Metformin
Dosage
There have been no human studies to identify the optimal
dose of metformin that is needed to duplicate the beneficial
gene expression effects that are described in the June 2003
issue of Life
Extension magazine.
For people who want to derive the many proven health
benefits of metformin, it might be prudent to follow the
dosage schedule used by Type II diabetics. According to the
Physician's Desk Reference, the starting dose should
be 500 mg of metformin twice a day. (An alternative option is
850 mg of metformin once a day).
After one week, increase the dose of metformin to 1000 mg
as the first dose of the day and 500 mg as the second dose.
After another week, increase to 1000 mg of metformin two times
a day. The maximum safe dose described in the Physician's
Desk Reference is 2550 mg a day (which should be taken as
850 mg three times a day).
According to the Physician's Desk Reference,
clinically significant responses in Type II diabetics are not
seen at doses below 1500 mg a day of metformin. Anti-aging
doctors, on the other hand, have recommended doses as low as
500 mg twice a day to healthy non-diabetics who are seeking to
obtain metformin's other proven benefits such as enhancing
insulin sensitivity and reducing excess levels of insulin,
glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
It could be the dosage range is highly individualistic in
healthy people, meaning some may benefit from 500 mg twice a
day, while others may need 1000 mg twice a day for optimal
effects. Blood tests to ascertain if the dose of metformin you
are taking is improving glucose/insulin metabolism would
be:
- Hemoglobin A1c
- Fasting insulin
- CBC/Chemistry panel that includes glucose,
cholesterol
triglycerides and indicators of liver and kidney
function
A hemoglobin A1c test measures the average
amount of sugar in your blood over the last 3 months.
Metformin helps lower hemoglobin A1C to safe low levels (below
5-6%).
Aging and overweight people often suffer from metabolic
disorders that manifest in the blood as excess serum insulin,
glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. Metformin often helps
correct all of these metabolic disturbances that can lead to
the development of numerous degenerative diseases. The
CBC/Chemistry test provides readings on
cholesterol, glucose and triglycerides and can also warn you
of underlying liver-kidney impairment that would make you
ineligible for metformin. The fasting insulin
test indicates if metformin is adequately lowering levels of
serum insulin to a safer range of below 5 (micro IU/ML).
To review complete information on metformin, including
information about who should NOT take it, log on to www.glucophage.com
Check back at the www.lef.org web site for
dosage recommendation updates on metformin.
Precaution: There was a drug that was very similar to
metformin, called phenformin, which was removed from the
market by the FDA in 1976. Some physicians gave this drug to
patients with kidney or liver problems, or congestive heart
failure. Some of these patients died due to lactic acidosis
build-up because a healthy kidney and liver were needed to
metabolize the drug. It is not recommended that people who
have liver or kidney problems, or congestive heart failure,
use metformin due to the drug's similarities to phenformin.
Those who drink excessive amounts of alcohol should not take
metformin.
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