3 ms·

As a non-diabetic (though demonstrably insulin resistant and leptin resistant), I've found metformin's gastro side effects and impact on blood glucose levels to

As a non-diabetic (though demonstrably insulin resistant and leptin resistant), I've found metformin's gastro side effects and impact on blood glucose levels to be annoyingly unpredictable. Metformin also causes a noticeable drop in testosterone that can be especially counterproductive for men if weight loss/maintenance is a goal and one already has relatively low baseline testosterone levels.

psychphysic 4y ago
Definitely heard that the gastro side effects are unacceptable to many and can even impact social life. I'd heard a bit about the testosterone, i.e. that you don't get the testosterone rise associated with successful management for diabetes. And perhaps Metformin short circuits that. Also that it might correlate with the life expectancy improvement and it does make sense since Metformin is also used for PCOS with wide ranging benefits not limited to insulin resistance but actually reducing androgenic effects of the condition. Do you think you'll continue with Metformin? I've genuinely was close to starting on it some years back (despite having no (pre) diabetes.).
- sithadmin 4y ago
  Metformin never really yielded noticeable benefits for me (neither in terms of fat loss nor any bloodwork metrics) above and beyond other lifestyle changes I had already made, so I discontinued it after a trial period of about 4 months. The MD I was working with argued that I could have seen a impact on weight loss if taking a more extreme approach to dieting (basically an extremely high protein, moderate fat, moderate carb diet with 300-400 calories of intake every ~4 hours from sunrise to sunset) in conjunction with the metformin, but that approach didn't really fit my lifestyle at the time. If done correctly, this ostensibly maximizes the gluconeogenesis inhibition effect of metformin in conjunction with minimizing fatty acid synthesis by keeping blood levels at a consistent glucose deficit (thus encouraging lipolysis). I was also unconvinced that this isn't a just-so story, and thus I preferred to take a traditional 'keto' diet route (which has a lot more evidence backing it).

psychphysic 4y ago

Definitely heard that the gastro side effects are unacceptable to many and can even impact social life. I'd heard a bit about the testosterone, i.e. that you don't get the testosterone rise associated with successful management for diabetes. And perhaps Metformin short circuits that. Also that it might correlate with the life expectancy improvement and it does make sense since Metformin is also used for PCOS with wide ranging benefits not limited to insulin resistance but actually reducing androgenic effects of the condition. Do you think you'll continue with Metformin? I've genuinely was close to starting on it some years back (despite having no (pre) diabetes.).

sithadmin 4y ago
Metformin never really yielded noticeable benefits for me (neither in terms of fat loss nor any bloodwork metrics) above and beyond other lifestyle changes I had already made, so I discontinued it after a trial period of about 4 months. The MD I was working with argued that I could have seen a impact on weight loss if taking a more extreme approach to dieting (basically an extremely high protein, moderate fat, moderate carb diet with 300-400 calories of intake every ~4 hours from sunrise to sunset) in conjunction with the metformin, but that approach didn't really fit my lifestyle at the time. If done correctly, this ostensibly maximizes the gluconeogenesis inhibition effect of metformin in conjunction with minimizing fatty acid synthesis by keeping blood levels at a consistent glucose deficit (thus encouraging lipolysis). I was also unconvinced that this isn't a just-so story, and thus I preferred to take a traditional 'keto' diet route (which has a lot more evidence backing it).