Metformin??
- Thread starter joeyboy
- Start date
Not a Dr. but I do study this stuff since I have family members affected by overweight/diabetes/cardiovascular disease. To understand any of it you have to get a bit science focused.
Clouding the issue is: how did the sugar get there? also, how does it get removed/used?
Primarily there are two ways to get sugar into the blood & make the levels elevated in normal healthly people: [1] either through dietary consumption (as in you ate something that turned into glucose(blood sugar)), or [2] gluconeogenesis (glue-co-knee-oh-genesis, meaning that the body (the liver) produces glucose which is normal, but in some Type 2 Diabetics case, it makes too much glucose.
How does it get used? Glucose is used as fuel for all our organs & cells. Insulin (yes, that stuff that diabetics inject) is normal created by the beta cells of the pancreas and its purpose is to shuttle glucose to the cells so that the cells are fueled. In some people, they cells don't want to follow insulin's advice and use the glucose. This is overly simplified but is called insulin resistance. The body becomes more and more resistant to insulin doing it's job and the blood sugar is allowed to increase.
So what does metformin do to help? This is summarized from the Wikipedia article. Metformin decreases hepatic glucose output (meaning gluconeogenesis by the liver) and metformin increases insulin sensitivity (fights against the resistance) through a couple different ways and and decreases absorption of glucose from the gastrointestinal tract.
So thats it. But wait, metformin attempts to fix methods [1] and methods [2], from my second paragraph. What can you do on your own at no cost and is not a drug to attempt to fix [1] and [2].
You can exercise regularly. It makes your muscles & cells less insulin resistant. I would say resistance training lift weights) & some amount of cardio. More weights, less cardio.
You can change your diet. Number [1] up top is "either through dietary consumption (as in you ate something that turned into glucose(blood sugar))" and we need to identify what turns into glucose. And the answer is dietary carbohydrates or carbs. Soda, candy, cookies, skim milk, fruits, juice, honey, sugar, bread, pizza, bagels, noodles, potatoes, ketchup, tomatoes, tomato sauce are all carbs. Wait, what about complex carbs (crackers) versus simple carbs (table sugar). Complex carbs get broken down via our enzymes in simple carbs (glucose, fructose, dextrose, galactose, maltcose). So even eating whole wheat bread will still raise your blood glucose level.
So what to do? Cut some or most of it all out. A lower-carb diet or a traditional low-carb diet. This is not abullet proof, works wonders diet, but it will allow easy management of your blood glucose levels and perhaps you won't need metformin after adherence to the diet for 6 to 12 months.
Everything I posted it verifiable and true and accepted by conventional medicine & doctors. I (and plenty of others) believe that
Clouding the issue is: how did the sugar get there? also, how does it get removed/used?
Primarily there are two ways to get sugar into the blood & make the levels elevated in normal healthly people: [1] either through dietary consumption (as in you ate something that turned into glucose(blood sugar)), or [2] gluconeogenesis (glue-co-knee-oh-genesis, meaning that the body (the liver) produces glucose which is normal, but in some Type 2 Diabetics case, it makes too much glucose.
How does it get used? Glucose is used as fuel for all our organs & cells. Insulin (yes, that stuff that diabetics inject) is normal created by the beta cells of the pancreas and its purpose is to shuttle glucose to the cells so that the cells are fueled. In some people, they cells don't want to follow insulin's advice and use the glucose. This is overly simplified but is called insulin resistance. The body becomes more and more resistant to insulin doing it's job and the blood sugar is allowed to increase.
So what does metformin do to help? This is summarized from the Wikipedia article. Metformin decreases hepatic glucose output (meaning gluconeogenesis by the liver) and metformin increases insulin sensitivity (fights against the resistance) through a couple different ways and and decreases absorption of glucose from the gastrointestinal tract.
So thats it. But wait, metformin attempts to fix methods [1] and methods [2], from my second paragraph. What can you do on your own at no cost and is not a drug to attempt to fix [1] and [2].
You can exercise regularly. It makes your muscles & cells less insulin resistant. I would say resistance training lift weights) & some amount of cardio. More weights, less cardio.
You can change your diet. Number [1] up top is "either through dietary consumption (as in you ate something that turned into glucose(blood sugar))" and we need to identify what turns into glucose. And the answer is dietary carbohydrates or carbs. Soda, candy, cookies, skim milk, fruits, juice, honey, sugar, bread, pizza, bagels, noodles, potatoes, ketchup, tomatoes, tomato sauce are all carbs. Wait, what about complex carbs (crackers) versus simple carbs (table sugar). Complex carbs get broken down via our enzymes in simple carbs (glucose, fructose, dextrose, galactose, maltcose). So even eating whole wheat bread will still raise your blood glucose level.
So what to do? Cut some or most of it all out. A lower-carb diet or a traditional low-carb diet. This is not abullet proof, works wonders diet, but it will allow easy management of your blood glucose levels and perhaps you won't need metformin after adherence to the diet for 6 to 12 months.
Everything I posted it verifiable and true and accepted by conventional medicine & doctors. I (and plenty of others) believe that
I have first hand experience on this topic. Low carb diet as a dietary intervention for weight loss or blood sugar maintenance is sound advice, however the medical & public health authorities (American Heart Assoc, American Diabetic Assoc, Association of Nutritionists & Dietitians) tends to ignore or outright lie about the success on a low-carb diet. I've maintained a 50+ pound weight loss on a low-carb diet for the past three years. I got my folks on a low-carb diet. For my mother, post-menopause overweight type 2 diabetic: no more metformin or blood pressure meds either.
Getting a born & raised New Yorkers to give up bread, pizza, pasta, bagels, rice, soda is really hard. It took me six months to break my sugar addiction. But we can either treat the symptoms (high blood sugar) or go after the root cause (poor diet in most people). I would love to ask the a nutritionist or a dietitian the following: why is it that we can't fix Type 2 Diabetes with the advice they you give out? "Here is some meds, go lose some weight (as if that is so easy), do some exercise, and eat fruits, vegetables, and plenty of whole grains?". Most Drs got terrible dietary & nutrition education based on about 50 years of bad & old research.
Good documentary on how fucked we have made our food supply:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381335/
"Fed Up"
Getting a born & raised New Yorkers to give up bread, pizza, pasta, bagels, rice, soda is really hard. It took me six months to break my sugar addiction. But we can either treat the symptoms (high blood sugar) or go after the root cause (poor diet in most people). I would love to ask the a nutritionist or a dietitian the following: why is it that we can't fix Type 2 Diabetes with the advice they you give out? "Here is some meds, go lose some weight (as if that is so easy), do some exercise, and eat fruits, vegetables, and plenty of whole grains?". Most Drs got terrible dietary & nutrition education based on about 50 years of bad & old research.
Good documentary on how fucked we have made our food supply:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381335/
"Fed Up"
Warning: lots of talking about poop ahead. You've been warned.
Can't say I'm familiar with that side effect. For my folks with chronic constipation, the diarrhea may have actual eased their problems instead of being a bad thing.
A quick google search ( metformin diarrhea ) suggests that this is a known & somewhat common side effect.
Have you also changed your diet recently? According to the google hits, any major change (ex: lots of green veggies or lots of fat) can also create this, in addition to the metformin. You may have to adjust your diet to accommodate the side effect, maybe more protein, or fat, or even maybe more carbs. I found that grilled chicken breast is an incredible binder. I can eat a giant high fiber salad with grilled chicken breast and its like the fiber is not there. Passing that meal becomes work whereas normally it is easy.
I would also consider trying a probiotic supplement (good healthy gut bacteria in pill form). Excessive diarrhea flushes out the bacteria and we need the good ones to stick around. We (the human body in its entirety ) have 10 times more bacteria than we have human cells and many of our modern diseases are mediated in the GI tract by the bacteria.
Here is a link to a thread on a diabetes forum where people are discussing this very thing.
Of course another "Warning: talking about poop...." applies to that link too.
http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/topic/63797-does-the-diarrhea-ever-calm-down-metformin/
Can't say I'm familiar with that side effect. For my folks with chronic constipation, the diarrhea may have actual eased their problems instead of being a bad thing.
A quick google search ( metformin diarrhea ) suggests that this is a known & somewhat common side effect.
Have you also changed your diet recently? According to the google hits, any major change (ex: lots of green veggies or lots of fat) can also create this, in addition to the metformin. You may have to adjust your diet to accommodate the side effect, maybe more protein, or fat, or even maybe more carbs. I found that grilled chicken breast is an incredible binder. I can eat a giant high fiber salad with grilled chicken breast and its like the fiber is not there. Passing that meal becomes work whereas normally it is easy.
I would also consider trying a probiotic supplement (good healthy gut bacteria in pill form). Excessive diarrhea flushes out the bacteria and we need the good ones to stick around. We (the human body in its entirety ) have 10 times more bacteria than we have human cells and many of our modern diseases are mediated in the GI tract by the bacteria.
Here is a link to a thread on a diabetes forum where people are discussing this very thing.
Of course another "Warning: talking about poop...." applies to that link too.
http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/topic/63797-does-the-diarrhea-ever-calm-down-metformin/
In case anyone else is interested in human gut-microbiome health...
Example of an OK probiotic:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/ultimate-10-probiotic-13-billion-100-capsules/vs-2164
100 caps at $20
Example of a truly fantastic probiotic:
http://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Molecular-Product-Biotic-Capsules/dp/B000JLK7M6/
60 caps at $50
Best time to take a probiotic is after dinner & before sleeping so that the probiotic has a chance to get down into the guts overnight.
Example of an OK probiotic:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/ultimate-10-probiotic-13-billion-100-capsules/vs-2164
100 caps at $20
Example of a truly fantastic probiotic:
http://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Molecular-Product-Biotic-Capsules/dp/B000JLK7M6/
60 caps at $50
Best time to take a probiotic is after dinner & before sleeping so that the probiotic has a chance to get down into the guts overnight.