Are all brands of Metformin the same?

[Derby Simon]

I touched on this in another thread I posted but I wondered if people experience issues with Metformin depending on the actual brand?
I am currently on one 500mg Metformin a day and I am on box number three of the pills. The first box caused me shall we say gastric upset - had to dash to the toilet, things a bit explosive at times - you know the score. The second box didnt appear from memory to cause these issues, I wasnt sure at the time if it was just my system settling down after going on to the Metformin but now I am on the third box - which is the same as the first box I took the issues have returned. Now I presume it cannot be the actual Metformin as surely it would be the same actual active ingredient so wondered if the coatings of the pill etc played a part?
I am aware some say there is a slower acting version that can be used and I have contacted my doctors about this and have an appointment next week to see if I can make a change to my meds to improve the situation.
When I asked at my chemists to see if they could tell me what the dispensed the 2nd time they said no they could not, they just dispensed when they had in stock as it was all Metformin.

 

[Leadinglights]

I think some people have mentioned that they have reacted badly to a different brand, most likely to other ingredients rather than the actual metformin.
The box usually lists the other ingredients so if you make a note of those you can keep an eye out.
Certainly people seem to have less issues with the slow or modified release version.

 

[chaoticcar]

I had a problem with metformin from one pharmaceutical company ,it left a horrible taste in my mouth .My pharmacist said that it probably is the fillers that they use and they always check that I don't have these particular tablets ,and I haven't had any problems
Carol

 

[Leadinglights]

I had a problem with metformin from one pharmaceutical company ,it left a horrible taste in my mouth .My pharmacist said that it probably is the fillers that they use and they always check that I don't have these particular tablets ,and I haven't had any problems
Carol

Quite a few people say that metformin gives them a metallic taste in their mouth so that may depend on the brand.

 

[harbottle]

I had a problem with metformin from one pharmaceutical company ,it left a horrible taste in my mouth .My pharmacist said that it probably is the fillers that they use and they always check that I don't have these particular tablets ,and I haven't had any problems
Carol

It’s not the ‘filler’. Metformin ends up in saliva glands and can stay there for some time, hence the disturbance to taste. Many drugs have the same side effects.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. It sounds like you need Metformin SR or MR - the Slow Release version which is much kinder. There are two or three different brands of that but I've never found any difference. The metallic taste mentioned when eating in an earlier post can occur for some people with any type or brand. For me the strange taste lasted for 6 months and gradually faded.

 

[chaoticcar]

It’s not the ‘filler’. Metformin ends up in saliva glands and can stay there for some time, hence the disturbance to taste. Many drugs have the same side effects.

It is not the Metformin itself that causes the bad taste in my mouth it is what ever this particular pharmaceutical company uses maybe filled is the wrong word to use but I have had lots of metformin over 14 years and no other has had this problem
Carol

 

[harbottle]

It's the medicine itself, this is a well known side effect of many medications as some of it ends up in saliva glands after absorption in the gut which is why it persists. Slower release may not have this side effect as it may not get into the glands.

There are other causes of strange tastes, though, so it may not even be the Metformin. High blood sugar can actually cause a strange 'metallic' taste.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Perhaps it is possible that @chaoticcar has a particular sensitivity to an ingredient that you don’t @harbottle

Since in her case multiple varieties of Metformin don’t cause the effect, but the brand with the compound in it does?

We can only go on our own experiences really I think. And if @chaoticcar has found that avoiding tablets with a particular ingredient is helpful, then that seems a good way forward for her? Even if that isn’t a widespread experience.

 

[Lucyr]

This is pretty common, you get a different brand of metformin every time and some people have stomach upsets with some brands but not others. The solution is to speak to your pharmacist and doctor to see if it’s possible to specify the version you can tolerate best on your prescription then you get that one. Alternatively to ask if you can switch to slow release to see if that is any better for you across the different brands.

 

[Eddy Edson]

High blood sugar can actually cause a strange 'metallic' taste.

On a tangent, this drove me nutso in the months before I got diagnosed. Dentists were zero help - I ended up seeing three different dentists to try to work out what was going on. Didn't occur to any of them that I might be diabetic ...

 

[chaoticcar]

This is pretty common, you get a different brand of metformin every time and some people have stomach upsets with some brands but not others. The solution is to speak to your pharmacist and doctor to see if it’s possible to specify the version you can tolerate best on your prescription then you get that one. Alternatively to ask if you can switch to slow release to see if that is any better for you across the different brands.

Just to add that it is SR Metformin that I have

 

[grovesy]

Some have reported differences between differnt brands of SR Metformin.

 

[s.e london]

check out slow release metformin. w.h.o classified as a probable human carcinogen also ndma.
n-nitroso-dimethamine.I no longer take these tablets .

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

check out slow release metformin. w.h.o classified as a probable human carcinogen also ndma.
n-nitroso-dimethamine.I no longer take these tablets .

That’s limited to a small number of tablets available in the US I believe? I didn’t think it applied to varieties available in the UK

Questions and Answers: NDMA impurities in metformin products

Answers to questions about NDMA impurities found in metformin and FDA’s actions to address the issue

www.fda.gov

Metformin diabetes medicines – MHRA Update

MHRA update on metformin medicines.

www.gov.uk

Metformin in the news

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised patients in the UK to continue taking their metformin medicines as usual. The risks from not having adequate diabetes treatment far outweigh any possible effects of the low levels of NDMA seen in metformin medicines...

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Derby Simon]

I think some people have mentioned that they have reacted badly to a different brand, most likely to other ingredients rather than the actual metformin.
The box usually lists the other ingredients so if you make a note of those you can keep an eye out.
Certainly people seem to have less issues with the slow or modified release version.

I didnt have the packaging to compare by the time I noted there seemed to be an issue with a specific brand.

 

[Derby Simon]

My Doctor has now moved me to slow acting Metformin. I am still having issues but have just tested positive for campylobacter so it may have been that causing some of the issues - not the Metformin. Just wondering as an aside if the Metformin has made my gut more open to the campylobacter infection - with it often suggested that Metformin can cause gut issues.