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A silly question!

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cheddar

cheddar

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
😛 Hi You can see in my signature all the meds that I am taking.
I was started on metformin 500mg x 1 about 9 weeks ago.
This is the ONLY MED that makes me feel " like" I have indigestion but in my stomach. It's almost as if because it's a big tablet it gets stuck in there!
I take M just after my evening meal about 6 pm.
Has anyone ever tried crushing or halving the tablet so as it gets digested easier?
Or would it be viable to take this tablet with a dry biscuit just before bedtime? Thanks :confused:

I know there is a slow release tablet but I would like to perservere for a couple of more weeks .
 
I believe there's also a liquid version of metformin for those who don't like tablets - perhaps someone will confirm?
 
NO question is "silly" on here - if something is bothering you then ask I always say.

I know Metformin can cause upsets in lots of ways - I'm on the slow release ones 2 x 500 mg twice a day (large, but manageable, just !). I take them mid meal (breakfast and evening meal) not after. These don't upset me like the standard ones did but I still get wind very badly 😱

I'm sure we aren't meant to crush them. Northerner is right, there is a liquid form of the stuff if you really have trouble "stomaching" them.

Good luck !
 
vince13 said:
NO question is "silly" on here - if something is bothering you then ask I always say.

I know Metformin can cause upsets in lots of ways - I'm on the slow release ones 2 x 500 mg twice a day (large, but manageable, just !). I take them mid meal (breakfast and evening meal) not after. These don't upset me like the standard ones did but I still get wind very badly 😱

I'm sure we aren't meant to crush them. Northerner is right, there is a liquid form of the stuff if you really have trouble "stomaching" them.

Good luck !
Click to expand...

thanks for your reply Faith.
I will take the met mid evening meal..give that a try.
Another "silly" question ----🙄 lol what on earth are you doing up at 5.33AM this morning... I have sleep problems...maybe another side affect of Met! :(
 
I take my Met just before eating breakfast and my evening meal.

For the standard type, I believe that there is no reason why you can't crush them except for the fact you will loose some dose (as you won't get all the powder). I think someone on here was thinking about cutting them in half so they could take half doses instead.

For the slow-release, that one does need to be taken whole otherwise it turns back into the standard release version (the coating it seems slows down the release). Although I understand the SR version is a larger pill then the slow release version.
 
cheddar said:
thanks for your reply Faith.
I will take the met mid evening meal..give that a try.
Another "silly" question ----🙄 lol what on earth are you doing up at 5.33AM this morning... I have sleep problems...maybe another side affect of Met! :(
Click to expand...

No real reason for being up so early today - just woke at just after 4 a.m., gave it a while, my brain wouldn't stop chatting to me so then I got up and made myself a cuppa and came on here to see if there was anyone else awake 😱

Maybe something to do with living so near you (Somerset/Devon) !!
 
Only thing I'd add is that the important thing in getting a large tablet down throat and into stomach is to stand up, drink something first, take tablet, then wash it down with lots more drink and keep drinking until it feels like it's gone.

If that doesn't work, then worth trying crushing a normal metformin (not slow release, as others have explained) - between two teaspoons is easiest.

Standing up and washing down with plenty of water or other drink is still important whatever form of tablet (except those meant to dissolve under tongue or in mouth eg GTN tablet for angina chest pain).
 
vince13 said:
No real reason for being up so early today - just woke at just after 4 a.m., gave it a while, my brain wouldn't stop chatting to me so then I got up and made myself a cuppa and came on here to see if there was anyone else awake 😱

Maybe something to do with living so near you (Somerset/Devon) !!
Click to expand...

Glad to know there is someone, who like me has to get out of bed for a cuppa at some unearthly hour! Never get to putting my laptop on though..that would be too much excitement for my brain cells!
Was anyone else awake then?! 😱
Liz x
 
Copepod said:
Only thing I'd add is that the important thing in getting a large tablet down throat and into stomach is to stand up, drink something first, take tablet, then wash it down with lots more drink and keep drinking until it feels like it's gone.

If that doesn't work, then worth trying crushing a normal metformin (not slow release, as others have explained) - between two teaspoons is easiest.

Standing up and washing down with plenty of water or other drink is still important whatever form of tablet (except those meant to dissolve under tongue or in mouth eg GTN tablet for angina chest pain).
Click to expand...

Thanks Copepod. Will try that.. Prehaps sitting down and swilling the tablet down with a hot cup of tea doesn't do much for the tablet dissolving properly!
Watch this space. !
Thanks
 
I've got to take four of these per day (SR version) and they are very big tablets. When I first saw them I thought they were suppositories. One thing that I have noticed though is that if I get them from my surgery's pharmacy they are nearly half the size, exact same dose, different manufacturer, than when I get them from my local Boots pharmacy.

Fortunately I can swallow a handful of tablets no problem now but I can sympathise with anyone struggling with them - perhaps it's possible to specify small size tablets on the prescription(?)
 
cheddar said:
Glad to know there is someone, who like me has to get out of bed for a cuppa at some unearthly hour! Never get to putting my laptop on though..that would be too much excitement for my brain cells!
Was anyone else awake then?! 😱
Liz x
Click to expand...

I think there were 4 online here then according to the main messages screen
 
Hi
I get my husband to use a knife and cut them in two for me, cos I don't think I would be able to swallow them. I choke on things easily and even have trouble with the small levothyroxine! xx
 
Specify tablet size on your prescription?!?!? Sorry, just imagined the storage problems we've have if everything came in small, medium or large....Blimey it's only be another thing we'd get wrong...😉

Crushing metformin's probably ok, we used to do that before you could buy the liquid formulation. I bet it tastes vile though. You can get metformin in both a liquid and a sachet form (to add to a drink of your choice, as far as i know). yes, the MR tablets are the size of house bricks, and i don't know how anybody manages to swallow them. I used to half my tablets when i first took them because i wasn't much good at swallowing them, i've learnt though. You could try and crush them and mix the powder in a small volume of water, although ut's far from ideal and does invalidate the license (not that you'd be worried about that, but it does mean we're not supposed to recommend it.)

Rachel T
 
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