Got off metformin for the first time in 8 years - crying happy tears — need advice

gary_naperville said:

HbA1c reflects roughly three months of average glycaemia weighted toward the most recent weeks, which is why repeating it at six weeks tells you very…

My labs after 9 months on glycaemic control: A1C 5.3%, fasting glucose 93 mg/dL, fasting insulin 4 uIU/mL. My endo says these are "textbook perfect."

For context, my baseline A1C was 8.1% and fasting glucose was 128 mg/dL. The improvement has been dramatic and consistent.

Following on from TinaHashiRN — and this may be the naive question:

Did your prescriber agree with that reading, and if not what was their objection?

NicoleRaleigh said:

My labs after 9 months on glycaemic control: A1C 5.3%, fasting glucose 93 mg/dL, fasting insulin 4 uIU/mL.

PCOS success story with glycaemic control: as someone with polycystic ovary syndrome, this medication has been transformative beyond weight loss.

After 7 months: periods became regular for the first time in years, testosterone levels normalized, acne cleared significantly, and — unexpectedly — I got pregnant naturally after 4 years of trying.

GLP-1 agonists address the insulin resistance at the root of PCOS. For PCOS patients, this isn't "just" a weight loss drug — it's treating our underlying metabolic dysfunction.

NicoleRaleigh said:

My labs after 9 months on glycaemic control: A1C 5.3%, fasting glucose 93 mg/dL, fasting insulin 4 uIU/mL.

Fasting insulin is the lab my functional medicine doctor cares about most for glycaemic control: it's a much earlier marker of metabolic dysfunction than glucose or A1C.

My fasting insulin: 28 → 14 → 7 uIU/mL over 9 months. Target is <7. By the time your fasting glucose is elevated, your insulin has been elevated for YEARS trying to compensate.

Ask your doctor to include fasting insulin in your bloodwork panel. It's cheap (~$20) and incredibly informative.

PedsEndoPhilly said:

PCOS success story with glycaemic control: as someone with polycystic ovary syndrome, this medication has been transformative beyond weight loss.

Complete metabolic panel trending on glycaemic control — sharing because comprehensive data helps everyone:

The insulin resistance improvement (HOMA-IR) is what my endo focuses on most. Going from 4.5 to near 1.0 is a metabolic transformation.