I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (seems to be a high occurrence with KD). My doctor is prescribing Metformin. My concern is muscle weakness that some have reported. I have not been able to tolerate Statins and Prednisone as they exacerbated my leg muscle weakness resulting in falls (collapses) and I'm afraid the Metformin may do the same. Please comment on any experience or knowledge with this medication.

Mike,

Metformin has a lot of potential side effects though fortunately most are rare or not serious. The one that concerned me most is that it suppresses the immune system. When I was borderline diabetic I used to get a lot of colds and they exacerbated my breathing and choking issues and I was hesitant to risk something that might make them worse.
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/metformin-side-effects.html

I became nearly diabetic hoping to maximize health by following US dietary guidelines of eating low fat/low salt and high carb and also went vegetarian. I didn't realize those guidelines were created by politicians and not based on good science. I've since reversed my diet to the opposite, lots of eggs and high fat meats, high fat fish and heavy on the salt and all of my health issues got much better and I no longer need any medications such as for high blood pressure. I also lost 40 lbs and have been gaining in physical performance for the past couple years and am now regaining muscle mass through intense weight training. Public Health Consortium UK is a public service organization founded by British doctors who have put together resources to advise people of the science suggesting high fat low carb diets are a better approach for most people and they are helping many struggling with obesity and diabetes.
https://phcuk.org/eat-fat-cut-...ional-obesity-forum/

Virta is a US based health care practice specializing in the reversal of type 2 diabetes primarily through diet. They work remotely with patients and their local doctors to guide them through the process of getting off diabetes medications safely.
https://www.virtahealth.com/

If you prefer to go the medication route to stay alive longer while sticking to a high carb diet you might consider pioglitazone. It has been tested in a mouse model of KD and found quite beneficial.
https://www.kennedysdisease.or...rch/pioglitazone.pdf
It hasn't been trialed in humans for KD but it is one of the top prescribed medications for diabetes. I took it for a couple months and I believe it did a lot of good for me metabolically but it made me ravenously hungry and I gained 15 lbs of fat. It took me nearly 3 months with frequent fasting to lose the gained fat but afterwards my blood sugar was finally completely normal, my fatty liver was completely gone and my ALT was normal and my GH/IGF-1 went from desperately low to high normal.

A high fat diet has also been trialed in a mouse model of KD and the results looked better to me.
https://www.kennedysdisease.or...arch/highfatdiet.pdf

I didn't experience any side effects I could definitely tie to Metformin. I took it for several years and combined with a low carb diet lowered my A1C. I think I lost about 25-30 lbs. I slipped, gained weight, and A1C went back up. Went on Metformin again, lost weight, and got my A1C down to under 5.5. Went off Metformin and sticking to low carb diet and A1C still under 5.5.

I have some very minor diabetes-related (likely) eye degeneration but it has been stable for 5+ years.

Thank you both for the info.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Heitzman:
Went off Metformin and sticking to low carb diet and A1C still under 5.5.

Bob congrats on the 5.5! 5.7 is typically considered the threshhold for pre-diabetes so 5.5 puts you in the normal range. Very few doctors will attempt to get diabetic patients below 6.0 with medications so sustaining 5.5 without meds is a huge victory.

Thanks Todd. I had to use meds + diet to get me down from 7+, but low carb diet is all I'm using today.