My sugars have fluctuated greatly since I started doing daily morning readings.

I've had many lows in the morning, and I might have attributed it in the beginning to the r-lipoic which I take at night.

But after this summer getting 103-109's without metformin OR lipoic which I did not take up there on vacation, I am totally stumped as to what makes me have higher sugars at home!

I had a gall bladder attack up there this summer and stopped just about everything, and had the best readings I've had in a year! go figure.

I've been taking the lipoic now here at 100mg at night, and don't see much effect. I average about 110 here now without the metformin. (I was getting about 135 to 139 WITH metformin previously! )

What really is working for me so far is the theanine (surprise surprise!)... that is the only new thing I've been on since early August. Theanine is supposed to have cortisol lowering properties, and if my fasting is a dawn phenom...and cortisol driven, it might be a factor.
I started the theanine based on a post here quoting Dr. Blaylock MD who suggested it in his newsletter for PNers. I am taking 150mg a night, and when that bottle is gone, I'll up to 200mg (because the Swanson's brand only comes in 100mg sizes).

The doses you were taking of both ALA and r-lipoic are far higher than I have ever tried. R-lipoic sort of makes me jittery, and I had to start at 50mg because of that factor.

Chromium picolinate is used in my area by several endos for their patients. That is why I suggested it to you. It is supposed to sensitize the cell receptors, or help the pancreas make insulin. As far as weight loss goes, that is always a gray area IMO.

Vanadyl sulfate:
http://www.raysahelian.com/vanadiumvanadylsulfate.html

Chromium:
http://www.raysahelian.com/chromium.html

Since you had good results with the R-lipoic in high dose, why not just go back to that? It looks expensive however to do 600mg of it.