metformin sold under the brand name glucophage is the third most prescribed drug worldwide with
over 98 million prescriptions being written in 2020. it is used to treat type 2 diabetes
insulin resistance and PCOS and it can also Aid in weight loss glucophage is sometimes referred
to as a miracle drug and while it can certainly be effective for treating the symptoms associated
with these conditions a lot of people are not made aware of the side effects when they are
prescribed it it is important to know the pros and the cons when you're deciding if metformin
is right for you and it is also helpful to know that there are natural alternatives that have
been shown to be just as effective with fewer side effects so no this video is not made to
persuade you to stop taking metformin but rather to inform you of the risks which unfortunately a
lot of doctors glaze over when they prescribe this drug so in today's video we're going to
be talking about the six most common side effects of glucophage AKA metformin [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 new 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 where
I share new posts every single day now I think that a quick summary of what glucophage is and
how it works is in order as I said at the start of this video the active ingredient in glucophage
is metformin metformin is an oral prescription drug that improves how the body responds to the
hormone insulin and if you've been watching my videos for a while you've probably heard me say
that type 2 diabetes PCOS high blood sugar these are all caused by insulin resistance insulin of
course being the hormone that shuttles excess sugar from our bloodstream to various cells
throughout the body but when we're insulin resistant our cells stop responding to insulin
correctly and this eventually leads to high blood sugar and a type 2 diabetes diagnosis
but glucophage can help your cells to become more insulin sensitive once again taking in this excess
sugar more readily glucophage also reduces the amount of sugar that your liver releases once
again helping to control blood sugar for women with PCOS glucophage is also effective because the
symptoms that Define PCOS which are in a regular period high testosterone and ovarian cysts are
all caused by insulin resistance so yes on the surface glucophage sounds great but we haven't
gotten to the side effects yet the number one most common side effect of glucophage is diarrhea
Studies have shown that 75 percent of people prescribed Metformin experience the side effect
and it is the reason why 46 of people prescribe this drug stop taking it glucophage interferes
with the body's ability to absorb and metabolize certain nutrients two of which being vitamin B9
and vitamin B12 and when the body becomes depleted in these nutrients this can lead to diarrhea now
I will say that switching to an extended release metformin as opposed to an instant one can help to
relieve the symptom but it doesn't work for everyone the second most common symptom is
bloating and this is experienced by 25 of people who are prescribed Metformin now again some of the
side effects relating to digestion do go away if you switch from instant to extended release
but you can also reduce the symptom by taking it with meals or starting with a lower dose the third
most common symptom is fatigue once again this is due to nutrient depletion as I already mentioned
glucophage depletes vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 but it also depletes CoQ10 all three of these
nutrients are needed to ensure that red blood cells of the right size are created in the body
and cells are able to produce energy without them you're gonna feel weak and tired ensuring that you
get enough of these nutrients in through your diet can help to reduce the symptom and I'm going to
link to some of my favorite natural supplements that can help you to replenish these nutrients
in the description box down below the fourth most common side effect is nausea again this occurs in
25 of people who are prescribed this drug now for most people this side effect tends to go
away after a couple of weeks but again taking it with meals can help to reduce the symptom as well
the fifth most common side effect is low testosterone for men this is one that men
are not going to be happy to hear about metformin has been shown to cause a significant reduction
in testosterone which can also lead to erectile dysfunction and a low sex drive and unfortunately
there isn't really a way to counter this side effect and the sixth most common side
effect is constipation While most people who are prescribed Metformin experience diarrhea
at least at the start for some people it goes the opposite way once again this can decrease
after a few weeks but not always but making sure you are properly hydrated and making sure you are
getting enough electrolytes can help to reduce this and FYI most people are way under consuming
electrolytes so supplementing them can make a huge difference I'm gonna link to some of my favorite
electrolyte supplements in the description box down below so those are the most common side
effects of glucophage or metformin and as you probably realized most of them are related to
digestion so to recap you can help to reduce some of these symptoms by taking the drug with food by
supplementing certain nutrients or from switching from an instant to an extended released version
now before I wrap up I just want to say that there are two natural supplements that have been shown
to be almost if not as effective as metformin is these supplements are berberine and inositol now
I'm not going to talk too much about how they work in today's video I did a video a few weeks
ago talking about the best supplements for insulin resistance in that video I go over both of these
in more detail so if you want to know more I'm going to link that video up above but if you're
interested in checking out either of them the brand so well health has two really great options
there are ghetto balanced capsules include berberine and their getso synced capsules
include two versions of inositol I'm gonna put the link to both of those in the description box
down below as well but I really want to reiterate not to make any changes to your medication without
talking to your doctor first anyways guys that's all I have for you today I want to hear from you
in the comment section Down Below have you been prescribed glucophage are you currently taking it
I want to hear about your experience did you experience any of these side effects are you
still experiencing them did they go away let me know down below I love chatting with you guys in
the comment section and comments really help to support my channel they show YouTube they liked
my video and they push it out to more people so if you did enjoy this video and you want to help
me out even just say hey down below I really appreciate it if you did enjoy this video you
might also enjoy my video on supplements for insulin resistance which I mentioned earlier
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 you can find this here thanks guys I'll see you next time bye