I don't know about the other meds, but I have great concerns about Metformin. I had been taking it for my Type 2 Diabetes for a number of years and was then told to stop immediately because it was damaging my kidneys. I have since read a number of articles suggesting that Metformin was not a good idea.

For cholesterol I take Crestor, Zetia, and Niaspan; my doctor recommended Crestor because it had fewer interactions with other meds I take. For Triglycerides I take a B-vitamin complex called Nufola. For my Diabetes I take a daily shot of slow-release Insulin and a tablet of Tradjenta; I also take OTC supplements of Chromium picolinate and cinnamon for it.

flashguy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: flashguy,

Do you not like what he's telling you to do because you don't want to hear it or do it...

Get another appointment with a different physician, pay the rate and see what they say.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Do you not like what he's telling you to do because you don't want to hear it or do it...

Get another appointment with a different physician, pay the rate and see what they say.

It’s not that I don’t want to hear it. I want new tests. I want discussion of alternatives. I want someone to tell me steps I need to take to improve my health, even with meds.

What I don’t want and didn’t like was that he looked at 2 year old tests, told me all the meds I need and that meds are the only way to improve.

I’m reading the side effects of all this crap and I’d rather croak of a heat attack.

quote:

t’s not that I don’t want to hear it. I want new tests. I want discussion of alternatives. I want someone to tell me steps I need to take to improve my health, even with meds.

What I don’t want and didn’t like was that he looked at 2 year old tests, told me all the meds I need and that meds are the only way to improve.

I’m reading the side effects of all this crap and I’d rather croak of a heat attack.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I will said what I did before. You dont like the guy because he did not take the time to get to know you. Many internists do not understand that the relationship you develop with the patient is the biggest part of the healing process. That involves empathy and taking time with the patient. Remember YOU choose your physician.

FWIW, my Primary Physician (an Osteopath) wants blood work every 6 months, at least. Several of my other doctors want their versions at least that often. It is unprofessional that your doctor was willing to use 2-year-old blood work in his decisions. I don't know where you are, but here in Dallas I can go into LabCorp on Saturday and my doctor will have results on Monday.

flashguy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: flashguy,

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
Yes, you’re right, however he can’t see you from here, so you need to call and get clarity from your doc or his nurse to ease your concerns. I, too, hate taking any meds, so I understand, but if your doc doesn’t know about this concern, he’s working off of what has helped his other patients.

I only wanted to know why Valsarten concerns Sjstill. Hoping he sees this.

Apologies, frayed. I didn’t catch that. Hopefully he’ll pop back in and see this.

There are blood sugar test sets available at pharmacies. Not expensive and as I recall mine cost me nothing, not even the test strips. Takes no more than 10 seconds to do a blood test.

Admittedly, I am no physician but I can't figure out how one can diagnose and prescribe for diabetes without specific blood tests. Prick a finger, put a drop of blood on the test strip and in about 5 seconds the values show up.

In any case, good luck with your situation.

Elk: he hasn’t prescribed it yet. He will do blood tests in 4 weeks and then discuss the meds. I was bothered that meds seem to be a foregone conclusion for him.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
I was bothered that meds seem to be a foregone conclusion for him.

Unfortunately, that is how it is nowadays. My doctor was the same way. I went on the Carnivore diet in March 2020 and have since lost 65 lbs and my blood work is excellent, with the exception of elevated LDL...and that really isn't a bad thing if you look at the research.

I have a pdf of the book I used to do all this. I can email it to you if you are interested.

quote:

Originally posted by Munch:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
I was bothered that meds seem to be a foregone conclusion for him.

Unfortunately, that is how it is nowadays. My doctor was the same way. I went on the Carnivore diet in March 2020 and have since lost 65 lbs and my blood work is excellent, with the exception of elevated LDL...and that really isn't a bad thing if you look at the research.

I have a pdf of the book I used to do all this. I can email it to you if you are interested.

That would be great. I’m basically doing very low carb right now. My email is in my profile.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by Munch:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
I was bothered that meds seem to be a foregone conclusion for him.

Unfortunately, that is how it is nowadays. My doctor was the same way. I went on the Carnivore diet in March 2020 and have since lost 65 lbs and my blood work is excellent, with the exception of elevated LDL...and that really isn't a bad thing if you look at the research.

I have a pdf of the book I used to do all this. I can email it to you if you are interested.

That would be great. I’m basically doing very low carb right now. My email is in my profile.

email inbound.

Well, if you have high blood glucose levels, why dont you want to take Metformin? Despite all the negative "reports" and the many videos by quacks trying to sell you their crap cures, Metformin is probably one of the most effective glucophages in the market today. Sorry, but, I think that if you try to get into a war with physicians because they dont want to deal with your many questions, or deal with your hangups about Metformin, you will be waiting a long time before you find a yesman with a MD who will say exactly what you want to hear.

I have talked to a couple of SigForum friends on Facebook , who have blood sugar levels in the 600 to 700 range( which is where any sane doctor would send you to the ER rightaway!!!) who refuse to take Metformin or take any insulin, because they have seen YouTube videos by some quacks who claim that Metformin causes negative symptoms, and also not take insulin for equally stupid reactions.

Sorry for my rant. I have diabetes, Type 2, and it is a result of a brain tumor I have, I would not be alive today, if it was not for daily doses of Metformin and daily shots of Insulin.

quote:

Originally posted by sidss1:
Well, if you have high blood glucose levels, why dont you want to take Metformin? Despite all the negative "reports" and the many videos by quacks trying to sell you their crap cures, Metformin is probably one of the most effective glucophages in the market today. Sorry, but, I think that if you try to get into a war with physicians because they dont want to deal with your many questions, or deal with your hangups about Metformin, you will be waiting a long time before you find a yesman with a MD who will say exactly what you want to hear.

I have talked to a couple of SigForum friends on Facebook , who have blood sugar levels in the 600 to 700 range( which is where any sane doctor would send you to the ER rightaway!!!) who refuse to take Metformin or take any insulin, because they have seen YouTube videos by some quacks who claim that Metformin causes negative symptoms, and also not take insulin for equally stupid reactions.

Sorry for my rant. I have diabetes, Type 2, and it is a result of a brain tumor I have, I would not be alive today, if it was not for daily doses of Metformin and daily shots of Insulin.

I’m less concerned about that right now. Earlier you expressed concern over Valstartan. That is all I have been prescribed so far. Can you let me know your concerns on that before I start taking it? Online reviews are very low due to side effects. The manufacturer of my pills was not subject to recall. They do have too many instances of dismissing out of spec test results as testing errors with no good evidence. That’s a bit concerning but not a deal breaker as their FDA observations were only 3 in the last audit and that’s relatively low.

For those who need metformin unless there are bad side effects, go ahead.

My negative comment about it stem from personal very negative reactions to it. We were on a road trip, far from home when the problem with metformin occurred. Spent 2 days in a hotel room until the problem left. Does not happen to every one. For most of my life I was never allergic to anything. Then along came diabetes and several prescribed medications including metformin and my allergy popped up. I have now been on glipizide for 5? years and doing well with it.

I have been on Metformin about 5 years. Some BP drugs 7 or 8 years. I feel the same way about taking drugs, and went the alternate life style route for a while. Yes, you can make a difference but it requires a huge, constant effort. I finally started on the Metformin. One of the side effects of Metformin is weight loss. I was at 237 pounds and I now weight 203. I still watch what I eat (kinda) and am still reasonably active. A1C hangs around 5.3. Regular Dr. visit on Tuesday and she said I'm in great shape. I'm 79 years old.

High BP could just be genetics. If you have veins and arteries that lose their ability to expand and contract with the beats of your heart you will have high blood pressure. If that's the case diet and exercise may have some benefit but not enough.

There is no medication you can take to cure a metabolic disorder.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
There is no medication you can take to cure a metabolic disorder.

Thank you for those videos. That is the path I’m headed down. I’m determined to do this without drugs. I’m surprised how many people are saying to basically take the pills. I’m still concerned about the blood pressure meds. Other prescriptions won’t come for 6 months and I will know if my lifestyle and diet changes are successful at that point.

Interesting note on Metformin. All the research I’m seeing is it lowers blood sugar but has no effect on disease or death. My mom took it for a short time and we found out later she did not need it. It was prescribed based on one blood test that turned out not to be accurate. She was shitting herself like crazy on that drug. I wasn’t sure that was the drug but I just looked up her records. I distrust doctors prescribing drugs without a good history.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
There is no medication you can take to cure a metabolic disorder.

...That is the path I’m headed down. I’m determined to do this without drugs...

This Pleases Me.

Another excellent video from Dr. Paul Mason:

Update January 29. It's been about a month since I got back on track with my diet and I've increased exercise. I'm enjoying it.

Anyhow, my original post concerns with my doctor were that he said:

"Can't fix blood pressure with weight. It's genetic." I say bullshit. My blood pressure is about 145/80 now. That is with only a month of exercise, just 30 minutes or so of walking a day.

"You will need Metformin. This is your age and genetics. Few people can succeed with diet and exercise." Well it's been only a month. Many may think I will fail in the long run. But today my A1C result was 5.0, down from 5.7 and no longer pre-diabetic.

He said same with cholesterol and wanted me on drugs soon. Well today my total is 178. My triglycerides are a bit high but much lower than before. My HDL could be higher. I'm only at 35. So I need to work on that. My LDL is a bit high at 115. But overall this is a vast improvement in only a month.

So basically I'm doing keto and loving it. I crave carbs now and then. But overall this suits my lifestyle. Anything with sugar tastes way too sweet to me now. I already look better and feel better. I need to keep this going and make it a permanent life change. But I have a lot to live for and I don't need all these drugs. I never did start taking the BP meds he gave me. They want my target to be under 140/90. I'm almost there.

Anyhow as mentioned above, metabolic diseases can be cured with diet. No need for all the big pharma support.