I'm a Nurse. I Refused Metformin. Here's What I Take Instead for My Blood Sugar.
By Sandra Reeves, RN, 54, 31 years in clinical nursing • Updated June 2026
I have spent thirty-one years on hospital floors. I have watched what metformin does to people. I have watched what uncontrolled diabetes does to people. When my own numbers crept up, I knew I was not going to accept either outcome without looking for another way first.
Sandra Reeves, RN
31 years in clinical nursing. ER, cardiac step-down, and outpatient diabetes management. Has watched hundreds of patients navigate the metformin decision. When her own A1C hit 6.8, she made a different choice.
My A1C hit 6.8 at my annual physical three years ago. I was 51. I walked four miles a day. I ate reasonably well. And there it was.
My doctor, a colleague I have known for fifteen years, reached for the prescription pad. Metformin. Standard of care. The script she writes fifty times a month.
I know that script. I know what it does. I know the mechanism (it tells your liver to stop dumping glucose), and I know the side effects (about one in five patients get the GI effects, and the ones who do often describe it as the worst part of their day). I have watched patients spend more time in the bathroom than out of it. I have watched them quietly skip doses and not tell their doctor. I have watched one patient refuse to ever take it again after the dead-fish smell made him vomit at work.
Metformin is not a bad drug. It does what it is designed to do. But it is a chemical override. It tweaks the output without fixing why the number is high in the first place. And once you start, you are usually on it for life, because the underlying resistance is still there.
"I did not throw the prescription away out of recklessness. I threw it away because I have seen where that path goes, and I wanted to try the other way first."
— Sandra Reeves, RNWhat I Tried First (and Why It Failed)
I did the obvious things. I cut carbs harder. I walked more. I tried berberine for three months and saw a modest drop. I bought four different cinnamon supplements off Amazon and took them faithfully for six months.
My A1C went from 6.8 to 6.5 and stuck.
Not bad. Not enough. The metformin conversation was coming back, and I was running out of runway.
Then I looked at the cinnamon I had been taking. Not as a patient. As a nurse.
What I found when I actually read the bottles:
Three of the four were Cassia, not Ceylon. One claimed Ceylon on the front label and listed Cassia on the supplement facts panel. All four were raw powder in dry capsules at doses the clinical literature would consider negligible.
I had been taking the decorative version of an ingredient that, in the right form, has a legitimate mechanism of action. I proved the broken version does not work. That is useful data, not a dead end.
Why Most Cinnamon Does Nothing (The Nurse's Explanation)
Three Failures Stacked
1. Wrong species. Over 90% of "cinnamon" on US shelves is Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia), not Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum). They look similar. They are not the same plant. The active compounds that work on insulin signalling are concentrated in Ceylon, not Cassia. Most bottles do not even tell you which one is inside.
2. Wrong dose. The studies that showed real effects used concentrated extracts at specific doses. A capsule of raw powder at 500mg is like comparing a cup of weak tea to a medical-grade infusion. The math does not work.
3. Wrong delivery. Dry powder in a capsule has to survive stomach acid and compete for absorption. Most of it passes through. The active compounds are fat-soluble, so suspending them in MCT oil (a lipid-based carrier) protects them through digestion and gets them into circulation. That is basic pharmacology. I am surprised more companies do not do it. Or maybe I am not surprised.
Once I understood the three failures, the question was simple: does a product exist that fixes all three?
I found one.
What I Actually Take
The product is called Metabolae. Here is why it is different from everything in my supplement drawer, explained by someone who reads labels for a living.
DNA-verified Ceylon cinnamon. Not a label claim. Species verification. The Certificate of Analysis is published and you can request your specific batch number. In thirty-one years of nursing, this is the first supplement a patient could bring me that I can actually evaluate.
12:1 concentrated extract at clinical dose. Each softgel contains the concentrated equivalent of what the research uses. Not raw powder. Not a dusting of the ingredient. The dose that matters.
MCT oil suspension. Lipid-based delivery. The fat-soluble active compounds are carried through digestion in MCT oil instead of being destroyed by stomach acid as dry powder. This is why I tried cinnamon before and saw nothing, and why this time was different.
One softgel a day. Gentle on the stomach. No cinnamon taste. No burps. No complicated timing or protocol. I take it with breakfast and forget about it.
DNA-verified Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum)
12:1 clinical-dose concentration
MCT oil lipid suspension
Published COA, batch-requestable
My Numbers
I started tracking my fasting glucose every morning, the way I would track vitals on a patient. Clinically. Without hope or expectation.
The change was not overnight. Week one and two, nothing visible. Week three, the fasting numbers started drifting down. By week six, the trend was clear. By week ten, I was consistently under 110 fasting for the first time in two years.
The Doctor's Reaction
I walked into my follow-up with my numbers in a spreadsheet. My colleague looked at the A1C, looked at me, and said:
"Sandra, what did you change?"
I showed her the product. I showed her the COA. She read it, nodded, and said: "Keep doing whatever you're doing. We're not having the metformin conversation today."
Three years later, we still have not had it.
What I Tell My Patients Now
I do not tell them to throw away their prescriptions. That is not my place and it is not responsible. I tell them three things:
First: if you tried cinnamon and saw nothing, you did not prove cinnamon does not work. You proved the broken version does not work. That is an important difference.
Second: the three things that make cinnamon work or fail are species, dose, and delivery. If any one of those is wrong, the supplement is useless. Check all three before you waste another dollar.
Third: there is a window. Prediabetes is the most movable stage. The clinical change window for corrected cinnamon is 8 to 12 weeks. That is fast enough to see a result before any medication decision, and slow enough that you should not expect overnight miracles. Track your morning numbers. Let the data tell you.
"I did not refuse metformin because I am against medication. I refused it because I had seen another way, and I owed it to myself to try the real version before I started a drug for life."
— Sandra Reeves, RNTrack Your Morning Numbers for 60 Days
If they do not move, you pay nothing. That is the guarantee.
I recommend the 3-bottle supply, it covers the full 8–12 week window where the real change happens.
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The metformin conversation is coming. The question is whether you walk into it with data or without it.
Individual results may vary. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The experiences described are individual and should not be taken as guarantees. This advertorial reflects the personal experience and professional perspective of the author. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement or making changes to your medication. Do not stop or alter prescribed medication without consulting your doctor.