Anyone taking Metformin to prevent reoccurrance?

Angtee15 · April 2016

I am reading up on the topic. I asked my oncologist if she would prescribe it for me when I finished treatment and she declined. I plan on going back to my primary care doc and asking her. An oncology pharmacist friend told me the drug is very benign but oncologists won't start prescribing it until the results of a Phase III study are published.

Anyone taking it to ward off reoccurance? Anyone struggling to get a prescription?

Denise-G · April 2016

I take it for Triple Positive...I talked my primary care doc into prescribing it for me and my Onc said fine. I believe I am in my third year now of taking it.

I've had no side effects. Because of all the studies going on about it, I wanted to give it a shot!

avmom · April 2016

Im taking the clinical trial dose (850 mg bid) on a prescription from my primary care physician, with the approval of my oncologist. I've been taking it for just over a year, with no significant side effects. I do have a history of PCOS, and that might make some difference, as Metformin is sometimes prescribed for that, also. So far, so good. As my PCP says, this is a drug with many decades of established use, and generally minor side effects.

StaceySue2U · April 2016

Are people without diabetes taking it? What's it doing to your blood sugar?

Angtee15 · April 2016

I think I found information on this Phase III study and it doesn't end until 2019. I have one more chemo infusion, then bmx. Then hopefully Metformin.

Like StaceySue I'd like to hear what it did to your blood sugars?

ChiSandy · April 2016

I'm not triple-neg either, but at wit's end with trying to control my weight after three months on letrozole. My MO won't prescribe metformin even if my blood glucose and a1c begin to sneak up into metabolic-syndrome territory, insisting I try lifestyle changes instead. (My pre-op fasting glucose was a nice normal 93, with a1c of 5.8--but goodness knows what letrozole has done to it). I will discuss it with my primary. But my husband, who is a cardiologist, says that the research on its effects in enhancing diet & exercise efforts in pre diabetic patients is so strong that he is considering putting himself on it if his a1c goes as high as mine, and suggesting my primary do the same for me. In 2012 after my first knee replacement, my glucose rocketed to 132 from the stress of surgery. My peri-op doc suggested I start taking it--but I was afraid of what it might do to my lipid levels.

dtad · April 2016

ChiSandy.....Just FYI but I take a supplement which mimics metformin. PM if you want more details. I stopped eating high fructose sugar at the same time I started the supplement and have lost 25 pounds since October!

4everStrong · April 2016

i Will start taking this next week. . My oncologist said no to it.. i went to see a diabete specialist and he subscribed it to me. My sugar level is normal, doc says i can take it three times a day but should have three proper meals a day, so will do just that.

The purpose for me is to prevent reccurence.

Interested by other experiences.

Smurfette26 · April 2016

Interesting topic.

I have been taking Metformin for Insulin Resistance for many years and I still got breast cancer.

Wondering how many others here developed BC while on Metformin?

ruthbru · April 2016

Just a heads up. A friend of mine, who is triple negative, is in the Phase III study. She just got a call last week saying to stop taking it, they are shutting down that arm of the study because the data shows that Metformin isn't making any difference for the triple negative group. The study is continuing for hormone positive ladies.

Angtee15 · April 2016

Thanks Ruthbru for the information! Interesting (and disappointing).

ruthbru · April 2016

I know. My friend was bummed, but still happy she had participated. An interesting side note is that she won't know if she was on Metformin or on the placebo until the entire study is finished.

superius · April 2016

What dosage of Metformin?

Valstim52 · April 2016

I've been on metformin for 3 years, still got bc. So I don't know. I had raging blood sugar readings after a traumatic accident. It keeps my a1c down. My Onc says there is nothing proven to help triple neg, and she says being on it, won't be an indicator of if I recur or not. Since I 'occured' while on it.

I was at an ideal weight and active when I started on metformin. Like I said still wound up with TNBC. 1000 mgs per day.

anamerty · May 2016

I take metformin for my type 2 diabetes. 500mg 2x daily .Dont know if it will help ward away reocurrance of my tnbc tho.actually just this week ,I decreased my dosage, the morning one as too much stomach upset,and the runs .Yes it keeps my A1C down (7.5) but I dont like the side affects.anyways,its made mr feel so yukky that there must be a better med, than this for tn .theres tumeric, bees pollen and blueberry extract that really doesnt have any side affects

pebee · May 2016

I am ER+ and was prescribed Metformin for breast cancer prevention. My OBGYN prescribed it - my oncologist and reg doc were fine with it. I am not on a study. I am not diabetic - I probably run more toward hypoglycimic.

One thing that I run into all.the.time. with other doctors is the assumption that Metformin = diabetic. I keep having to say that it is for breast cancer prevention. I have a link to one of the articles on my smart phone and I insist that they put the words "off-label" next to it. That is not fun and I need to pay attention to some of the other docs -especially ones that you do not see often like an anthesogist for surgery.

ChiSandy · May 2016

Funny about Metformin being assumed to have been prescribed for diabetes. When I was looking up cheaper sources of brand-name Femara, I kept getting directed to male body-building websites--apparently, they take it off-label to minimize quasi-feminine body fat as well as gynecomastia.

My husband has decided not to put himself on Metformin--despite a year on Lipitor, his glucose was 83. I might ask about going back on Lipitor myself--the first time I tried it I got quad (front thigh) muscle pain and my PCP pulled me off it--but in retrospect, that may have coincided with trying to do spinning on my LifeCycle. It did give me great LDLs & triglycerides but raised my glucose dramatically. Maybe now that I no longer have the circulating estrogen I did before AIs, it might have only upsides this time.

SpecialK · May 2016

I just was prescribed Metformin by my oncologist last week. Starting with a low dose and will escalate the dose depending on how things play out - side effect and blood sugar-wise. I had a BCI test done in December now that I am just approaching five years on Femara/Armidex. This is a genetic assay test on one's original tumor that has a two-pronged result - both the risk of recurrence, and benefit of endocrine therapy. I ended up being high recurrence risk, with low drug benefit. So, in discussing risk mitigation I brought up metformin. I had mentioned it a couple of years ago and my MO would not prescribe it, said to approach my primary care. They refused due to potential GI side effects and lack of solid data about benefit for breast cancer. I was on Lipitor for at least five years (through diagnosis and chemo) and I believe that it did have an effect on my fasting glucose, which I can't get below 100, despite not eating refined sugar or much in the way of natural sugars either. During chemo my glucose was through the roof with steroids. I asked my primary care if I could come off the Lipitor, both for the glucose and muscle pain - I had enough pain from Femara. I weaned off and have maintained decent cholesterol numbers, but the glucose remained at 100. I have surgery in two weeks so am not planning to start the Metformin until a couple of weeks after, or I am feeling decent.

Margdahl · June 2016

is this a pre diabetic drug

Smurfette26 · June 2016

Yes Margdahl, Metformin is used to treat Insulin Resistance (Pre Diabetes) and also Diabetes (mainly Type 2 Diabetes).

sas-schatzi · June 2016

Hi folks wandering in. The following is a partial post I did from another thread. We were discussing the Microbiome and got into metformin. The following is the history of Glucophage/metformin. All the articles are layperson friendly. They all dovetail into each other and bring a few pearls to the overall history of metformin. I do suggest that you take time to read them all. These will be really helpful info to be able to discuss it with your docs.

The main question that was asked here about "What does metformin do to the blood sugar in a nondiabetic person?" From the reading you will find that metformin either doesn't lower blood sugar or lowers it only mildly.

I had intended to ask my PCP for a script, but haven't gotten around to it

From the post: "There was one sentence that got me off on a tangent 'Thus, metformin, as the longest established oral antidiabetic agent, has been widely used in patients". Longest? I was there when it was first brought on the market, but couldn't remember what year it was. it was 1995. This link is to a history of Metformin. At the bottom, they're links to the additional resource articles on the history of metformin. I read them all. Easy recreational reading. What science proved about the chemical that came to be eventually identified as Glucophage/Metformin in 1957 has a pretty amazing history. It's a perennial. Used particularly in the Middle Ages, but documented much farther back than that.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Metformin-History.aspx

What surprises me after reading it's history is that Metformin is not used in the overweight non diabetic. There were two early studies that clearly showed that a nondiabetic experiences only none to mild reduction in glucose while the diabetic(type2) experiences a significant reduction.The study in the PCOS group showed that those with more centrally located adipose tissue had a weight loss where those that didn't have central fat didn't. Sounds to me like a study. Too lazy right now to go and see if that's an existing finding already. I know the weight loss is a known effect of Glucophage, but not if the identification of the central fat loss is known. Maybe someone will pop in a say YEAH that's been known for years LOL.

I'll volunteer for the study. i.e. nondiabetic with central fat

Thought I'd bring these links here. They were at the bottom of the above article and identified as the source for that article.

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/14178
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pdi.606/pdf
http://www.rsc.org/images/eic_nov2011_metformin_tcm18-210010.pdf
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/19/04707254/0470725419.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9742976
Bailey CJ, Campbell IW, Chan JCN, Davidson JA, Howlett HCS, Ritz P. Metformin - The Gold Standard: A Scientific Handbook. Chichester: Wiley, 2008; 1-36."

VLH · July 2016

I've taken Metformin for Type II diabetes since 1995. I had PCOS since my 20s.

VLH · July 2016

I've taken Metformin for Type II diabetes since 1995. I had PCOS since my 20s.

carjeanne3 · August 2016

I developed type 2 diabetes possibly from the chemo and was put on metformin last month

PeggySull · August 2016

Like many others, my MO refused to prescribe Metformin until big NCI study results came out. Went to my gyn armed with articles showing promising results with regard to BC recurrence. He prescribed study dosage, which I have been on for 3 and a half years with no negative results (I do have to get liver function tests every 6 months).

I just wanted to see what the research in 2016 said, and same promising results primarily in BC, prostate, and a couple of other cancers. I'm talking hundreds of research articles in peer-reviewed journals. I will continue taking it as long as I can get it prescribed.

My new endocrinologist confirmed that Metformin is helpful in these cancers with regard to recurrence.

So, my advice is to go to a trusted gyn or endocrinologist and take abstracts of recent articles (google "metformin and breast cancer 2016).

I don't know if it has been helpful but it appears benign for most people. Just my two cents!

Hugs,

Peggy

VLH · August 2016

Kinda wish I hadn't read this: "Results of the study showed that patients who used metformin before being diagnosed with breast cancer were more than twice as likely to die than patients who never used the drug, while patients who began using metformin after their cancer diagnosis were almost 50 percent more likely to survive than non-users."

As noted in the article, I am probably triple negative, but no African Americans in my pedigree to the best of my knowledge. With apologies if someone already shared this, here's the article link.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/1606...

Katjadvm · August 2016

VLH: I kinda wish you had not read that either. I have been on metformin for years for PCOS.

dtad · August 2016

Hi all...I kind of think this article is misleading because people who took metformin before bc obviously had diabetes which in itself is a serious disease which you can die from. However on another note I take a supplement that mimics metformin and I believe it has helped me to lose 22 pounds and keep my blood sugar levels in check. Good luck to all

VLH · August 2016

True, dtad. We can't change the past and there will probably be a study next year with different results anyway.

Angtee15 · August 2016

Morning dtad! What supplement are you taking if you don't mind me asking?

I have an endocrinologist appointment this week and am going to ask about Metformin.

Hipline · August 2016

My MO has refused to prescribe Metformin even though my fasting blood sugar hoovers at the 100+ mark. Thank you for all the above information, I think I will seek out an endocrinologist too. I also would like to know the supplement that you are taking dtad. Thank you!

Anyone taking Metformin to prevent reoccurrance?

Comments

Categories