I’m T1. My father-on-law was diagnosed with pre-diabetes about a year ago. Fasting BG of 110. He’s never exceeded 140. He doesn’t hit 120 after a high carb meal. He’s on a low dose of metformin.
He’s 82 yrs old. He’s prescribed meds by a couple different doctors for phlebitis, blood pressure, and he’s on a blood thinner too. I question the need for the metformin. My logic is he’s not going to see symptoms of complications for years, if ever in his life. He probably doesn’t need the hassle and expense of thinking he needs treatment for the pre-diabetes. Oh yeah, he hasn’t been educated, or refuses to follow diet and exercise recommendations. Basically he can’t exercise enought o do any good.
Maybe it is the metformin that’s keeping his BG more stable. Do you know what his A1c is? He could be missing highs.
Depending on how high his numbers climb & how quickly, he could have complications given his high blood pressure. If this was my family member, I wouldn’t discourage him from taking his meds since diet & exercise aren’t an option.
Our generation can live to be 100 if our genetics gives old age. That Metformin is GREAT for him. I’ve seen lots of oldsters keep their BGs in a nice range without spikes due to it. Treating pre-diabetes is prevention of later problems.
Complications in older people in whom blood sugar may have been at a bad level for years means those complications can strike much sooner than one expects. Having those problems in even 5 years is something an 82 year old doesn’t need. Hurrayayay for the doc who is treating him!!! Rest easy.
>>>He probably doesn’t need the hassle and expense of thinking he needs treatment for the pre-diabetes.
The expense is almost nothing – you can get a three-month supply for $10 from Walmart. They’ll even mail it to you, so you don’t even have to go to the pharmacy (this is great for me cause my nearest Walmart is over 20 miles away). As for the hassle, if he’s already taking meds for other things, adding one more shouldn’t be such a big deal, right?
So I guess what I’m saying is, maybe something else is going on. Is he having bad side effects with the Metformin? Or is it just that he’s stressed out about having yet another health “issue”? If the real problem is that he’s worried or upset, quitting his meds is not the answer! Even if he never has long-term complications, he’ll just feel better on a daily basis with his BG in a healthy range.
I agree with Gerri - it can boost his pancreas enough to keep him within range - it is a relatively benign medication and it’s now a generic so it’s cheap.
