Metformin might slow cardiac disease in those with Type 1

Interesting stuff:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160825214346.htm

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It should be sold OTC.

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Very interesting. Curious to hear everyone’s thoughts.

Heart disease is my #1 fear with diabetes. I knew a number of people in person who had Type 1 since childhood and passed away in their 50s from heart disease. I know the odds are better these days, but I’d definitely take this if it helped prevent heart disease.

My cde wanted me to try it for highs in the am as I recall but endo nixed it due to lows… if you’re on insulin and have lows would it really be safe to add metformin in?

Yes McChesney
Should be OTC

Metformin repairs lots of stuff
My hair, nails and skin are recovering because of it

I am a type one
Who was misdiagnosed because of age
Put on Metformin
And have not gone off.

Endo says c-peptide shows some pancreatic function still there
So he kept the Metformin in the mix

I am too new to give advice on
Metformin re: lows
Still working on all of this myself

But I swear it’s a miracle drug
Cheaper than aspirin

Thank you Rose, for finding this :slight_smile:

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At the risk of sounding like a Metformin ad:

I’m T1 for 25 years (in mid 30s now), on MDI. Went on Metformin ER (now at 750mg 2x a day) to see if it would help with blood glucose control (esp dawn phenomenon) and because I’d started gaining weight specifically around my midsection (previously had always carried weight at hips/butt/thighs and not on stomach), suggesting some insulin resistance, even though my insulin doses weren’t that high. It’s been awesome—my dawn phenomenon is mostly gone, I’ve been losing weight much more easily, my appetite has decreased, my insulin doses have gone down some, and my A1c improved. My body shape seems to be shifting back to curvy with smaller stomach as well, so it’s easy to believe that this helps with metabolic function. I haven’t had any problematic side effects whatsoever. Thinking of going up to 1000mg 2x day to see if that further reduces my insulin need/promotes weight loss (still could stand to lose more from a health perspective), and because why not?

At first I had a weird mental resistance to going on Metformin, I think because I’d been one of those T1s always specifying that I was T1, not T2, and this felt like it was eroding that difference. It’s been so helpful though, it’s made me realize how silly that perspective was, and I wish I’d started it sooner. I feel much, much better about going on Metformin than I do about statins, which I’ve refused to take so far (my cholesterol levels are pretty good).

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I’ll raise this issue with my new endo in a few months. I’ve tried Metformin before and experienced significant digestive side effects. I even tried the extended release version. I am worried about heart disease since it runs in my family. Being a long term diabetic amplifies an already bad family risk factor. Perhaps I should try introducing Metformin again but be satisfied with lower doses and maybe titrate up more slowly.

Metformin’s side effects are a real problem for some people, not for others. Luckily for me, I am one of the “others”.

But I agree it should be OTC. It’s one of those drugs (aspirin, which was mentioned, is a good analogy) that turns out to have genuine benefits above and beyond its original use. In addition to all the things mentioned here, there is growing evidence that it lowers the risk of certain cancers, especially for women.

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I started at 500mg ER once a day—then increased to 500mg bid, then to 750mg bid. That said, I never had any of the diarrhea people talk about—if anything, I felt slightly constipated at first, which normalized. I do notice mild digestive side effects if I miss a dose though. Maybe I’m just weird, ha.

this was a very interesting interview we had last year

it was part of our “Master Chat” series, an annual collaboration between TuDiabetes and Teacher’s College Columbia University’s Master of Science in Diabetes Education and Management program. look for this year’s series of live presentations later on this year.

Interesting article. I was misdiagnosed and put on Metformin in the beginning. I was one who could not tolerate it. I would try it though if it would help the heart.

Aside from the cardiac benefits, I’ve read that some people are promoting the idea of metformin as an “anti-aging” drug – with life-extending potential. During the four months when I was on metformin, I noticed that it appears to have multiple benefits for me that went well beyond BG management. Yes, I did not have DP on metformin (the only BG benefit it actually had for me…), but my previously-thinning hair (not D-related) filled in, my digestion actually improved – no more heartburn or lactose sensitivity, and a few other benefits that escape my memory at the moment. I did not have the typical digestive side effects; however, I did have other side effects that proved intolerable and downright dangerous. I felt “unwell” all the time, somewhat “foggy,” and my sleep cycle was so disrupted that I was no longer dreaming at all – until I started experiencing long-term memory loss. For me, all the bad side effects disappears just a few days after stopping metformin (the memory took longer to recover), but the positive effects vanished, as well.

Stopping metformin was, for me, a necessary decision; however, it was not one I was totally happy about - aside from signaling my need to switch to using insulin (which was definitely something I feared at the time), I was sorry to see its beneficial effects go. My mother took metformin safely and successfully for 17 years and is taking it again now; my experience was clearly different.

Yep. All around health benefits.

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