Pro tip - work with Metformin (now with numbers!)

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Dragonwolf
Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
So, I went to the doctor yesterday for my followup and found out that my insulin is up again. Now, I'm on the maximum dose she can give me at 1000mg 2x daily, so that clinches the fact that working with the Metformin by eating LC/HF is required.

Here is a run-down of my numbers over the past year or so:

8/13 (LC/HF, no Metformin) - 18
2/14 (LC/HF, 2000mg Metformin) - 12
5/14 (not LC/HF, 2000g Metformin) - 19 (!)

That was an eye-opener, let me tell you. It really makes me wonder what my insulin would have been the first time, had I not already been doing LC/HF (even more so than I had already been wondering), and shows that being LC/HF is just as important as the Metformin in getting, and keeping, my insulin down at a level that keeps me healthy. (It also seems to show that the Metformin, for me, at least, is largely just a facilitator for LC/HF to do its thing, which actually gives me some hope that I'll be able to wean off of it eventually, as long as I entrench in my thick skull that I need to stay LC/HF and make sure the junk doesn't creep back in.)

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  • AmazingGracexox
    AmazingGracexox Posts: 12 Member
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    I find that if I don't do low carb, then the weight doesn't budge even on metformin. Damn carbs being so tasty :(
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    Hmmm...I can't wait until I go back to the doc so I can get a copy of labs. Apparently I'm not IR, per testing, as when the doc called, he thought the metformin was working - and I wasn't taking any... I want to see the actual numbers, because if I'm barely in range, I'll definitely discuss with him further. Making progress, but have been for 2-3 weeks doing 25% carbs / 35-40% fat / 35-40% protein, per endo's instructions... I apparently ended up in keto, as I got struck by "carb flu" without remembering it (I didn't remember having that when I did Atkin's before, though I was majorly in keto)...and I binged on some oreos. Back on track since, and waiting for the "flu" to hit again... *sigh* Wish our bodies weren't so wacky.
  • teddiebare
    teddiebare Posts: 46 Member
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    This is so awesome! That's very exciting scientific data.

    I need to look at my labs again. I don't think my IR has ever come up on a blood panel, because I'm hypoglycemic and they do it fasting. It took a high testosterone result to finally get someone to take me seriously.

    My big eye opener about the level of my IR came with macro adjustments.
    1700 cal / 150g carbs / 150g protein / rest fat / day = 17 lbs weight gain over 1-year
    1700 cal / <50g carbs / 110g protein / rest fat / day = 21 lbs weight loss over 5-months

    Those are some convincing results to me. I think my doctor does blood every 6-months, but I'll find out at my appointment at the end of the month. Hopefully I'll be able to do a more in-depth comparison here soon. I know that I can FEEL that my blood sugar isn't crashing and bouncing like it was before. It hasn't been this stable since puberty. It's a great feeling to overcome a lifetime of bad health - even if it's at the expense of some yummy carbs <3