Metformin is effective and safer than any other diabetes medication. With more than 65 years of history. No unknown long term effects. Studies have seen protective effects from metformin use.

Of course we still have to do our part and slowly cut our carb loading, so we can eat to our meter.

Like many older medications it was derived from a plant. Specifically a herb called french lilac. The active compound was then synthesized to make it pharmaceutical grade.

It is the only other effective pharmaceutical grade, natural diabetes medication other than insulin. And insulin has a hundred years of history. And you can overdose on insulin and die.

We are Guinea pigs, beta test subjects, for the newer medications. They don't know long term effects yet. So when 5 years of use comes around, the manufacturers are required to let us know about the side effects.

Then they put black box warnings on the newer diabetes medications.

Metformin is not only safe for long term use, but is now a cost effective generic.

It actually protects us from many things.
Several studies have suggested that metformin may protect from diabetes- and nondiabetes-related comorbidities, including cardiovascular, renal, neurological, and neoplastic diseases. In the past few decades, several mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain metformin’s protective effects.

Contrary to some of the headlines it actually protects us from CKD. It is only discontinued when kidney disease becomes too advanced for the kidneys to remove the chemicals from our bodies.

Again every one body is different ☺️

My elderly mom got so nauseous with metformin she had to stop taking it

Because it works and is cheap. For most people it is fine but some like me can't take it because it causes to many stomach issues.

I wonder about that too.