and fish with veg and salad with no rise in blood sugar levels.

I am not hung up on the "reversal" or "remission" terms. My aim is to maintain a non diabetic blood sugar level without medication. Accepting that I can't undo damage that has been done, I want to ensure that no further damage/ complications occur. I also like the idea of taking four less tablets a day!

My instinct is to wait until my next HaB1C test in May before discussing reducing medication with my GP/ diabetic nurse. However, I was wondering if I should try reducing the Metformin dosage myself (by say 50%). This led me to the embarrassing realisation that I don't actually know how Metformin works or what side effects it might have? Does it have a direct impact on blood sugar levels or does it serve another purpose?

Grateful for any thoughts based on the greater experience and knowledge on this forum.

Thanks

sno0opy said:

I personally would hold out till next hba1c. Generally Metformin does not reduce blood glucose levels much from eating, it can help reduce appetite and it helps reduce morning spikes caused by the liver dumping.

If your not having major gastric issues I would go slow. If your next hba1c is low, they will proberbly suggest to drop it by half, if it's still low they may cut to one tab, or cut totaly.

I was 87, on 4xtabs and I waited for two good hba1c tests to drop it down. Note that was on a sustainable diet, I would advise on being careful looking to drop the meds untill you have a hba1c using a diet you can stick too. Having a very low hba1c on Metformin plus super low cal diet may not translate into a good hba1c on no Metformin and a more normal diet.

Not giving medical advice, just opinion. But my I think it's best to take them untill you have data to say you don't need them and that's hba1c results

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Thanks, that's helpful and probably what I was inclined to do. I may be a bit proactive if the next couple of HbA1C tests are good. My GP is good but very cautious and very much of the "if you are on Metformin, you're on it for life" school of thinking.

Thanks again.