Typically goal fasting insulin is recommended at <5 uIU/ml. I can’t imagine why you can’t fer a fasting insulin in France. We do have to go to a lab to draw it (no home monitoring). Most labs offer it but many healthcare providers don’t know about it.
Metformin for non-diabetics
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#22
FYI that was my message above. I don’t know why it was logged as a strange user 
Your A1C is quite low so your insulin will likely be in a lower range but they are not 100% correlative. There are things that may spike insulin in some people without spiking glucose (certain sweeteners, etc). A fasting insulin is the only way to know.
Ijjunne
(Sonia A.)
#23
Thank you for your answers. I’ll look into this test, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t exist in all countries.
One last question, did taking metformin not induce hypoglycemia if your blood sugar is normal ?
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#24
No hypoglycemia. Metformin works by decreasing the amount of glucose produced in the liver so hypoglycemia isn’t typically a risk.
I will say that this week I dropped 2lbs. That was the first movement in the scale in over 7 weeks. And I feel good. My body has adjusted to the Metformin well. My current dose is 500mg ER 2x/day. I plan on keeping it at this dose. I don’t see a need to push further.
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#26
Podcast 74 of 2 keto dudes (the guys who started this forum.) DM2 = diabetes mellitus 2 (medical term for type 2 diabetes.)
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#28
Yes! But I admit I’m a bad N=1 for no follow up! After 3 months of metformin I didn’t see any effects on the scale. I wasn’t able to get lab work done (scheduled for next week.) Ironically, after I stopped the metformin (but still remained diligently keto), I FINALLY saw movement in the scale and dropped 10# on the scale in a matter of a month. So it was a 4+ month stall!!! I’ll get new labs next week which will be interesting. While I’d imagine the metformin helped fasting insulin, it didn’t seem to help weight loss. My last fasting insulin was a little above 8. Curious what it is now.
brownfat
(Todd Allen)
#30
There are undoubtedly some studies as metformin has been around a long time. I haven’t looked into it myself but followed a discussion of others and remember it as a mixed bag, supposedly metformin inhibits some inflammatory pathways which in the case of chronic inflammation such as many type 2 diabetics have could be good but in the case of acute inflammation in response to infections could be problematic. The discussion was on a forum for longevity through caloric restriction which also tends to be anti-inflammatory and could magnify the impacts of metformin. There was also mention of metformin altering the microbiome I think as a weak antibiotic of varying effect on several bacteria species though I don’t remember the details.
Aimingfor139
(Karen)
#31
My personal experience with Metformin taken for PCOS and insulin sensitivity did not result in any weight loss. I took 500 mg three times daily for a couple years while eating Paleo. I went full keto and stopped the met and lost 20 lbs. in three months.
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#33
Lab work just in! Fasting insulin 4.4, A1C 4.9. That’s with NO metformin for 3 months. Keto and IF only. Trigs 70, HDL 68. LDL 166 but NMR lipo profile just fine. Not worried at all. I dropped 10# in the last 4 months or so. I think I will need to fast longer to really push through this stall. All in all, I’m happy where I’m at. I probably need to ramp up the fasting to lose more. And I likely may soon. Right now, I’m just keeping calm, and Keto’ing on!
V1ncentt
#34
Congrats!! Those numbers are awesome and weight loss too!
What you posted is the 3 months off Metformin, right?
Did you get an insulin level after the 3 months of Metformin- sorry- confused?
Again- Great Job on the Keto!!
utshell
(Michelle C.)
#35
Yes. This is for the three months off metformin. I was using metformin mainly to see if optimizing insulin levels would help with weight loss. Since it wasn’t working I stopped. Subsequently, I dropped 10 lbs (keto only.) I’m just a slow loser. That said, my HOMA-IR is 0.9, so at least I’m healing from within.
Greensmoothie
(Pat )
#36
I feel weak with metformin and believe i am sensitive to the affects on mitochondria. Anyone else have this issue? I take b vitamins already and extra electrolytes. also trying nicotinomide and q10.
SlowBurnMary
#37
I think there are much lower tech and sustainable sources for the benefits of metformin in the use case described (for non-diabetics). Plus, I like to avoid the pharma industry as much as possible - it’s so tied to everything about the SAD dietary culture. But that’s just me of course. Some folks like and trust prescriptions - I just like to prevent or eliminate them myself.
There are natural ways to manage insulin spiking that don’t involve industrial meds. Such as superfoods like Ginger taken in encapsulated form (I take 4-6 capsules a day, with wonderful benefits). Ginger is an ancient health ally that has been recently “proven” by western industrial medicine to lower cortisol and, in lab mice, reduce insulin spiking - among a ton of other great anti-inflammation help.
And, it’s been shown that slow movement strength-training with free weights is incredible for metabolic boosting.
Also, once one has entered the realm of 100% fat adapted (a shift which occurred for me around month 6), smaller and smaller eating windows are easy. Dr. Fung has pointed out the critical aspect of small eating windows to reduce insulin spikes from the average 5-16 a day, down to 1 or 2.
I don’t agree with this posts original comment related to stalls. There is no stalling, only changes that we cannot weigh. Body recomposition is like that. Loss of visceral fat wrapped around your organs and gain of upper chest muscles in females is a huge transformation that the scale will never report. The healing of the fatty liver that most people in industrial culture have in some form by early adulthood, is a silent healing that can save your life - but the scale won’t report that.
And for those of us who start LCHF/keto just being borderline overweight - the scale may never change - fat cells shrink and lean mass is restored. I don’t weight myself - I never bought a scale to track my keto journey - I just use a measuring tape about once a month. To date, have lots around 9-10 inches of fat around my body and dropped about 2 clothing sizes and have amazing muscle restoration and incredible mental & emotional stamina. If I were focused on what a scale was reporting though, I might have my joy stolen or confused.
What if there were no “Stalls”, only “Secret Recompositions”?
In the natural world, a lot goes on underground. Every winter the energies of plants and trees retreat into the roots. In some regions, there are creatures like amazing toads that live/hibernate underground and come up only every 7 years in the rainy season, or cicadas which hide away for 16 years before singing again. In my keto journey of metabolic healing & optimization, I’ve often reminded myself of the fact of natural laws, and the unseen life and changes - it’s helped a lot.
Olivia_Palmer
(Olivia Palmer)
#38
Metformin is a prescription-only medication for a reason. I’ve been on 1000 mg ER twice/day for 6 years to reverse my PCOS along with a healthy diet and regular exercise. I’ve been very cautious with it, yet it nearly killed me.
I had 1 single glass of wine one evening and developed lactic acidosis. If you develop this serious adverse effect, there is a 50% chance you will die… think about whether that’s worth it to you for a moment.
This drug is not something to take for fun. Had my boyfriend not carried my unconscious body to the hospital in time, I wouldn’t be here.
lindalou
(linda)
#39
Check out the podcast by Peter Attia MD. He ascribes to the idea of taking Metformin. He studies heath, longevity and is bit of a bio hacker - cutting edge with his ideas and of course, pro keto.