Metformin question

[Hulkbulk8]

I have been taking met with each carb meal now for the last 2 weeks between 250-500mg each meal (6 meals a day) with a total carb count of 400g
Calories are 3500 with about 70g fat total.

I have noticed I have started to have muscle weakness and my arms are losing size. I am also losing weight too just in the last 2 weeks.

Thinking I am taking too much met as I usually take like 2000mg split a day.
This has been the only thing that I have done differently and it's causing muscles to shrink!!!

Going to try 500mg with last carb meal.

Was taking this to help insulin sensitivity and read this will help shuttle carbs to muscles and pumps were awesome. I feel like I am on a keto diet with 400g carbs.

Thoughts?

 

[little slice]

it made eating damn near impossible for me.




no gracias

 

[nothuman]

I have been taking met with each carb meal now for the last 2 weeks between 250-500mg each meal (6 meals a day) with a total carb count of 400g
Calories are 3500 with about 70g fat total.

I have noticed I have started to have muscle weakness and my arms are losing size. I am also losing weight too just in the last 2 weeks.

Thinking I am taking too much met as I usually take like 2000mg split a day.
This has been the only thing that I have done differently and it's causing muscles to shrink!!!

Going to try 500mg with last carb meal.

Was taking this to help insulin sensitivity and read this will help shuttle carbs to muscles and pumps were awesome. I feel like I am on a keto diet with 400g carbs.

Thoughts?

I can't see how metformin would make you lose muscle. I use it at 1500mg per day and never noticed such a thing.

 

[Hulkbulk8]

Muscles are flat and very low energy. I have lost size since taking met.
I have lowered the dose to 500mg with last meal to see if size comes back and pumps.

Usually on 400g carbs I am pumped all day
This has a 6 hr half life so I can see it building up quite high in the system!
I think I was putting my self in a keto state.

 

[kinglewy]

Your muscles aren't shrinking from metformin. I've had some of my best gains while using met. And with 400 grams of carbs your no where even close to a ketogenic state I dont care how much metformin you take.

 

[nothuman]

Muscles are flat and very low energy. I have lost size since taking met.
I have lowered the dose to 500mg with last meal to see if size comes back and pumps.

Usually on 400g carbs I am pumped all day
This has a 6 hr half life so I can see it building up quite high in the system!
I think I was putting my self in a keto state.

It's either completely mental or something else. Or your metformin isn't metformin.

 

[Chode Logan]

2000mg is a lot...doubt it made you shrink but I also don't think you need that much.

 

[NY Muscle]

Maybe he is taking too much metformin and what he is seeing is less glycogen in the muscles. I know metformin increases insulin sensitivity but since it gives people the shits it seems too much maybe "blocks" carbs in some sort of way that a certain amount of glucose is not making it to the muscles. Just pondering....

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[impulse3k]

There's no doubt that these compounds (for me it was berberine) lower protein synthesis and reduce muscle glycogen. I feel it was hindering me from gaining. When I got off of berberine I gained 5lbs over two days and noticed a marked difference in strength and muscle endurance. Did wonders for my blood sugar and waistline though. I feel it's best use for me will going from a bulk to a cut.

 

[NY Muscle]

Metformin increases AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which basically shuts off protein synthesis. So maybe that's the issue.

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[NEMSZ]

Metformin increases AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which basically shuts off protein synthesis. So maybe that's the issue.

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So then what purpose does it have in bodybuilding? I'm not sure this is 100% accurate, or else why would so many people praise it so much?

 

[Chode Logan]

So then what purpose does it have in bodybuilding? I'm not sure this is 100% accurate, or else why would so many people praise it so much?

It's great to restore insulin sensitivity...perhaps short term is best.

 

[Chode Logan]

The fucked up thing I'm trying to figure out is how to balance all this stuff.

GH works wonders yet makes some people insulin resistant very quickly, which is not desirable for bodybuilding...

...so we take things to increase insulin sensitivity but they in turn might limit muscle growth...

...so we can drastically limit carbohydrates instead but that will also not contribute to building the most muscle...

Using exogenous insulin can relieve your own pancreas and lower blood glucose from the GH but then using insulin long term can make you resistant as well.



Damn.

 

[ZOFO1973]

I like 1000mg met with a cheat meal. Ive been using it this way for quite some time with no complaints.
Ive read that met partially blocks carb absorption within the intestine and can also lower igf. I wouldn't worry about either with limited use, but everyday is a different story.

 

[Hulkbulk8]

Everyday use of up to 2000 mg for the last 2 weeks has caused my muscles to become completely flat.
I am extremely weak in the gym and tire out very quickly.

I have even taken tape measurements and arms have shrunk but this could be due to having no glycogen in the muscle because of such a large dose of met. I have also read that this drug will stop protein synthesis It its tracks.

I am going to stop taking immediately and switch over to something else maybe ALA. since the 6 hr half life I think this should be out of my system in a few days.

 

[JonnyO]

Too much of a good thing isnt always the best bet. Theres absolutely no need to be taking metformin or any GDA with every meal. Think about when the most beneficial times to take it would be, and use them then not every meal.

 

[Phidias]

Metformin results/side effects are really dose dependent, and to me it's much more a fat loss aid than a muscle building tool, meaning the higher the daily mg's the more fat you'll burn, especially if you're on a low/medium carb diet.

If on a high carb diet, it will greatly help you to limit/prevent bf gains, avoiding glucose storage in fat cells.

I used to take it many years ago and did long enough to have a pretty good idea/experience of what it does/allows. I started back on it recently, or should I say was PUT BACK on it by docs, as I've been diagnosed three months ago with diabetic retinopathy (a nasty vision trouble mainly caused by too many up and downs in your blood sugar levels)...

Considering my weight and eating habits, they had me on 3,000.00 mg's split into three 1,000.00 mg's (after meals) doses at first... man, I was feeling SO WEAK at first I had to reduce that total daily dose to 2,350 mg's a day, split into three intakes: 1,000/850/500mg.

Feeling INFINITELY better now, aside from the diarrhea, which is terribly annoying, especially since I didn't experience it the first time I used met, 10 years ago or so.

So to sum it up, Metformin is a VERY POWERFUL drug, and finding your dose is the key... always start low and work your way up. And please don't think because you're +250 lbs you can directly start on hefty doses... doesn't work that way at all. I'm staying in the 240lbs/under 10% bf range year round, and 3,000.00 mg's literally killed me...

So YES, I firmly believe what the OP Hulkbuck8 is saying... too much of it, and weakness is almost always guaranteed. This is not a drug for everyone, though its effects on blood sugar regulation are awesome.

 

[Phidias]

The fucked up thing I'm trying to figure out is how to balance all this stuff.

GH works wonders yet makes some people insulin resistant very quickly, which is not desirable for bodybuilding...

...so we take things to increase insulin sensitivity but they in turn might limit muscle growth...

...so we can drastically limit carbohydrates instead but that will also not contribute to building the most muscle...

Using exogenous insulin can relieve your own pancreas and lower blood glucose from the GH but then using insulin long term can make you resistant as well.



Damn.

Hence why we take so many drugs, therefore experiencing an accumulation of sides effects... tough game we play...

 

[nothuman]

This thread has me rethinking my metformin use

 

[asteelz]

Metformin is a great drug to aid in glucose partitioning, but your dose is way out of bounds. 1000mg a day is plenty for somebody who is already insulin sensitive, presuming you weight train and perform cardio regularly.. The mechanisms of action for metformin have been well established and are available for free on ncbi. I recommend berberine as an alternative for those who suffer the gi abnormalities associated with metformin. Insulin related drugs are great when used right , I've been studying endocrinology independently as well as in school for years and still find out new information every day.