Metformin modified release help please.

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artdecogran

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
If you are taking Metformin modified release tablets, could you please tell me when each day you take them and the dose you take.
My Gp told me to end up at 2000gms three times a day starting with one in morning. Pharmacy put that on the label too.
However product information inside box said one in evening up to maximum of 2.
Google medical sites (various) say one or two in evening only.

I have high blood glucose levels and one tablet and lower carbs for last three weeks haven’t really made much difference.

I am knackered, confused and fed up!

Any help gratefully received, many thanks.
 
artdecogran said:
If you are taking Metformin modified release tablets, could you please tell me when each day you take them and the dose you take.
My Gp told me to end up at 2000gms three times a day starting with one in morning. Pharmacy put that on the label too.
However product information inside box said one in evening up to maximum of 2.
Google medical sites (various) say one or two in evening only.

I have high blood glucose levels and one tablet and lower carbs for last three weeks haven’t really made much difference.

I am knackered, confused and fed up!

Any help gratefully received, many thanks.
Click to expand...
This is what the internet says.
The recommended starting dose of metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets is 500 mg orally once daily with the evening meal. Increase the dose in increments of 500 mg weekly on the basis of glycemic control and tolerability, up to a maximum of 2,000 mg once daily with the evening meal.
Building up the dose slowly is supposed to help with any stomach issues that some get even with the slow release.
You would not expect immediate effect for the tablets as they take a while to build up in your system, so it is still early days.
Low carbs is going to be the most important thing and reducing the carbs slowly is also better for your eyes and nerves.
Low carb is generally regarded as being less than 130g total carbs per day not just sugars but does not mean NO carbs.
If that is the route you are going this link may help you with some ways of modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Reducing carbs means you need to compensate by making sure you have enough protein and healthy fats otherwise you will lack energy.
 
Leadinglights said:
This is what the internet says.
The recommended starting dose of metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets is 500 mg orally once daily with the evening meal. Increase the dose in increments of 500 mg weekly on the basis of glycemic control and tolerability, up to a maximum of 2,000 mg once daily with the evening meal.
Building up the dose slowly is supposed to help with any stomach issues that some get even with the slow release.
You would not expect immediate effect for the tablets as they take a while to build up in your system, so it is still early days.
Low carbs is going to be the most important thing and reducing the carbs slowly is also better for your eyes and nerves.
Low carb is generally regarded as being less than 130g total carbs per day not just sugars but does not mean NO carbs.
If that is the route you are going this link may help you with some ways of modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Reducing carbs means you need to compensate by making sure you have enough protein and healthy fats otherwise you will lack energy.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I looked everywhere I could think of for the information but couldn’t find it as clearly stated as that. Many many thanks for all the information.
 
If you have been eating low or lower carbs for three weeks and seen no improvement, then that should have - surely - indicated that more investigation needs to be done.
For an ordinary type 2 reducing carbs is like turning off the taps when a sink is overflowing.
What has been a typical day's food or intake of carbs?
If you are testing your blood glucose before and after meals, what would the numbers be, approximately?
 
Surely how long it would take for lower carbs to bring blood glucose levels down will in part depend on how high they were beforehand... and how an individual's body adapts.

The fact that in both DiRECT and ReTUNE only 70% of Type 2s were able to go into remission shows that it isn't always as simple as x - y = z
 
I take 2x1000mg slow release metformin with my dinner (evening meal). The maximum is 2000 once a day.
 
When i was on 2000mg SR Metformin i took both 1000mg tablets with evening meal. Three times a day doesnt sound right i would double check that. Are your tablets 500mg or 1000mg? Either way 3 does not add up to 2000mg.
 
It does sound confusing @artdecogran :(

Isn’t the 3x a day more often used with standard Metformin, rather than the SR version?

Sounds like it would be worth going back to your GP and checking there hasn’t been some mix-up?
 
Hi. One of the points about MR version is that it's less critical when it's taken than the standard version. 3x per day sounds a bit daft for MR.
 
I used to be on two a day, then three, but since March this year up to Four. These are slow release the instructions for me were to take all four with my main meal in the evening. At the end of June my nurse put me on Trulicity which I have to say is a game changer and combined with the 2 mg of Metformin has drastically lowered my BG to single figures regardless of when I test.
 
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