Metformin and abdominal pain

[Sean01]

Type 2 since Oct 15 - managed with diet, metformin and exercise. I have been having abdominal pain for a couple of hours most days from around 4 a.m. I get up at 5, use a treadmill and after about 30 mins and a hasty trip to the bathroom (sometimnes the other way round) I'm fine for the rest of the day.
Late last year I switched to the 1000mg time release metformin - same problem, but in the last week, the abdominal pain has become more severe ( I wake at 2 a.m. and can't get back to sleep) and the pain is constantly there.
I went to my GP. I'm having an ultrasound to rule out appendix and kidney stone problems, and a colonoscopy but that could be a few months away. I'm already on FODMAP for IBS but it's difficult doing that with T2 as well.
QUESTION: has anyone else had similar problems - i.e can metformin suddenly start to alter its effect on you and suddenly start causing stomach problems.

 

[Mep]

In my experience taking metformin for 5 years, it gave me diarrhoea and nausea the entire time. I was tried on all different dosages and put on the extended release version as well... that was not pleasant either. I had a lot of stomach pain on metformin. Also I never had stomach pain prior to metformin. Ever since being on metformin my stomach hasn't ever recovered and I've now been diagnosed with 7 things wrong with my GI tract... including IBS. It does naturally make me wonder why I had no problems prior to metformin and then suddenly I've developed all these problems.... was metformin just a trigger for my problems or the cause?... I don't know. I just know I've never been the same since and now I deal with a lot of pain and get a lot of spasms in my GI tract. But you're doing the right thing by being investigated by your doc... could be that you do have other issues going on and metformin could've triggered them perhaps. Let us know how you go.

 

[Mimi's]

Lot of people complain of abdominal pain and diarrhea with Metformin. Would like to know if there is any alternative to Metformin.

 

[Resurgam]

I stopped taking it - just couldn't live with it and a statin as well - I check my blood glucose and eat low carb, and that seems to be OK as far as I can tell. To be alive but unable to live was more than I could endure. The thought of actually needing it removes any impulse to 'cheat' and eat more carbs quite wonderfully well.

 

[MaxRebo001]

I was on both normal and SR metformin for 3.5 years, i have to say it was the most debilitating and depressing time of my life, The symptoms they stated lasted for two weeks lasted the entire time i was on them, Periodically i'd stop taking them as it got too much and within a few days the nausea, pain and diarrhoea stopped, But always returned as soon as I started to take the metformin again, this was before i discovered low carb, eventually I was able to change my medication and life has got a lot better since.

 

[berylc]

I had over 4 years of diarrhoea due to metformin, plus very sore stomach cramps. I was told I was allergic to milk..... once I stopped taking metformin all the symptoms left. Almost a year now diarrhoea free and I feel wonderful now.
My Dr still will not give me BS testing equipment so I have to fund myself. Plus I stopped simvastatin and my leg cramps have stopped too, years of cramp due to them. I believe that now I have gone through the menopause that they are not needed? I have perfect blood pressure, so no heart problems.

 

[Mimi's]

I was on both normal and SR metformin for 3.5 years, i have to say it was the most debilitating and depressing time of my life, The symptoms they stated lasted for two weeks lasted the entire time i was on them, Periodically i'd stop taking them as it got too much and within a few days the nausea, pain and diarrhoea stopped, But always returned as soon as I started to take the metformin again, this was before i discovered low carb, eventually I was able to change my medication and life has got a lot better since.

Do elaborate when you say you changed your medicines...metformin was changed to which new one?

 

[MaxRebo001]

Do elaborate when you say you changed your medicines...metformin was changed to which new one?

I was originally put on januvia and gliclazide, which did make quite a difference in levels but more importantly i had no side effects. My control was still not good enough so the januvia was replaced with bydureon which is a weekly injection.

I'm now at tye point where as long as i watch carbs i can pretty much keep my levels between 4 & 6. I'll give it another month and then go for my hva1c, my app is telling me i should be in the region of hi 30's to early 40's, down from my last one which was 71.

 

[Sadmia]

I was given slow release metformin, I took it for 2 weeks I had such bad stomach and gut pains, I couldn't eat, u thought I was going to die. I stopped taking it, and felt better, but still had gut pains, subsequently had colonoscopy etc,( one bs reading on starvation was 7.8,and one was 15 what's that all about,) as suspected crohns disease, they haven't found any problems yet, so is prob ibs, certain foods make it worse. I had nothing of this before the metformin. I refuse to take it again, I have read so many reports : ( I have lost 3 stone) urrgh!

 

[Resurgam]

My insides were far more sensitive for quite a while after stopping the Metformin - but they are a lot more normal now, after almost 2 years. I think all that upset strained something, stretched something - did some damage somewhere certainly, all that pain was an indication of something going on which should not be - but eating low carb, with its high nutrition and small amounts seems to have counteracted the over inflation and violent expulsions.