Many of us have controlled t2 diabetes, or got into remission (back to normal blood sugar levels), by going low carb. There are several sites that can help, eg the lowcarbprogram or books by others such as Jason Fung.
It is your decision whether to take metformin, your doctor can only advise, but the side effects can be unpleasant and there are other options.
I, and many others, buy our own meters as how can you know if a low carb diet is working without it? At first I tested every morning and before plus 2 hours after every food to make sure I set my total carbs for the day at the right level. Then once my blood suagrs had fallen into the normal range I tested every time I had a new food, and once a week tested through the day.