Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of
your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
I'm confused with your explanation concerning who should not take
metformin.
It said that people who have liver problems should not, but I know that every person with diabetes has a liver problem. (It cannot produce enough insulin to burn the glucose.) So, this means every person with diabetes cannot take metformin. I hope you can explain it.
Answer
First of all,
for clarification, insulin is produced by the pancreas,
not the liver.
Not every person with diabetes has a liver problem.
The type of liver problem that some people with diabetes have is called "fatty liver" (see
nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
for more information).
However, I agree that the label for metformin is unclear when it says people who "have liver problems" should not take this medication.
The type of liver problem that is of concern with use of metformin is fortunately relatively rare. Most physicians would assume that people with such problems would have jaundice or elevated levels of bilirubin, and elevated levels of enzymes called transaminases.
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