Desert Ryder

I've been fighting it but it finally happened. My doctor has finally perscribe metformin to me. I'll be 59 this year. I'm 6 ft and currently at about 240 lbs, fully clothed. I've been active with walking and short rides.
I've probably put on 20-25 pounds in the past few years but I did have cervical spinal fusion, C4-C7, Dec. 2022 which set me back. The two prior years dealing with two different neurologist.
My last few bloodwork tests has shown my glucose to be slowly elevating over 100. My last fasting test was 130.
My A1C has been on the edge of mid 6's for the past few years. It was 6.6 this time so hence the 500 mg dose of metformin.

I hope I don't suffer any side effects. I plan a more dedicated exercise regime which should equate some some weight loss.

How many here have type 2 or take metformin? Your experiences?

RH Clark

Look more into dietary changes to achieve your goals rather than an exercise regime. Definitely combine the two but give much more importance to the diet part. Do some research on intermittent fasting. As far as diet my personal recommendations are to eat as little ultra processed foods as possible and stay away from added sugars.
BTW, I'm 56 in a month, 6'2 and 190lbs. My goal is to get back to 170. I've done it by that same advice and am getting there again. I understand the recovery part. I had some surgery that set me back, but my weight gains were more from eating wrong to self-medicate depression caused by injury, than lack of exercise.

OldTryGuy

My PRESCRIBED Metformin (2015 May) was part of a Prostate Cancer Treatment Protocol and NOT FOR TYPE 2. I was taking 1,700mg/day without issue but many suffer Side Effects on lower dosage and that's why there is ER(Extended Release)

1st thing is to read up about side effects. Can be nasty and some just have to discontinue use.
2nd - due to the functioning process you might have less energy reserves affecting longer duration exercise.
3rd - I chose to discontinue Metformin and replace with Enzymedica Berberine Phytosome - Natural plant based

Good Luck

plumberroy

Metformin messed up my stomach bad. First couple hours after taking it I couldn't get to far from the bathroom.. Also none of the doctors will admit it but we think it might have contributed to my wife having non alcoholic cirosis of the liver

Jughed

Metformin tore me up bad. I couldn't be more than 20 min from a restroom.

A1C 6... think diet before meds. Lower your carb intake - period.

Duragrouch

I started metformin I think 3-4 years ago. First needed to use at half dose for a long time, full dose and I could not be far from the bathroom. In recent years I have adapted well to full dose which is good because my glucose ballooned as I have gained weight. Trying to lose that weight now but is so hard, exercise is not enough, need to greatly restrict diet. At one point metformin was not enough, doctor put me on Ozempic, and has worked well, even at low dose. Was not too expensive at first, but then I fell into the "donut hole", after a certain amount of money spent with insurance (I think $4000?), then I would have had to pay full amount until over ($7000?) and then it was covered again. Thankfully, my income is so low that I am well below the max that qualifies to get it FREE from the manufacturer, they send it direct to my doctor and I pick it up.

About the exercise: You can get results even before much weight loss. I have a theory about this: The fat on the outside is not the most harmful, it's after the fat begins to invade the space between your organs or the organs themselves where it impedes function, that part is known. My theory is that the latter happens, well, later in your weight gain. My theory is that fat "stacks", like a stack of plates or a mathematical stack; Last fat gained is the first fat lost. After I was first diagnosed with type II, I exercised like mad, didn't lose much weight at all, but got retested for A1C 3 months later and it had dropped a ton, and doctor was like, "What did you do?!" And I told him my theory, and he thought there may be something to that. Anyway, my point is, don't be thinking you need to get full weight loss before getting results. Just start exercising, that alone will help metabolic syndrome(?), and even a little fat loss may help a lot. And, restrict your diet. Those diets like Atkins(?) that became a fad a couple decades ago, IMO, are wrong; They replaced starches with protein, but any protein, even fatty burgers. Reducing starch is good (and by the way, cook a starch like potatoes or pasta, refrigerate it, then reheat it, and the glycemic index drops, it digests slower). But you don't need a ton of protein, too much taxes the kidneys and can contribute to gout. Replace those starches with *more vegetables*, preferably fresh, or frozen, not canned. My most frequent thing is get fresh veg frying in the bottom of pan (in a bit of olive oil, good), place fish fillet on top, cover, fish steams while veg cooks (turn over fillet at halfway), or slice chicken off bone (thighs, cheap) and add closer to end. Right at end, a dash of soy sauce and a dash of oyster sauce, stir, serve. If not those sauces, put rosemary and any other seasoning in bottom of pan and veg on top, the rosemary needs to fry in the oil to release flavors and soften. On thighs, I remove skin, cut away the fat (sharp paring knife to scrape/cut off), and on underside on one side of bone, there is always a pocket of fat that I scrape out with the tip of the paring knife. Then cut off meat, don't need to get every bit off bone, just throw it in the pan too then just eat off the bone. If you love crispy skin, you can put on baking sheet in 350F oven, turn frequently so it doesn't stick, and it will render all fat, perfect crispness, this is called crackle, drain on paper towel like bacon, season with a bit of season salt or other, nectar of the gods. If a small amount of skin, I will cut smaller and do same in small pot on stove. Pics follow:

Desert Ryder

Thanks for the input.
I'm aware of a lot of things to do and about diabetes. My wife is a type 1. She's had it for 37 years.
I will see how my body does on the metformin. I'm usually pretty good at tolerating meds. My wife asked if there was any other med than metformin but I guess I need to start with this first.

Duragrouch - My wife takes Ozempic and gets it from the manufacturer also.

Duragrouch

Metformin has a very long history, which is good from a safety standpoint and also available very cheap as generic. So I think entirely appropriate as a first countermeasure, if not contraindicated for any reason.

RH Clark

Type one is different from type 2 which can be reversed with diet. Type 2 is often referred to as insulin resistance.

RB1-luvr

I'm turning 60 this year, and I'm about ten pounds overweight. I need to improve my diet (less sugar, less salt). My blood pressure is trending higher, my tummy is biggest it's ever been. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences and motivating me to get my act together.

RH Clark

Intermittent fasting combined with low glycemic foods helps keep my sugar constant. I had up and down swing issues up until age 50 when I changed my diet. It would be good to take an insulin resistance test just to see where you fall. If you are becoming insulin resistant, then you are consuming high glycemic foods too often. All that is necessary to correct this is to consume lower glycemic foods less often. The varying degrees of what that will entail depends on the individual.

Insulin resistance can be related to an addiction. When anyone is addicted to a drug and consume it more often and in higher doses, they become tolerant to it. At that point it takes more to achieve the same effect. With insulin resistance we take higher doses of insulin and insulin more frequently than optimal. We then become tolerant to insulin requiring more and more over time to achieve the same purpose.

Personally, I think this can hit older cyclists particularly hard as we age and slow down without significant changes to our diets compared to when we were younger.

pdlamb

Perhaps some day I'll understand why people go to a medical professional, someone with 5-12 years of specialized training, for medical care. Then when they get home, they get online and splash, "Why don't I want to do what the doctor ordered?" all over the internet, rather than ask the doctor, "What are the potential side effects?" or "What alternative treatment(s) is (are) available?" There are plenty of authoritative lists of side effects for every drug available on line, or some very informative (if densely written, in small print) Patient Package Inserts that my pharmacist gives me with every prescription.

Perhaps some day. Or maybe not.

RH Clark

I went to a specialized physician for more than 10 years. He was actually the only one in the field less than a 3-hour drive from my rural home one way. I saw him every 3 months. What did I know about healthcare. I trusted this professional. His treatment was prescription drugs and injections. Doctors don't really talk to you about alternative forms of treatment because of a thing called "standard of care" and their liability involved in anything outside what would be considered the normal range of expected care.

I agree with you about taking responsibility and initiative towards your own health care. That was just my personal experience, and I didn't get any better until I started researching all possibilities.

Desert Ryder

Thanks? You never stated if you were diabetic or took metformin so I'll presume you aren't either.With that thought, I don't understand why people answer posts that don't relate to them.
Posting one thread, on one forum, in an age specific topic, isn't "splashing it on the internet" IMO.
I never said I didn't want to take the med. I know what some of the side effects are already but I was asking for real usage. The most common is stomach/intestinal issues.
I'm on the road a lot so it could be an issue.
My wife had bad side effects with it so that is why she asked about alternative meds. Insurance dictates step therapy so I have to start with metformin.

Duragrouch

Generally I agree. However, (and believe me I HATE quoting Reagan) "Trust, but verify." I had one doctor prescribe a drug, took one pill, and 4 hours later I was 10X worse, I would have been suicidal if I wasn't aware it was the drug. Call ER. "Stop taking that drug." Never went back to that doctor. Years later I mentioned the incident to a different doctor, and they said, "Oh yes, that is quite common with that class of drug, getting worse for a time before getting better." and this was known long before the previous incident. Borderline malpractice that I wasn't warned. Years later (last year) having a lot of emotional sleep disturbances, doctor (neuro), recommended a benzodiazepine. This time I look it up. VALIUM. Tons of red flags, addictive, short-term use only. Stevie Nicks was prescribed it by a psychiatrist after she had totally kicked cocaine in order to "stay off", she said the addiction to valium was worse than the cocaine*. Spoke to two different doctors, PC and (different) neuro, both thought that was a really bad recommendation.

I'm not saying this forum is the correct place for medical advice. But looking up a drug or treatment on the internet, before taking said drug or starting treatment, starting first with wikipedia and respected websites like Mayo Clinic and others, is a damned good idea these days.

* https://www.newsweek.com/stevie-nick...ddiction-67619

pdlamb

Do you want worst case, or likely response? The fact that doctors prescribe the stuff tells me it's worse than not taking it for the relevant condition (high blood glucose). So you're looking for statistical outliers who'll tell you their horror stories, I guess.

Of course, not all the horror stories can be posted by the patient. From drugs.com:
Death, hypothermia, hypotension, and resistant bradyarrhythmias have been reported due to metformin-associated lactic acidosis. Onset may be subtle and include nonspecific symptoms such as malaise, myalgia, respiratory distress, somnolence, and abdominal distress; laboratory abnormalities include low pH, increased anion gap and elevated blood lactate. The risk of lactic acidosis increases with renal or hepatic impairment, aged 65 years or older, having a radiological study with contrast, surgery, or other procedures, hypoxic states, and excessive alcohol intake. If lactic acidosis is suspected, metformin hydrochloride should be discontinued, supportive measures started in a hospital setting. Prompt hemodialysis is recommended.

Obviously, you'll not hear from the patients who died. In your situation, sounds like you need to discuss the lactic acidosis symptoms with your pharmacist or doctor so you can recognize them and get to a hospital for dialysis ASAP if you get those symptoms.

OldTryGuy

r.e. bold - as I mentioned in my reply Berberine can be an alternative >>>

*Berberine is a chemical found in some plants like European barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, Oregon grape, phellodendron, and tree turmeric.
Berberine is a bitter-tasting and yellow-colored chemical. It might help strengthen the heartbeat, which could benefit people with certain heart conditions. It might also kill bacteria, help regulate how the body uses sugar in the blood, and help reduce swelling.
People most commonly use berberine for diabetes, high levels of cholesterol or other fats in the blood, and high blood pressure. It is also used for burns, canker sores, liver disease, and many other conditions but there is no good scientific evidence to support many of these uses.*

above from -- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/in...1126/berberine

My former PCP (before Medicare) went Concierge (closed down her long time Family Practice) and spends 2+ hours with a patient. She is concerned with one's ENTIRE BODY HEALTH

Desert Ryder

You're not a doctor but you play one on BF..

Polaris OBark

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ion-big-pharma

Duragrouch

Good article. Besides the lure of sweets, baked goods, pasta, etc, there is also the issue of fresh vegetables being expensive, which we should all eat instead of just more protein (and by fresh, I don't mean only raw, but also cooking with them), and most people eat too much protein, which puts more strain on the kidneys and can lead to gout, among other things. Also, once your weight is up, the fat on the outside is not as much a problem, but then you start to get fat between and invading the organs, and that impedes their function. Losing weight is much harder than just maintaining weight. We are also a nation that drives a car two blocks to the grocery, and communities and cities not set up for safe bicycling. That's preaching to the converted on this forum, but we are the minority. Lastly, what about fruit? Fruit has sugar. It would be a gray existence indeed if I had to give up fruit.

zacster

Here's my experience. I'm 5'7" and went to the Dr and checked in at 220lbs. My blood sugar had been borderline for years but this time it went over the limit. I was prescribed Metformin, even though I told the Dr I could lose weight and was a cyclist that could burn off the extra. I took it for one day and got so sick from it I called and asked for something else instead. The insurance wouldn't pay for yet another drug that wasn't in their formulary, and I was pretty pissed about that too. I've been on this insurance for years and hardly ever had them pay out anything, but I need something and they won't pay it. Anyway, I get something else prescribed, glucotrol I think it was, and I read the side effects of that one and it is worse than the Metformin in that it causes weight GAIN, where I'm trying to lose weight, and it also can cause blood sugar to drop too low. I decide I'm not taking that one either and never took one.

To add to the problem, I had one bad cardiology test, and they have been testing the hell out of me ever since expecting to find issues with blood flow, blockage, or chest pain, and yet they find nothing. I did a nuclear stress test and the results surprised them when it came back not only negative for problems, but I was actually in better shape than most at my age. But in the process I've scaled back on the cycling just from the worry.

So I went on my weight loss regimen that had worked before, bike to burn 3000 calories/week, and eliminate carbs from the diet. I stopped eating 3 of my favorite foods, bagels, pizza and beer, and also no rice or potatoes. An occasional sandwich was OK on whole wheat bread, but I've had only one dessert in 4 months now. In December I weighed 220, by the end of January I was down to 200, by my next Dr visit as a followup I was at 195 at the end of Feb. My A1C was down below 6. The Dr looked at me and my weight loss and even said I probably don't need the blood test because he knows that's all it will take, except that most patients in my category can't do the weight loss. I saw the cardiologist at the same time and he too said I was fine. Today, mid April, my weight is 185. My goal is to get back to 170. I'm in kick-ass shape for cycling too, having been on the trainer all winter in Zwift. Being 35 pounds lighter also makes it easier to climb those hills.

What bothers me about this is that the Drs wouldn't even consider trying weight loss/exercise as a method to control it when I proposed it, they just want to prescribe. "What will it hurt?" they asked. My answer is that I'd rather spend an hour on the bike trainer than an hour on the toilet each day!

RH Clark

Fresh frozen vegetables are pretty cheap. 16 oz of broccoli, or cauliflower, my main vegetables, is just over a dollar a bag at Walmart. A bundle of fresh Kale is like $1.25. Don't buy the pre bagged and washed stuff.
Fruit has sugar, but the fiber slows down the absorption. Still if you really want to lose weight cut fruit down to a couple small servings per week on things like apples or bananas. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries don't have as much of a glycemic impact and can be consumed more frequently.

If you are trying to cut down on sugar, be aware that many highly processed foods raise blood sugar even faster than pure sugar, especially processed breads, cereal, and crackers.

Desert Ryder

Good info. Thanks for the response.
I took my first dose tonite....we'll see how it goes. Lucky for me I have a 3 day weekend to see how my body reacts.
I also talked to my doc about losing weight and exercise but she said at 6.6 A1C I was over into diabetic zone.
I'm still going to procede with my plans to loose weight and exercise. The diet isn't so bad since my wife is already diabetic. We already watch carbs and sugar content.

the 2 yrs wasted on neurologist and a year on recovery after cervical spinal fusion really set me bad. Weight gain mostly.
I'm also a cardiac patient. I'm not sure if that plays any part of it but it is a consideration. I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Monday. My biggest issue is a fairly low EF. A real workout can wipe me out for at least a full day.

Duragrouch

Thanks for the info. There's no walmart in my city, I live near downtown. There are some on the fringes of the greater metro area, but none within biking distance, not even close. I have a very small fridge, tiny freezer not even separate (think larger size of dorm fridge), so need to shop for veg every couple days. The fuel and substantial mileage and time to and from walmart to buy a small amount of vegtables makes it prohibitive. Winco is also same distance and I love them for fresh veg, but too far. When I dated someone with two large fridges and one small one (the two latter were in their garage), we would do big runs to winco and buy a two week supply of fresh veg, we didn't even go that frequent but that was the max time that any veg would stay fresh, and we used first the ones that go bad quickest. My city used to have a half-dozen small asian veg markets and all are gone except one, high-rise apartments in their place. The two big asian stores, the cheaper one closed, so only the pricey one left. We have a small chain of discount grocery stores, great prices on chicken, some fish (swai/basa 2lbs/$5) cheeses, and average price on veg. I'll have to check out the small frozen veg section next time.

Yeah, I tried pre-bagged kale once when it was a good price, it was half stems, didn't do that again. I generally try to stay away from processed foods, I cook things from scratch. But too many bagels, I just bought a pack a few days ago. That local market used to have really excellent breads from a fancy bakery at half-off, but haven't seen in months, I loved their rosemary diamante (rosemary boule with salt crystals on top center). I've been eating a lot of bananas (a bit greenish if I can get), and apples, but I guess I should cut back on both. Bananas are my potassium, but doctor says avocados are better and low suger, I buy if decent price and not hard as bullets.

zacster

6.6 A1C is still borderline. The problem is once you've been diagnosed as diabetic they will always treat you that way even if you control it through exercise, diet and weight loss. And yet, it was a bad diet, weight gain and lack of exercise that caused your blood sugar to rise beyond your body's coping mechanism of insulin. As we age everything slows down in our bodies and we have to compensate for that. Instead, we are told to take a pill and everything will be good.

In addition to my lower blood sugar, my blood pressure also dropped by about 20 points back into the normal range below 120, although also with the meds. I asked about removing the meds but the cardio said I shouldn't mess with what works. The BP meds don't seem to have any side effects on me so I still take them.