hi all hoping someone may be able to give me advice. As a type 2 diabetic diagnosed 2 years ago with hba of 97 I was put straight on 2 x Metformin 500mg and no dietary advice. I read lots in general and managed with some carb reduction and the met and weight loss to reduce to 42 within 6 months and was advised to stick to Metformin as “most people can’t keep up any changes.”I drifted a bit after this put a stone back on and my hba in May this year was 45 and nurse wanted me on statins. At this point I decided I needed to take myself in hand and get serious I started to research and this summer came across this site and the lCHF approach which I then started. I also mixed in with intermittent fasting and started to get serious results. However my reaction to Metformin was increasingly worse and my new blood glucose meter was showing an average reading of 5.5 so made decision to come off Metformin 7 weeks ago. I did try to ring drs but told unless urgent could not book as so busy so just got on with it. In the last two weeks my average blood meter reading has been 4.8 withoutmetformin and am so well. I have also lost 30 pounds and bmi now 23. My question is about what happened to me today. Went in for hbac1 and saw a health care assistant who took blood, weight etc and I mentioned my blood readings and that I had come off Metformin. Wish I’d taken a photo of look of shock on her face she was really not happy with me and said she needed to book me in with a dr for next Thursday to discuss my results when back as would need a gp opinion on this and may need to go back on them. I really don’t want to but what do others think. I’ve seen posts from people who stay on them for other benefits but I’ve never felt so well off them and with my new way of eating and weight. I do get anxious and would really appreciate some help, support and advice. Feel like I’m waiting to see the headmistress for being naughty! Yes I do have memories of this!
I reply not that I am a medical expert and my comments are from sheer personal experience, but I got the same reaction when my Doctor here in spain was informed by myself when he advised my A1C had reduced x 23 % in 4 months, and this was because I had been on Metformin patting himself on the back he had done this amazing thing by giving me the drug in the first place, when I excitingly told him "no not due to Metformin Doctor", as I did not take them no disrespect to himself, but threw them down the toilet, instead, I took charge of my own body, who best to do this, no one knows it better than I and even if under a Doc, always best to get 2d and 3rd opinions for all! I started to walk more, as you started intermittent fasting 2 days 18 hr fast and 1 day 24 hour fast, love it!....have dropped 21 kilos, I eat Keto eating plan real food great recipes on the diet doctor website, have not eaten bread pasta potatoes or rice for 11 months, substitute for other goods which are much better and tastier, and really the look of my Doctors face was amazing, he took the huff, not even a well done, or enquired what I had done in the life style change, he just said "Jennifer listen to me, convince yourself you have diabetes" don't drink coffee stood up and opened the door! Well, I changed my doctor as you can well imagine, a Doc who can not recognise new methods, new avenues of how to treat diabetes or support the efforts you did, is not the right doctor for you.....
Oh by the way, before he closed the door, I said, to him, a suggestion box for you....and all medics worldwide, start treating Diabetes correctly its been treat wrongly, you are all worrying about high sugars this is not the problem, Diabetes is a dietary disease, metformin does not cure this, it simply shuffles the sugars around the body and no doubt destroying other organs inbetween kidneys especially, whereas a change of lifestyle, exercise, diet, intermittent fasting gets rid of sugars naturally, out of the system, so start and treat the CAUSE, which is insulin resistance as sugars is only a symptom of the Cause!!!!
You don't give alcohol to an alcoholic, you don't give insulin to T2 diabetic if insulin is the problem in the first place you focus and treat the problem the casue....
The second look on his face was not to be forgotten but I giggled and chuckled on the way out of the surgery, knowing, I had done the correct thing not taking my metformin, I took only 3 and that was enough the side effects were horrendous, and decided to do my own thing, this is what the good doctors with any medical sense will tell you in the first place before giving medications, change of lifestyle, exercise more, low carb eating and that's it really.........intermittent fasting is the icing on the cake, and it works it really works for me anyway cant speak for others.
You don't have to take Metformin even if prescribed, not all doctors are correct, its not for me to advise you what to do, but you have the ball in your court, seek another doctor or another until you find a Doctor who says...
"Well done, amazingly you are keeping control of your levels, A1C down 23% 4 months no meds, we keep going like this and retest you in 12 months"......that's a pragmatic approach sensible doctor, who acknowledges that other methods other than medication can be a solution and if they show constant good results, why force anyone to continue on Metformin.
I asked my Doc to give leniency when I informed him my good results, he declined saying no, you wont stick to the regime your one he did not have trust in me as his patient, well I had great pleasure to bump into him last week, another look of shock to see my wonderful new body, bouncing down the street, and I approached him to tell him my A1C is now normal levels,
and my fasting, 2hr after eat and random finger testing, is all in the 80mg/dl, wishing him a nice day I bounced by him with a fabulous grin on my face.....
Hope this helps
mallorca