If I continue metformin will I be able to go off the meds?

Hi there. At the end of November I was diagnosed as an out of control Type 2 Diabetic. I had been feeling lousy for months.... blurry eyes, pins and needles in feet, headaches, constantly sleeping. Anyway I smartened up and since then have walked for at least half an hour a day and have been really watching my diet. I was put on metformin (500 m once in morning and again at night). Since then I have managed to lose about 13lbs (still have a lot to go) and have my levels down to a more normal level (from 16-18 to about 6-8). This is my question...... If I continue on this track do you think I will be able to go off the meds. Has anyone here been on meds and then didnt need them anymore?

Joules,
I know there are people out there who have done this, I've just never heard first hand from any of them. The idea of taking a med for the rest of your life can be daunting but that can be overcome. Please thank your lucky stars that metformin exists. My father-in-law was stuck trying to treat his diabetes with some of the older style meds and went blind before his death.

What I want to say to you now is that you are diabetic. With meds, without meds, with exercise and without... your system has a problem with carbohydrate metabolism. You need to help your body with that problem to maintain health and live a great life. You are on the best track you can be... your weight loss and exercise levels are just the right thing for your metabolism right now. With hard work you may be able to decrease or suspend medication but you will need to be vigilant and keep daily track of your sugars. This metabolism goof up was probably programmed into you from birth. If you had been a lumberjack or a homemaker in the 1800's the rigors of daily life would probably have prevented the development of the disease.

Although the idea that "no meds = no disease" is appealing, that isn't the case. Whether you treat your diabetes successfully with exercise, medication, dietary changes or all three, you will be diabetic for the rest of your life. Now starts the clear road to taking better care of yourself. Learn all you can. Read about real nutrition and exercise (not fad stuff or non-exercise exercise). Pamper and be good to yourself. Set time in your daily routine for exercise and relaxation because both of these are stress busters and stress raises blood glucose.

Get family and friends involved. Your offspring have a heightened chance of developing diabetes, too, so there's no time like the present for you all to start learning more healthy food planning. Also, for many of us there is a kind of honeymoon period where we are scared and behave like angels for a while, but after a while... we kind of fall back into old habits. This is where the forum can help. We can be your cheerleaders when you are ready to snarf on pasta. We have all been there and want to help. Hang in there and KOKO! (Keep on keepin' on!)

OMGosh! Been there with the kidney stones! The doc is just being thorough in checking you out. All of the things you are exhibiting come with aging and living in a house. If you had a chance to be outside a lot you would make your own vitamin D, but you might get skin cancer, too!

Take a buddy or a tape recorder to the food class. They throw more at you in three hours than any normal person can absorb. Then, after that, come here with your individual food questions and someone here will help you thru it. It's kind of like a big puzzle, putting all the nutrients, fats, carbs and proteins together in the right way. After a while it becomes sort of second nature to eat the right stuff. I've actually taken the food class twice and it changed in the ten years between classes. So I know they are learning more about diabetes and foods every day.

I wish that we had more nutrition education in schools. (I also wish it would rain quarters, but I don't see that happening soon, either.) It's sad that we don't really pay attention to this stuff until it threatens our health. But Grandma was right... eat your vegetables! (LOL!)

Jeannie143 said...


What I want to say to you now is that you are diabetic. With meds, without meds, with exercise and without... your system has a problem with carbohydrate metabolism.

Although the idea that "no meds = no disease" is appealing, that isn't the case. Whether you treat your diabetes successfully with exercise, medication, dietary changes or all three, you will be diabetic for the rest of your life.

I think this is the hardest part for me ... knowing no matter how "good" I am this will never change. I will always be a diabetic.