Thank you Oldvatr really good advice
As a T2D (not using insulin) who has used Metformin for about 15 years now, I do not suffer too much from the gastric overflows and tolerate the max dose (2g / day). However, I have started to reduce my dosage of this drug as I find that my Low Carb llifestyle is a better way for me to control my bg's. I also suffer lactic acid build up in my calves, which I am told may be due to this medication. So far I have reduced by 2 tabs (i.e. 1000 mg) and my bgl average has risen by about 1 mmol/l and I find I spike a bit more than I was doing. So this is in line with the reported finding that Metformin has minimal effect on reducing bgl, and each tab will only drop bgl by a small amount. (much less than a single weetabix will spike it indeed) So I believe your high bgl levels are not really due to dropping the Metformin. I suspect your diet, as others have commented too.
Metformin is prescribed to us diabetics (both T1 and T2 etc) not as a bgl control drug, but more for the added protection it gives in reducing heart and circulatory problems and this is demonstrated to be good for us by several proper studies into long term use of the drug. Mortality rates are lowered by this drug, especially those nasty CVE's that diabetics are apparently more prone to,
I see some here are suggesting you use a ketogenic diet, but in my experience you can get good results simply by cutting down on carbs and processed foods. The keto part could follow later on. I have tried keto, and found it beneficial, but now I follow a higher carb level diet based on the Mediterranean diet which I can be more relaxed with. It is also a diet that my family can share to their benefit too, and it has certainly restored some of my insulin response so I am more carb tolerant now. Having said that I broke my rules last night and ate an Asda pastie, and had a nasty spike, so I am not cured yet. There are other diets too that can help you, so study the info on this forum and find what suits you best. The real answer is to keep a food log, and eat to meter to remove foods that your body finds intolerable.
Great balanced and experienced response, much if not all I have heard by other anecdotal replies.As a T2D (not using insulin) who has used Metformin for about 15 years now, I do not suffer too much from the gastric overflows and tolerate the max dose (2g / day). However, I have started to reduce my dosage of this drug as I find that my Low Carb llifestyle is a better way for me to control my bg's. I also suffer lactic acid build up in my calves, which I am told may be due to this medication. So far I have reduced by 2 tabs (i.e. 1000 mg) and my bgl average has risen by about 1 mmol/l and I find I spike a bit more than I was doing. So this is in line with the reported finding that Metformin has minimal effect on reducing bgl, and each tab will only drop bgl by a small amount. (much less than a single weetabix will spike it indeed) So I believe your high bgl levels are not really due to dropping the Metformin. I suspect your diet, as others have commented too.
Metformin is prescribed to us diabetics (both T1 and T2 etc) not as a bgl control drug, but more for the added protection it gives in reducing heart and circulatory problems and this is demonstrated to be good for us by several proper studies into long term use of the drug. Mortality rates are lowered by this drug, especially those nasty CVE's that diabetics are apparently more prone to,
I see some here are suggesting you use a ketogenic diet, but in my experience you can get good results simply by cutting down on carbs and processed foods. The keto part could follow later on. I have tried keto, and found it beneficial, but now I follow a higher carb level diet based on the Mediterranean diet which I can be more relaxed with. It is also a diet that my family can share to their benefit too, and it has certainly restored some of my insulin response so I am more carb tolerant now. Having said that I broke my rules last night and ate an Asda pastie, and had a nasty spike, so I am not cured yet. There are other diets too that can help you, so study the info on this forum and find what suits you best. The real answer is to keep a food log, and eat to meter to remove foods that your body finds intolerable.
In the case of Metformin providing cardiac protection, it is a bit better than anecdotal. There are several fairly large scale RCT and meta studies that support the POV I expressed, Met is after all the most widely used and oldest serving pharmacutical product for diabetes, and is considered to be the safest diabetes drug to use. It has certainly been tested by both science and time.Great balanced and experienced response, much if not all I have heard by other anecdotal replies.
Experience. Some bodies don't respond well to it. We all respond differently. I mean if it works for you, great but it made me very ill. And I’ve tried a few times.What makes you say that?
Depends on what you mean by cardiac prevention. I’ve read so many different views in Metformin in the last thirty years, many of which contradict each other, that I no longer trust any of them.In the case of Metformin providing cardiac protection, it is a bit better than anecdotal. There are several fairly large scale RCT and meta studies that support the POV I expressed, Met is after all the most widely used and oldest serving pharmacutical product for diabetes, and is considered to be the safest diabetes drug to use. It has certainly been tested by both science and time.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28802803
I’m on it to reduce insulin resistance because I haven’t been able to exercise for a year and can still only do a little.As a T2D (not using insulin) who has used Metformin for about 15 years now, I do not suffer too much from the gastric overflows and tolerate the max dose (2g / day). However, I have started to reduce my dosage of this drug as I find that my Low Carb llifestyle is a better way for me to control my bg's. I also suffer lactic acid build up in my calves, which I am told may be due to this medication. So far I have reduced by 2 tabs (i.e. 1000 mg) and my bgl average has risen by about 1 mmol/l and I find I spike a bit more than I was doing. So this is in line with the reported finding that Metformin has minimal effect on reducing bgl, and each tab will only drop bgl by a small amount. (much less than a single weetabix will spike it indeed) So I believe your high bgl levels are not really due to dropping the Metformin. I suspect your diet, as others have commented too.
Metformin is prescribed to us diabetics (both T1 and T2 etc) not as a bgl control drug, but more for the added protection it gives in reducing heart and circulatory problems and this is demonstrated to be good for us by several proper studies into long term use of the drug. Mortality rates are lowered by this drug, especially those nasty CVE's that diabetics are apparently more prone to,
I see some here are suggesting you use a ketogenic diet, but in my experience you can get good results simply by cutting down on carbs and processed foods. The keto part could follow later on. I have tried keto, and found it beneficial, but now I follow a higher carb level diet based on the Mediterranean diet which I can be more relaxed with. It is also a diet that my family can share to their benefit too, and it has certainly restored some of my insulin response so I am more carb tolerant now. Having said that I broke my rules last night and ate an Asda pastie, and had a nasty spike, so I am not cured yet. There are other diets too that can help you, so study the info on this forum and find what suits you best. The real answer is to keep a food log, and eat to meter to remove foods that your body finds intolerable.
No... I meant why do you say people here think that low carb means no carb? Not something I have ever seen.. there are carbs in all green veg and cream and milk as well as eggs so advocating "low carb" has never meant "no carb".Experience. Some bodies don't respond well to it. We all respond differently. I mean if it works for you, great but it made me very ill. And I’ve tried a few times.
No... I meant why do you say people here think that low carb means no carb? Not something I have ever seen.. there are carbs in all green veg and cream and milk as well as eggs so advocating "low carb" has never meant "no carb".[/QUOTE
Quite a lot of lists I read in response to other people's questions. Low carb doesn’t need to be ketogenic which is what I see most espousing. But always open to being wrong.Coukd be my personal experiences colouring my view.
Are you on fixed doses or MDI? I'd be very careful with your insulin doses and reducing carbs if you are on fixed doses.take aphidra and lantus insulins
Presume you are replying to @Roseanne01 here, but are we still discussing stopping Metformin, or are we moving onto diets? Most find Metformin to be a bit like Marmite. Some think it is great, but many cannot stand it. There is some that experience a shortish period of gastric upset, but then things can settle down and can be tolerated (as per the patient literature) Some find that changing brands reduces the adverse effects, and some find changing to a Slow Release or XR / ER variant helps. However, it is necessary to at least consider any benefit it may give before going cold turkey on it. It is prescribed for good reasons.Could be.. may also be that a lot of people get the best results with keto..so they like to get newcomers to try it.
The health benefits seem for most quite astonishing..What did you find didn't respond well to it?
It is prescribed for good reasons.
As I could not report adverse effects of Metformin as it was being taken with a statin which it seems make it impossible to make a bad report of it, there could be a lot of people who were made really unwell but have gone unrecorded.
When taking the tablets I could not go out, could not take any exercise or exert myself - which could not have been a good thing. If Metformin was being tolerated, then perhaps some people benefited - but where it is not there seems to be a Nelsonian denial of the problem.
hi everyone I am new on here and I've not been on a diabetes forum before! I am looking for advice. I am type 2 for the past ten years and take aphidra and lantus insulins up until yesterday I also took 2000 mg of Metformin each day but because of worsening tummy and bowel problems my GP stopped it yesterday and while even in this short time I feel better my fasting bs was 21.9 this morning and have struggled all day to get it down using lots about 240 units of Apidhra insulin today he advised me to check my blood sugars regularly and increase insulin as needed to any advice from type 2 s would be very welcome please!!! Also I am very insulin resistant and find it difficult to lose weight thanks in advance. Mary
I would add:- Used since the Middle Ages for treatment of diabetes in folk medicine - see French Lily and Glucophage or Goat's Rue. So yes, definitely 'off patent'.First line of attack for GP's with no nutrition training perhaps?
Very cheap and out of patent?
I'm one of the nasty reaction to it people so got off it asap.
When I see people here say they have been struggling with being tied to the toilet for months whilst taking it I get a bit heated...
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?