Question: I have high blood sugar, but am not diabetic. My doctor wants me to take metformin to keep me from becoming diabetic, but I don’t want to take drugs that I don’t need. What do you think?
Dr. Hibberd's answer:
You have high blood sugar if you are diabetic. The HbA1C test can be used to diagnose diabetes. What is your HbA1C? Ask your doctor. If it’s high, use the metformin dose recommended, as it increases the sensitivity of your fat cells to insulin, hence reducing elevated blood glucoses.
Do not use metformin unless you are diabetic or have severe pre-diabetes. There’s no benefit to using drugs you do not need when all you may need is weight control. I have found that many mildly diabetic patients have a reduced appetite on metformin, which may be one reason metformin also seems to help people manage their weight.
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