Should I use Glucophage???

[Smokescreen]

What do you guys think about Glucophage? Is it worth taking? And if I were to take it, how many milligrams per day should I take and for how many weeks? Can this be taken on a low carb diet? Say only 130grams per day.

 

[benevolent anarchist]

Lots of questions there. I’ll answer you, but first answer this; a) why do you think you want to take it? and b) have you tried Glucorell?

 

[Smokescreen]

I would like to take it for better insulin sensitivity. I would like my muscles a bit fuller and to shed some fat. I am taking Glucrorell-r. It's helping but very, very little.

 

[benevolent anarchist]

Thanks. My doctor prescribed glucophage @ 850mg twice a day, but I didn’t like the way it made me feel, so I stopped after only three days. Maybe the queasy feeling would have subsided after a week or so. Right now I’m just taking 2 grams of Glucorell per day.

Here’s ONE study showing that Metformin administration was associated with a reduction in total testosterone and free testosterone. I posted this awhile back, but didn’t get any responses.

Saudi Med J 2002 Aug;23(8):934-7
Effects of short term metformin administration on androgens in normal men.
Shegem NS, Nasir AM, Jbour AK, Batieha AM, El-Khateeb MS, Ajlouni KM.
National Center for Diabetes Endocrinology and Genetics, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of metformin on androgens in normal men.

METHODS: A total of 12 healthy males volunteered to participate in the study. A blood sample was obtained from each of them and analyzed for the following: Testosterone (total and free), sex hormone binding globulin dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone. In addition, each participant was subjected to a glucose tolerance test and his insulin level was measured. Metformin 850 mg twice daily for 2-weeks was given to each subject after which the above tests were repeated. A paired t-test was used to assess the statistical significance of any observed differences before and after metformin.

RESULTS: After metformin administration, there was a significant reduction in serum level of total testosterone (p=0.0001), free testosterone (P=0.002), and 17 hydroxyprogesterone (p=0.0001). There was also a significant increase in serum level of sex hormone binding globulin (p=0.009) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (P=0.0008). Serum levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone showed no significant changes. Similarly, there were no changes in fasting plasma glucose, fasting serum insulin, weight, or blood pressure.

CONCLUSION: Metformin administration was associated with a reduction in total testosterone, free testosterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone and an increase in sex hormone binding globulin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in normal males. The clinical significance of these findings needs further investigation.

 

[Smokescreen]

Hey man, thanks for the info. That was real cool of you. But if I'm taking Testosterone on the side and I only plan on using Glucophage for only 4 weeks...should I worry about anything? You said that you took 850mg twice a day. What did you get from using it? Anything positive and/or negative from it's use? Besides queasy, what did you feel? Queasy how? Maybe 850mgs twice a day was too much for you? Do you think it would have been better if you would have taken only 500mgs twice a day? BTW...can Glucophage be taken on a low carb diet. Low as in 130grams a day. I need to know what to do because I have 50 - 500mg's tabs of this stuff and I want to start tomorrow.