So I got my latest labs (from Friday) and I'm kinda disturbed.
My A1c was 5.1 (yay!), my c-peptide was 2.4, even my vitamin D was normal, at 46.
But my triglycerides were up to 82, from the mid-50's (reference range 35-150). My total cholesterol climbed a bit, but not by much. My HDL cholesterol stayed the same, too, but my LDL was 98.6, up from the low 80's (reference range 60-100).
Also, my B12 was in the lower end (269, for a range of 193-982). I think that's low enough to cause symptoms, so I'm still not worried about that.
I haven't changed what I eat, so my cholesterol/triglycerides didn't climb from that. Nothing except my LDL is close to abnormal (and it has never been anywhere near abnormal), but things did climb and I wonder if it was because of the metformin. Has anyone else seen this?
With the exception of your B12, your labs seem great! I pretty much ignore cholesterol. But your B12 is something you should work on. Low B12 can have cause some serious problems including anemia and neuropathy. Metformin is known to cause a malabsorption of B12. I supplement with 1000 mcg of B12 daily (16,667% of RDA) at the request of my endo. She also tests my B-12 regularly and tries to keep it at the top end of the scale.
Well, I'm off Metformin now, so no worried about that. And I take a multi, so hopefully now that the Met's leaving my system, that'll be enough to bring it up.
I'm not worried nearly as much about the numbers on my labs as about the changes. I vaguely remember reading something about Met messing up cholesterol and triglycerides...
Not sure if met does. I remember I had elevated cholesterol with high triglycerides since before I was diagnosed. I have taken a statin since my diagnosis which is the only way mine seems to stay reasonable.
From the linked article: "Metformin is thought to induce malabsorption of vitamin B-12 and intrinsic factor in the ileum, an effect that can be reversed by increasing calcium intake."
Interesting. I've read that B12 supplements don't always help with the deficiency.
My father has a chronic B12 deficiency. He took injections every 3 weeks for years, and now he takes a nasal spray. It depends on why the B12 isn't being absorbed. Since Met causes malabsorbtion in the intestines, once you get off of it, supplements should work.
