I’m new to this site so apologies if this has already been a topic of conversation. I was wondering if any of you T1s were also on Metformin in addition to insulin? I had two hip surgeries in November and have gotten pretty frustrated with the weight I’ve gained (8lbs) in my torso in November and December because I was relatively inactive for the most part. I’m currently training for a triathlon so have bumped up the activity to 40min work outs 6 times a week, but no matter how much I seem to strengthen my core and diet, I still have this “extra padding” around my middle! I expressed this to my Endo recently and he mentioned the tendancy for fat to accumulate in areas where there is more insulin (i.e. my torso where I keep my infusion sets and CGM). He said that Metformin is used in T2’s to raise insulin sensitivity by slowing down the liver’s production of glycogen, which in turn means you need less insulin therefore I could possibly lose a little bit of weight in this problem area of mine. Okay great… I’ve been on 750mg of Metformin for the last two weeks and have already noticed a small decrease in my daily insulin averages, but haven’t noticed a decrease in belly fat yet… just was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this? tips/tricks/etc… Thnx in advance!
Rachelle,
I have known some people with type 1 DM who also have some insulin resistance who have taken Metformin. It does help some with the insulin resistance but don’t think it is very helpful with weight loss. A medication that you may want to talk with your endocrinologist about is Symlin. This medication is for people with type 1. Amylin is another hormone that the beta cells make besides insulin. It has a lot to do with glucose, protein and fat metabolism, it slows gastric emptying and cuts off the over production and secretion of glucose by the liver. It usually has a much greater weight loss effect than Metformin. It may not hurt to replace that missing hormone so all the other hormones work in better balance either. Just some thoughts but talk to your endo.