While some people report depression as a less common side effect of metformin, most recent large studies and research suggest metformin actually lowers the risk of developing depression, potentially acting as an antidepressant by improving metabolic health, reducing inflammation, and impacting brain pathways, though some conflicting findings exist.
Plain language summary. We studied how metformin, a common diabetes medication, affects mental health, especially in preventing depression and anxiety. By analysing data from over 10,000 patients, we found that those taking metformin had a significantly reduced risk of developing depression.
The two most common side effects of metformin are gastrointestinal issues, primarily diarrhea and nausea/stomach upset, often occurring when starting the medication and usually subsiding over time, especially when taken with food. Other frequent issues include bloating, cramping, gas, and indigestion.
Moreover, there is emerging evidence that metformin shows antidepressant activity and improves depressive symptoms in rodent models of depression. However, the exact role and underlying mechanism of metformin in depression remain unclear and still need to be investigated.
If you have diabetes — either type 1 or type 2 — you have a higher risk of developing depression. And if you're depressed, you may have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that diabetes and depression can be treated together. And effectively managing one can help with the other.
Anxiety—feelings of worry, fear, or being on edge—is how your mind and body react to stress. People with diabetes are 20% more likely than those without diabetes to have anxiety. Managing a long-term condition like diabetes is a major source of anxiety for some.
Diabetes Burnout refers to when someone is fed up with dealing with diabetes. They might have problems with their diabetes or problems in other areas of life that get in the way of diabetes care. In burnout the person usually neglects their diabetes care and feels they can't cope with it.
Serious side effects are rare and happen in less than 1 in 10,000 people. Call your doctor or call 111 straight away if: you get a general feeling of being unwell with severe tiredness, fast or shallow breathing, being cold and a slow heartbeat.
Metformin (200 mg/kg/day, oral administration for 8 weeks) improve learning and memory ability, neurological dysfunction and oxidative stress, and reduced Aβ levels and increased the expression of synaptic-related genes [194]. Metformin activates AMPK signaling pathway and upregulates the insulin-degrading enzyme.
"Metformin, however, can cause lactic acidosis in conditions where lactic acid production is high and the disposal of lactic acid is reduced. In conditions such as circulatory failure, sepsis, and anoxia or hypoxia, metformin use may result in lactic acidosis and should be avoided.
Medicines that can affect metformin
steroid tablets, such as prednisolone. tablets that make you pee more (diuretics), such as furosemide. medicines to treat heart problems and high blood pressure (hypertension) male and female hormones, such as testosterone, oestrogen or progesterone.
Conclusion Metformin use is associated with lower risks of dementia, new-onset anxiety disorder and depression, and all-cause mortality, compared to sulphonylurea use.
How long to take it for. Treatment for diabetes is usually for life. But if your kidneys are not working properly, your doctor will tell you to stop taking metformin and switch you to a different medicine. Do not stop taking metformin without talking to your doctor.
Under certain conditions, too much metformin can cause lactic acidosis. The symptoms of lactic acidosis are severe and quick to appear, and usually occur when other health problems not related to the medicine are present and are very severe, such as a heart attack or kidney failure.
However, recent in vitro findings showed that metformin can inhibit serotonin uptake by SERT and other cation transporters (12). Thus, metformin could increase serotonin extracellular concentrations resulting in prolonged serotonergic signalling in the intestine and increased GI side effects (12).
After baseline testing and beginning metformin, seven of the ten males with PWS developed a marked worsening of behavioral problems within 1-2 days of taking metformin. Anecdotally, these behavior problems included severe emotional lability, possible seizure activity, and worsening of food seeking.
These findings suggest that metformin may improve cognitive performance in patients with mental disorders by enhancing neuronal function and structural integrity while controlling blood glucose, thereby potentially augmenting its antidepressant effects.
Chronic metformin treatment improves hippocampal neurogenesis(Wang et al., 2012), and metformin has previously been found to improve mood possibly though improving the serotonergic neurotransmission(Zemdegs et al., 2019). In our study lower doses decreased the risk of depression while very high doses did not.
If you suddenly stop taking metformin, it may cause high blood sugar symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, increased thirst, and dry mouth.
Two signs that metformin is working are that you've seen a reduction in your blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C (your average glucose over the past 2 to 3 months). Nausea and diarrhea are common side effects of metformin, but they usually improve within a few weeks of starting the medication.
The “three-hour rule” for rapid-acting insulin (aka "Insulin Stacking") Rapid-acting insulin begins to work about 15 minutes after injection, peaks in about 1 hour, and continues to work for 2 to 4 hours. The three-hour rule prevents “insulin stacking” and a low blood glucose (BG) or hypoglycemia.
The "42% rule" for burnout suggests dedicating roughly 42% of your day (about 10 hours) to rest and recovery activities like sleep, hobbies, exercise, and socializing to prevent mental and physical exhaustion, countering the "always on" culture that leads to burnout. It's a science-backed guideline emphasizing that sustainable success requires balancing intense work with sufficient downtime for your brain and body to recharge, not just a quick nap.
For T2D, life expectancy was 74.34 years (95%CI: 72.81–75.87; PI: 61.32–87.28) in men and 79.63 years (95%CI: 78.32–80.95; PI: 68.36–90.83) in women.
Diabetes doesn't directly cause depression but the nature of diabetes can be a factor in developing it. It's a very tough condition to deal with as it's always present, and that can be exhausting, particularly with all the extra decisions you have to make on top of every day life.