I am not ashamed to say that I still enjoy learning with “childlike explanations”!😊 Thank you for making it interesting, simple, and fun to learn about this medication… That’s making me go to the bathroom like crazy 😬🤦🏽♀️ At least I know it’s working the way it should👍💓
My doctor prescribed metformin and this was great to understand what’s going on. Didn’t understand why I was so nauseous till now. Thanks for the video!
I'n my case, having taken metformin for over 25 years, there have been no bad side effects. No low B-!2, no liver or kidney damage...it just works, and now at the age of 78 I'm hoping it's also a longevity drug. Highly recommended by me......
Isn’t it important to tell nurses when you absolotely not should give Metformin? Like lethal lactic acidosis as a result of high koncentration in the liver because of Metformin intake during dehydration? (Especially since a common sideaffect is diahreea which ofcourse risk causing dehrydradation?) Perhaps it’s a good thing to know that Metformin can be lethal taken with dehydration or any other problems with lower kidneyfunctions?
Go back to 1:45 and play it…she told you that she’s not going to tell you how diabetes occurs… WAKE UP If a DR gave you a prescription in one hand and a diet in the other and told ya,”The prescription for Metformin will manage the symptoms while your diet will continue to press on you until it’s gets significantly worse AND the diet will give you 15 years of your life…” So which one will you choose in that time? Probably the option to save you 15 years… Learn about diabetes NOT metformin
diabetes cannot be reversed. it is a common belief that when we normalize our sugars WITH diet and exercise that we have removed the disease. Not true. We are managing it with non medical efforts. The disease process still exists
Hi, i have diabetes type 2. After breakfast i forgot to take my metformin. So the sugar in my blood rose really high and did not go down as fast... this helped me understand it so clearly.
You might have mentioned a build up of lactic acid can occur because of metformin. But I imagine most people on metformin won't overwork there muscles enough to create lactic acid. If they do it's really difficult to process the lactic acid out of there system.
Yes - and it is not a typical reaction. Per mayo clinic “Under certain conditions, too much metformin can cause lactic acidosis. The symptoms of lactic acidosis are severe and quick to appear. They usually occur when other health problems not related to the medicine are present and very severe, such as a heart attack or kidney failure.”
To be honest I've never been lucky when it comes to Metformin and its generics. I had dry mouth and bad breath, acid reflux, constipation, stomach pains and heartburn including pain in my lining and back shoulder, always hungry and thirsty. I started using gliclazide and I'm much better, no stomach problems, no fatigue, no acid reflux, no heartburn, no dry mouth, no bad breath, I have more energy and more sex desire. My point is I think Metformin makes food in your stomach to be waste and that's why we have too much acid reflux and hungry after eating
hello, i am 30 years old. My insulin resistance is gone. In my blood test, the glucose value was 113. My father and brother are diabetic. I've been using metformin 500mg for 2 weeks, the doctor suggested diet and exercise, but I said I wanted to use this drug because my doctor suggested this to me and now I'm wondering if I'm using metformin for 1 year, will it harm my kidneys?
Metformin, like most drugs, is excreted by the kidneys. What will harm your kidneys is uncontrolled blood glucose because it will damage the function of the kidney
Great video. It really helped that you illustrated the interactions and effects in a "story form". I'm a nonmedical person, so this was VERY informative to me.
Wow!! Loved the way you broke this medication down!! Saving this video and using it to study for my weekly pharm med test this coming week! thank you!!
hi hope you can help so im now a type 2 they want me to start metformin slow release ive been checking my sugar level some days it can be 12 .13 others can be 9 and drop to 4 im not doing anything different so im concerend the if i start the meds it will make my sugars drop to much it so confusing
Metformin is not often associated with hypoglycemia and the risk is low. Be aware of the symptoms to watch for and test blood glucose at home regularly
I was just put on this medication. I am not diabetic yet so we are trying to stay away from it. I am in and out of the bathroom all the time and have occasional headaches/no appetite. Your video helped explain so much. Thank you. You’re a great teacher
I need to do a synthesis of how metformin works in the body, now I understand the process! I just have one question. How does metformin cause some liver functions to go into "shutdown", and what would be the equivalent to the "workers" that are doing the other effect? Thanks a lot
@@NurseMinder sorry I guess I mean a lazy pancreas. My doctor just put me on Met Forman to help me lose weight but I am not diabetic. I'm scared that if I take it my body won't produce insulin naturally and will become dependent on it. Is there habituation that happens at all? PS I made up the word lazy pancreas all copy rights reserved lol
My mother taking this longer period and she lost soo much weight. And looks soo skinny. But yet have to take medicine if not diabetes will affect kidneys.
I mean these projectile shits are one thing, but dealing with the residue under the toilet seat is another. The wife refuses to clean it so I get stuck with doing it myself. I’ve suffered enough, thank you very much, but she won’t budge.
i recently started on metformin, and have been trying to figure out how it works. this went a long way! the narrative makes it more conceptual. i'm an engineer, but the only course i flunked was chemistry. i didn't need it for my major, so i went for materials science, which for me was a much better call. i have impaired kidney function, and was wondering why the drug seems to "stack up" in my body. now i know why i need less. i was waking up shaky, and levels in the 60's. makes sense now.
Are you taking any other drug for diabetes. If you are, I suggest cutting back on that drug, If not, then take less metformin. I am a type 2 diabetic (25 years) and rarely does metformin drive my sugar too low. My morning readings are almost always 90-105.
One question does metformin cause you to have bad stomach cramps and diarrhea so bad that you nauseated and want is this a side effect of metformin this is how sick I get
I was a diabetic for decades. I was on metformin, and 300+ units of Humalin U-500 and Novalog. I was pushing 500lbs, and my A1C's were in the 14. I kept seeing diabetic nutritionists that were telling me to eat 120 grams of carbs a day and have snacks, and just eat less and move more. I needed a knee replacement, surgery on a torn rotator cuff, I was going blind and I had large diabetic leg ulcers, gout and neuropathy in my feet, and I kept get fatter and sicker. I went Keto the Carnivore, then Ketovore with occasional 3-6 day fasts and most often only got hungry once per day. I came off the Insulin completely within 2 weeks and worked down on the metformin. As to the brain requires glucose, it requires very little and your liver can make it. I was on a day 5 fast and the doc took my sugar and it came back a 21. They all started flipping out and trying to give me orange juice. I didn't drink it because I was fine. I didn't feel weird at all I was in ketosis and had plenty of energy to run on. Today I have lost over 200lbs. Loosing weight is easy. You don't have eat less and move more. You just eat as much as you want of the right kinds of foods. I eat far more calories that I ever did before, and I am never super angry hungry like I was before. And the weight still comes off a few pounds a week. My last A1C was a 4.9, on no diabetic medication. I am no longer going blind, all my leg ulcers have healed, my knee feels great (I regularly walk 10miles or more riding coasters), my torn rotator cuff doesn't hurt at all any more. My gout is gone, and my neuropathy it going away. I am no longer going blind. I think the real treatment for diabetes is not adding pills and medicine. It is teaching people to eat real food. And.. I just had a complete Cardiac work up... It is all good. A CTA scan showed no blockages of any kind, and i have a Coronary calcium score of 0. So Saturated Fat is not bad. I am still working on my High BP but I am sure with another 70-80 pounds fo weight loss it will come under control.
Wow, i am watching this now and since i have been recently diagnosed with diabetes( type2) this is so helpful in understanding what goes through in my body. Thank you so much for educating normal people in such a simple and intresting way.
It depends on a few things - and best to plan with your doc or pharmacist. If you are on any other medications, you want to consider any drug to drug interactions Most people take it with breakfast if once a day dose If you are on Extended-release tablets, the drug guide mentions taking then with evening meal
I was told I was diabetic and needed to take metformin. My parents were diabetic, they were given metformin and years later they got worse and needed even more medications. My doctor told me the metformin is gonna help. But I told him that story and that I do not want any medications. He said it is up to me but strongly advises to take it and if not, let them do continuous blood tests to monitor my A1C which I agreed to. I know it’s not the right choice but seeing my parents get worse and take more medicines scares me. I don’t want that. I’m gonna try my best to eat healthy and work out. Do it naturally
Thank you for sharing your story. It is natural for is to have worries when we have seen others on a similar journey. I am glad you shared that with your healthcare team as well. When it comes to your body, know that the medication is only one element of care and it is used to assist your body with the mechanical work it needs to do. Diet and exercise are important elements of a care plan With your family, there are many variables as to why they needed to upgrade the medical care. It is not a failure of treatment, it is a progression of disease and if the blood sugars are not controlled, there is a lot of collateral damage to eye sight, nerves, blood circulation. Diabetes is a serious disease and you sound motivated to manage it Know that you cannot reverse the illness, but you can better manage it to reduce the additional complications
Metformin causes hypoglycemia, neuropathy and a host of other problems. They may not show up immediately but they will. Explore other sources for treating your diabetes. Doctors hand out metformin like candy and patients go for it because it's cheap.
@@thomasdonohue1833 I’ve been working out, and eat healthy - zero sweets and I get some sugar but from the fruit I eat. My A1C dropped to prediabetic range. I have another one in 2 weeks hopefully it keeps dropping lower. All I did was change my eating and lost weight
@@NurseMinder thank you, I know the diabetes won’t go away but I think I’m in a good place now. I changed my diet and exercise 5 times a week and have lost a lot of weight. A1C has dropped, and hopefully it keeps dropping
Wow, thanks so much for this, was prescribed metformin, no one explained how this medication worked, i was definitely not taking it correctly as a result. Thanks for this.
Not any kind of medical student, but was still able to understand 90% of what was being explained, you are a great teacher. Is metformin used for any kind of weight loss ? I can see how dangerous it can be but in a low dose given the avg American diet I can see it being used as a safe form of weight loss
Thank you for writing. Metformin is not a weight loss drug. We must consider the needs of the body (insulin resistance) and the intended use of the drug when choosing any medication
Hi. I am not a nurse or in the medical field but thanks for this video. I’m on 2000mg a day or metformin along with long acting and short acting insulin (pregnancy has caused me to have to be on insulin. Prior to this I was only on 1000 mg of metformin) and my husband is taking 1000 mg a day of metformin. We were curious to know how it works and this gave a great visual. Thanks again 😊
Yes, if high blood sugars go under treated or not treated, and the body cannot access the sugar (not getting into cells), then the body turns to fat burning for energy and people will lose weight - but it is not a healthy weight loss as
Thank you so much for making this video. I was recently prescribed Metformin and you provided the perfect amount of detail to understand these side effects. Would it be right to assume this bloating and flatuance is a byproduct of bacteria lower in the intestine feasting on all that extra glucose sliding through, or is it caused by something else?
Great question - what I find in the literature is these symptoms are quite common at first and usually subside. If you have been on Metformin long enough to be stabilized, then share these symptoms with your healthcare team Gastrointestinal Reactions: Very common (>1/10). Gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, flatulence, and anorexia) are the most common reactions to GLUCOPHAGE and are approximately 30% more frequent in patients on GLUCOPHAGE monotherapy than in placebo-treated patients, particularly during initiation of GLUCOPHAGE therapy. These symptoms are generally transient and resolve spontaneously during continued treatment. Occasionally, temporary dose reduction may be useful. Because gastrointestinal symptoms during therapy initiation appear to be dose-related, they may be decreased by gradual dose escalation and by having patients take GLUCOPHAGE with meals (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION, Dosing Considerations). Because significant diarrhea and/or vomiting can cause dehydration and prerenal azotemia, GLUCOPHAGE should be temporarily discontinued under such circumstances. For patients who have been stabilized on GLUCOPHAGE, nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms should not be attributed to therapy unless intercurrent illness or lactic acidosis has been excluded.
I know that most people cant hike 2 hours everyday but I have been for a few months my b.s. is around 120 in the moring down from 250 to 300 my after numbers after i bike to work 7.5 miles is below 100 between 75 and 105. I have pretty muched stopped the glipizide. at 245 down from 260 lbs. Exercise i know my weight used to come down a lot quicker but don't give up keep exercising
As an oral medication the effect is not immediate - as you might see with an injection of insulin, but you should see an effect starting with the onset of drug action (with oral meds it can be 15 to 60 min)
Fantastic explanation! Putting these complex and important concepts into an easy to remember story (and the story you created) is genius. Thank you so much!! Btw: The G.I. side effects you mentioned...don't those tend to subside as your body "gets used to" the metformin? I've had relatives who used metformin and said that at the beginning there were definitely notable side effects, particularly some diarrhea. But that after just a few days things were more or less back to normal in that department. Were they just lucky, or is that generally the experience for most patients? Again, I loved your story. Think it is an incredible aid for understanding how this medicine works. I will certainly share the link to this video! Thank you!
Thanks. I am a visual learner and always looking for ways to make something come to life. I find so many concepts of science / medicine in daily life (like the clotting cascade and bird nest building ... working on that example) Yes it is true that a body will adjust and side effects may subside
Diabetes causes damage to the arteries, this damage results in hardening of the arteries. When the arteries loose their ability to stretch, the heart is pushing against greater resistance and this increases the pressure.
it is designed to take with meals as it will work as your body digests food and help reduce the side effects (anthing that goes in the stomach can cause stomach upset)
Great job, I only knew about the liver. I was probably told the other stuff,but it's hard to recall everything. My doctors write an after visit summary, but they don't recap everything.
Thankful you for making this so clear. Been taking it for a few years but was never t able to find a clears explanation of how it actually works. Great presentation.
Good video. I like how you present the information. I've been on metformin for a long time. What I have come to realize is that it is not just a matter of taking in proper amounts of sugar and carbs and taking the medication to get to the acceptable outcome. There are other factors that contribute to high glucose levels, such as lack of exercise, lack of sleep, inflammation, just to name a new of these other factors. It would be great if I had the medical care team that really sought to provide this type of health care. Do you know if this type of care is even considered when treating Type 2?
Yes there are many factors, and most are situational (inflammation, illness, stress). We consider all of that when people are in the hospital and we develop care plans
Good info on how metformin works. One side effect not mentioned - B12 malabsorption. I know all about vitamin B12 malabsorption unfortunately (and was close to death) from untreated autoimmune pernicious anaemia. I also have permanent nerve damage as B12 is needed for the myelin sheath to protect the nerves. Thankfully I can keep B12 deficiency symptoms away taking 2000 mcg daily of sublingual B12 spray. 😊 “Metformin blocks the absorption of vitamin B12 through a mechanism that has not been established but could be due to interference with the calcium-dependent binding of the intrinsic factor- vitamin B12 complex to the cubam receptor in the terminal ileum.”* *Metformin-induced vitamin B12 deficiency can cause or worsen distal symmetrical, autonomic and cardiac neuropathy in the patient with diabetes David S. H. Bell MB First published: 02 May 2022
You did such a fantastic job in explaining the way met Forman is used by the body. You broke it down to the point where I have 13-year-old daughter could understand. Thank you so much.
When it is found that a Type 2 Diabetic is not making enough insulin, isn't Metformin the wrong medication for that DIabetic? Especially if as much as 2000 grams of the medicine, isn't controlling their daytime highs and fasting glucose readings.
