ask: Hi I am pre- diabetic. I am10kg overwight, all my efforts to loose weight go in vein. you think i should use the drug Metformin to loose weight?

Hi Bee

Thanks so much for your question!

Metformin in a weight loss pill created specifically with diabetes in mind. It works for many people but you need to bear in mind the side effects. All medications have side effects (some directly linked to the medication, others suspected of being unrelated but have to be recorded as a side effect anyway) but some are more serious than others.

The side effects caused by Metformin include diarrhea, a sick stomach and nausea - all of which would cause anyone to lose weight. Diarrhea, in particular, seems to be a big problem, with up to half of all people taking the medication suffering from it.

Metformin decreases appetite, causing people to eat less and has shown to be quite effective in studies. A decrease in insulin production caused by Metformin is what helps with appetite suppression and your glucose levels decrease.

It's up to you to discuss the pros and cons of taking a weight loss medication with your doctor. 10 kilos is not a huge amount of weight - have you tried all natural options?
If you have and nothing at all is working, then it might be a good choice for you, but only you can decide that.

I wish you the best of success - losing that weight can really help transform from being pre-diabetic to normal levels again so it's important that you work hard to achieve this and it sounds like you're really giving it your all. Good for you! Please let us know what you decide!