On HGH and I only have access to Metformin, not XR, when should I take it?

[BatmanVAR]

My current protocol is 4IUs of HGH daily before bed, 500 mg of berberine every morning with my first meal, and 1mg of Reta once a week.

My berberine and Reta are on the lower side due to sides, so I want to incorporate Metformin. I only have access to non-XR, so wondering when is the best time to dose?

I may be way of base but I'm thinking 500mg in the morning with my first meal and another 500mg in the evening with my HGH dose. But this is mostly guesswork so looking for some opinions here.

I have not started monitoring BG but plan to start that soon .

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ateam2023]

My current protocol is 4IUs of HGH daily before bed, 500 mg of berberine every morning with my first meal, and 1mg of Reta once a week.

My berberine and Reta are on the lower side due to sides, so I want to incorporate Metformin. I only have access to non-XR, so wondering when is the best time to dose?

I may be way of base but I'm thinking 500mg in the morning with my first meal and another 500mg in the evening with my HGH dose. But this is mostly guesswork so looking for some opinions here.

I have not started monitoring BG but plan to start that soon .

Thanks I'm advance.

I wouldn't add anything until you start tracking your fbg, reta is known to lower bg it worked wonders for my fbg , but just couldn't eat on Reta, some can , monitor fbg for at least a cuopleweeks first,

 

[BatmanVAR]

I wouldn't add anything until you start tracking your fbg, reta is known to lower bg it worked wonders for my fbg , but just couldn't eat on Reta, some can , monitor fbg for at least a cuopleweeks first,

I've read conflicting reports about low dose Reta and BG, but yeah I just need to test and find out.

But that aside, assuming some BG control is needed, I'm trying to determine what is the best dosing scheduled for metformin non-XR.

 

[Ateam2023]

I've read conflicting reports about low dose Reta and BG, but yeah I just need to test and find out.

But that aside, assuming some BG control is needed, I'm trying to determine what is the best dosing scheduled for metformin non-XR.

Regular metformin peaks in @2-3 hrs compared to xr @8-12 , regular causes some , more gi discomfort, and is usually taken 2-3 times a day depending on need and tolerability

 

[BatmanVAR]

Regular metformin peaks in @2-3 hrs compared to xr @8-12 , regular causes some , more gi discomfort, and is usually taken 2-3 times a day depending on need and tolerability

Thanks. I have 500mg pills, do you think 1 with each meal (I eat 3 times a day) is overkill? Or should my last one be taken at bedtime with my HGH?

 

[Ateam2023]

Thanks. I have 500mg pills, do you think 1 with each meal (I eat 3 times a day) is overkill? Or should my last one be taken at bedtime with my HGH?

You dont even know what your glucose numbers are , whats your Hba1c ?? Fasted blood glucose ?? ?. You dont have a fukin clue , you may not need it !! Check your bg numbers and let them be the guide , your only doing 4 ius my man , you are really not very versed in this it seems , you may not even need Metformin, geeezus fn christ , good luck on your journey

 

[BatmanVAR]

Check your bg numbers and let them be the guide , your only doing 4 ius my man , you are really not very versed in this it seems , you may not even need Metformin

Admittedly I'm relatively new but I've read a ton, including lots of accounts of people on 4IUs have BG issues without Metformin. I'm just trying to air on the side of caution until I'm able to monitor BG. And from what I have read, there's no harm in taking Metformin if I don't have BG issues. Hell, many non-diabetics take it just to help with weight loss.

 

[Ateam2023]

Admittedly I'm relatively new but I've read a ton, including lots of accounts of people on 4IUs have BG issues without Metformin. I'm just trying to air on the side of caution until I'm able to monitor BG. And from what I have read, there's no harm in taking Metformin if I don't have BG issues. Hell, many non-diabetics take it just to help with weight loss.

Well then carry on then , sounds like your made up your mind lol , good day

 

[BatmanVAR]

Well then carry on then , sounds like your made up your mind lol , good day

I've made up my mind on taking it, yes. This question was about dosage and timing. Not whether I should be taking it or not .

 

[Elektrobot]

'm just trying to air on the side of caution until I'm able to monitor BG.

Saying that you have made up your mind to go polypharmacy to treat something you don't even know exists is far from the side of caution.

If you can buy gh, you can order a $30 glucose meter and check.

Are you obese?

How many carbs do you eat in a day?

 

[BatmanVAR]

Saying that you have made up your mind to go polypharmacy to treat something you don't even know exists is far from the side of caution.

If you can buy gh, you can order a $30 glucose meter and check.

Are you obese?

How many carbs do you eat in a day?

You can take Metformin if your BG is fine, that's why it's often prescribed just as a weight loss aid (and in fact I took it as a weight loss aid awhile back which is why I have some on hand), and not just for people with diabetes/glucose issues. There is no harm in taking it if I don't need it. I appreciate people's concerns but my question isn't "should I take metformin?" It's "I'm going to start taking metformin and I'm looking for information on optimal dosing."

I did order a glucose meter and it will be here next week, but in the meantime I'm doing research into optimal dosing if I choose to take it/need to take it.

I'm 46 years old, 5'9 193 pounds at 12% body fat, so not obese. I eat about 350 grams of carbs on a bulk (I have a ridiculously slow metabolism so a bulk for me is like 2700 calories) and about 180-200 grams of carbs on a cut. I'm currently eating at maintenance for a few weeks before I start my bulk so my carbs right now are around 250-275.

 

[Liter O' Test]

spend $15 on a blood sugar monitor from wal mart

 

[Elektrobot]

looking for information on optimal dosing

There is no "optimal" way to take something you don't need

we can't arbitrarily tell you if you should be taking metformin when you haven't even been tracking your fasting bg

So I think everyone's answer here is probably going to be no.

Unless your home bg monitoring or other bloodwork tells you it's time to add it.

Taking more drugs simply because you "can" and it "won't hurt anything" isn't a plan to move forward on.

Do blood work often, and do what it tells you to do. That's a plan.

 

[BatmanVAR]

spend $15 on a blood sugar monitor from wal mart

I've already addressed this multiple times

 

[BatmanVAR]

we can't arbitrarily tell you if you should be taking metformin when you haven't even been tracking your fasting bg

So I think everyone's answer here is probably going to be no.

Unless your home bg monitoring or other bloodwork tells you it's time to add it.

Taking more drugs simply because you "can" and it "won't hurt anything" isn't a plan to move forward on.

Do blood work often, and do what it tells you to do. That's a plan.

Again, I'm not asking if I should take metformin. I'm asking for information on what people are doing for non-XR dosages. That's it.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here then. Yes, I agree with doing blood work often but I don't agree that taking metformin is a risk even if I don't need it, as I outlined in my previous reply.

 

[Elektrobot]

Again, I'm not asking if I should take metformin. I'm asking for information on what people are doing for non-XR dosages. That's it.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here then. Yes, I agree with doing blood work often but I don't agree that taking metformin is a risk even if I don't need it, as I outlined in my previous reply.

Metformin induces muscle atrophy by transcriptional regulation of myostatin via HDAC6 and FoxO3a - PMC

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a severe condition that involves loss of muscle mass and quality. Drug intake can also cause muscle atrophy. Biguanide metformin is the first‐line and most widely prescribed anti‐diabetic drug for patients with type 2 ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Every medication has its potential risks, and every person is unique in how they respond to those potential risks.

To randomly take drugs that you have no warranted need for is irresponsible at best.

There is nothing in what you shared that shows a cause for metformin use

What is the benefit you are arbitrarily hoping to gain from it?

And in what way have you gathered that there is zero risk to it's use?

What facts is that based on?


Edit: If you aren't going to read the whole thing, here is the conclusion:

Conclusions​

Our results demonstrate that metformin treatment impairs muscle function through the regulation of myostatin in skeletal muscle cells via AMPK‐FoxO3a‐HDAC6 axis. The muscle‐wasting effect of metformin is more evident in WT than in db/db mice, indicating that more complicated mechanisms may be involved in metformin‐mediated muscular dysfunction.


Is this guaranteed to happen? No. Is it a potential risk that can be avoided by not taking a medication you don't need? Yes

 

[BatmanVAR]

Metformin induces muscle atrophy by transcriptional regulation of myostatin via HDAC6 and FoxO3a - PMC

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a severe condition that involves loss of muscle mass and quality. Drug intake can also cause muscle atrophy. Biguanide metformin is the first‐line and most widely prescribed anti‐diabetic drug for patients with type 2 ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Every medication has its potential risks, and ever person is unique in how they respond to those potential risks.

To randomly take drugs that you have no warranted need for is irresponsible at best.

There is nothing in what you shared that shows a cause for metformin use

What is the benefit you are arbitrarily hoping to gain from it?

And in what way have you gathered that there is zero risk to it's use?

What facts is that based on?

As I said before I've taken Metformin and had no side effects or issues. And this was when I was not on HGH, and also not obese (but a little overweight). I know how my body responds to it, therefore it is not irresponsible for me to take it.

Again, I appreciate people's concerns, but it's not the question I asked. If people don't want to answer the actual question I asked, that's fine, but don't provide answers for questions I didn't ask.

 

[Elektrobot]

As I said before I've taken Metformin and had no side effects or issues. And this was when I was not on HGH, and also not obese (but a little overweight). I know how my body responds to it, therefore it is not irresponsible for me to take it.

Again, I appreciate people's concerns, but it's not the question I asked. If people don't want to answer the actual question I asked, that's fine, but don't provide answers for questions I didn't ask.

 

[Liter O' Test]

Again, I'm not asking if I should take metformin. I'm asking for information on what people are doing for non-XR dosages. That's it.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here then. Yes, I agree with doing blood work often but I don't agree that taking metformin is a risk even if I don't need it, as I outlined in my previous reply.

just try it and find out
then you can measure your BG at different times and doses and figure it out for yourself

i dropped my carbs by 150 and took 500mg berberine and pretty sure i went mildly hypo (left my BG monitor in the car)

 

[BatmanVAR]

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Love the selfie man, you're a handsome dude