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Metformin reduction..?....

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Martin9

Martin9

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
hi everybody peeps..
I was diagnosed about 3 months ago with T2 diabetes, was at that point put on Metformin building up to 500 x3 /daily .at that point I had an A1c of 77.
So 3 months on I now have an A1c of 35 and GP Practice suggesting reduce Metformin, I'm wondering if any advice regarding this as I have worries..
Why muck about with something that seems to be working...?
I'm on a reducing diet right now, with low calorie/ low carb what happens when I go back to a maintenance diet...
 
I wonder if it's just a suck it and see, don't let them reduce prescription , but try reduce it myself and test, test and up it again if not working ...???
 
It's still such early days you'll need to give it longer mate - metformin isn't harmful in any way (unless the gastric side effects are pronounced) and who knows at this stage how long the initial benefits of either your own diet and lifestyle or the medication, are going to last?
 
trophywench said:
It's still such early days you'll need to give it longer mate - metformin isn't harmful in any way (unless the gastric side effects are pronounced) and who knows at this stage how long the initial benefits of either your own diet and lifestyle or the medication, are going to last?
Click to expand...
Thanks @trophywench , it is early days, I suspect that the GP Surgery might want me off their books , but I know I can't keep up reduction diet for ever..
 
But there's a big but, keeping on Metformin ,if you could do without, could your body over time build up a resistance to it, I hear tales of people being on it for many years , and then having to make the step to insulin..?
 
I could not take Metformin, I was too ill, but there is the option to stick to low carb foods and up the calories if you want to stop losing weight.
A diabetic can't cope with carbohydrate, and doesn't metabolise them in the same way as a 'normal' person - so just not eating the carbs seems to do the trick.
 
No is the answer - it takes about 3 weeks to ramp up to full effectiveness and at least that to stop doing anything when you stop or reduce it. However over time - your body wears out, some bits quicker than others - and since an awful lot of T2s bodies are actually producing and using more insulin because those bodies have some insulin resistance in them, that pancreas has been overworked for a very long time hence it can get to the stage where exogenous insulin needs to be added and there's an end to it.

None of us has any idea whatsoever how much insulin our pancreas is churning out - even at Type 1 for 46 years it's possible that mine still produces 'some' (which has been medically proved by research on real live T1s at the Joslin Institute in Boston, some of whom had had T1 for 70+ years! It was about 50/50 between those that did and those that didn't and that didn't relate to which of them had got/had diabetic complications and those that hadn't) but quite obviously nowhere near enough to keep me alive without help.

Sooooooo - how long had YOUR pancreas been having to work harder, before anyone noticed it wasn't coping well?

Nobody actually knows the answer to that for anyone !
 
trophywench said:
No is the answer - it takes about 3 weeks to ramp up to full effectiveness and at least that to stop doing anything when you stop or reduce it. However over time - your body wears out, some bits quicker than others - and since an awful lot of T2s bodies are actually producing and using more insulin because those bodies have some insulin resistance in them, that pancreas has been overworked for a very long time hence it can get to the stage where exogenous insulin needs to be added and there's an end to it.

None of us has any idea whatsoever how much insulin our pancreas is churning out - even at Type 1 for 46 years it's possible that mine still produces 'some' (which has been medically proved by research on real live T1s at the Joslin Institute in Boston, some of whom had had T1 for 70+ years! It was about 50/50 between those that did and those that didn't and that didn't relate to which of them had got/had diabetic complications and those that hadn't) but quite obviously nowhere near enough to keep me alive without help.

Sooooooo - how long had YOUR pancreas been having to work harder, before anyone noticed it wasn't coping well?

Nobody actually knows the answer to that for anyone !
Click to expand...
Where do you get that info about Metformin , it's basically untrue, I'm looking online for sources..
 
I need to go off for a while, ..these are answers from older T1s, I don't know what they on about...
 
@trophywench , I have so many issues, with what you just said, but will leave it for another night..
 
trophywench said:
No is the answer - it takes about 3 weeks to ramp up to full effectiveness and at least that to stop doing anything when you stop or reduce it. However over time - your body wears out, some bits quicker than others - and since an awful lot of T2s bodies are actually producing and using more insulin because those bodies have some insulin resistance in them, that pancreas has been overworked for a very long time hence it can get to the stage where exogenous insulin needs to be added and there's an end to it.

None of us has any idea whatsoever how much insulin our pancreas is churning out - even at Type 1 for 46 years it's possible that mine still produces 'some' (which has been medically proved by research on real live T1s at the Joslin Institute in Boston, some of whom had had T1 for 70+ years! It was about 50/50 between those that did and those that didn't and that didn't relate to which of them had got/had diabetic complications and those that hadn't) but quite obviously nowhere near enough to keep me alive without help.

Sooooooo - how long had YOUR pancreas been having to work harder, before anyone noticed it wasn't coping well?

Nobody actually knows the answer to that for anyone !
Click to expand...
Are you really serious, remember this is a T2 post...?
 
4-5 days ..!
 
Martin, many people on here have successfully managed to come off their meds and maintain good levels with diet and exercise. I suppose it depends on whether you personally want to give it a go. I guess you won’t know how the reduction affects you until/unless you try. If it were me, I think I would but that’s just my personal opinion for me. Good luck with whatever you decide. Katie
 
I stopped taking Metformin almost a year ago & have not suffered any ill affects, except when I relaxed control & found that with the moderate increase in carbs my weight & A1c went up......
 
Martin9 said:
Where do you get that info about Metformin , it's basically untrue, I'm looking online for sources..
Click to expand...
Actually what Trophywench has said is essentially correct. But everyone has a different path. For me, you could see the difference in my self-testing after about 2 weeks, which was also when the worst of the gastric symptoms had receded.

You do have a point about not messing with something if it's not broken, so if you are not suffering from gastric side effects (many do) then by all means stay on the Metformin. Aside from it's blood glucose lowering behaviour, I recall it having a number of other beneficial capabilities (cardio-protective was one mentioned). If you are currently on a low carb diet, then you definitely won't want to change anything until you are stabilized on a maintenance diet!

I do recall reading some years ago a piece of research that suggested that above a certain HbA1c that the pancreas cells created by the body's normal cell-replacement activities where created incorrectly. Thus, the T2 essentially would "progress" as the person got older. Sadly I've not been able to re-locate that research.
 
Hi. I'm slightly concerned when you talk about a reducing diet and then a maintenance diet? I understand the point but it is important for all of us to find a 'diet' that is a lifestyle for life otherwise you can end up yo-yoing. A low carb (not low calorie) diet should enable you to reduce weight gradually as well as blood sugar but also be something you can keep going. I say 'not low calorie' as you need enough fats and proteins to keep you feeling full
 
Martin9 said:
4-5 days ..!
Click to expand...
But then it goes on to say depending on the dose as most of us start on a low dose it takes longer.
I was diagnosed around the same time as you and have my 1st a1c next week. Personally I would think it would be too early to start talking about reducing medication I would be looking for at least another couple of a1c tests to show that levels were being maintained before reducing. Just my personal opinion. This is a whole new way of life and I think it takes time to adjust without risking slipping into old habits.
 
My statement of 'about 3 weeks' Martin, is purely hearsay evidence from one helluva lot of Type 2s who take Metformin over the years I've been involved in and on diabetes forums, not from personal experience as it happens but don't assume that T1s never need to take Metformin because we all, just like all T2s, might build up a bodily resistance to insulin over time - in which case maybe 'an old T1' is much more likely to know something about it than a new one, purely because she is old and reads A Lot. Some of it sinks in.
 
FWIW, chatted with a doctor friend about reducing Metformin if my BG progress remains good. His comment: "Why would you?" which I didn't really have an answer to. Don't have any gastro probs with it (yet!), some hints that it may be good for heart etc, cheap.
 
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