What do women over 55 take to lower fasting Insulin??

indian_beauty · 04-20-2004, 04:46 AM

Hi girls,
I recently started taking met and my fasting insulin levels dropped beautifully so I'm all for metformin...but I'd like some opinion regarding my mom's possible Fasting Insulin levels....I don't think she had PCOS.....but my mom is obese and gets tired very fast and has loads of skin tags......many signs of IR .....so I insisted that she go in for fasting insulin test and fasting glucose.....her FI was 12.8 and FBS was 80....this shows she's not IR but still her FI can go down by at least 3-4 points.....but since she's 58 and has high blood pressure I'm not sure if metformin is for her.....her GP says 12.8 is fine..but I'm not happy about it.....what do you ladies suggest I do...Mom's carb intake will be around 90-100g per day or thereabouts.....I'd just love her to have more energy and lose weight if possible.....she does yoga and goes for walks but her weight hardly budges....so I think maybe the FI is the culprit like it was for me....

Love to get some suggestions

christyz · 04-20-2004, 05:25 PM

I agree with Albaos...A fasting insulin of 10-13 mIU/ml generally indicates some insulin resistance, and levels above 13 indicate greater insulin resistance. Your mom's labs are a huge red flag, and if your Dr won't help, i'd get another opinion.

Good luck, I_B!

indian_beauty · 04-22-2004, 02:52 AM

Hi
Thanks for writing in.....
Regarding metformin : I thought that it may cause problems in older people due to the liver and kidney functions being slower or whatever (as of now my mom's had no problems with these tho') and maybe interact with the high BP meds??? I'm not sure how safely older people can take met....would love any info that helps me and which I can print and send it over to my mom so she can talk to her GP about it.