Metformin or Supplements

Type 2
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I am looking for advice on supplements instead of using Metform and Farxiga. I am sick 24/7 and am completely miserable. I don’t know what to expect if I discontinue meds and go with supplements (GlucoGold/GOLO Release/Mushroom Coffee). I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was taking mental health meds that of course increase your blood sugar and came out of doctor’s with full blown diabetes 2 with no education. Somebody help me?

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Welcome Tracy _S!

I am T1 so I cannot exactly speak to your question. I don’t use Metformin or Farxiga. However I can tell you about some natural things that have helped me in the past. Cinnamon tea has a lowering and maintaining normal blood sugar. Apple cider vinegar does as well. It doesn’t taste very good and can damage the plaque of your teeth if drank too often, so I don’t recommend it as something to take often. Exercise is your friend. Even though we all hate it, it is genuinely one of the best things for maintaining in range levels.

I know that T2 is predominantly diet controlled. If you are like me I have a devil inside me that loves all things sweet or high in carbs. Without making your life miserable, minimize your intake. I have noticed that even though I am insulin dependent, if I just watch what I eat I can manage with minimal medication. But that is just my experience. You will need to play around with it. Every diabetic is and has different experiences and you will have to learn more by trial and error than anything else. Sadly this isn’t a one size fits all disease. But I am sure someone with T2 will be able to help you more than I can. I hope you you find the help you need. God bless

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Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate any feedback I can get. God bless you too on your path.

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I’m a long term type 2. If I had to guess you are suffering from gastrointestinal distress from the Metformin. Some people never adjust to it. Farxiga does have side effects it can cause UTI infection.

I don’t have any personal evidence that supplements do much to help increase insulin sensitivity. My worry is that depending upon the dubious aid from them will lead to awful diabetic complications.

Talk to your doctor about other medications.

One last thing, no medication for type 2 diabetes work well without a carbohydrate restricted diet and regular, daily or near daily exercise.

Good luck to you. If you decide to drop meds for supplements, keep track of the results with your meter.

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Thanks for the great advice. I’ll do that…talking to my Dr. I try to walk daily up to 3+ miles a day and hope that helps. I need to learn how to eat right to better manage all this. Thanks again.

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Hi Tracy. Supplements can supplement medications that help your body manage glucose but they can’t replace them.

For education Take Control of Your Diabetes tcoyd.org is a great resource. The two endos in charge are both T1D. They have lots of info for T2Ds also.

I was hesitant to recommend a CGM to check if your sick and tired feelings were caused by glucose control problems but I see the docs at tcoyd.org say I’m wrong and you should try it. If you need to you can get a CGM without a prescription from stelo.com. It takes time to learn how to keep the sensor stuck to you and know when the CGM is close to estimating your blood glucose and when its just in the ballpark. So don’t worry about anything it says but look at a month or two of data with your doc.

The other good reason to try a CGM is when someone becomes a T1D as an adult 40% of the time they are misdiagnosed as a T2D. A CGM can help your doc sort that out if that’s the case for you. I hope it isn’t.

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Thank you so much :grinning:

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Hi, Tracy ~ it’s great that you’re doing daily walking. Exercise is an excellent supplement. I’d also suggest trying the metformin ER – extended release, if you haven’t already. And requesting a referral to an RDN (Registered Dietician Nutritionist).
The CGM is really a great tool for knowing what’s going on, and being able to make diet and exercise decisions more easily.

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I have been on metformin for 33 years.

  1. Eat a lower fat diet.
  2. Ask for extended release tablets.
  3. Ask to have your B12 level checked as this may lower B12.
  4. Supplements are not followed by FDA or anyone else in testing they may not contain what you think.
  5. Exercise to help lower your blood sugars.
    Hope this helps. Nancy50
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AboutCGM:
Cleans skin with skin prep before applying,Libre 3 is nice and small now. Simple to apply. Talk to your diabetes provider. You are Measuring interstitial fluid, not blood. So there is a bit of a lag between the two numbers so your alarm show you where you’re trending . It’s life-changing!
I love mine. Good luck.

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Thanks Nancy. I appreciate it :blush: