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Trouble taking metformin

R

rosie1

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello dose any one have trouble taking metformin tablets they are so big it puts me off taking them , I know I should and have noticed my skin is not good any help please
 
rosie1 said:
Hello dose any one have trouble taking metformin tablets they are so big it puts me off taking them , I know I should and have noticed my skin is not good any help please
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If they are not slow release ones which rely on them being swallowed whole to work as slow or modified release then you could cut them in half and try with plenty of water.
 
Hello I’m having trouble taking my metformin tablets they are so big and hard to swallow any one have this trouble please it puts me off taking them I know I should as my skin not good
 
Are you physically having difficulty swallowing them or just not keen on the idea? Try yoghurt?
 
I have had no trouble though I was shocked when I first saw them. They are large.I'm now on just one a day and remem bring to take it's the problem. Make sure you have a glass of water. I was amazed I didn't have a problem. When I was a child I used to get travel sick. Mum insisted I had a pill before I travelled. I remember swallowing and it was still there. I remember her putting jam on it but it was still there. I can remember her threatening to get a stick and poke it down my throat! When I was a teenager my parents gave up smoking and travel in the car was much nicer.
 
When I try to take them I feel sick I have a gag problem if I put a tooth brush to far back in my mouth I gag
 
rosie1 said:
When I try to take them I feel sick I have a gag problem if I put a tooth brush to far back in my mouth I gag
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Are they normal or slow release. If normal then try crushing and adding into a spoonful of peanut butter or yoghurt as Lucy suggested.
Do you have a problem with all tablets or only big ones.
What have you done with diet as if enough you may not need them at all. What HbA1C result do you have.
 
Leadinglights said:
Are they normal or slow release. If normal then try crushing and adding into a spoonful of peanut butter or yoghurt as Lucy suggested.
Do you have a problem with all tablets or only big ones.
What have you done with diet as if enough you may not need them at all. What HbA1C result do you have.
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Hi yes I have trouble with large tablets I all so some times choc on any thing dry
 
Sometimes I get the big ones, sometimes they are oval which are much easier to take. Maybe you could ask your pharmacy to give you the oval ones?
 
rosie1 said:
Hi yes I have trouble with large tablets I all so some times choc on any thing dry
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I sympathise I am not good with anything big so I always look for the smallest size of any painkillers or cold cures. Luckily I don't take metformin.
 
rosie1 said:
When I try to take them I feel sick I have a gag problem if I put a tooth brush to far back in my mouth I gag
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I struggle to take large tablets so I always take a large mouthful of water to swallow them as I'm on SR metformin. I still wish they were smaller. Hubby makes jokes about the size and shape and asks if I am putting in the wrong end of the alimentary canal.😱:rofl:
 
rosie1 said:
Hi yes I have trouble with large tablets I all so some times choc on any thing dry
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What is the name of the tablets @rosie1

Are they called “SR” something? Or Glucophage?
 
rosie1 said:
Hello dose any one have trouble taking metformin tablets they are so big it puts me off taking them , I know I should and have noticed my skin is not good any help please
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I thought I’d read that Metformin was available to drink and Google found this on the NHS website so I’d get on the phone to the doctors asap

“Metformin is available on prescription as tablets, as a liquid that you swallow and as sachets of powder that you dissolve in a drink.”

Hope this is the slow release (if that’s what you need) not just the standard one.
 
The liquid Metformin and powder cannot be slow release by the nature of their physical state. It is a protective coating on the tablets which makes them slow release.
From the occasional post we have had about the liquid, GPs seem to be reluctant to prescribe it, most likely because of cost and may be difficult to source. Don't think we have had anyone mention the powders before. You could probably just crush/break up the tablets and do the same provided that they are not slow release, which was what @Lucyr was suggesting above.
 
rebrascora said:
You could probably just crush/break up the tablets and do the same provided that they are not slow release, which was what @Lucyr was suggesting above.
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I wasn’t saying to crush it, I was saying try taking the tablet in yoghurt. If you put the pill in a spoonful of yoghurt it can help it slide down
 
rosie1 said:
Hello dose any one have trouble taking metformin tablets they are so big it puts me off taking them , I know I should and have noticed my skin is not good any help please
Click to expand...
Here is a tip for swallowing pills. You naturally want to tip your head back, but don’t. Take some water with your pill and tip your head forwards and swallow. This allows gravity to do its thing - the pill naturally floats to the top of the liquid in your mouth and you’ll find it much easier to swallow.
Also, get yourself a pill cutter.
 
Katetype2 said:
Here is a tip for swallowing pills. You naturally want to tip your head back, but don’t. Take some water with your pill and tip your head forwards and swallow. This allows gravity to do its thing - the pill naturally floats to the top of the liquid in your mouth and you’ll find it much easier to swallow.
Also, get yourself a pill cutter.
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Unfortunately it isn't advisable to cut slow release tablets, the covering needs to be intact.
 
Katetype2 said:
Here is a tip for swallowing pills. You naturally want to tip your head back, but don’t. Take some water with your pill and tip your head forwards and swallow. This allows gravity to do its thing - the pill naturally floats to the top of the liquid in your mouth and you’ll find it much easier to swallow.
Also, get yourself a pill cutter.
Click to expand...
I pretend I am chugging back a pint, even though it's water. Not the same a swallowing a mouthful of food. I usually need a good half pint of fluid to swallow even the smallest of pills. Purely psychological I'm sure 😱:D
 
If I haven't got a drink nearby, I do as others have said just put it in your mouth in the middle of some soft food i.e yoghurt, berries, etc. I too used to have difficulty with pills, but due to all my health problems I begin my breakfast with an 11 pill combination and a double puff on an inhaler.
 
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