In this #Mythbuster video, I try to look at a 100 year old drug, that is universally, the drug of choice in diabetes treatment across the world.
Namaste in today’s video i would try to answer a very commonly asked question is metformin safe with some social media posts floating around lot of people have been doubting the safety of most commonly used medicine metformin which is widely available by names of diabetes ubimate glycomatt glycophage gluconam many brands are there in the market today i put
Forth some important facts which would definitely let you decide the safety and the efficacy of this drug metformin was discovered in 1922 that is around 100 years back and it has been used in diabetic practice since the last 50 years after an extensive research literally this drug has stood the test of time coupled with diet and exercise metformin is the first
Line drug in the treatment of diabetes apart from diabetes it has been used in a lot of other conditions which are related to insulin resistance and metabolic syndromes like polycystic ovarian disease infertility in addition to its glucose lowering effects metformin has been credited with lowering your blood pressure your lipid profile or the bad cholesterol
Levels non-alcoholic fatty liver disease reducing your insulin resistance and in fact it has been credited with cardiovascular safety as well and a lot of studies are ongoing for its effect on longevity and preventing and treating a lot of cancers including breast cancer and colon cancer and it is one drug that is safely used in pregnancy so what more can i talk
About methamine and its safety if it is used in pregnancy that is the benchmark so the way metformin reduces your blood sugar level is in three mechanisms one it improves insulin sensitivity so how much our insulin is present in the body it helps in the effective utilization of this insulin the second important role of metformin is that it interferes with the
Glucose absorption at the intestinal level and the third one being it reduces the production of glucose at the liver by these three mechanisms metformin helps you to reduce the blood sugar levels but the beauty of metformin is that in people with normal blood sugars as well it doesn’t cause hypoglycemia so since it targets what is called the insulin resistance
It doesn’t cause hypoglycemia because it doesn’t increase the insulin production so whatever insulin is there it helps in effective utilization of it it doesn’t increase the insulin production like some other drugs which are used in diabetes causing hypoglycemia so definitely it is a wonder drug metformin is one drug which which has the least interactions with
Other medications as i told you since it is the first line agent in the treatment of diabetes we actually build the diabetes control by adding on other medications oral hypoglycemic agents or it can be used with insulin as well in the treatment of type 2 diabetes it helps in weight reduction as well because it literally restricts calorie intake by giving you a
Sense of satiety so it acts in sync with your diet exercise in lowering your uh blood sugars by lowering your weight as well talking about the side effect profile of metformin generally it is a very safe drug with proven cv safety and safety in pregnancy as well but certain gi intolerance as in gastrointestinal side effects are observed especially with very high
Doses and with immediate release formulations at times people experience little bit of acidity flatulence some people experience diarrhea which all could be reduced with proper administration after food as well as dose reduction so it is very rare that we see any major side effects of metformin coupled with this methamine has been known to kind of impair with
Vitamin b12 absorption as well leading to vitamin b12 deficiency that also could be tackled with administration of vitamin b12 supplements a couple of years back in u.s fda had recalled certain brands of metformin claiming that they were adulterated with certain ndma particles which are known to be carcinogenic if consumed in more than permitted amounts so that
Was not because of the metformin per se it was because of the additives and metformin which were used by certain companies in patients with renal impairment uh your physician would reduce the dose of metformin accordingly but to prevent something called lactic acidosis but in general methamine is a beautiful drug and if it is prescribed to you by your physician
Please do take it in the recommended doses so coupled with diet exercise and all the medications prescribed to you big diabetes take care bye
Transcribed from video
Is Metformin safe? By Dr.Anuradha Subramaniam
