[mwp]

Hello, it has been years since I posted here, I remain thankful for good advice. I have lost a lot of weight and I think I am now over medicated. I am a 75 year old white male, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 11 years ago. For the past few years I have been taking 2-500mg metformin extended release plus 1/2 of a 25mg jardiance daily, as well as 100mg losartan for hypertension.

From my fattest and heaviest I have lost about 75 pounds (34 kg) and now weigh about 159 pounds (72 kg). I am 5' 10" tall (178 cm). Statistically recommended weight 176 (80 kg). Latest HbA1c was 5.6, latest fasting bg was 103. I have cut way back on bread, rice and potatoes for years now. Plus at my age senior portions are plenty.

Recently I started feeling tired, crashing about noon following meds after breakfast. I measured blood pressure and systolic was sometimes under 100, so I cut the losartan in half to approx 50mg. That seems to help.

However I still feel lousy especially mid-day, stomach discomfort, malaise, nothing I can really put my finger on. I may have a mild long covid, I had a mild case in January 4 months ago.

I am thinking to cut the metformin in half, just take 1 - 500 mg tablet daily, and see what happens. I am living in central Mexico and plan to be back in the US in a couple months and have a doctor visit then. There are great doctors here but they have my records in the states.

Any experience with cutting metformin? Thanks, Mike

 

[mbuster]

Hello MWP,

Welcome back and Congrats on getting your BG under control.

I had quit taking metformin when I got pretty good control of my BG several years ago. Had no problems whatsoever. I did start taking it again after a couple of years, not for BG but for other positive effects it has. Anti-inflammatory, protection against some cancers, and lately its been touted as having anti-aging.

At the time I quit, it was the only diabetes med I was on. I would have quit anything else I was on before the metformin. You can read about diabetes meds at Bloodsugar 101. The link takes you to the SGLT-2 drugs, Jardiance is one of the drugs in this class.

 

[itissteve]

I'll say welcome back, too, MWP. Definitely enough changes to merit a pharma review when you get back. I would take mbuster's advice to read about the meds and then decide which one it might make sense for you to cut back.

 

[etherea]

Welcome back, mwp! I've been able to get off of my bp meds and lower my diabetes meds after losing weight and going low carb. A pharma review is always good--good luck!

 

[mwp]

Thank you all for your comments. The first doctor who diagnosed me had a heavy hand with the meds, he put me on 2000mg of metformin plus glyburide. To be fair he was struggling to get my A1c down. He did not focus on weight loss, and when I asked him about it, he said, you're talking to a fat guy (he was). In this forum it was suggested that I switch to metformin ER and drop the glyburide, which I did and I am glad. Even the 2000 was too much, that doc retired and my next one cut the metformin in half and put me on 10mg jardiance. Sher retired also. My current physician listens well, and pretty much lets me chart my own course. Since the jardiance 25mg tabs are way cheaper, I get them from Canada and split them in half. I live in Mexico and the price here is a little higher than Canada, but nowhere near the US prices. It may be that there are potentially very bad long term side effects. I did look at the bloodsugar101.com references, and there were several organizations and sites I do not know, so it is good as a warning but not definitive.

I am so glad to hear that others have managed to get off meds and are maintaining a healthy glucose level. It gives me hope! When I was first diagnosed as pre-diabetic about 2005, I read 4 books about beating diabetes naturally. They followed the bell curve, one terrible, one great and 2 ok. They all agreed about weight loss, diet and exercise. One point that was made repeatedly was that being overweight correlates strongly with type 2 diabetes. Now that I have my weight under control (and looking to drop another 5 pounds or so), I will definitely go forward with reducing meds.

If it may be helpful to anybody on this forum, my weight loss regimen is 1) I don't buy bread -- I do eat a sandwich once in a while but not often; 2) I eat eggs for breakfast, usually with some veggies; 3) I live in a mountainous region and I walk; 4) I don't own any large plates. Also, and this may not be for everybody, for a couple years I have been living alone for the first time in 45 years, so I eat when I want, what I want and how much I want. Best of luck everyone. Cheers, Mike

 

[itissteve]

It's great to see your success, Mike! I don't think anybody is ever happy to be diagnosed diabetic, but for some of us it turned out to be a net positive thing because it made us change ways that were not healthful. I know I'm healthier than I was when I was ignoring my diabetes. My dad was a long-term diabetic and he outlived two brothers and a dad who were not diabetic but who did not exercise or watch what they ate. It does make a difference.

 

[foodahollic]

If at all possible, do not change dosages without having a competent doctor to help.

All of us should keep in mind that our Diabetes cases are all different. What works well for one person may be the exact wrong thing to do for another. We may have the same levers to control Blood Sugar, but how they effect our body can be radically different.

Barely two weeks ago, my doc doubled the beta blocker that is to keep my blood pressure down. I wanted to argue that I was weak enough already. Thing is, I am now more awake and have more energy. I think because I had A-Fib that was more relieved when I took more Beta Blocker. I suspect the doc just wanted to reduce the blood pressure she saw at her office. But, it worked out for the best.

For those on Insulin, having a good blood sugar may not be the only criteria for how much insulin to inject. It is possible to have a great looking Blood Glucose level, for hours, but not have enough insulin to get sugar into cells.

That is why I muse on the goal of building more muscle, and that would control the other things. My Primary told me to see an Endo, again and wrote a referral.

Can't blame my primary doc, I am difficult to put up with, and I think I know enough to decide what I should do. Sigh. I have a referral to see a Diabetes Educator again. For those of you who have never gone through Diabetes Education. -- We Diabetics need to keep in mind whether the information being given is for a Type One or a Type Two Diabetic. Diabetes Educators usually have both in a class, and usually start by teaching towards a Type One (my opinion) while saying that they will point out difference to a Type Two. Diabetes Educators present so much information that the Type Twos think some of the advice is good for them. Type ones are told they can eat anything, just balance the dose of Insulin. Which is not always such good advice for them. Type twos are often better to just not eat - sugary, starchy things, even if we use Insulin. A friend on another forum wrote of a relative, whose diabetes education was clearly for a Type One, and ended his life by first going blind, then having different parts of his body amputated. And all those years, not having fun health. The one reliable thing was that when he ate the things he wanted, he would take a nice deep sleep.

I always have problems with Diabetes Educators, I keep telling them that chocolate is one of the basic food groups, and they insist it is not.

I get OP, it is not easy to find a trustworthy, knowledgeable doc.