Sources for Metformin?

Jim Rice The serious problem with these vendors is that they only accept money orders, bitcoins and wire transfers... anything that cannot be contested in case of non delivery. More than looks like a scam.

Laurence R strange, first check if your glucose is even a little bit high and most doctors are open for that. Otherwise search for a hormone replacement doctor. They are much more open minded. I buy metformin in 180 500 mg tablets for about 13 dollars using goodrx app. I get my sirolimus from my aging dermatologist who is open sirolimus after she read dr Alan s greens website. With goodrx sirolimus is about $5 / mg. 

Jim Rice Thanks for posting the AllDayChemist link.

Patrick McHargue I’ve also used All Day Chemist for years , and can attest to their quality products and good customer service .

angie4life I agree that All Day Chemist provides quality products and good service.  But they also share their email list (or have it hacked) with a number of services I wouldn't use.  I recommend using a throwaway email address when dealing with them. They have very inexpensive Metformin, but do not carry Dasatinab.

angie4life Angie - I used ALlDayChemist to order metformin. I then used https://www.antiaging-systems.com/ to order dasatinib. The www.antiaging.clinic just could not get their act together to complete the order I started with them. www.bonhoa.com has dasatinib, but it's expensive.

My worry now is that, given the influx of opioids and other narcotics from abroad, more restrictions will be applied to such shipments from abroad.  That, and that quality control may be lacking, and we may end up with 'baby-milk formula' in pill form.

 

We'll see.

I have been interested in Metformin for about 3 years. I've got it from https://reliableonlineget.net/go/Metformin (used coupon code " SALE10 " ❤️ to get 10%off). As I understand the mechanisms that allow Metformin to combat aging at the cellular level.

DaveM 

Because berberine is not regulated, the quality control for it is all over the map, with very few of the tested suppliers looking like they have legitimate quality products. It is also more expensive than Metformin.

When I first discussed Metformin with my doctor, he immediately shot it down. But I sent him a document highlighting the best studies, and he eventually changed his mind. Prior to that, I got it (Cetapin XR) from in-house pharmacy in India, and like their product. It is manufactured by the Indian branch of Sanofi, which is a company that also has manufacturing offices in my area here in the states. 

Jason What studies?  I have sent studies I though to be helpful, but my doctor still will not write a presdcription for Metofrmin.

Patrick McHargue 

Sorry for a long answer; this is what I sent to my doctor: 

Thanks for a great appointment and for being willing to look at some data on Metformin. These first few papers address the question of whether or not Metformin can be blamed for causing Lactic Acidosis. 

The first study is a comprehensive search identifying all the comparative trials or observational cohort studies published between January 1, 1959, and March 31, 2002, that evaluated metformin therapy, alone or in combination with other treatments, for at least 1 month. Results: Pooled data from 194 studies revealed no cases of fatal or nonfatal lactic acidosis in 36,893 patient-years in the metformin group or in 30,109 patients-years in the non-metformin group. Using Poisson statistics with 95% confidence intervals, the probable upper limit for the true incidence of lactic acidosis in the metformin and non-metformin groups was 8.1 and 9.9 cases per 100,000 patient-years, respectively. There was no difference in lactate levels for metformin compared with placebo or other nonbiguanide therapies.

Conclusion: There is no evidence to date that metformin therapy is associated with an increased risk of lactic acidosis or with increased levels of lactate compared with other anti-hyperglycemic treatments if the drugs are prescribed under study conditions.

There are cases of people on Metformin getting lactose acidosis, but they are associated- not causal. “The investigators conclude that it is the underlying systemic dysfunction and not the particular treatment that is the main determinant for the appearance of lactic acidosis. In support of that conclusion, the results of this review reveal that there is no evidence of an increased risk of lactic acidosis associated with metformin use if it is prescribed under the study conditions, taking into account contraindications.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/216377

This second paper begins by introducing how the idea that metformin caused lactic acidosis developed because of its association with the older drug phenformin, which did increase rates of lactic acidosis. The paper includes some specific studies and concludes that: “In none of the studies submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in support of these indications were there any episodes of lactic acidosis.” 

The article continues: “In contrast to the findings from controlled trials, cases of lactic acidosis continue to be reported in patients taking metformin. Among the first million patients (approximately) to have received metformin in the U.S., there were 47 reports (20 fatal) to the FDA of lactic acidosis. Of these patients, 43 had renal failure (labeled contraindication for metformin) or risk factors for lactic acidosis besides metformin (primarily congestive heart failure). There were only four patients who did not have other risk factors for lactic acidosis when metformin was initially given. In one of these four case subjects, lactic acidosis appears to have been precipitated by an episode of urosepsis. None of these four patients died.”

After citing several other studies, the conclusion includes: “Metformin rarely, if ever, causes lactic acidosis when it is used as labeled. Metformin is associated with lactic acidosis in patients with conditions that can themselves cause lactic acidosis (heart failure, hypoxia, sepsis, etc.). … When metformin is used as labeled, the increased risk of lactic acidosis is either zero or so close to zero that it cannot be factored into ordinary clinical decision making.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/27/7/1791.long

In “Consequences of Metformin Intoxication” we do see some lactic acidosis in diabetic patients caused by extreme accumulations caused by preexisting renal failure or overdosage (in this case, in people taking massive doses from 7.65 to 76.5 grams.) Most of these patients had also ingested other drugs as well. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9802770

Some investigators have attributed the association between metformin and lactic acidosis to the fact that type 2 diabetes is itself a risk factor for lactic acidosis. Additionally, studies indicate that many people remain on metformin even when contraindications arise. One such study found that 24.5% of patients receiving metformin had preexisting contraindications to its use, and 87% already taking metformin continued to take it despite developing a new contraindication. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11472468

Metformin is so safe, even among people with certain levels of kidney impairment, that the FDA recently revised its warnings so that patients with mild to moderate kidney function can now take it:

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-drug-safety-communication-fda-revises-warnings-regarding-use-diabetes-medicine-metformin-certain

Taken together, I can find no evidence that Metformin would cause lactic acidosis in an individual like me. I have no kidney problems in my family, nor that I’m aware in my extended family, and I have none of the other contraindications. Metformin does cause a reduction in B12, and so I would want to take a B12 supplement. I have found no evidence that it could cause me harm, but what are the benefits? 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25041462

In the above large-scale study, involving over 180,000 people, patients treated with type 2 diabetes that were treated with metformin lived longer than people without the condition.

It is again worth pointing out that most, if not all, of the wealth of available research on metformin uses samples who have diabetes, which represent a population with additional health concerns. In the Western world, 44% of patients with type 2 diabetes die within 10 years of diagnosis. Diabetics classically succumb to the effects of accelerated aging, manifested as premature development of cancer, atherosclerotic heart disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, and any number of other age-related diseases. How can people with diabetes have a 15% reduction in death compared to the rest of us?

One reason is that it increases our insulin sensitivity, and therefore lowers circulating levels of the inflammatory hormone insulin. Heart disease requires LDL particles, but the other requirement is the inflammatory immune response. Less inflammation results in longer life. 

A second reason is that metformin reduces the mTOR pathway, similar to the anti-rejection drug rapamycin (unfortunately to a much smaller degree). This reduces circulating levels of human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which drive not only atherosclerotic plaque, but also cancer-forming processes. 

The following study concludes: “Epidemiological and basic studies have demonstrated that it may also inhibit the growth of a variety of tumor cells, and an increasing number of ongoing clinical trials on the antitumor activity of metformin are being processed for the treatment of cancer.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772929/

https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.2018.36.15_suppl.9013

In addition to its ability to inhibit glucose being released from the liver, metformin activates AMP kinase, which acts as a master switch in cellular energy regulation, hormone expression, and protein synthesis. As it up regulates AMP kinase, it drives fat-burning similar to what is experienced during the fasted state. The best proven life-extending strategy is caloric restriction, and metformin mimics this effect by expressing AMPK. 

All of this makes metformin a very exciting area of research. A quick google of “metformin life extension” yields a wealth of citations. You can read a better summery of its benefits here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5943638/

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02432287

As if all that wasn’t enough…. It has the additional benefit of reducing Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol… which has now become a concern for me. I am hopeful that I can reduce my LDL via some changes to my diet and lifestyle, but there is a lot of evidence to suggest that metformin would help too.

Jason Thank you very much for compiling this.  I hope that many can use this to support their case to their own doctors.  I'll be sending this to my o0wn today. 

Also, you may consider sending this to someone at Age-Reversal.net so that it can be sticky somewhere, or cited by them for others that inquire.

 

Pat

Patrick McHargue 

I hope it helps.

Incidentally, in the last several months a couple new studies have suggested that Metformin impairs some of the benefits of exercise- probably because it reduces inflammation. I'm now taking it less often; I try not to take it after exercise. I also think that I will be switching from the Extended Release that I'm taking to immediate release, which may give me better control.

Jason Understood. (and me, just joining a gym)

Patrick McHargue 

angie4life 

Patrick McHargue 

Thanks for the link, Patrick.  Yesterday I used it to place an order for Metformin.  No prescription (outside the EU) is required, and it has already been shipped.

However, their payment method, while functional, is rather clunky.  They do not accept credit cards or PayPal, and one has to go through an  e-check-on-bank-account procedure (involving giving account numbers and a telephone call) that I consider to be rather risky.  But I did it anyway, and it worked.  Hope I don't regret it.

JGC I find eCheck to be a reliable payment method.  At first, they call you to verify a transaction.  They must keep a record of good transactions, as I haven't been receiving any calls about places I've used repeatedly.

They did reject a payment once, but then approved another try a few days later. I suspect my bank service was down, and since they couldn't get a positive approval they refused the transaction.

JGC I'm glad it worked out for you.  I've tried a number of sites, and some work while others don't.  Usually, it's payment options that are the problem.  Another site you should keep a link to is, https://www.alldaychemist.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=metformin

Competition and prices, you know.

JGC I have used a credit card in the past to order Metformin from an Indian website. The operation didn't take place through the Visa-secure interface. I just filled a form to be told later by the merchant that the transaction was denied. My card started getting unknown debits of $200 shortly after. I cancelled the card and got all my money back. Paypal would be the only acceptable means of payment, or with a credit card if and only if the payment is made though the Visa application. I will never send cash or anything equivalent.