Metformin

Been researching and contemplating this for a long time. This unique “supp” is probably one of the most debated in a long time. Seems it either works for you and your lifestyle or it doesn’t.

I’ve been around for a long time and tried most everything. In 2018 I had two abdominal surgeries which lead to some wait being put on due to less activity and, a few pastries. Developed non alcoholic fatty liver most likely do to extreme stress and just not eating and moving the way I used to. Add in a bad right hip from fighting, falling, stunts…who knows what else I’ve abused it. The hard part during this time was I started getting old man strength and went to a new level of strong AF which also masked the weight gain.

A lot of the weight is water and fluid due to liver but that contributed to visceral fat. I carry the wait well but at 46 now I’m done and have to get it off.

About 18 months ago I started on this slow but steady journey. The hardest part was fat oxidation is hard when your liver is sub optimal and you don’t sleep! First six months I dropped a slow and steady 10lbs from 270+ to 260, the past year I have been stuck in the 255 range give or take water weight. I’ve increased if not doubled the workouts but still wasn’t sleeping. Fixed some of the sleeping but dam it’s been frustrating.

I added Met six days ago and went from day 1 - 256 to day 7 - 251. Not sure what that tells you, maybe I am pre diabetic. I’m going to give this a run. Not sure how long. I can’t really find anything on cycles. I’m trying to use lowest effective dose…using 500mg (the xr) with dinner.

I have felt better overall each day but that could be placebo. Pumps been same, wouldn’t be thinking about it if I didn’t know it was a side. Possibly might be I’m taking the dosing far enough from half life.

If you guys are interested I will update this post on progress.

*gastric issues have been minimal*




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when the doc put me on it for insulin resistance he went with 500 1x per day and it helped my fasted glucose quite a bit. we had no need to go above the one 500mg daily dose. something else that we have tinkered with and i still do is using either lantus treseba or humalog. with the first 2 it is one 5-10iu injection daily and if you go the log route then you do 3-6iu with your heavier carb meals. the theory and thought process is that it allows the pancreas beta cells to recover and bring insulin sensitivity back. i did learn of it from palumbo but also had the conversation with my doc and see if he thought it would work. i did it pretty effectively this past year with no issues at all. i will say and i know you cant use it but i keep berberrine in at 500 at a min daily and i increase it to 1500 or 2g when i have cheat meals.

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Originally Posted by guns01

when the doc put me on it for insulin resistance he went with 500 1x per day and it helped my fasted glucose quite a bit. we had no need to go above the one 500mg daily dose. something else that we have tinkered with and i still do is using either lantus treseba or humalog. with the first 2 it is one 5-10iu injection daily and if you go the log route then you do 3-6iu with your heavier carb meals. the theory and thought process is that it allows the pancreas beta cells to recover and bring insulin sensitivity back. i did learn of it from palumbo but also had the conversation with my doc and see if he thought it would work. i did it pretty effectively this past year with no issues at all. i will say and i know you cant use it but i keep berberrine in at 500 at a min daily and i increase it to 1500 or 2g when i have cheat meals.

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Gotcha! Like hearing the good parts. So far so good on my end. Will just keep an eye on things if it can help me get past my plateaus then great! If not will move onto the next thing!


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So I’m roughly 3 weeks on Metformin. I stayed consistently at the same weight for almost a week and dropped down to 247. That’s an 8 lb swing. For me most of this from what I understand is probably liver repair. I’ve had non alcoholic fatty liver since my abdominal surgery in 2018. It has been a ***** to lose weight more than likely do to fat oxidation just not in the cards.

I’m hoping this path continues.

Negatives? I do notice an issue with pumps. The workouts are still going strong but the pump will just be a little less. I’ve also noticed since I take my met with my family dinner and I train late usually in the 10pm to 1am range. If dinner is to close to training the pump struggles just a bit but to be honest it makes me push harder in the pursuit of said pump.

I take injectable b12, usually 1cc every 2 weeks but I started taking a. .5cc every 4-5days just to avoid the b12 drop.

I take ipam/cjc when I first wake up (fasted) and I don’t know how to tell if I’d have diminished igf but nothing feels off.

The problem with reading about Met is they always are about unhealthy patients. So with diminishing test levels, no igf, b12 failures…it seems that if they did a test group of longevity guys like me who are on hrt or more, b12 inj, and some for of gh uptick that none of these issues would be present?


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Originally Posted by 6p6

So I’m roughly 3 weeks on Metformin. I stayed consistently at the same weight for almost a week and dropped down to 247. That’s an 8 lb swing. For me most of this from what I understand is probably liver repair. I’ve had non alcoholic fatty liver since my abdominal surgery in 2018. It has been a ***** to lose weight more than likely do to fat oxidation just not in the cards.

I’m hoping this path continues.

Negatives? I do notice an issue with pumps. The workouts are still going strong but the pump will just be a little less. I’ve also noticed since I take my met with my family dinner and I train late usually in the 10pm to 1am range. If dinner is to close to training the pump struggles just a bit but to be honest it makes me push harder in the pursuit of said pump.

I take injectable b12, usually 1cc every 2 weeks but I started taking a. .5cc every 4-5days just to avoid the b12 drop.

I take ipam/cjc when I first wake up (fasted) and I don’t know how to tell if I’d have diminished igf but nothing feels off.

The problem with reading about Met is they always are about unhealthy patients. So with diminishing test levels, no igf, b12 failures…it seems that if they did a test group of longevity guys like me who are on hrt or more, b12 inj, and some for of gh uptick that none of these issues would be present?


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let me see if i can get my doc to send over the research he shared with me about it's effects on igf and reducing muscle growth. you can also look up the videos that both palumbo and scott stevenson on the topic. doc scott did an extensive one on the topic of metformin.

i will tell you that i did igf testing after 4 weeks on gh alone and my igf numbers were through the roof and on the same batch i did another 4 weeks after we started up met with my doc and it crashed my igf down to lower than it was when i wasnt on gh at all. we were just tinkering around with dosing and seeing if i could offset and control insulin sensitivity at the same time with met and gh together. i have yet to find anything to help with insulin sensitivity while on even low dose gh at 3-4ius daily other than no shit insulin. my numbers creep up even doing a shit load of cardio during prep at 90 mins on the stairs daily. so even lots of cardio doesnt help mine out at all. i have to use log or lantus while using gh to keep my insulin sensitivity. berb works a little bit but not enough for me

I'm so glad you guys started this thread. I've never used met, but tuning in and learning here.

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Originally Posted by Yohimbe

I'm so glad you guys started this thread. I've never used met, but tuning in and learning here.

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not knocking 6 because he doesnt tolerate berberrine at all but met is fantastic for anti aging and anti cancer but from a bodybuilding standpoint it is not optimal at all. still waiting to hear back from my doc for those papers he pulled up for me. check out palumbo's and scott stevensons videos about it on youtube. doc scott provides some research finding as well

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Originally Posted by guns01

not knocking 6 because he doesnt tolerate berberrine at all but met is fantastic for anti aging and anti cancer but from a bodybuilding standpoint it is not optimal at all. still waiting to hear back from my doc for those papers he pulled up for me. check out palumbo's and scott stevensons videos about it on youtube. doc scott provides some research finding as well

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I found someone citing palumbo in their study…now I can’t seem to find it either. Lmao!

This person was a big met guy but changed his tune but to be honest I wasn’t impressed with his “study”. Once again just like the “too many out of shape people being tested” for a study this was all pro top of class bodybuilders.

I’m 46, been training since 13. I’ve hit a bad patch of health, life, stress, injuries, liver issues which took me at 5’10” to 278lbs. Met has been seemingly help with the liver issues on top of insulin sensitivity. I’ve had IBS for decades and guess what! 95% gone. My water weight do to non alcoholic fatty liver is clearing up…I’m down a solid 8 lbs of water, fat, and gunk!

I’ve always put muscle on easy and instinctively trained. The forty’s have a been a shit show. It’s only been 3 weeks and it’s helped me regain some confidence. Back keeping macros in check. I literally have taken 2 completely off rest days since day 1 of met.

It is very early so the things guns are pointing out are of great concern for me but I’ve got to see to my over all health and athleticism.

Guns quick question, with out knowing about the igf issue would I know? I mean, the goal for us iron warriors is always strength and size but deep down I’m trying to drop size, not muscle. My strength is even higher and still hits the strong af level! 2nd question would be just taking 500mg once daily maybe helping avoid these issues? I’m reading guys taking 1500-2500 on average.


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Ok quick REAL update.

Pros-
-Down 8lbs
-just added inj l-carn

Cons-
-guns got me concerned about igf lmao!
-there is a degree of tiredness that I can’t explain- is that increased output or sides?
-nerve pains
-this one is new. Keeping an eye on it. I’m being told it’s my body adjusting from the liver created water and visceral issues…mostly in my feet.

Other than that training has been fantastic. My sons 18 and it’s provided new motivation.


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Originally Posted by 6p6

I found someone citing palumbo in their study…now I can’t seem to find it either. Lmao!

This person was a big met guy but changed his tune but to be honest I wasn’t impressed with his “study”. Once again just like the “too many out of shape people being tested” for a study this was all pro top of class bodybuilders.

I’m 46, been training since 13. I’ve hit a bad patch of health, life, stress, injuries, liver issues which took me at 5’10” to 278lbs. Met has been seemingly help with the liver issues on top of insulin sensitivity. I’ve had IBS for decades and guess what! 95% gone. My water weight do to non alcoholic fatty liver is clearing up…I’m down a solid 8 lbs of water, fat, and gunk!

I’ve always put muscle on easy and instinctively trained. The forty’s have a been a shit show. It’s only been 3 weeks and it’s helped me regain some confidence. Back keeping macros in check. I literally have taken 2 completely off rest days since day 1 of met.

It is very early so the things guns are pointing out are of great concern for me but I’ve got to see to my over all health and athleticism.

Guns quick question, with out knowing about the igf issue would I know? I mean, the goal for us iron warriors is always strength and size but deep down I’m trying to drop size, not muscle. My strength is even higher and still hits the strong af level! 2nd question would be just taking 500mg once daily maybe helping avoid these issues? I’m reading guys taking 1500-2500 on average.


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6 so since you arent having any gastro issues at all then that is a positive because that's the biggest complaint that most people find with it. another one to watch out for is horrible cramping at night even when you didnt train at all and people i have known with this issue were dosing at 5-1000 daily. so those are a couple to look at.

now with it surpressing your igf and knowing if it is doing so without labs. watch your pumps and how flat you are through the day. that's a huge indicator since you are becoming insulin sensitive and your pumps should be god awful painful. how you would pull labs and how i did it was this: take 4-5ius daily for 7 days. then on the 8th day do your 4ius first thing in the am and then go get them pulled. the last shot doesnt matter but the 7 prior should have you super elevated or even off the chart. i cant remember off top of my head but at 3ius i am pretty sure mine without met were 400 or just a tad bit over 4 and with it they came back at 60-70 with the same protocol.

i dont think 500 is a deal breaker but i would watch for side effects over time. the highest the doc had me at was 500 2x daily before he pulled it and to be honest it really didnt help my glucose control much at all. pay attention to the pump though haha that seems to be the best marker for going to far since you dont have the gut issues.

also with the liver, i would blast some glutathiome(sp) and tudca for a couple of months and see how that does with your liver.

Little update on metformin. Life and stress has had somethings on a yo-yo but all in all keeping macros in touch. I’ve learned how to use metformin when I cheat or if I’m heavier on the carbs. Most of the time I stick with one 500mg tab in the evening but I’ve taken a morning dose about 20% of the time and on occasion three tabs but primarily I’ve been only using one tab.

To combat loss of b12 I inject b12 three days a weeks at .5cc.

I tried adding l-carn inj but after first bottle I couldn’t keep up with dosing so to schedule and keeping enough around.

I’m using a ghrp pep called hexalarin (sp?) to give me a break from norm cjc/ ipam combo.

I’ve used it before, actually this is my third run and prob last with it. No sides but to be honest I notice nothing on it even after months.

Weight wise I’ve plateaued at 237-238 and a fastest’d 233.

I have not noticed the lack of pump or any loss of muscle mass.

Before I adjust to a permanent twice daily met dosing I’m trying to fix other variables such as sleep/recovery.

All in all I’m impressed with met and what it does for me personally. I think the b12 and some form of gh is a must.

Will update this in another month or so.




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Looking back at my original post. 257 starting weight on met…now at 237. That’s not too shabby. Still not where I want to be or should say NEED to be.

Btw guns instead of adding a morning met dose I picked up a carb supp with berberrine in it. Handling it a lot better than before. I haven’t been able to tell if the supp works but I switched my morning met to this when I need it. I primarily eat eggs in the am so I don’t push the supp or met unless someone gives me a donut! Lol!


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Originally Posted by 6p6

Looking back at my original post. 257 starting weight on met…now at 237. That’s not too shabby. Still not where I want to be or should say NEED to be.

Btw guns instead of adding a morning met dose I picked up a carb supp with berberrine in it. Handling it a lot better than before. I haven’t been able to tell if the supp works but I switched my morning met to this when I need it. I primarily eat eggs in the am so I don’t push the supp or met unless someone gives me a donut! Lol!


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grab a glucometer and start tracking your blood sugars man. first thing in the am without doing anything, literally do it laying in bed before your get up, then about 2 2 and half hours post meal. this should give you an idea of how insulin sensitive you are and how well the met and everything else is working. i know it is a pain in the ass to stick your finger multiple times per day but if you track it, you can see if and how well things are working. if you are still running high, you may have to go zero carb for about 30-45 days to bring it back and ease carbs back in. sucks getting old man and a side note, gh and ghrps only compound the resistance problem