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How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?
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Krister Sundelin
How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?
Q: “How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?”
To start… metformin does NOT “lower” “blood sugar”. What it actually does is inhibit your system from RAISING BG (Blood Glucose - the proper term for “blood sugar”).
Next, it slows the absorption of glucose from the digestive tract… again, not lowering it, but slowing the rise.
Finally, and LEAST OF ALL, it improves - a TINY BIT - your cellular response to insulin, making your normal insulin response a tad better.
In T2 (Type 2 DM - Diabetes Mellitus), the underlying biochemical fault is cellular resistance to the primary action of insulin, which is the transfer of glucose (the fuel our bodies run on) out of the bloodstream and into the cells - all of which need glucose for fuel to live.
By inhibiting the raising of BG, and slowing the absorption of it from the source, and improving your cellular response to insulin - metformin will improve your BG levels over time; but it will NEVER lower your BG too much, because it doesn’t lower it at all in the first place.
Next, it’s important to know that each individual’s response to insulin VARIES… A LOT, from person to person. Also… over time, a T2 using metformin will notice a decline in efficacy, which will result in a need to increase the dose… and/or add another medication.
In any case… it is VERY IMPORTANT to ALSO employ dietary restriction of carbs, AND REGULAR EXERCISE to make the metformin - and all other T2 medications - more effective. Read the fine print that came with your metformin - it advises that it is to be used in conjunction with “diet and exercise” as prescribed by your doc; the diet and exercise are actually more useful than the metformin is.
Metformin must be used for several days to several weeks, for some folks even a few months, before it has a significant impact; essentially, it must “build up” in your system. A single dose does virtually nothing for BG management; it is NOT like insulin, or an insulin secretagogue (a medication that stimulates insulin secretion), which have immediate impacts - but which also VARY BY PERSON.
Each patient must test their BG regularly to learn how well (or poorly) a given medication is helping their BG levels, and in order to properly titrate the dose.
Following is a good outline on that process as it applies to many meds:
Q: “How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?”
To start… metformin does NOT “lower” “blood sugar”. What it actually does is inhibit your system from RAISING BG (Blood Glucose - the proper term for “blood sugar”).
Next, it slows the absorption of glucose from the digestive tract… again, not lowering it, but slowing the rise.
Finally, and LEAST OF ALL, it improves - a TINY BIT - your cellular response to insulin, making your normal insulin response a tad better.
In T2 (Type 2 DM - Diabetes Mellitus), the underlying biochemical fault is cellular resistance to the primary action of insulin, which is the transfer of glucose (the fuel our bodies run on) out of the bloodstream and into the cells - all of which need glucose for fuel to live.
By inhibiting the raising of BG, and slowing the absorption of it from the source, and improving your cellular response to insulin - metformin will improve your BG levels over time; but it will NEVER lower your BG too much, because it doesn’t lower it at all in the first place.
Next, it’s important to know that each individual’s response to insulin VARIES… A LOT, from person to person. Also… over time, a T2 using metformin will notice a decline in efficacy, which will result in a need to increase the dose… and/or add another medication.
In any case… it is VERY IMPORTANT to ALSO employ dietary restriction of carbs, AND REGULAR EXERCISE to make the metformin - and all other T2 medications - more effective. Read the fine print that came with your metformin - it advises that it is to be used in conjunction with “diet and exercise” as prescribed by your doc; the diet and exercise are actually more useful than the metformin is.
Metformin must be used for several days to several weeks, for some folks even a few months, before it has a significant impact; essentially, it must “build up” in your system. A single dose does virtually nothing for BG management; it is NOT like insulin, or an insulin secretagogue (a medication that stimulates insulin secretion), which have immediate impacts - but which also VARY BY PERSON.
Each patient must test their BG regularly to learn how well (or poorly) a given medication is helping their BG levels, and in order to properly titrate the dose.
Following is a good outline on that process as it applies to many meds:
yah. Metformin is a blood sugar-lowering drug, but its way of working is different from insulin by only lowering sugar, where it helps the machinery to consume and use sugar more efficiently. Slowly lowers blood sugar in the body. Metformin even increases cell lifespan, as it slows down cell aging according to some recent studies.
yah. Metformin is a blood sugar-lowering drug, but its way of working is different from insulin by only lowering sugar, where it helps the machinery to consume and use sugar more efficiently. Slowly lowers blood sugar in the body. Metformin even increases cell lifespan, as it slows down cell aging according to some recent studies.
Q: “How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?”
To start… metformin does NOT “lower” “blood sugar”. What it actually does is inhibit your system from RAISING BG (Blood Glucose - the proper term for “blood sugar”).
Next, it slows the absorption of glucose from the digestive tract… again, not lowering it, but slowing the rise.
Finally, and LEAST OF ALL, it improves - a TINY BIT - your cellular response to insulin, making your normal insulin response a tad better.
In T2 (Type 2 DM - Diabetes Mellitus), the underlying biochemical fault is cellular resistance to the primary action of insulin, which is the transfer of glucose (the fuel our bodies run on) out of the bloodstream and into the cells - all of which need glucose for fuel to live.
By inhibiting the raising of BG, and slowing the absorption of it from the source, and improving your cellular response to insulin - metformin will improve your BG levels over time; but it will NEVER lower your BG too much, because it doesn’t lower it at all in the first place.
Next, it’s important to know that each individual’s response to insulin VARIES… A LOT, from person to person. Also… over time, a T2 using metformin will notice a decline in efficacy, which will result in a need to increase the dose… and/or add another medication.
In any case… it is VERY IMPORTANT to ALSO employ dietary restriction of carbs, AND REGULAR EXERCISE to make the metformin - and all other T2 medications - more effective. Read the fine print that came with your metformin - it advises that it is to be used in conjunction with “diet and exercise” as prescribed by your doc; the diet and exercise are actually more useful than the metformin is.
Metformin must be used for several days to several weeks, for some folks even a few months, before it has a significant impact; essentially, it must “build up” in your system. A single dose does virtually nothing for BG management; it is NOT like insulin, or an insulin secretagogue (a medication that stimulates insulin secretion), which have immediate impacts - but which also VARY BY PERSON.
Each patient must test their BG regularly to learn how well (or poorly) a given medication is helping their BG levels, and in order to properly titrate the dose.
Following is a good outline on that process as it applies to many meds:
Q: “How much does 500mg of metformin lower blood sugar?”
To start… metformin does NOT “lower” “blood sugar”. What it actually does is inhibit your system from RAISING BG (Blood Glucose - the proper term for “blood sugar”).
Next, it slows the absorption of glucose from the digestive tract… again, not lowering it, but slowing the rise.
Finally, and LEAST OF ALL, it improves - a TINY BIT - your cellular response to insulin, making your normal insulin response a tad better.
In T2 (Type 2 DM - Diabetes Mellitus), the underlying biochemical fault is cellular resistance to the primary action of insulin, which is the transfer of glucose (the fuel our bodies run on) out of the bloodstream and into the cells - all of which need glucose for fuel to live.
By inhibiting the raising of BG, and slowing the absorption of it from the source, and improving your cellular response to insulin - metformin will improve your BG levels over time; but it will NEVER lower your BG too much, because it doesn’t lower it at all in the first place.
Next, it’s important to know that each individual’s response to insulin VARIES… A LOT, from person to person. Also… over time, a T2 using metformin will notice a decline in efficacy, which will result in a need to increase the dose… and/or add another medication.
In any case… it is VERY IMPORTANT to ALSO employ dietary restriction of carbs, AND REGULAR EXERCISE to make the metformin - and all other T2 medications - more effective. Read the fine print that came with your metformin - it advises that it is to be used in conjunction with “diet and exercise” as prescribed by your doc; the diet and exercise are actually more useful than the metformin is.
Metformin must be used for several days to several weeks, for some folks even a few months, before it has a significant impact; essentially, it must “build up” in your system. A single dose does virtually nothing for BG management; it is NOT like insulin, or an insulin secretagogue (a medication that stimulates insulin secretion), which have immediate impacts - but which also VARY BY PERSON.
Each patient must test their BG regularly to learn how well (or poorly) a given medication is helping their BG levels, and in order to properly titrate the dose.
Following is a good outline on that process as it applies to many meds:
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yah. Metformin is a blood sugar-lowering drug, but its way of working is different from insulin by only lowering sugar, where it helps the machinery to consume and use sugar more efficiently. Slowly lowers blood sugar in the body. Metformin even increases cell lifespan, as it slows down cell aging according to some recent studies.
yah. Metformin is a blood sugar-lowering drug, but its way of working is different from insulin by only lowering sugar, where it helps the machinery to consume and use sugar more efficiently. Slowly lowers blood sugar in the body. Metformin even increases cell lifespan, as it slows down cell aging according to some recent studies.
More
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