Metformin for insulin resistance

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amberleystar

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9 June 2008
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Guildford, Surrey
www.amberleyaromatics.com
My mare had xrays yesterday for laminitis which she has suffered from chronically. My vet took blood to test for insulin resistance and mentioned putting her on Metformin if she tested positive. Has anyone on here got any experience of using Metformin? He told me it was very cheap to use and so far has been successful. I prefer to use natural remedies whenever possible, so I am just a little concerned about long term side effects etc.
 
Metformim is used in humans with diabetes too. If your vet has suggested this I would advise you to follow his recommendations.
 
I used too work as a diabetes nurse so all I know is based on humans not horses! Metformin is used for Type II diabetes to reduce insulin resistance (i.e making person's own insulin work better)> It is a very effective drug for the right people, is cheap and has few side effects. It is also one of the oldest treatments for this type of diabetes and is still used today. This doesn't help much with regard to your horse I know!
 
In people, the side effects are usually just an upset tummy for a week or so, some bloating, diarrhoea, wind, that type of thing. After that sort of time the gut readjusts and there's no further problems with it. Off the top of my head I cannot remember ever seeing any other unwanted effects from it. I'd certainly take it my self if I needed to (and probably will as both parents have recently been diagnosed!!)
 
A small study was published recently that inestigated the use of metformin to improve insulin sensitivity, and the results were favourable. Here is a link to the abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18482898?dopt=Abstract
Only 18 horses were included in the study and the use of this drug in horses is otherwise unproven although it appears safe. No one knows how effective therapy will be in the long term, or how the drug can best be used in horse (dose rates etc.). So, it may be worth trying, but your mare will be a bit of a guinea pig.
 
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