Has Anyone Had a Good Experience of Metformin?

[Klangley]

When initially diagnosed, I was offered Metformin and politely declined. Since then I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver (a huge relief given some of the things I thought might be wrong with me). When I spoke to the consultant following the second diagnosis he said I should consider Metformin as it could have positive benefits for the fatty liver and Diabetes. He also suggested it would help with weight loss. He emphasised I should only consider this as my diet (LCHF) and exercise were already moving things in the right direction. But I did come away from that meeting with the Consultant thinking, perhaps I will give it a try.

Problem is searching through the forum there was no shortage of members with a poor experience with this drug.......anyone with a positive experience? Has it significantly altered your numbers? Do you think it has helped you lose weight? Or has it just had you farting like a trooper and afraid to stray too far from the bathroom

 

[ButtterflyLady]

When initially diagnosed, I was offered Metformin and politely declined. Since then I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver (a huge relief given some of the things I thought might be wrong with me). When I spoke to the consultant following the second diagnosis he said I should consider Metformin as it could have positive benefits for the fatty liver and Diabetes. He also suggested it would help with weight loss. He emphasised I should only consider this as my diet (LCHF) and exercise were already moving things in the right direction. But I did come away from that meeting with the Consultant thinking, perhaps I will give it a try.

Problem is searching through the forum there was no shortage of members with a poor experience with this drug.......anyone with a positive experience? Has it significantly altered your numbers? Do you think it has helped you lose weight? Or has it just had you farting like a trooper and afraid to stray too far from the bathroom

I've had no noticeable side effects and I think it has helped me a lot. According to the research info given to doctors, only 25-50% of people who take metformin get the gastrointestinal side effects, and in most cases they are temporary. The slow release version improves this for some people too.

What we see here are the cases where there is a problem, so it is a skewed view. The people like me who are lucky enough to have no problems with it, don't tend to start a thread saying it's all fine.

There are many benefits of metformin besides (slightly) lowering BG. More details here:
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045911.php

 

[Robbity]

You're always going to find more bad reports than good for anything! We're just much more likely to complain about the bad than praise the good.

I don't know if metformin has helped with my glucose levels as I'd changed my diet before I bought my meter, so have no way of telling if it was medication or reduction in sugary and starchy food that helped with lowering them. I don't believe it's actually helped with weight (again I believe improvements are due to diet), but I only ever had a couple of bad experiences on those few occasions when I ate too many carbs when first taking it, so I'm relatively happy as I think for me it's probably giving an extra helping hand.

Not everyone has issues with it, and it's known to be reliable and safe even though it has that awful farty reputation. The slow release version tends to be much better for avoiding that. So why not try it and see how it goes - it sounds as though your consultant is willing to work with you, so presumably wouldn't object if you don't see any benefits, and preferred to stop using it?

Robbity

 

[4ratbags]

I didn't have any significant issues with Metformin. I would occasionally have the odd stomach cramps ect but nothing too bad. I'm sure it helped in some way with my weight loss and lowering my BS. Some people will say that it has a negligible affect on BS but before Christmas I was taking Metformin and I kept having hypos and after coming off it they stopped so it must have had at least a bit of a lowering effect.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

I didn't have any significant issues with Metformin. I would occasionally have the odd stomach cramps ect but nothing too bad. I'm sure it helped in some way with my weight loss and lowering my BS. Some people will say that it has a negligible affect on BS but before Christmas I was taking Metformin and I kept having hypos and after coming off it they stopped so it must have had at least a bit of a lowering effect.

There is research saying the average BG reduction is something like 1-3 mmol/l (I can't remember the exact figure). But since this is an average, it's logical that there will be people who have a much greater BG reduction than the average. You might be one of those people.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

People with adverse reactions will report them on here if asked. People with no adverse reaction have nothing to report. In my case they would have been a total non event if they hadn't upset my taste buds. They certainly did nothing to lower my blood sugars. I was eventually taken off them since they were "ineffective". The dose had to be reduced until I could taste things again by which time there wasn't much point in taking them at all.

 

[Tim55]

I was prescribed Metformin on initial diagnosis and started taking one per day at the same time I started LCHF.

The Metformin was increased over a period of weeks to 4 per day.

I believe it was pretty clear from the graphs of my test results that each increase in dosage helped, so I would say, yes, it helped me.

I am on the normal version, not the SR, and yes, I have had a couple of unfortunate incidents when I have overdone the carbs too, but on balance I am happy to take it.

Having said that, some 15 months later, I now feel I have sufficient control to try lowering the dose but I will continue to test daily to make sure don't start to go the wrong way again.

HTH

Tim

 

[Klangley]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I guess I can always try it and if its not working just stop. @Squire Fulwood the loss of taste is a new one on me and slightly worrying. Is this a known side-effect or are you just 'unlucky'....

 

[SunnyExpat]

No bad effects on either normal or slow release.

 

[eddie1968]

No. It's evil.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I guess I can always try it and if its not working just stop. @Squire Fulwood the loss of taste is a new one on me and slightly worrying. Is this a known side-effect or are you just 'unlucky'....

It is not new. From memory I think it is listed in the paper in the pill box as Taste Disturbance.

Oh, and it is not a loss of taste it's just that everything tastes different. Veggies in particular tasted like burnt plastic and most other foods lost their appeal.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Here is this sites list.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-medication/metformin-side-effects.html

 

[britishpub]

No bad effects at all. Went onto full dose on day 3. No idea if it does anything for me, as over the past 6 months I have probably missed at least 25 doses and my BG doesn't behave any differently.

 

[merlindine]

When initially diagnosed, I was offered Metformin and politely declined. Since then I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver (a huge relief given some of the things I thought might be wrong with me). When I spoke to the consultant following the second diagnosis he said I should consider Metformin as it could have positive benefits for the fatty liver and Diabetes. He also suggested it would help with weight loss. He emphasised I should only consider this as my diet (LCHF) and exercise were already moving things in the right direction. But I did come away from that meeting with the Consultant thinking, perhaps I will give it a try.

Problem is searching through the forum there was no shortage of members with a poor experience with this drug.......anyone with a positive experience? Has it significantly altered your numbers? Do you think it has helped you lose weight? Or has it just had you farting like a trooper and afraid to stray too far from the bathroom

Hi,i tried it for a couple months,like you i was afraid to leave runnig distance to bathroom.Been taking glyburide for
about year,worked great at first,doesnt seem to be getting my suger down now.constantly trying to find best diet to help.
i work out alot ,job schedule allows that so that helps,seeing docter on tuesday,mayb try Metmorphen again ??
Been reading about Newcastle diet.Keep trying

 

[Cumberland]

It does make you more farty but I have been on it for donkeys no other side effects other than blowing off like a hurricane now and then LOL

 

[ButtterflyLady]

It does make you more farty but I have been on it for donkeys no other side effects other than blowing off like a hurricane now and then LOL

I think it only has this effect on some people... the unlucky ones.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I was put onto SR version from the start by my GP 10 years ago. I was on max dose for most of that time and recently reduced it to 1000mg/day as I'm on insulin. I've never had a day's problem in any way whatsoever. Having halved my Metformin my insulin Basal need has gone up by 1 unit which ties up with research data saying that even on insulin, Metformin still helps a bit by reducing the liver's glycogen output. If it was me I would insist on the SR version if you do start.

 

[Mackempaul]

When initially diagnosed, I was offered Metformin and politely declined. Since then I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver (a huge relief given some of the things I thought might be wrong with me). When I spoke to the consultant following the second diagnosis he said I should consider Metformin as it could have positive benefits for the fatty liver and Diabetes. He also suggested it would help with weight loss. He emphasised I should only consider this as my diet (LCHF) and exercise were already moving things in the right direction. But I did come away from that meeting with the Consultant thinking, perhaps I will give it a try.

Problem is searching through the forum there was no shortage of members with a poor experience with this drug.......anyone with a positive experience? Has it significantly altered your numbers? Do you think it has helped you lose weight? Or has it just had you farting like a trooper and afraid to stray too far from the bathroom

Hi I had a bad experience with Metformin, always felt bloated and didn't have any appetite so my doctor put me on the modified release Metformin and I've been fine for two year with them.

 

[Klangley]

Read the Blood Sugar 101. Thanks CatLadyNZ. My one warning though is that you really need to read virtually every page on the Site. Some of that content in isolation can be very scary. The key thing I took away is that the 'excellent management' levels promoted by some in the NHS are simply wrong....you need to be going much lower. If Metformin can get me there quicker its less time with harmful sugar levels circulating my body its got to worth a shot, right? Well that's my feeling today.....give me 5 minutes though and I will probably change my mind. Would definitely try the SR route first.

Thanks for all of you that took the time to reply. Since my initial post, I have found numerous posts where this is touched upon. Thanks for your understanding and resisting the temptation to say, 'use the search function stupid'.

 

[Larissima]

I just wanted to chime in with my experience of Metformin. I haven't been prescribed any medication for my T2D, but I have been on Met in the past, for a number of years, for PCOS. I had no digestive problems with it (ordinary type, not SR) except when over-indulging in dairy products, specifically a whole tub of ice-cream. At the time I started taking it, it helped regulate my hormones and even made losing weight easier (on low carb). As I didn't have diabetes then, I have no idea how it actually impacted my blood glucose, but I have a feeling that I would have been diagnosed much earlier without the Metformin grace period.