Metformin --- Its Side Effects

Before we get to what Metformin does to one's body, let us first look at the condition that it is meant to treat: Diabetes. 

There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 Diabetes

When you’ve got type 1 diabetes, you can’t make any insulin at all. It is a serious condition where your blood glucose (sugar) level is too high because your body can’t make a hormone called insulin. This happens because one's body attacks the cells in one's pancreas that make the insulin, meaning one can’t produce any at all.

We all need insulin to live. It does an essential job. It allows the glucose in our blood to enter our cells and fuel our bodies. Therefore, when one has type 1 diabetes, one's body still breaks down the carbohydrate from food and drink and turns it into glucose. But when the glucose enters one's bloodstream, there is no insulin to allow it into your body’s cells. More and more glucose then builds up in one's bloodstream, leading to high blood sugar levels.

Type 2 Diabetes 

If one has type 2 diabetes, it is a bit different. The insulin that one make either cannot work effectively, or one cannot produce enough of it. It is a serious condition where the insulin that one's pancreas makes cannot work properly, or one's pancreas cannot make enough insulin. This means one's blood glucose (sugar) levels keep rising.

Other Types of Diabetes 

Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes, which some women may go on to develop during pregnancy. And there are many other rarer types of diabetes such as type 3c and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) too.

In all types of diabetes, glucose cannot get into your cells properly, so it begins to build up in one's blood. And too much glucose in one's blood causes a lot of different problems. To begin with, it leads to diabetes symptoms.

Metformin

Metformin is a drug to treat diabetes. This medication is used to decrease hepatic (liver) glucose production, decrease GI glucose absorption and increase target cell insulin sensitivity. This medication is a treatment indicated as an adjunct to diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes such as weight loss to improve glycemic (blood sugar) control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Many patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually need to take insulin by injection. Metformin does not cause weight gain.

Brand Name: Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Fortamet, Glumetza, Riomet