metformin also known as glucophage is known as one
of the most effective drugs for weight loss managing diabetes and treating PCOS
over 120 million people are prescribed Metformin worldwide but what a lot of people are not told
by their doctor when they're prescribed Metformin is about the long list of side effects that affect
daily life and there are other side effects that can be a lot more severe for example if
you take metformin and you also consume alcohol regularly you're at risk for one of the scariest
side effects lactic acidosis metformin causes lactic acid to build up in the bloodstream and
if your body is not clearing it properly this can result in coma or death on top of that
metformin depletes essential nutrients that the body needs one of which being vitamin B12
if you are taking metformin and you eat a vegan diet then this is a huge concern a B12 deficiency
can cause memory loss it can cause nervous system damage and it can increase your risk of stomach
cancer and if you're an athlete you definitely want to think twice about taking metformin
metformin interferes with the primary mechanism in which muscle cells respond to exercise studies
show that it is more difficult to build muscle when you're taking metformin and it also impairs
exercise performance being aware of the side effects of metformin is important so in today's
video we're going to be going over 13 of the most common side effects so you can make an informed
decision on whether or not metformin is right for you because spoiler alert there are other things
you can do that have a similar effect to metformin that don't come with the side effects [Music]
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is Kait I'm a certified health and
nutrition coach I post videos twice a week here on YouTube talking all things insulin resistance
weight loss sleep and more so if you're ready to take control of your metabolic Health make
sure to click that subscribe button and you can also find me on Tick Tock and Instagram or it's
your new posts every single day in the year 2020 metformin was prescribed over 90 million
times in the United States and while metformin can definitely be effective for managing blood
sugar it does come with a lot of side effects some mild and some more severe we're going to
start off by talking about what metformin is and why it works then we all get into the side
effects and we'll talk about how you can combat them as we go along metformin also known by the
brand name glucophage is an oral prescription drug that improves how the body responds to insulin now
if you've watched some of my other videos you will probably have heard me say that insulin
resistance is the cause of high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes insulin is the hormone that
shuttles sugar or glucose from our bloodstream to various cells throughout our body but when we
are insulin resistant our cells stop responding to insulin correctly they don't take in glucose
as they should temporarily the body produces more insulin in order to get the glucose into
your cells so for years your blood sugar will look normal despite your insulin resistance increasing
there becomes a point though where even the excess insulin can't keep up anymore and your blood sugar
will start to rise and that is when you'll be diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes
so where metformin comes in is it helps cells in your body to accept the glucose more easily
so there isn't as much floating around in your bloodstream metformin also reduces the amount
of glucose that your liver releases once again helping to control blood sugar for women with
PCOS Metformin is also very effective because the main symptoms that Define PCOS having an
irregular period high testosterone insists on the ovaries are all caused by insulin resistance
the vast majority over 90 percent of PCOS cases are caused by insulin resistance and
here's how insulin resistance ties in every month just before ovulation there should be
a big spike in the hormone estrogen all estrogen is made from testosterone but High insulin levels
block the ovaries from converting it and the spike in estrogen doesn't happen so you don't
ovulate the eggs in your ovaries become cysts and your testosterone is high and Metformin can help
to regulate insulin metformin helps to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce these main symptoms
another positive is that metformin can help with weight loss when you're insulin resistant it's
hard for the body to lose weight this is because insulin is known as the fat storage hormone when
insulin is high the body is storing fat and when insulin is low the body is burning fat basically
when you have high insulin this signals to your body that there's excess glucose available in
your cells AKA excess energy so they want to use that rather than tapping into your fat stores so
this is why it is so difficult to lose weight if you have PCOS if you have diabetes or if you have
insulin resistance and Metformin makes it a little bit easier now that we understand why metformin is
effective let's get into the side effects number one diarrhea this is one of the most common side
effects of metformin and this side effect alone is one of the main reason that people stop taking it
Studies have shown that 75 of people prescribed Metformin experience diarrhea metformin interferes
with the body's ability to absorb to store and to metabolize certain nutrients and this means your
body can become depleted in them two of these nutrients vitamin D9 and vitamin B12 can cause
digestive distress when they are depleted number two taste disturbances ten percent of people
who take Metformin say it impairs their taste specifically that it causes a metallic taste in
the mouth number three erectile dysfunction this is another really common side effect that men
who take Metformin experience metformin causes a significant reduction in testosterone which
can cause erectile dysfunction and a low sex drive number five bloating bloating is another
common side effect that's caused by metformin interfering with the body's ability to absorb
certain nutrients 25 of people who take Metformin experience bloating now some of the side effects
relating to digestion that come from metformin do go away after a couple of weeks this happens for
some people but not for everyone some people can experience digestive distress long term however
reducing your dose of Metformin or making sure that you take it with a meal can help to alleviate
this symptom number six nausea and vomiting 25 of people who take Metformin experience nausea when
they first start however this does also seem to go away for a lot of people when they take it with
a meal or after they've been taking it regularly for a couple of weeks number seven fatigue feeling
tired and weak is another common side effect of metformin metformin depletes key nutrients that
are needed to ensure that red blood cells of the right size are created in the body so that cells
are able to produce energy vitamin B9 vitamin B12 and CoQ10 being the main ones here when you
become depleted in these nutrients you're going to feel weak and tired number eight hair loss
this also ties in with the depletion of vitamin B9 being low in this nutrient can cause you to lose
hair and even develop bald spots number nine muscle pain as we already discussed metformin
depletes CoQ10 and CoQ10 is needed for muscle energy people are metformin often complain about
random pains in their calves and other muscles throughout the body number 10 brain fog now if you
haven't caught on already a lot of the nutrient deficiencies that meant forming causes lead to
a lot of the side effects and this includes a depletion in vitamin B12 leading to brain fog
when your vitamin B12 is low you can also experience memory loss and even mood swings
and anger number 11 constipation now we spoke earlier in the video about diarrhea being one
of the most common side effects of metformin but for some people it actually goes the opposite way
and it causes constipation making sure that you're properly hydrated and that you are getting enough
electrolytes can help to alleviate the symptom and I'll link to one of my favorite electrolyte
supplements in the description box down below number 12 headaches six percent of people who
take Metformin experience regular headaches these sometimes go away with time but other
times they're caused by the nutrients metformin is depleting number 13 indigestion again this occurs
because metformin interferes with the body's ability to absorb and metabolize certain nutrients
because they aren't being metabolized correctly this can lead to indigestion and those are 13
of the most common side effects of metformin AKA glucophage now I mentioned at the start of
this video that there are other things you can do that can have a similar effect to metformin and I
say that in the sense that there are things you can do to improve insulin sensitivity I'm going
to link a video up above that talks about ways to improve insulin sensitivity these are simple
steps you can take and you can Implement one of them or you can Implement all of them even
if you just add one or two they can make a big difference and have a similar effect to metformin
you don't need to go on a cleanse or an extreme diet to reverse insulin resistance because I
don't know if I've said that yet in this video but insulin resistance can be reversed you can
reduce your need for metformin or even get often entirely and I outline steps you can take to do
this in that video I linked above let me know in the comment section down below if you have
used metformin if you're currently taking it or if you've taken it in the past did you experience
any of these side effects and was there anything you did to alleviate them let me know down below
I love chatting with you guys and hearing your experiences if you did enjoy this video you might
also enjoy the video I mentioned on improving insulin sensitivity you can check it out here if
you want to catch up on my most recent upload you can find it here and if you want to check out my
coaching programs including my seven day insulin resistance master class that has a shopping list
a meal plan Facebook support you can check that out here thanks guys I'll see you next time bye