Type II diabetes is one of the autoimmune conditions. It leads to a high level of blood sugar, low level of insulin and your system turning resistant to insulin. You may observe signs such as urges to pee too very often, staying thirsty, loss of body weight and being tired during most part of the day. Meds like metformin are taken to manage this autoimmune ailment. Do you know how long does metformin stay in your system? It is quite an essential thing to know before commencing your treatment plan.
Type 2 form of diabetes was earlier labelled as adult onset diabetes (AOD). This is one of the forms of diabetes mellitus, a lifestyle-linked autoimmune disorder. This condition makes you become thirsty and hungry at almost all times, and is also known to slowdown the rate of healing of your wounds / sores. If left untreated, it may impair your cardiac wellbeing, and may lead to heart arrest, strokes, retinopathy, renal dysfunction, etc.
Those who lead a sedentary lifestyle and are obese may see an onset of type II diabetes. Of the total number of diabetes cases, type II diabetes constitutes more than 88% while type I diabetes accounts for ~ 11%. Your caregiving team will order a battery of tests such as oral-glucose tolerance testing, fasting glucose level tests, etc. to diagnose its incidence.
What is metformin?
This is an antidiabetic med used for treating type II form of diabetes. It has the approval of the US-based drug clearing agency, food and drug administration (FDA) for this. Active chemicals of metformin decrease absorption of glucose and also reduce the production of glucose.
Net outcome: your system turns sensitive to insulin.
MetforminMetformin is often prescribed with changes to made to your daily diet coupled with a workout schedule. Adherence to medication plans can significantly lower risks of renal failure, nerve conditions such as damage or inflammation, impairment of eyesight, sexual disorders like erectile dysfunction.
How long does metformin stay in your system?
The half-life of metformin plays a key part in determining how long metformin stays in your body. The duration it takes for this drug to halve itself is ~ 18 hours. Nearly 5.5 cycles of half-life are needed for discharging all traces of this med from your system. Thus, it takes ~ 97 hours or 4 full-days to get rid of metformin.
The above timeline depends upon a few other factors viz., dosage strength of metformin, how long was your medication plan, rate of metabolism of your system, you overall health condition, body mass as well as your age.
If you have a slower rate of metabolism, metformin may stay longer than 4 days in your body. Similarly, if you are aged above 50 years, have any other autoimmune conditions or of a bulkier build, you require a longer timespan to eliminate this drug.
Precautions needed prior to intake of metformin
Your treating doctor needs to know of prior incidence of renal disorders, high levels of ketone in urine or bloodstream, prior spells of cardiac ailments or heart attacks, hepatic disorders like cirrhosis of liver or hepatitis / internal swelling, etc. In the same light, tell your physician if you have used (or using) other forms of diabetic drugs or insulin.
It is equally important to tell your doctor of pre-existing conditions such as diabetic ketoacidosis and / or metabolic-acidosis. It can be unsafe to take metformin if you have any of aforesaid medical conditions.
Last but not least, metformin is never administered to children aged less than 10 years. Also, a few versions of this antidiabetic drug must not be used on those aged below 18 years. So, talk to your treating doctor about the age of patient prior to using metformin.
Disclaimer
Information provided here are only of supplementary nature. Information shared here does not substitute a qualified doctor’s advice. This website is not suggesting intake of this drug as safe or appropriate. Hence it is advised to talk to your doctor before consuming this med or any other drug.
Education: Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from New York University. Experience: 5 years of experience writing for physiotherapy and sports medicine blogs, providing expert insights on injury prevention and rehabilitation.
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