{"id":27472,"date":"2012-05-22T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=27472"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:41:49","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:41:49","slug":"patient-power-i-discovered-metformin-myself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=27472","title":{"rendered":"Patient Power: I Discovered Metformin Myself"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past few days I\u2019ve been in a good mood. It seems as if I have finally found a way to deal with my biggest diabetes management issue \u2013 morning highs. And what makes it even better is that this is a true case of patient power – it wasn\u2019t a doctor who figured out what I needed, it was me. I needed metformin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The truth is I wasn\u2019t going to write about my experiment with metformin until after I got another A1c, as an official confirmation of success. But yesterday when I woke up, at 4:30 a.m. to go running and tested my blood sugar, I changed my mind. My blood sugar was a perfect 100<\/strong>. And this morning when I woke up early again it was 90. <\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m so happy about this that I can\u2019t resist sharing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Morning<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had type 1 diabetes for ten years and for most of those years I\u2019ve struggled with morning highs (dawn phenomenon<\/a>), waking up with blood glucose levels of anywhere between 120 to 200 usually over 150. Although this has been convenient as far as running is concerned, I know this is far from healthy and have tried to solve the problem with the help of doctors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Doctors have suggested many things, from changing the kind of basal insulin I use and adjusting the amounts, to injecting into larger muscles. But no one has ever suggested I take metformin to help control my blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most doctors it seems, like most people, don\u2019t like to think outside the box or try something different, at least until they have no choice. I don\u2019t mean to criticize doctors in general, but many times it seems as if it\u2019s not me they see, but my disease.\u00a0 That means that rather than tweaking my treatment according to my needs, and making it individual, they prescribe the standard type 1 drug regimen. Metformin belongs to type 2 diabetes treatments, so it seems to not even register in doctors\u2019 minds as a possible treatment for type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the great things about this age of information is that as patients we have the opportunity to take control of our health care more than ever before. I got the idea to try metformin through my own research, after reading about how metformin reduces insulin resistance and decreases the production of sugar by the liver. It also seems to reduce LDL cholesterol (another problem I suffer from thanks to my liver) and protect against various cancers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After reading, I decided to ask for metformin at my next \u00a0doctor\u2019s visit. I didn\u2019t actually think my doctor would go for it (since doctors don\u2019t always like patient power). I rehearsed suggesting it in my mind, trying to figure out a way that would sound polite and respectful, but when the moment came I just said, \u201cCan I try metformin?\u201d. The doctors initial reaction was \u201cMetformin is for type 2 diabetes.\u201d\u00a0 She repeated that a few times<\/a> which made me think there was no way she would give it to me, but I was wrong. She actually thought it was a good idea and told me it could help with my morning highs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When giving me the prescription the doctor told me it would take a couple of weeks to start seeing results. She also told me to take a half a pill (425mg) for the first two weeks to make sure I didn\u2019t suffer from any side effects. Luckily, I didn\u2019t and after those two weeks I upped the dose to a full pill, which I take every night before I go to bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the first 2 weeks I didn\u2019t see any results but a few days after I started the full dose (850mg) I noticed an improvement in my morning BG numbers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s too early to really make a judgment and most probably after I write this post my morning blood glucose levels will go totally out of control, but it feels as if there has been a change in my body. I go to sleep at the same levels I usually do, after eating the same food I usually do, and wake up lower than usual, but not too low.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if the metformin is making a difference in any other way, too \u2013 insulin sensitivity or cholesterol, but it seems to have made a huge difference in morning numbers. I hope this continues.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The only problem now is that I need to rethink my mornings and figure out a way to start my runs with higher blood sugar. Maybe I\u2019ll have an energy gel with my coffee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[261],"yoast_head":"\nPatient Power: I Discovered Metformin Myself<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is a true case of patient power - it wasn\u2019t a doctor who figured out what I needed, it was me. 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