Type 1 and metformin.

Hi I was diagnosed in June this year as type 1 following blood tests that showed bg's of 28.5, cholesterol of 27 and triglyceride levels of 209 and was immediately put on Humalog at meals and Humulin i on a bed time. after the first few weeks where the diabetic nurse took my blood readings from the previous day and told me what dose to take i was quickly moved onto adjusting my own insulin at meals according to my carb intake. I eventually ended up taking 4 Humalin i on a night and a ratio of 1/2 to 1 carb portion at meals so a relatively low insulin intake.

After my first specialist appointment he told me as I was only taking a small amount of insulin my body was obviously making some insulin (the honeymoon period they called it) and that he wanted me to start taking metformin and reduce my insulin. My nurse started me off by knocking off my bi altogether and start taking 1 metformin at breakfast, 5 days later I had to start taking a 2nd at tea time having spoken to her today 4 days after starting that 2nd dose she's told me to stop taking my insulin altogether for the next 2 days, let my bloods go up and call them in 2 days time and they'll see how its going.

Just wondered if this had happened to anyone else on here who had been diagnosed as type 1?

I should add that my last blood tests on 6th Aug showed cholesterol of 7.7, triglyceride of 16.6 and my average bg's are now between 5 and 8 each test.

My body is obviously making insulin its just how much? thing i dont understand is "if" the metformin works and I dont have to go back on insulin does that mean I was misdiagnosed and that i'm type 2? or still typw one just not needing insulin at the moment as the metformin is working alongside my own body's insulin? I'm :?

hale710 said:

Hello!

I was diagnosed in February this year. Although I don't take any tablets, I do have periods where I don't take insulin for a week or two at a time. I'm still in the honeymoon period so my pancreas function is erratic at times!

Click to expand...

I see that's interesting to hear, so does your bg's go up when your not taking insulin then?

Thanks for that Stacey, so you are definitely type 1 still even though your not on insulin ?

What makes it even more confusing is that my parents and my brother are type 2! so of course now they say i'm making insulin and they putting me on metformin and knocking off the insulin it just makes me wonder if i was always type 2?

what i forgot to say on my first message though was that my ketones at the time of diagnosis were 1.5 and as I understand it type 2 don't really have ketones. I wouldn't class myself as majorly of weight though as I'm 5ft 9 1/2 and was always between 15 1/2 and 16 stone but I also have arthritis and an artificial hip which obviously limits what physically i can do. I'm now 15 stone having lost a stone prior to diagnosis.

hale710 said:

I've had 2 periods where i've not taken any insulin, and that is only after discussions with my DSN first. i usually have a period of hypos which indicate my dose is too high so i start reducing things and then eventually stop. my BG stays steady-ish (below 10 anyway) for a week or 2 and then starts to rise so i reintroduce the insulin. it's unpredictable :think:

Click to expand...

Thats very strange isn't it, the way sometimes your body makes insulin and others it doesn't make enough

Out of pure interest since we're on the topic of metformin, does anyone know if it can effect gall stones? I've over the last two weeks had a scan for chest pains and they've discovered a 2cm stone. just waiting on an appointment to see the specialist now for it. i just wondered since that's all since i'm getting a fare regular amount of pain with it.

Robinredbreast said:

chris broadley said:

hale710 said:

I've had 2 periods where i've not taken any insulin, and that is only after discussions with my DSN first. i usually have a period of hypos which indicate my dose is too high so i start reducing things and then eventually stop. my BG stays steady-ish (below 10 anyway) for a week or 2 and then starts to rise so i reintroduce the insulin. it's unpredictable :think:

Click to expand...

Thats very strange isn't it, the way sometimes your body makes insulin and others it doesn't make enough

Click to expand...

Hi Chris I was diagnosed type 1, 24 years ago and definitely no 'honeymoon period?? for me, even if I eat an egg or a salad with a bit of cheese or ham as an example, and no insulin, up the BS goes, I cannot go without Insulin for any foods :thumbdown: I personally don't understand how a type 1 cannot take Insulin and is on tablets only :? but after reading about the different 'type's of Diabetes', I have thought a lot about this and think that diabetes could of mutated over the years, and I now wonder what other diabetes mutations may arise in the future

Best wishes RRB

Click to expand...

I have to admit I was thinking the same. I'm still new to this diabetes lark and still learning but the way I understood it was type 1 didnt make enough insulin so needed to administer it via injection too and type 2 didnt use the insulin their body made correctly so had the metformin to enable their body to use what insulin it made. I also understood that in time type 2's could also start to not make enough so had to inject bi on an evening to help boost the insulin levels but they were still type 2. now all that seems to be changing and type 1's can take metformin too? as i said on previous posts im very confused :? just glad I have a good diabetic nurse whome i trust. lol

ellecook79 said:

Hi,

I have been type 1 since August 2006 and was on metformin as well as lower doses of insulin during my honeymoon period.

The metformin is an attempt to get your body to use the insilin it is still producing for now most efficiently. As I understand It, it is an attempt to prolong the honeymonn period by reducing the stress on your pancreas. You may well need to use some injected insulin though as well as you may well not be producing enough insulin of your own anymore.

Eventually, your honeymoon period will end and your insulin injecting requirements will go up. You may or may not continue on with the metformin as there is some argument that the metofrmin can allow the body to use the injected insulin more effectively as well this reducing the amount you need to inject/ assisting with regulating your blood sugars. I understand that there has been some research in this area. I am no longer taking metoformin as it did not seem to assist me in this way.

I would not question your diagnosis as type 1 - this is likely to be correct. The use of metformin with newly diagnosed type 1s has been around for a while (well at least 7 years!)

Click to expand...

Thanks Ellecook79, That's very helpful and I sort of understand it a little more now you've put it that way. You don't realize when your first diagnosed just how much there is to diabetes and its treatment. I certainly didn't anyway.

Robinredbreast said:

chris broadley said:

ellecook79 said:

Hi,

I have been type 1 since August 2006 and was on metformin as well as lower doses of insulin during my honeymoon period.

The metformin is an attempt to get your body to use the insilin it is still producing for now most efficiently. As I understand It, it is an attempt to prolong the honeymonn period by reducing the stress on your pancreas. You may well need to use some injected insulin though as well as you may well not be producing enough insulin of your own anymore.

Eventually, your honeymoon period will end and your insulin injecting requirements will go up. You may or may not continue on with the metformin as there is some argument that the metofrmin can allow the body to use the injected insulin more effectively as well this reducing the amount you need to inject/ assisting with regulating your blood sugars. I understand that there has been some research in this area. I am no longer taking metoformin as it did not seem to assist me in this way.

I would not question your diagnosis as type 1 - this is likely to be correct. The use of metformin with newly diagnosed type 1s has been around for a while (well at least 7 years!)

Click to expand...

Thanks Ellecook79, That's very helpful and I sort of understand it a little more now you've put it that way. You don't realize when your first diagnosed just how much there is to diabetes and its treatment. I certainly didn't anyway.

Click to expand...

Things were a lot different/simpler in the olden days when I was diagnosed :eh: , plus I didn't have a home computer until 3 years ago, no Google, internet etc so it was more basic then. You had type 1 or type 2, I'm still thinking though, on the path of mutations :idea: Something I would like to look into.

It's a lot to take in when first diagnosed Take care

With best wishes RRB

Click to expand...

it certainly is rrb and thanks.

Anyone any ideas on the effect of metformin on gall stones as questioned earlier?

Robinredbreast said:

Hi Chris from what I have found out, diabetes and gallstones can go hand in hand. I have read though that its more to do with Type 2's, and they get it more, but I daresay it does occur in type 1's.

I know of someone who is having a gallstone op next month, he's a male and rather portly, but not diabetic ( as far as I know) and has been given a low fat diet to stick to by the hospital. Have you tried to Google gallstones and diabetes, you may get some better info?

Good luck

RRB

Click to expand...

I've tried a little searching but nothing big. Its not weather there's a link between them that i want to know cos i know there is its what effect the metformin can have on them that im interested in. thanks though for the advice rrb.