Increasing the Metformin dosage and feeling grim

[BisphamGirl]

I had my review last week and was advised to quadruple my dosage of Metformin from 500mg to 2000mg over a two week period.
Anyone got any tips on how to do this?

Currently I have tried adding an extra tablet at lunch, this has been ok most days, but then yesterday I had all the side effects. Good job I didn't leave the house!
I have been taking 2 x tablets with my evening meal and that was going ok until today and I have been feeling sick and have a headache.

I had no problems at all when I was just taking 1 x 500mg tablet.
Will this settle down?

 

[Eddy Edson]

Just a newbie, but it seems like reactions to Metformin vary a lot. Some upset is usual when you increase dosage; often this fades away quite quickly (a few days?). Most people seem to find that they have fewer probs with the slow release version.

FWIW, that HbA1c reduction 97 >= 56 seems pretty good to me with yr current low dosage of Metformin. AFAIK, you wouldn't expect to see much effect from it at 500mg. That's a "starter" level to see how well you tolerate it, before upping the dose to something more effective.

 

[Jim b]

I had my review last week and was advised to quadruple my dosage of Metformin from 500mg to 2000mg over a two week period.
Anyone got any tips on how to do this?

Currently I have tried adding an extra tablet at lunch, this has been ok most days, but then yesterday I had all the side effects. Good job I didn't leave the house!
I have been taking 2 x tablets with my evening meal and that was going ok until today and I have been feeling sick and have a headache.

I had no problems at all when I was just taking 1 x 500mg tablet.
Will this settle down?

I have been down this route.OK when I first started taking it but when I got to 2000mg I had loads of problems.Put up with it for over 2 weeks but eventually went back to Drs and was took off it.I lost a fair bit 9f weight as well which I did not need to do

 

[Ljc]

Hi. Metformin is well known for these side effects. They can take a while to settle down, but if they don’t or the errr um ....... effects are too distressing then the slow release version may suit you better.

Apologies if you already do this.
To try and prevent / lessen side effects Metfartin is best taken with or directly after meals.

I think that’s a fantastic reduction in your Hb1ac. Well done !

Quite rightly we are not allowed to advise on medication doses but many years ago when I was put on it , my doses were increased much more gradually than you’ve been told to do.
Have a look on the info leaflet in the pack to see if it gives advise on increasing doses. If your symptoms don’t resolve quickly or become distressing then speak to your nurse/gp.

 

[Lyn68]

That does seem like quite a short time frame for increasing your dose. Mine increased by 500mg every 2 weeks until I reached the 2000mg and I still had side effects the worst being at the final increase it took far longer to settle down about 5 days. I haven’t had any adverse effects since. If you keep getting the side effects the slow release version may be better for you.

 

[pav]

As already mentioned metformin it does have a tendency to have these side effect, if your not already on on the slow release version it could be worth asking for the slow release version. For me I take two metformin with my breakfast and the other two with my evening meal.