Couple thoughts
The stuff of life... I know you put that line in your sig well before any of this started.
Middle age: means everyone I know is getting very sick. This part really sucks. They didn't tell us about this.
I know for certain that the gift of an old car can be the lifeline that you hold onto when things go astray.
It seems like any group of adults is just as likely to devolve into high school level drama. Finding adults that don't devolve, seems to be pretty difficult. I know it's the reason I'm making music with the people I currently am; there's almost no drama with these people. It's worth sticking around for.
I believe that the time to go off the meds is when your numbers look good and the doc says you can. That is just what I believe. It may have worked out this time and you got lucky with your liver. Next time, maybe you get unlucky as you did when you first played doctor on yourself, and decided pain don't hurt.
Lastly Metformin could be a wonder drug and you may want to be on it after all