Ignore Clickbait: Metformin Still Prescribed For Diabetics
Ignore clickbait: Metformin still prescribed for diabetics Dear Dr. Roach: I have read online and in our local newspaper that doctors are no longer recommending metformin as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Can you please explain why metformin is no longer being prescribed? P.K. Answer: I, too, have seen online ads saying that doctors no longer prescribe metformin, and if you click through enough times, you find that one weird food cures diabetes, and that a special diet totally eliminates the need for medication for all diabetics. This is referred to as clickbait, and I encourage you not to pay attention to it. Metformin remains an important medication for many people with Type 2 diabetes, especially if they are overweight. For those people with diabetes who need medication despite an appropriate diet and regular exercise, metformin has been shown to be more beneficial, in terms of preventing diabetic complications and death, than most of the other medication options. It isnt right for everyone, and people with poor kidney function may not be able to safely take it. Only your doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant knows what is best for you. Dear Dr. Roach: I have (inherited) essential tremor, which is controlled by propranolol. Over the years, my dosage has increased from 10 mg to 60 mg. My tremor (in my dominant hand only) is getting worse. I have heard that there is brain surgery available to address the issue. Is this a better option than the pills? I am 75 and otherwise in good health. C.C. Answer: There are several medications for essential tremor, such as primidone, but in people for whom medications dont work, both deep-brain stimulation and focused ultrasound are now options in many major medical centers across the U.S. and Canada. You can read mor Continue reading >>
Why Doctors In The Know No Longer Prescribe Metformin?
Why doctors in the know no longer prescribe Metformin? Doctors are urging every American with type II diabetes P A I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T Itching THIS Part of Your Body Is a Sign of Alzheimer's Latest research from scientists at a leading University from the United Kingdom have discovered a surprising link between having a desire to itch in an odd certain part of your body and the onset of Alzheimers.If you find yourself wanting to itch/scratch this part of your body scientists are saying this is a signal for the onset of the deterioration of neuronal pathways in the brain, and ultimately Alzheimers.Find out if you are showing the early warning signals of Alzheimers right now. >> Click here to learn these unbelievable signals of Alzheimers Remove me from list Contact us by mail: Feedback, 20 West 22nd Street, Suite 908, NY, NY 10010 Privacy statement: P A I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T Urgent news about Metformin Doctors are urging every American with type II diabetes to read this trending news story: Why doctors in the know no longer prescribe Metformin To your health,Jim Gray, Editor Remove me from list Contact us by mail: Feedback, 20 West 22nd Street, Suite 908, NY, NY 10010 Privacy statement: You may qualify for a clinical trial to test CBD GS Handbook 16-17 August 2016 I Graduate School 2016-2017 HANDBOOK for Graduate Students Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this handbook. It is intended as a resource guide for graduate students. The Graduate Catalog is the official University of Florida (UF) publication for graduate policies and procedures and will take precedence if there are any discrepancies between the two publications. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Continue reading >>
Diabetes Medication Metformin: Why Patients Stop Taking It
Gretchen Becker, author of The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed , has been taking metformin for more than 20 years after receiving a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 1996. I never had any problems with metformin until I took a pill that I thought was the extended-release version, but it wasnt, Becker told Healthline. Beckers doctor had accidentally prescribed the regular form of metformin. I had very loose bowels for several months until I figured out what the problem was, Becker said. After getting the proper prescription, it took several months for Beckers digestive system to recover. Corinna Cornejo, who received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2009, told Healthline that her digestive woes didnt start until shed been taking metformin for more than a year. At first, I thought it was a response to dairy, but my doctor eventually switched my prescription to the extended-release version, Cornejo recalled. That has helped, but the side effect has not gone away completely. For some people, however, metformins unpleasant side effect of loose stools provides a much-needed balance to the side effects that can result from other diabetes drugs theyre taking. GLP-1 drugs, like Victoza or Byetta, can cause constipation, explained Robinson. Taking metformin with a GLP-1 drug means they actually complement each other, balancing out those side effects. And for some, metformin simply isnt the right drug. No matter what you do, some patients just dont tolerate the side effects well, said Robinson. Although there are many diabetes drugs on the market today, doctors will likely push metformin first. There has never been as many diabetes treatment options available as there are now, explained Robinson. But doctors look at cost, and metformin is th Continue reading >>
Why Doctors In The Know No Longer Prescribe Metformin
Until recently, diabetics looking for doctor-approved, drug-free treatment options were out of luck. But a growing number of health experts believe those days are behind us. Dr. Marlene Merritt (LAc, DOM(NM), MS Nutrition), an Austin-based doctor who used to suffer type II diabetes herself, made a recent announcement that is sending shockwaves through the medical community. After nearly dying from diabetes complications during a bike ride, Dr. Merritt began extensive research, intent on reversing her type II diabetes before succumbing to diabetic amputation, blindness, organ failure, or any of the other side effects so commonly experienced by diabetics. Dr. Merritt knew all too well that commonly-prescribed diabetes drugs like Metformin came with a host of unwanted side effects, and was determined to find a natural, drug-free solution that could actually eliminate the disease, not just treat its symptoms. After months of research and self-experimentation, Dr. Merritt developed a simple diet and exercise regimen that had a profound success rate in treating and even reversing type II diabetes. Despite reversing her own diabetes, and helping many of her patients do the same, medical journals were slow to publish her findings, perhaps due in part, some have speculated, to financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. In response, Dr. Merritt took matters in to her own hands and shocked the medical community by partnering with independent health publisher Primal Health to make her diabetes-reversing regimen available to everyone in the form of an online presentation. Continue reading >>
Ignore The Clickbait: Metformin Still Prescribed For Diabetics
Dear Dr. Roach • I have read online and in our local newspaper that doctors are no longer recommending metformin as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Can you please explain why metformin is no longer being prescribed? — P.K. Answer • I, too, have seen online ads saying that doctors no longer prescribe metformin, and if you click through enough times, you find that “one weird food” cures diabetes, and that a special diet totally eliminates the need for medication for all diabetics. This is referred to as “clickbait,” and I encourage you not to pay attention to it. Metformin remains an important medication for many people with Type 2 diabetes, especially if they are overweight. For those people with diabetes who need medication despite an appropriate diet and regular exercise, metformin has been shown to be more beneficial, in terms of preventing diabetic complications and death, than most of the other medication options. It isn’t right for everyone, and people with poor kidney function may not be able to safely take it. Only your doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant knows what is best for you. Dear Dr. Roach • I started researching information about early dementia and also Alzheimer’s disease. I have perused numerous articles about cholinesterase inhibitors increasing acetylcholine levels that benefit the brain. Some medications are anticholinergic and might increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Many of these medications are everyday, over-the-counter drugs. Shouldn’t the public be made aware of these drugs and their possible effect on our brain? — P.C. Answer • One type of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is a class of drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors. These include donepezil (Aricept) and others. Pharmaco Continue reading >>
Metformin
Metformin may rarely cause a serious, life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis. Tell your doctor if you have kidney disease. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take metformin. Also, tell your doctor if you are over 65 years old and if you have ever had a heart attack; stroke; diabetic ketoacidosis (blood sugar that is high enough to cause severe symptoms and requires emergency medical treatment); a coma; or heart or liver disease. Taking certain other medications with metformin may increase the risk of lactic acidosis. Tell your doctor if you are taking acetazolamide (Diamox), dichlorphenamide (Keveyis), methazolamide, topiramate (Topamax, in Qsymia), or zonisamide (Zonegran). Tell your doctor if you have recently had any of the following conditions, or if you develop them during treatment: serious infection; severe diarrhea, vomiting, or fever; or if you drink much less fluid than usual for any reason. You may have to stop taking metformin until you recover. If you are having surgery, including dental surgery, or any major medical procedure, tell the doctor that you are taking metformin. Also, tell your doctor if you plan to have any x-ray procedure in which dye is injected, especially if you drink or have ever drunk large amounts of alcohol or have or have had liver disease or heart failure. You may need to stop taking metformin before the procedure and wait 48 hours to restart treatment. Your doctor will tell you exactly when you should stop taking metformin and when you should start taking it again. If you experience any of the following symptoms, stop taking metformin and call your doctor immediately: extreme tiredness, weakness, or discomfort; nausea; vomiting; stomach pain; decreased appetite; deep and rapid breathing or shortness of breath; dizzi Continue reading >>
Why Is Metformin Considered The Drug Of Choice For Type 2 Diabetes?
Gunda Siska, PharmD, has worked in various fields within the pharmaceutical industry as a licensed pharmacist for more than 20 years. She is currently a staff hospital pharmacist assisting nurses and doctors with drug prescribing, administration, and dispensing, as well as independently monitoring and dosing highly toxic and dangerous drugs. For 2 years, she was concurrently a consultant pharmacist for skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes. Dr. Siska is a member of the New Mexico Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Follow her on Twitter @GundaSiska Metformin is a medication that I believe is underappreciated by the general public. Many people ttell me that their doctor prescribed this drug for them, but they took themselves off of it, but if they knew what I know about metformin, they would have stayed on the medication. This is what I know: metformin extends life. It’s been proven in animal studies1 and in humans. A prospective observational study of nearly 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and arteriosclerosis found that metformin use was associated with 24% lower all-cause mortality compared to patients who were not taking metformin.2 It is also the number one go-to medication for type 2 diabetes for several years, despite all the new designer medications coming on the market trying to replace it. How does metformin save lives? Mainly through cardioprotection. Metformin reduces cardiovascular risk in humans.3 Most people with T2DM will most likely die from a cardiovascular event, especially if they are not on metformin.4,5,6 Metformin has so many positive effects on the body, no one really knows for sure all the ways it preserves life. It produces modest weight loss in the near term5 and blun Continue reading >>
Metformin - Oral, Glucophage
are allergic to dapagliflozin or any of the ingredients in FARXIGA. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include skin rash, raised red patches on your skin (hives), swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking FARXIGA and contact your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away have severe kidney problems or are on dialysis. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working before and during your treatment with FARXIGA Dehydration (the loss of body water and salt), which may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, lightheaded, or weak, especially when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension). You may be at a higher risk of dehydration if you have low blood pressure; take medicines to lower your blood pressure, including water pills (diuretics); are 65 years of age or older; are on a low salt diet, or have kidney problems Ketoacidosis occurred in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes during treatment with FARXIGA. Ketoacidosis is a serious condition which may require hospitalization and may lead to death. Symptoms may include nausea, tiredness, vomiting, trouble breathing, and abdominal pain. If you get any of these symptoms, stop taking FARXIGA and call your healthcare provider right away. If possible, check for ketones in your urine or blood, even if your blood sugar is less than 250 mg/dL Kidney problems. Sudden kidney injury occurred in people taking FARXIGA. Talk to your doctor right away if you reduce the amount you eat or drink, or if you lose liquids; for example, from vomiting, diarrhea, or excessive heat exposure Serious urinary tract infections (UTI), some that lead to hospitalization, occu Continue reading >>
Here’s Why Doctors Have Stopped Prescribing Metformin
We are quickly approaching the day when people diagnosed with Type II Diabetes can kiss goodbye to their expensive pills and annoying needles and test strips. This is thanks to a breakthrough from a Sri Lankan researcher, a specialist in endocrinology with 23 years’ experience, that is going to change everything we thought we knew about how to treat Type II Diabetes... No more needles! Would you be willing to try a "Delicious Dish"or even a "Miracle Smoothie" that could solve the problem of diabetes naturally? Mr. Michel Dempsey, in a brave (and lucky) attempt to save his wife from diabetes discovered a Sri Lankan tribe that has 0 cases of diabetes or pre diabetes. Against all odds he was able, with the help of a Sri Lankan researcher from the university of Peradeniya, to develop a natural treatment to reverse diabetes using the exact same ingredients the tribe has been consuming for decades. He said that he just couldn't see the mother of his 3 children unable to cast off the shackles of diabetes. He wanted to find a better future for her. Now, several years of research, study and experiments later, Chaminda, the Sri Lankan researcher, has discovered a surprisingly simple way to stop diabetes and even reverse it, giving you back the life you had before. The method involves doing away with the foods that are making the problem worse, and replacing them with ingredients and superfood that has doctors baffled. This new method was met with harsh criticism from the medical community and pharmaceutical companies, but he was never criticised by those who actually try it; most of them experienced success in just a few weeks. Michel says that this method has proven results, and these results can speak for themselves. By now you’re probably wondering why you’ve never heard Continue reading >>
Why Doctors In The Know No Longer Prescribe Metformin
A discovery by an Austin-based doctor may change how Type II Diabetes is treated and could even be a cure. Dr. Marlene Merritt suffered from high blood sugar for years and was determined to find a natural solution. “My motivation,” she says, “was to cast off the shackles of the daily monitoring, the shots and pills, and the drug side effects. I wanted to live a normal life again.” After two years of research and trial and error experiments, Dr. Marlene Merritt hit upon a practical diet and exercise regimen that doesn’t just control Type II Diabetes but actually reverses it. While the regimen eliminates a few foods, it most importantly adds a single food that has shown to have a big impact on the disease. The announcement of her discovery has sent shockwaves through the medical community, with some progressive doctors enthusiastically embracing it, and many conventional doctors taking a “wait and see” approach. Within weeks of adopting her own regimen, Dr. Merritt’s condition completely reversed. “It was just gone, and I had my life back,” she says. I then prescribed this drug-free solution to my diabetic patients and, in most cases, they too saw success in a matter of weeks.” Despite the regimen’s effectiveness, medical journals have been slow to publish her findings. And Dr. Merritt suspects the reluctance is due to the outsized influence of the pharmaceutical industry, which stands to lose billions of dollars on lost drug sales. The makers of Metformin, one of several drugs Dr. Merritt’s natural regimen would replace, had no comment. All diabetes drug sales are expected to reach $32 billion in 2017, according to industry analyst, Morder Intelligence. Dr. Merritt says “Diabetics need to know about this safer option.” To get the word out, s Continue reading >>
The Diabetes Drug That Could Be An Anti-aging Miracle
In a slew of recent flashy endeavors, scientists, academics and exceptionally rich people have taken on the aging process. In 2013, Google launched Calico, its billion-dollar anti-aging research and development arm, which the following year formed a partnership with pharmaceutical giant AbbVie. Meanwhile, another major drug company, Novartis, is developing a patentable form of rapamycin—a biological agent discovered in the soil on Easter Island—which has been shown to boost immune function, and the company hopes it could become the first viable anti-aging pill. But, according to Dr. Nir Barzilai, a scientist based in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City’s Bronx borough, we might already have the drug we need to slow the aging process—and it’s dirt cheap. Metformin is an old, generic diabetes drug, known for its blood sugar–lowering properties and for being quite safe. It’s common, and it costs about 35 cents per pill. It has also been found to stall the aging process in animal studies. In June, Barzilai, along with academics from the not-for-profit American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), approached the Food and Drug Administration with an idea: the Targeting Aging With Metformin (TAME) study, to see if metformin could do for humans what it does for animals. It would be the first clinical trial to test if a drug could slow human aging. The FDA said yes, and since that June meeting the media has exploded with excitement over the purported “fountain of youth” drug, with rumors that it could extend human life span up to 120 years. The problem, though, is that no one has agreed to front the capital required to get TAME off the ground. That’s not surprising: There are plenty of reasons Big Pharma won’t fund a study that would m Continue reading >>
Why Isn’t Metformin Prescribed More?
Since its debut in the United States in 1995, metformin has become the most popular oral drug for Type 2 diabetes in the country — and the rest of the world. Current guidelines by the American Diabetes Association state that unless there are special risks in a particular person, metformin should be the first drug prescribed to people with Type 2 diabetes. Yet perhaps due in part to its popularity, metformin isn’t free of controversy. As we’ve discussed previously here at Diabetes Flashpoints, there are concerns about prescribing metformin in people with kidney disease, and some doctors even question whether metformin deserves its status as the universally recommended first-line drug for Type 2 diabetes. In addition, there’s debate about whether metformin should be taken by more people with prediabetes. A recent study sought to explore the reasons why metformin isn’t prescribed as widely as clinical guidelines suggest it should be. Published last month in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease, the study notes that only roughly 65% of people with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes are prescribed metformin — and that over time, this number drops to just 25% of people with the condition. As noted in a Pharmacy Times article on the study, researchers from the University of Colorado put together focus groups of relevant people — doctors, pharmacists, and other medical personnel — to ask about their perceptions regarding metformin. Based on these focus groups, the researchers found that three main factors affected how doctors prescribed metformin: concerns about when to start the drug, concerns about the drug’s known risks, and whether procedures were in place to notice and deal with any adverse reactions caused by the drug. Based on the focus grou Continue reading >>
Why Doctors In The Know No Longer Prescribe Metformin
Why Doctors In The Know No Longer Prescribe Metformin Until recently, diabetics looking for doctor-approved, drug-free treatment options were out of luck. But a growing number of health experts believe those days are behind us. Dr. Marlene Merritt (DOM, MS Nutrition), an Austin-based doctor who used to suffer high blood sugar herself, made a recent announcement that is sending shockwaves through the medical community. Dr. Merritt knew all too well that commonly-prescribed diabetes drugs like Metformin came with a host of unwanted side effects, and was determined to find a natural, drug-free solution that could actually eliminate the disease, not just treat its symptoms. After months of research, Dr. Merritt developed a simple diet and exercise regimen that had a profound success rate in treating and even reversing type II diabetes. Despite the regimen's clear effectiveness, medical journals were slow to publish her findings, perhaps due in part, some have speculated, to financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. In response, Dr. Merritt took matters in to her own hands and shocked the medical community by partnering with independent health publisher Primal Health to make her diabetes-reversing regimen available to everyone in the form of an online presentation. The video has already gone viral, generating a huge range of response. Several viewers have noted the simplicity of the regimen, along with how non-restrictive the diet sounds. Unsurprisingly, many in the pharmaceutical industry have taken issue with the presentation's drug-free emphasis, but many doctors who have wished for a natural, drug-free treatment to share with their diabetic patients have been quick to embrace it. Dr. Merritt herself cautions viewers to exercise common sense and only go off your med Continue reading >>
Do You Have A Good Doctor?
There is one often overlooked factor that can save you or someone you love from a future filled with amputations, failing vision, and dialysis: a family doctor who keeps up-to-date on diabetes treatment. Not all doctors do. In fact, quite a few doctors out there got their training in diabetes care in medical school decades ago, and the only "diabetes education" they've gotten since then has been provided by the drug companies. Drug company "education" is nothing more than promotion for whatever is the newest, most expensive drug available for treating diabetes--with the side effects unmentioned or dismissed as insignificant. Even those doctors who do attempt to keep up with the latest in diabetes treatments may do so by reading newsletters that summarize the most publicized recent research findings. But these, too, focus almost entirely on new drugs and often just summarize drug company press releases. That is why a major part of your diabetes self-care should include finding a doctor who will become a partner, not an obstacle, in your quest for normal health. While this whole site contains a lot of information that can help you assess the quality of the treatment you are getting what I've done here is put together a list of questions you can use to evaluate the care you are getting from the medical professionals you are paying for your care. Does your doctor support you in your desire to attain normal blood sugars? A major warning sign that a doctor's knowledge of diabetes is out of date is the doctor who dismisses your concern about an abnormal blood sugar test because it isn't, in his mind, abnormal enough. If your fasting blood sugar is over 110 mg/dl, or your post meal blood sugars are routinely going over 140 mg/dl at 2 hours, and your doctor tells you that this i Continue reading >>
The Facts About Diabetes Your Doctor Won’t Tell You
Type 2 diabetes has become a health-destroying epidemic afflicting millions of Americans. If you want to avoid this scourge or deal with it more effectively, there are facts about this disease you need to know that even your doctor may not understand. Almost 30 million Americans suffer diabetes. Another 86 million have what’s called pre-diabetes: This occurs when your blood sugar has begun to climb to unhealthy levels but it hasn’t yet reached the destructive point at which diabetes ensues. Drug problem One of the main drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes is a pharmaceutical called metformin. And while this drug may be an important treatment for controlling the blood sugar of many people, researchers are starting to raise concerns about its effect on the thyroid gland. A Canadian study coordinated between the Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital and the Department of Oncology, McGill University in Montréal demonstrates that metformin can boost the chances that someone with an under-active thyroid will have a reduced level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). That reduced level of TSH may, in turn, raise the risk of heart disease and bone fractures. The researchers found that in people who were already being treated for low thyroid, taking metformin expanded the risk of running low of TSH by 55 percent. In people who had normal thyroid, metformin did not seem to produce this effect. “The results of this longitudinal study confirmed that the use of metformin was associated with an increased risk of low TSH levels in patients with treated hypothyroidism,” says researcher Laurent Azoulay. “Given the relatively high incidence of low TSH levels in patients taking metformin, it is imperative that future studies assess the clinical consequences of this effec Continue reading >>
