Curious

[Gwynn]

Just a simple question...

If metformin causes so many problems (and it seems to looking at the posts on this web site), why do they prescribe it? Is there no better alternative? Do the advantages of using it outweigh the disadvantages?

Sorry if it is a bit of an obvious or silly question.

 

[grovesy]

It is cheap and many do tolerate, despite many reporting on various forums side effects.

 

[Robin]

Just a simple question...

If metformin causes so many problems (and it seems to looking at the posts on this web site), why do they prescribe it? Is there no better alternative? Do the advantages of using it outweigh the disadvantages?

Sorry if it is a bit of an obvious or silly question.

I was put on Metformin when I first developed diabetes, and I had absolutely no side effects from it at all. ( I also had no benefit either, because I’d been misdiagnosed as Type 2 when I was actually Type 1, but that’s another story).

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Is there no better alternative?

I don't think so. Metformin has been around for a long time, is dirt cheap, is really well understood. While it has these known side effects, they're pretty obvious ones (which can often be mitigated with the slow release variants).

 

[helli]

I understand Metformin has other advantages such as protection against some heart conditions.

 

[nonethewiser]

If metformin causes so many problems (and it seems to looking at the posts on this web site), why do they prescribe it? Is there no better alternative? Do the advantages of using it outweigh the disadvantages?

Does it cause so many problems, know fair few type 2's who take it without issue. Chances are those who do shout loudest & those who don't keep quiet, bit like statins my friend, bear in mind empty vessels phrase.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Does it cause so many problems, know fair few type 2's who take it without issue. Chances are those who do shout loudest & those who don't keep quiet, bit like statins my friend, bear in mind empty vessels phrase.

As someone who suffered years of pain from statins (thought it was "just" my arthritis getting worse) and also became mildly agoraphobic because of effects of metformin, I find your judgement offensive.

 

[What the..?]

Does it cause so many problems, know fair few type 2's who take it without issue. Chances are those who do shout loudest & those who don't keep quiet, bit like statins my friend, bear in mind empty vessels phrase.

Whoops I don't think your comment about empty vessels came out quite the way you intended nonethewiser - at least I hope not.

 

[Docb]

@Gwynn, to come back to the question in your post.

My own feeling is that nothing in this world is perfect and so it is with metformin. It does a pretty good job for a decent portion of the people who take it. Like most medications, that is sufficient reason to put it on the prescribing list.

Like most medications, some people taking it will get either no benefit or an adverse effect and the only way to find out if any individual comes into that category is to try it and see. Most get on very happily with metformin because it controls blood glucose. Some people get side effects which can be controlled by one means or another. A small number are completely intolerant to it and for those simply stopping taking it puts things back to where they were. As such metformin is no different to most medications.

Might come to a different conclusion if a random 10% of people who took it had all their hair drop out and thereafter could only quack like a duck, even if the other 90% were miraculously cured of T2.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I think given that it is the first line treatment for a condition that affects something like 4 million people in the UK there would be significant reason to look for an alternative first line med if the majority had a severe reaction. A bit of gastric upset seems common, but for most on the forum that seems quite short lived, and there are familiar workarounds and the slow release version to try.

It would be interesting to know how many had no reaction at all vs how many had a severe reaction. I wonder if those balance out?

Of course there are some who can’t tolerate it at all. Thankfully there are several alternatives to try, but perhaps those are all more expensive? Or have risks of more dramatic adverse events?