Can anyone advise me..Metformin

Heblady

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:evil: I started on the ONE pill on Monday ( 850mg)..I had been ill with a virus type thing for a few days up till then.
I slept today from 1pm till 4.30pm..I am so dizzy and tired., I feel sick
I ate..breakfast ( scrambled egg on seeded bread)
an orange midmorning
Lunch homemade chicken broth..I really dont know if I can face dinner.
Do you think this will settle down?..I work for myself and am up at 6am every day..I dont get sick time off.
I have tried for months to take the 3 pills..I couldnt get past one..I was doing fine on just one in morning
This is my 3rd attempt at meds since Feb 2010...My body doesnt seem to accept meds very well. :oops:
 

cugila

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Are you over the Virus yet ? That, if it is still around will not help you, will probably elevate your Bg levels.

As for the Metformin this may have not been the best time to start back on it ? I would advise you to get back in touch with your GP and ask for advice. If you don't feel at all well get an appointment asap.
 

JIMDOG1

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Hi Heblady

some people vary diffrant on medication im fine on metformin and insulin but for others it may not be you realy need to speak to your hcp or dn how are your bg levels because if there way off you realy need to be speaking or seeing a hcp sooner rather than later.

when i felt realy bad last year it nearly cost me dear but after 4 days i could stand no more of the pain sickness and tiredness took my self to a&e thinking i just had vomiting virus diagnosed several hours later type 2 very serious levels dka i spent 1 night and day in icu on ventilator several days in hdu and a few in ward.

so please get it checked if your not feeling to good.
 

hallii

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I have been on Metformin for a month, I take it after my lunch and have had no side effects at all.

My BG has dropped by about .7 mmol / ltr on average.

We are all different of course, and it's a shame you can't get on with it, you need to see your Doctor and see what else might be on offer.

H
 

claire1979

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im taking x2 500g metformin a day and have bad cramps, sickness, dizziness and diahorea im to the point of stopping taking it! i have 5 kids and cannot cope like this much longer, im going to the doctors on friday to ask for something else. my sugars are still high taking the meds so im scared they will tell me to take 3 a day i cannot cope taking anymore :(
 

cugila

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claire1979 said:
im taking x2 500g metformin a day and have bad cramps, sickness, dizziness and diahorea im to the point of stopping taking it! i have 5 kids and cannot cope like this much longer, im going to the doctors on friday to ask for something else. my sugars are still high taking the meds so im scared they will tell me to take 3 a day i cannot cope taking anymore :(


Try asking for one of the slow or modified release versions. They are much gentler and many who cannot cope on standard Met do well on the SR/MR versions.
 

Heblady

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Thanks everyone..I think I will phone my GP for an appointment
I thought it could be coz I went from 500 to 850 overnight :?
I think I feel better this morning..BUT I slept for 10 hours ( hub did my work) I am off for 5 mile walk..my body needs it..hasnt been getting the same level as we have had ice and snow and walking was kept to a minimum.
Thanks again
 

Talos

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I started on Metformin at one tab per day even that made me feel sick and giddy for a day or so, when I got used to that I started on the second dose without any more problems, so my advice is to stick with it for a week and if you still suffer effects see your GP to get it changed.
 

hanadr

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Metformin is well known for causing digestive upsets in some people and it has other side effects listed, however, it's a pretty safe meddication and worth persisting with. I personally never had any trouble with it the 8 years I've been on it. However, they do say that taking it in the middle of a meal can help.
Nearly everyone does adapt to it eventually.
If you ask to be changed on to something else, there may be cost constraints on what you are prescribed and most of the alternatives have more side effects.
How about making an appointment to talk it through with your doctor and explore the possibilities.
Hana
 

rainey2910

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Hi heblady,

I too have recently had a virus - been on Metformin since September 2010 and Gliclazide since October 2010.

I found that the virus literally took the wind out of my sails - I felt so ill, I spoke to my diabetic nurse at my GP surgery and she advised me to keep taking the meds as normal, even though my appetite had gone and I couldn't keep anything down once I'd eaten anyway.

I persevered with the meds and got over the virus after about 10 days - although it felt a lot longer!

Perhaps it might be an idea to not test as often whilst you are ill - I only tested a few times during the 10 days - as I found it made me feel even worse by knowing that my bg had shot up.

Take care x
 

Heblady

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I have not tested at all yet.Doc says I dont need to
I am looking into getting a meter for myself :) just have to perservere with meds..will give it another week
 

cugila

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Ah......the good ol Dr's orders..... :(

He would say that, it saves them money. Get yourself a meter and get testing, the sooner the better.
 

Madame P

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Re Cugila's post (Oh I'll get you're name right eventually, I first thought it was Caligula and hoped you were nothing like your namesake - you see what having just come off Metformin slow release has done to my marbles? Yikes!!!)

I keep hearing different things on this, was told by my surgery at one point that there was no need for me to test and now I'm on insulin I need to test regularly. I recently changed to Accu-Chek Mobile (from the Aviva) which I believe costs them £50 for the test strips though possibly this is for a pack of two, with 50 strips in the one cassette. Maybe that's why the diabetic specialist nurse didn't seem to keen to put it on my repeat prescriptions but finally got it on anyway.

Heblady if you're going to get a machine I'd recommend Accu-Chek Aviva (not mobile as you need to use up the cassette within 90 days and if you only going to check every two or three days then probably not for you). Accu-Chek Aviva comes with a pen that uses Multiclix lancets so just stick a barrel in and you can prick your finger straight away without worrying about taking out the lancet and making it safe before disposing of it. Also the Aviva takes just a few seconds to give you the results and the biosensor strips, though a little fiddly to get out of the container, take the blood straight away. You can get these in Boots - don't know how much they cost as I bought my first Accu-Chek machine some eight years ago and every couple of years Roche ask me if I'd like a free upgrade to a new machine which is usually better than the one I had before. You get free batteries, record books etc for your machine as well.
 

carty

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If you contact the accu chek people and tell them you want to use their machine and will be testing regularly they may even send you a free machine.I have the nano and find it easy to use and you can check 7 and 30 day averages which is helpful
CAROL
 

Sue Morton

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I am on 2x500gm metformin slow release and in the first week of taking them I felt ill being giddy, getting the runs and other things. My BS was 25.5 when I was diagnosed and taking the metformin and changing my diet no more chocolate no bread etc your body is now having to adjust to a lower BS and it does make you feel ill at the time, almost like having high BS, your body is reacting to the lowering of your BS.

As your body adjust to the lower BS so will the feeling ill pass. I did get headaches not really bad for a few weeks but that gradually passed and for quite a few months after my lunch time salads would have to rush to the loo. But this has improved a lot now. Occasionallly still do get an odd day that i have the runs its but nothing like when I started to take the metformin.

I had high blood pressure and was put on tablets and felt really ill at first with them but it was my body adjusting the the BP lowering itself.

So it is the same with our BS when first diagnosed our BS is high we are then put on medicine and it starts to lower our BS something our body has to get used to again and we will feel ill at the time. Seems odd that being made better can also make you feel ill, but I went back to the doctor who said that it was my body adjusting to the lower BS and that gradually it would get better and it did.

Once we have adjusted to the lower BS and are controlling our diet then hopefully you will find things will settle down. Being ill at the sametime as taking the metformin will give you a bad result as you wont know what is being produced in taking the metformin or what is part of your illness so once you have recovered see how you feel.

My DN wanted to increase me metformin to 3 a day after my first Ahc1 (whatever its called) as it was 9.9 but this was my first and I was really working on my diabetics which is hard to begin with so I asked her to delay that as I was new to this and wanted to keep my diabetics down with my food/metformin so she agreed and when I had my next test it was 6.2 brill so don't need to take the 3 tablets stick with the 2 one in moring and one in the evening. Speak to your doc or nurse about the tablets and see if by your diet and only taking 2 metformin makes things better and ask for the slow release.

You do need to test especially at the begining as you don't know how your body reacts to certain foods. (look on this forum for the free tester from Bayer) Its all trial and error. I know I can eat a chicken salad, I eat burgen bread and know thats okay I can have red potatoes but not new ones, have porridge in the morning made with water and just a little milk to cool so graudually you can cut down on the testing once you know what you can eat - eat something new then test. Doing a test now and again just to confirm that your okay to still eat that item. Try a low carb diet its much better they tell you that you can eat high carbs but thats not actually true as we have all found out. Although some do eat high carbs and still control their BS. How I don't know.

hope you get on okay and start to feel better
Sue :)