This Diabetes Drug Causes Neuropathy

Hopes were high when, in the late 20th century, when they finally approved medication for Type 2 Diabetes.

What could possibly go wrong?

A spike in neuropathy cases… that’s what went wrong.

And now, a new study published in Scientific Reports proves that this most commonly prescribed medication for Type 2 Diabetes directly causes neuropathy.

Researchers became suspicious of the relationship between metformin (the most commonly prescribed drug for diabetes) and neuropathy because, while the former helps to control blood sugar, many studies have found it depletes vitamin B12 levels in the body.

Vitamin B12 is a nutrient essential for nerve health.

This raised questions about whether the very medication meant to help diabetes patients might actually contribute to nerve damage over time.

First, the scientists decided to look at real-world data.

They turned to Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, which provided information on patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes between 2002 and 2013.

The team divided patients into groups based on whether they took metformin and tracked who developed nerve problems over two-year and five-year periods.

They carefully accounted for other factors that might influence results, like age, other health conditions, and diabetes severity.

To measure metformin exposure precisely, the researchers used two different approaches:

● They looked at the total amount of metformin patients took over time (cumulative defined daily dose or cDDD)

● And how intensively they were treated (defined daily doses per month or DDD/month)

This thorough approach helped them determine if there was truly a dose-dependent relationship between metformin and nerve damage.

Let’s have a look:

● Patients taking metformin had a significantly higher risk of developing diabetic neuropathy compared to those who didn’t take the drug.

● The risk increased with higher cumulative doses. At two years, patients with lower doses of metformin (<300 cDDD) had a 1.74 times higher risk of neuropathy, while those with higher doses (>500 cDDD) had a 2.36 times greater risk.

● At five years, the risk remained higher for those on larger doses, with those on >500 cDDD having a 2.17 times greater risk than those on lower doses.

● Treatment intensity showed a similar pattern: those receiving 10–25 DDD/month had a 1.9 times higher risk, and those on less than 10 DDD/month had a 2.2 times higher risk at the two-year follow-up.

This means that metformin is directly linked with neuropathy, and the more of the drug you take, the greater your risk of developing neuropathy.

So why don’t you follow the footsteps of thousands of readers who have already rid themselves of their Type 2 Diabetes permanently — using the 3 simple steps explained here…

And if you suffer from neuropathy, you’ll be happy to hear that you can reverse neuropathy naturally using the simple diet and lifestyle changes listed here…