Hi, just been prescribed Metformin.

[Beany21]

Hi, l have just been prescribed Metformin after 10years of diet control and am worried about side effects. Be grateful for any advice.

 

[Stuvart]

Take it with food or just after and you should be fine, I'm on it 3 times a day with the only effect being a bit of gas if my meal was a little carb/sweet heavy. Of course every person will have there own reactions or not to meds so I wouldn't worry. Oh as its your first time read the leaflet that comes with them it will give you a good idea of what could happen.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi, l have just been prescribed Metformin after 10years of diet control and am worried about side effects. Be grateful for any advice.

What has changed that your G P now thinks you need to be on Metformin, some tweaking of your diet may be required as well.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @Beany21 and be prepared to stay close to a loo for the first couple of weeks! I had the trots quite a lot in the first fortnight, and then again when I increased my dose, but my tum settled down after that.

It affects some people more than others and I think I was one of the lucky ones! There is also a slow release version if your system can't tolerate the "normal" type.

 

[rebrascora]

Don't be worried about it. If you get side effects and it doesn't agree with you or the side effects don't settle down, you can stop taking it and the symptoms go away again or you can try the slow release version. I had "loose movements" and odd occasions when I got nasty pains and thought I might need to "go" urgently, sometimes when I was out riding a horse, so not at all convenient, and there were occasions when I just had to let rip and hope it was nothing more than wind 😳 and thankfully never had "an accident" and the side effects eased for me after a few weeks. I had to increase my dose to 4x a day over a period of weeks so my stomach would settle a bit but then the dose increase would set it off again, so I had about 5-6 weeks of being somewhat uncomfortable but not unmanageable. Some people don't suffer any negative effects from taking it, so don't assume the worst just because some people had a severe reaction.

I do however also agree that it might be worth taking another look at modifying your diet and perhaps using a BG meter to tailor your menu to your body's tolerance of carbs, if you haven't done that already. Thinking has changed quite a bit in the past 10 years as regards diabetes management through diet. Of course if you are already following a very low carb diet then there probably isn't much wriggle room in that respect and maybe something like the Newcastle/Fast 800 might be something you could try. Increasing activity levels by incorporating a daily walk can be a big help too, so a few ways you can tackle things with or without the medication. It would depend to a certain extent how significantly your HbA1c has increased. Do you know your latest result?

 

[Anbemcc]

Hi, l have just been prescribed Metformin after 10years of diet control and am worried about side effects. Be grateful for any advice.

I've been on it 4 days I take it with meals, but I have sorry guys explosive diarrhea, I'm scared to leave the house. I asked doc to take me of it, he said nope blood sugar 2 high. So I booked a week off work, I hope it settles. Good luck

 

[Leadinglights]

I've been on it 4 days I take it with meals, but I have sorry guys explosive diarrhea, I'm scared to leave the house. I asked doc to take me of it, he said nope blood sugar 2 high. So I booked a week off work, I hope it settles. Good luck

Do you know what your HbA1C is which is making them say too high. What sort of things do you have for your meals as there may be some suggestions people could make to help you make some dietary changes. The metformin is not a magic bullet and will only help your body to use any insulin you are producing more effectively but looking at your carbohydrate intake is also crucial.

 

[Anbemcc]

I think it was 84
I've been eating low carb

 

[Felinia]

I am on slow release Sukkarto. For the first 4 weeks I had bad side effects - queasy, retching, foul taste, stomach cramps and constipation followed by the runs. But I persevered and slowly the symptoms eased. Now after 4 months, I just get the odd queasy day and irregular movements. I really didn't want to have to take Gliclizade, because it could cause hypos, and you had to constantly test, and it disrupted driving.

 

[rebrascora]

@Anbemcc Having read some of your other posts where you mention that you have been eating low carb from long before being diagnosed, I have to wonder if you might actually be Type 1 rather than Type 2 diabetic. There is no specific test for Type 2. An HbA1c of 48 or more gets you a diagnosis of diabetes. Type is sometimes then wrongly based on factors like age and BMI. There are tests which can indicate Type 1 but they are more expensive and take time for results to come back and many GPs may not even know about the tests or how to interpret the results, so it rather too often happens that people are misdiagnosed as Type 2 when they are Type 1. It doesn't help that many GPs seem to think that Type 1 only exhibits in children and young adults, so if you are over a certain age you must be Type 2 and it is further complicated by the fact that Type 1 which develops later in life is often a slower onset and may even initially respond to Type 2 medication or changes in diet, which muddies the water further as regards type. Since you have already been on a low carb diet for some time pre diagnosis that would ring warning bells to me that you are not producing enough insulin when your HbA1c is that high and I would be asking for Type 1 testing or a referral to a specialist diabetic clinic where the staff should be more clued up on Type 1 onset in more mature patients. Even if you are not Type 1 it may be that your pancreas is no longer able to produce enough insulin and you need to start injecting it to bring your levels down.

As regards Metformin upsetting your system so badly, it can sometimes improve after a few days. Hopefully they have started you on a single tablet and are slowly building it up over a period of weeks. Your GP is not showing much care or compassion if he/she point blank refuses to at least change your prescription to the slow release version. I sometimes wonder if GPs have any understanding of how debilitating and embarrassing uncontrollable diarrhoea can be! I hope it settles down soon for you and if it doesn't, please make a fuss to get it changed. Suffering like that can mean that you are not getting the nutrients from your food and in particular vitamin B complex can drop low as a result of Metformin and as someone who is recovering from cancer you need to keep your body as healthy as possible, so an ongoing problem like this side effect should not be ignored.

 

[Leadinglights]

I think it was 84
I've been eating low carb

As your HbA1C is an average over 3 months, I wonder how long you have been eating such a low carb diet, if only a few weeks then yes your HbA1C could be that high but otherwise I am puzzled as to why it is as high as it is.
Does anybody have any ideas to explain it.
@rebrascora has some insight I see, thanks.

 

[Leadinglights]

We do seem to have a couple of people's post mixed up here but I think the responses are relevant to the right person.

 

[Anbemcc]

I was eating low carb before my cancer diagnosis, it lapsed during treatment and recovery. I just couldn't do it. I have been clear if cancer for over a year. I have very high blood pressure am I right in thinking they can be connected. I have a check in 3 months, I am on 1 tablet and increased throughout the month. Ty for the replies

 

[ChrissieMM]

Hi, l have just been prescribed Metformin after 10years of diet control and am worried about side effects. Be grateful for any advice.

My brother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and prescribed Metformin some years before me. He advised me to take a probiotic vitamin tablet with a high concentration of probiotics to avoid stomach problems with Metformin. I took Multibionta and had no problems. Maybe a coincidence but…..