Thanks for the reference. I got curious about this when @Richard commented on the increase he saw with his fasting insulin level when he went off metformin for a while.
Should I take Metformin?
OldDoug
(Doug)
#22
Right on - okay, that makes me think that Metformin does (or may) result in lower insulin levels (even if indirectly). I just could not find anything online saying that.
Robert_Johnson
(Consensus is Politics)
#23
If metformin indeed helps with skeletal muscles insulin resistance, then that in itself could reduce the need for more insulin to be output to take care of that extra glucose floating around. If that excess glucose that the IR muscle isn’t taking up is coming from the liver over producing glucose, and if metformin truly helps slow the livers gluconeogenisis, then that as well will help lower insulin levels. So it could be said that metformin helps to indirectly lower insulin, even if it takes no action directly to insulin levels itself. Anything you can do to reduce insulin will help you losing weight.
Sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to write that any less verbose 
My own experience with Metformin…
Pre-Keto: When I was diagnosed with T2D, I was Rx 500 mg 2x day Metformin. After a few weeks, I saw no improvment in my BG levels. I was worried, and called and ask the Doc if I might need a higher dosage, and how high could I go, and how safe was it, what were the trade offs? He said he could put me on the max dosage, with very little ill effects, maybe diarrhea. I was willing to try anything to get my BG under control. It was almost always above 300, and that was scaring me.
So upped my dosage to 1,000 mg 2x a day. No side effects noted. Also, very little id any help on my BG readings. So I was extremely paranoid.
[leaving out a lot of story here about going keto, can be read elsewhere 
]
Currently Keto: So after going keto, I was concerned that the metformin would cause a problem, being at such a high dosage, with my BG being so much better now. Doc said, its not really an issue. The way metformin works, if you have too much of it, you are just wasting it. Its almost impossible to O.D. on it (im not willing to test that). He also said that dosages over 1,000 mg have seriously diminishing returns. So even if 500 mg was the proper dosage, 1,000 would just be a slight amount wasted.
The life happened. I ended up missing several days of my meds, and my BG improved even more. So I just stayed off the metformin for about two months i think, and was doing just fine with out them. Keto managing my BG was working just fine.
Then I began to hear stories how metformin helps insulin resistance to reverse. So I figured, ok. Lets go back to taking it, and see what happens.
To be honest, I cant actually say if I’ve noticed a difference having taken it, versus not taking it, and then again starting again. Seeing how Keto has helped me gain control over my BG, I’m thinking maybe I should ask my doc about using lower dosages of metformin. Maybe find what the lowest dose is for helping to reverse Insulin Resistance, and changing to that.