Stopping metformin today.

[shunsweets]

Well I've been on 1500mg of ER met for 3 months with no effect on my blood sugar levels, a 5 pound weight gain (ug thought it caused weight loss!), and side effects of severe headaches, muscle aches, and fatigue. No gastric problems at all.

I'm discouraged it didn't help me. So many seem to have good luck with it. My Dr says wait 2 weeks for it to clear my system and we'll "reevaluate". He feels I'm insulin deficient (c-peptide and fastin insulin were low but not critical) not insulin resistant. I do low carb and exercise daily - fasting this a.m. was 137.

So the battle continues.

[amphigory]

Originally Posted by shunsweets

Well I've been on 1500mg of ER met for 3 months with no effect on my blood sugar levels, a 5 pound weight gain (ug thought it caused weight loss!), and side effects of severe headaches, muscle aches, and fatigue. No gastric problems at all.

I'm discouraged it didn't help me. So many seem to have good luck with it. My Dr says wait 2 weeks for it to clear my system and we'll "reevaluate". He feels I'm insulin deficient (c-peptide and fastin insulin were low but not critical) not insulin resistant. I do low carb and exercise daily - fasting this a.m. was 137.

So the battle continues.

Wow, that's gotta be tough... all those months of wasted time. IANAD (I am not a doctor), but I've often wondered why they don't make insulin level and c-peptide tests part of the standard panel they do when you're first diagnosed, because of cases just like yours--if you were a "typical" type 2 diabetic, they should be through the roof. Basically, Metformin won't help you in that case.

Did your doctor give you any idea what he's looking at doing next? I know that Dr. Bernstein (my personal idol) doesn't recommend sulfonylurea's in most cases, preferring to go straight to insulin.

(And now I'm sitting here wondering whether my stubborn hyperglycemia might not be the same... I'm on an LC diet but can't seem to break below 100, which is driving me crazy. However, I guess it's more likely that I'm just sufficiently insulin resistant that I need meds.)

Good luck!

[NurseMonkee]

Hope you find answers soon.

[goodcelt]

I quit taking mine today, too. I was only on it for a week. But the headache and muscle aches in my legs just got to be too much. I really wanted it to help me move my scale downward, as I already work out 5 days a week and low carb. But it made me feel awful. I had fatigue, too.

[shunsweets]

amphigory I like Dr Bernstein too and want to avoid the oral drugs that mostly have more problems than benefits so I'll probably be arguing with the Dr. Good thing is he's willing to just do whatever I want - I just don't know what is the best choice so I'll stick with VLC and exercise until we make a choice. I just can't get the levels below 115fasting or 140 pp which is where they need to be to prevent damage from what I've read. So frustrating.

Goodcelt I hear you! The met. made all my muscles ache and I had zero energy. Fell asleep on the couch after dinner! And I'm a high energy person. I'm still feeling the effects. Wonder how long until the effects are gone.

NurseMonkee Thanks for the good wishes. I'm a nurse too but diabetes is far from my area of expertise - but I'm learning fast.

The good news - no significant change in my blood sugar levels today without the met. I had a fear that they might be worse if the met was hiding worsening levels.

[amphigory]

Originally Posted by shunsweets

amphigory I like Dr Bernstein too and want to avoid the oral drugs that mostly have more problems than benefits so I'll probably be arguing with the Dr. Good thing is he's willing to just do whatever I want - I just don't know what is the best choice so I'll stick with VLC and exercise until we make a choice. I just can't get the levels below 115fasting or 140 pp which is where they need to be to prevent damage from what I've read. So frustrating.

Well, for what it's worth... On my reading of Dr. B, he would say that if you can't achieve normal blood sugars on diet and exercise alone, you definitely want to try medications--he would never advocate accepting blood sugars above 100. For what it's worth, both the Atkins Diabetes book (far inferior to Dr. B) and Dr. B's book endorse Metformin, so that's what I decided to go with as a first line of defense.