Metformin and insomnia

[Falkirk Bairn]

Hello everyone.
On Monday, my Diabetes Nurse increased my Metformin dose from 1000mg daily to 1500mg daily. Since then, I haven't slept a wink all night! Is there a connection between Metformin and insomnia? For me, it seems there is! Any advice?

 

[ColinUK]

There are quite a few studies which suggest a link between metformin and sleep disruption - specifically insomnia and nightmares - however there are also quite a few which say there’s no link causation between the medication and sleep distribution but rather they attribute it to something as yet undetermined.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear about your sleep disturbance @Falkirk Bairn

Sounds like it might be worth booking a phone call with your surgery to ask their advice and see if you could go back down to 1000mg for a while to see if it helps?

Do you know why the increase in dose was suggested? Might there be an option of cutting back on carbs to create a similar benefit?

 

[Falkirk Bairn]

The increased dosage was suggested because my HbA1c had gone up from 52 to 59. My kidney function had reduced to 35.
By increasing my Metformin, the diabetes nurse / consultant are hoping that this will reduce my HbA1c and, in turn, stabilise my kidney function.

 

[Lucyr]

I’ve never heard of this potential link before, but I have had difficulty sleeping for many years.

 

[mikeyB]

Insomnia is certainly not listed as a common, or even rare side effect of Metformin, though tiredness certainly is.

 

[ColinUK]

Look on Google Scholar and you’ll see many, albeit small, studies into metformin and sleep issues.
It appears that fewer than 2% of those taking it have nightmares and insomnia but there’s potentially a causal link between metformin and general sleep disturbance.

 

[Leadinglights]

The increased dosage was suggested because my HbA1c had gone up from 52 to 59. My kidney function had reduced to 35.
By increasing my Metformin, the diabetes nurse / consultant are hoping that this will reduce my HbA1c and, in turn, stabilise my kidney function.

It is perhaps a pity that you weren't given the opportunity to make some dietary changes to try to get your levels down before being put on metformin as you were only just into the diabetic zone. It is surprising that your HbA1C actually went up with the metformin unless you didn't reduce your carbohydrate intake and were hoping the metformin alone would do the trick. This may be something you want to look at and a good start would be keeping a food diary so you then have some evidence of the foods and meals you are having and identify some problem areas which could have caused the increase and see where you could make some changes to then support reducing your dose.
Of course things like stress and worry are often responsible for poor sleep but having a comfortable bed also helps.