update

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mark1985

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Type 2
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Hi
Just a quick update on my appointment today the DSN is happy with my BS levels going down. Still work to do but a good improvement. Also slowly changing my medication over to metformin and reducing my glicazide over the next couple of weeks which i'm happy with.
BS at appointment were 7.3 down from 13 2 weeks ago.
Can anyone help with any advice on metformin at all how does it work what to look out for does it help with weight loss?
 
mark1985 said:
Hi
Just a quick update on my appointment today the DSN is happy with my BS levels going down. Still work to do but a good improvement. Also slowly changing my medication over to metformin and reducing my glicazide over the next couple of weeks which i'm happy with.
BS at appointment were 7.3 down from 13 2 weeks ago.
Can anyone help with any advice on metformin at all how does it work what to look out for does it help with weight loss?
Click to expand...
Metformin is a medication which works in the background helping the body use the insulin it produces more efficiently and reduces the release of glucose by the liver. It does not act directly on the food you eat even though the advise is to take with food but that is to help with ay gastric side effects that some people can get.
The slow release version of the medication is supposed to be kinder on the stomach.
You normally build up the dose if needed over a number of weeks to allow the body to adjust to it.
 
Mark 1985, that is great to learn you are off insulin and your BS level is going down. Good luck with the Metformin and I hope you will continue be able to reduce your BS levels.
 
Many congratulations on reducing your levels and wishing you continued success. As started, it is usual to start on 1 tablet with Metformin and slowly increase if over a period of weeks usually to a full dose of 4x 500mg a day or 2g daily. I used to take them mid meal, with a reasonably substantial amount of low carb food. I got the odd trapped wind/colic type pain which was always a bit dicey to let rip when not in the bathroom, because you couldn't be sure it was just wind, and I did have loose stools but nothing desperate and I didn't have any accidents or prevent me from doing anything..... other than breaking wind when I wasn't in a safe place!! Generally the digestive upset settles down after a week or two but as you increase the dose it can sometimes flare again and recede. There is a slow release version which can be kinder on the gut if your body really reacts badly, but to be honest a low carb way of eating is far more powerful than almost all diabetes medication, so it may be that once you get into the swing of your new lifestyle changes, you may not need the Metformin either. The key thing is to find nice food that you enjoy which is low carb to make it sustainable, so you don't feel deprived. I find the less carbs I eat, the less I want them, but eating more fat was key for me in making it enjoyable, so I have real double cream in my morning coffee and plenty of nice cheeses and olives and avocados and nuts and a knob of butter cooked into my veggies and creamy Greek Style natural yoghurt and full fat mayo or full fat coleslaw (usually cheese coleslaw) on my salads etc.
 
rebrascora said:
Many congratulations on reducing your levels and wishing you continued success. As started, it is usual to start on 1 tablet with Metformin and slowly increase if over a period of weeks usually to a full dose of 4x 500mg a day or 2g daily. I used to take them mid meal, with a reasonably substantial amount of low carb food. I got the odd trapped wind/colic type pain which was always a bit dicey to let rip when not in the bathroom, because you couldn't be sure it was just wind, and I did have loose stools but nothing desperate and I didn't have any accidents or prevent me from doing anything..... other than breaking wind when I wasn't in a safe place!! Generally the digestive upset settles down after a week or two but as you increase the dose it can sometimes flare again and recede. There is a slow release version which can be kinder on the gut if your body really reacts badly, but to be honest a low carb way of eating is far more powerful than almost all diabetes medication, so it may be that once you get into the swing of your new lifestyle changes, you may not need the Metformin either. The key thing is to find nice food that you enjoy which is low carb to make it sustainable, so you don't feel deprived. I find the less carbs I eat, the less I want them, but eating more fat was key for me in making it enjoyable, so I have real double cream in my morning coffee and plenty of nice cheeses and olives and avocados and nuts and a knob of butter cooked into my veggies and creamy Greek Style natural yoghurt and full fat mayo or full fat coleslaw (usually cheese coleslaw) on my salads etc.
Click to expand...
Hi
I'm getting used to and enjoying the low carb lifestyle i have started on. I'm moving over to metformin over the next few weeks so im hoping for less side effects from them. Thank you for the tips about when to take them. Also what should i do if i dont eat breakfast everyday, often i dont eat till lunch is it ok to take metformin without food ?
 
mark1985 said:
Hi
I'm getting used to and enjoying the low carb lifestyle i have started on. I'm moving over to metformin over the next few weeks so im hoping for less side effects from them. Thank you for the tips about when to take them. Also what should i do if i dont eat breakfast everyday, often i dont eat till lunch is it ok to take metformin without food ?
Click to expand...
You may risk getting an upset stomach, if you are taking 2 x a day then lunch and dinner or slow release is usually taken once a day so you could take with dinner.
 
I would take them with lunch and evening meal if you don't eat breakfast. The important thing is more to take them with food to limit the risk of digestive uoset rather than to space them out through the day. They have quite a long half life so it isn't like paracetamol where they are more or less gone in a few hours, you build the metformin dose up gradually to the effective dose level over weeks so each dose is just adding to the effect that the other doses are having rather than one running out before you take the next one, so taking them closer together isn't a problem in that sense and taking them without food is risking digestive upset, so if it was me, I would take lunchtime and evening with food.
 
,I don't usually have breakfast either, so just take all my morning pills together. Weekends I do have a brunch but still have them early. I had no problems with the drug, been on it since February but have suddenly had several episode recently of .....d....... I am seeing nurse on Monday so will add that to my list. It might be my coffee, or something I ate. Give it a try.....
 
Just read the last two replies.......maybe I shall have to rethink.
 
Terrific progress with your levels coming down @mark1985

Hope the switch to Metformin goes well 🙂
 
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