Scared,just been put on Metformin

M

Midnight Caller

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi everyone, have only just been given metformin (500mg)due to a home visit for my blood tests, am very scared to take it due to the possible side effects as I am totally on my own,my blood pressure meds also have doubled and due to Acrophobia from my breakdown when my husband passed away,been given a once a week high dose of Vitamin D, my head is in a spin taking all this at once, I have also been advised NOT to use a blood glucose meter. Wondering if anyone can share their experiences.
Many thanks
MC
 
Metformin has several possible side-effects (well worth reading what the NHS has to say about them), but they don't tend to last very long and are usually not severe "for the average person".

The Vitamin D is one of the preventative medicines; the usual loperamide would assist in reducing the effects of diarrhoea; and so on.

If metformin is the only medicine you take for diabetes / high blood sugar then it is highly unlikely that you would ever get a hypo, so that's one worry you can ignore!

Glucose meters are not especially useful unless you do a significant number of tests per day. It could simply give you something else to worry about... My analogy is like looking at a car's speedometer only every five minutes or so, which won't be able to answer the question "how fast was I going?"! You should look into what is a good, healthy diet.

It sounds to me that you should try to talk to someone with a similar condition to you, to try and reassure you that things will get better!
 
Thank you very much John for replying,I was given the Vitamin D last year once a week for 7 weeks and yes found out that lorparmide when first taking this was wonderful,thank you for your reassurance regarding hypos my late husband was diabetic and only had a hypo now and then only when put on insulin,my concern is that how do I know if metforim is working? yes I have been diet controlled for 2 years and found that very easy as my husband and I had followed a very healthy diet and lifestyle for over 30 years,leaflet says maybe 2 weeks these side efforts may go away.
 
I would suggest that you will know if the metformin is working, after a number of weeks, if you get fewer of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, or if those symptoms lessen.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms/
shows these as:
  • peeing more than usual
  • feeling thirsty all the time
  • feeling very tired
  • losing weight without trying to
  • itching around your penis or vagina, or repeatedly getting thrush
  • cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
  • blurred vision
but of course you may experience only some or a few of these.

It seems you are ahead of the curve on diet, so I wish you the best of good fortune!
 
The best test as to whether any medication is working is a before/after test of HbA1c. Did you get one when you were diagnosed ? Try to get one if not and then get another one in a few months. Mine went from 95 to 62 after 4 months on Metformin. I'm hoping for mid 50s in another month or so (taking Gliclazide now also). Below 48 is the objective.
 
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If your husband was on insulin then what was a healthy diet for him may well not be quite so good for you as Type 2 where carbohydrate intake in important in that there is a limit to how much your body is able to cope with, he would have had injected insulin to help.
Metformin only help your body use the insulin it produces more effectively and reduces the output of glucose from the liver but still needs dietary changes.
This link may help you with some ideas for modifying what you are having. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
If you would like to give some examples of typical meals then people may spot some problem foods.
 
Midnight Caller said:
Hi everyone, have only just been given metformin (500mg)due to a home visit for my blood tests, am very scared to take it due to the possible side effects as I am totally on my own,my blood pressure meds also have doubled and due to Acrophobia from my breakdown when my husband passed away,been given a once a week high dose of Vitamin D, my head is in a spin taking all this at once, I have also been advised NOT to use a blood glucose meter. Wondering if anyone can share their experiences.
Many thanks
MC
Click to expand...
500 metfartin won't do very much. It's just an introductory loading dose to ease you in. 1500mg a day is the minimum effective dose and 2000mg the standard dose most met users are on.
 
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