The miracle drug that treats diabetes

Started taking Metformin today to lower my A1C which was officially at the diabetic level. I looked it up online and found it is a med good for lots of things:

"Ever wonder why certain medications are called "wonder drugs"?

Sometimes it's because of the tremendous health benefits the drug provides for a particular condition, like insulin for type 1 diabetes or antibiotics for pneumonia. Or, it might be because the drug is good for many different conditions: aspirin has often been called a wonder drug because it can relieve pain, treat or prevent cardiovascular disease, and even prevent cancer.

Could metformin be joining this list? It's approved in the US to treat type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise by people ages 10 and older. But in recent years, interest has grown regarding its potential to
prevent or treat a variety of other conditions, including aging. Yes, aging. If that's true, "wonder drug" might be an understatement.

What is metformin?

The history of metformin goes back hundreds of years. In Europe, the medicinal herb Galega officinalis was popular for digestive health and to treat urinary problems and other ailments. In 1918 a scientist discovered that one of its ingredients, guanidine, could lower blood sugar. Medicines containing guanidine, such as metformin and phenformin, were developed to treat diabetes. But they fell out of favor due to serious side effects caused by phenformin, and by the discovery of insulin.

Metformin was rediscovered decades later and approved as a treatment for diabetes in Europe in the 1950s. It wasn't until 1995 that the FDA approved it for use in the US. It has since become the most widely prescribed medication for people with diabetes who cannot control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone.

Metformin's benefits may extend far beyond diabetes

For decades we've known that metformin does more than just help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. It also offers them cardiovascular benefits, including lower rates of death due to cardiovascular disease. And it sometimes helps people with diabetes lose excess weight.

Metformin may also have health benefits for people who don't have diabetes. Doctors have long prescribed it off-label — that is, to treat conditions outside its approved use, including:

Prediabetes. People with prediabetes have elevated blood sugar that isn't yet high enough to qualify as diabetes. Metformin may delay the onset of diabetes or even prevent it among people with prediabetes.

Gestational diabetes. Pregnant women may develop elevated blood sugar that returns to normal after delivery. Metformin can help control blood sugar during pregnancy in such women.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This disorder tends to affect young women whose ovaries develop multiple cysts. Menstrual irregularities and fertility problems are common. Although the results of clinical studies are mixed, metformin has been prescribed for years for women with PCOS to help with menstrual regulation, fertility, and elevated blood sugar.

Weight gain from antipsychotic medicines. Antipsychotics are powerful medications prescribed for psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia. One common side effect is significant weight gain. Metformin may lessen weight gain among some people taking these drugs.

In addition, researchers are investigating the potential of metformin to

Lower the risk of cancer in persons with type 2 diabetes. These include cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate.

Lower risks for dementia and stroke. Some studies have noted less cognitive decline and a lower rate of dementia, as well as a lower rate of stroke, among people with diabetes taking metformin compared with those who were not taking it.

Slow aging, prevent age-related disease, and increase lifespan. Preliminary studies suggest that metformin may actually slow aging and increase life expectancy, possibly by improving the body's responsiveness to insulin, antioxidant effects, and improving blood vessel health.

Because the vast majority of research regarding metformin included only people with diabetes or prediabetes, it's unclear whether these potential benefits are limited to people with those conditions, or whether people without diabetes may derive benefit as well."---- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-m...2109222605

The problem with metformin is that it can cause lactic acidosis and other problems if a patient has impaired or deteriorating renal function. Since the operation of a person's kidneys does often deteriorate when they become older, her doctor took an elderly neighbor of ours off metformin when she reached circa her late 70s. Of course, with someone else, it might be their 80s or even early 70s. Just depends on when renal decline sets in for that individual.

Metformin's Impact on Kidney Health and Failure Risks
https://synthorum.com/articles/metformin...lure-risks

I believe I can totally reverse my diabetes with this drug and exercise and diet by losing around 40 lbs. I can't stand the thought of getting my feet amputated or going blind some day. Renal failure is on the back burner for now.

(Aug 15, 2025 04:41 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: I believe I can totally reverse my diabetes with this drug and exercise and diet by losing around 40 lbs. I can't stand the thought of getting my feet amputated or going blind some day. Renal failure is on the back burner for now.

Exercise wise, it's amazing what push-ups alone can do for both the cardiovascular system and "burning glucose". But dangerous if the former state has already progressed slash deteriorated to where strain and stress on the body can cause a cardiovascular event.

Certainly, a senior should start with only one push-up and then add one more each day afterward (till reaching at least 50 -- possibly 100). But if the ridiculously slow adjustment pace of that results at any point in signs of CV symptoms, then abandon that kind of intense activity.

If one's doctor has already decreed that a patient's body is severely clogged or a heart is damaged, and that vigorous exercise is deadly -- then, of course, those individuals should not even try. Whatever the physician says in that regard, follow it.

You'd be surprised what even single sets with low reps of basic calisthenics can accomplish. Even with a very gradual increase in reps, like adding one rep every couple of months, can show marked improvement, especially over a sedentary lifestyle. The main trick is to start something easy enough that you'll make it a routine. Then it's easier to slightly alter the routine over time.

Day 6 on Metformin and still no side effects! I'm so relieved!