Metformin

[Marcus1234]

Hi All,
I was diagnosed on 20th June 2018 with type 2. Since then I have been on a roller coaster ride with my sugars and medication.
I was testing, 1st thing in the morning, just before meals and 2 hours after. My fasting BG seemed to be ok at 6.4, before meal BG was between 6/7/8, and after meal was between 12/13 & sometimes 14, which I know is high and not good.
I was due to go on holiday and spoke with my GP about my BG etc, I also explained about the diarrhea and terrible dizziness that I was getting after eating, the GP said it is probably due to my BG being all over the place and suggested I stop taking the metformin and stop monitoring my BG because he believes I am looking into things to deep and this is having a physiological effect on me. He prescribed me some tablets for dizziness and told me to go and have a good holiday.
We went away and had a great time, I didn't monitor once and basically ate what I wanted, the food I was eating was not always healthy option for my type 2, yet I felt fine, We did a lot of walking on holiday and I did feel tired more than normal, but still had a great time. (I also didn't take dizziness medication and had no dizziness at all)
I returned from holiday and a few days before I was due to go back to work I started with dizzy spells and feeling drained and exhausted. Since being back at work (2 days) and starting back on my metformin (2 days) I have felt terrible, dizzy, sick, extremely tired, stomach pain, diarrhea. My readings from yesterday are (5.8 fasting,) (7.5 before eating,) (10.3 after eating,) (5.2 before eating,) (8.2 after eating)
Today is (6.4 fasting,) (7.5 before eating,) and (7.1 after eating,)
To sum up, I felt terrible before I went on holiday, felt great when on holiday, and again, feel terrible I am back home. Is it possible this could be stress or anxiety related because of my deep health anxiety I suffer with.
Sorry for the long drawn out post.
Thanks

 

[Rokaab]

To sum up, I felt terrible before I went on holiday, felt great when on holiday, and again, feel terrible I am back home. Is it possible this could be stress or anxiety related because of my deep health anxiety I suffer with.

Stress will often push your blood sugars up (which will make you feel worse), but also note that one of the well known side effects of metformin is stomach troubles and diarrhoea, many people can't take the normal metformin at all (well unless they want to spend a lot of the day on the toilet) - so I suspect an amount of you feeling terrible may well be that - I think there is a slow release one that affects less people.

Though many on the forums have managed to ditch (or lower) the medications by going for a low carb diet - and if you want advice on that I'm sure many will help

 

[jayney27]

Hi All,
I was diagnosed on 20th June 2018 with type 2. Since then I have been on a roller coaster ride with my sugars and medication.
I was testing, 1st thing in the morning, just before meals and 2 hours after. My fasting BG seemed to be ok at 6.4, before meal BG was between 6/7/8, and after meal was between 12/13 & sometimes 14, which I know is high and not good.
I was due to go on holiday and spoke with my GP about my BG etc, I also explained about the diarrhea and terrible dizziness that I was getting after eating, the GP said it is probably due to my BG being all over the place and suggested I stop taking the metformin and stop monitoring my BG because he believes I am looking into things to deep and this is having a physiological effect on me. He prescribed me some tablets for dizziness and told me to go and have a good holiday.
We went away and had a great time, I didn't monitor once and basically ate what I wanted, the food I was eating was not always healthy option for my type 2, yet I felt fine, We did a lot of walking on holiday and I did feel tired more than normal, but still had a great time. (I also didn't take dizziness medication and had no dizziness at all)
I returned from holiday and a few days before I was due to go back to work I started with dizzy spells and feeling drained and exhausted. Since being back at work (2 days) and starting back on my metformin (2 days) I have felt terrible, dizzy, sick, extremely tired, stomach pain, diarrhea. My readings from yesterday are (5.8 fasting,) (7.5 before eating,) (10.3 after eating,) (5.2 before eating,) (8.2 after eating)
Today is (6.4 fasting,) (7.5 before eating,) and (7.1 after eating,)
To sum up, I felt terrible before I went on holiday, felt great when on holiday, and again, feel terrible I am back home. Is it possible this could be stress or anxiety related because of my deep health anxiety I suffer with.
Sorry for the long drawn out post.
Thanks

Hi, good to see you back and to read that you had a good holiday.
I am not an expert and definitely not a psychologist but it would seem there is a connection between how you felt pre holiday, on holiday and post holiday.
I think that the well being you experienced while away happened because you "temporarily" forgot about your condition. I recall from your pre holiday posts that you were very anxious and that reflected in how you felt and elevated numbers, this seems to be repeating now you are home, normal life is resuming and you are again faced with understanding and dealing your situation.
I think most people experience these types of carefree and well being feelings when on holiday and crash back to reality as soon as we get home and for us special people we have an extra item in life's basket to cope with.
I live in a part of the country that lots and lots of people visit for holidays, you can often see holiday makers looking in the windows of estate agents windows, waxing lyrical about how amazing it would be to live "here". Some people do make the move, however, the reality of "living and working" here is not the same as being on holiday and often people say, its not what we thought it would be, reality is a cruel mistress sometimes.
I think this is where you are, you didn't enjoy your reality before your holiday, you had a different reality while away, this was much nicer, now you are back to reality and don't like it any more than you did before your break.
All I can say is it does get easier, I appreciate you have other health considerations and medication that doesn't seem to be agreeable, on that I would go back to your doctor to see if these can be adjusted or changed, that might help and then as we all do, take one day at a time, and somedays you need to take a step and a time.
Long post and not sure if there is an answer to your question but hope it helps with some perspective for you?

 

[Resurgam]

Your reaction to Metformin is fairly typical for someone who is sensitive to it. It probably has little to do with your blood glucose, as it ought to be dropping - if you are no longer eating the customary carbohydrates, and becoming more stable.
Many people have reported that they can lower their test numbers simply by eating fewer carbs and testing until they find out what they can eat and still have normal readings.

 

[Marcus1234]

Thank you for your replies.
I do think the metformin is playing havoc with my guts and this is why my GP told me to stop taking it when on holiday.
I feel poorly from getting up in a morning to going to bed at night and this is naturally causing me stress. I've never missed my morning alarm clock until recently and now I have to rely on my wife waking me up for work.
I fully agree with Janey27 about coming back to reality after my holiday and this seems to have hit me hard. |I made plans for when we got home to start eating healthy, walk more with my dogs and look at the positives instead of the negatives, but when I feel rough like I do its very difficult to get motivated.
I'm up every morning at 05.00 and work until 16.00, I then go to my car and fall asleep for half hour and then go and pick my wife up from work. I don't think |I should be this tired, its not I'm slightly tired, I am exhausted. I have started making silly mistakes in work that are being noticed because of this fatigue.
I've been out with my dogs tonight and did the same last night but this is getting harder and harder. I've really had enough now.
Thanks again to everyone and my apologies if I'm covering old ground.

 

[jayney27]

Thank you for your replies.
I do think the metformin is playing havoc with my guts and this is why my GP told me to stop taking it when on holiday.
I feel poorly from getting up in a morning to going to bed at night and this is naturally causing me stress. I've never missed my morning alarm clock until recently and now I have to rely on my wife waking me up for work.
I fully agree with Janey27 about coming back to reality after my holiday and this seems to have hit me hard. |I made plans for when we got home to start eating healthy, walk more with my dogs and look at the positives instead of the negatives, but when I feel rough like I do its very difficult to get motivated.
I'm up every morning at 05.00 and work until 16.00, I then go to my car and fall asleep for half hour and then go and pick my wife up from work. I don't think |I should be this tired, its not I'm slightly tired, I am exhausted. I have started making silly mistakes in work that are being noticed because of this fatigue.
I've been out with my dogs tonight and did the same last night but this is getting harder and harder. I've really had enough now.
Thanks again to everyone and my apologies if I'm covering old ground.

I hope things start to improve for you soon. From personal experience once I got into low carb eating I found my energy levels improved, I didn’t feel lethargic and generally seemed to have a bit more get up and go. Weight loss also seemed to give me an injection of energy, coincidentally sleep improved and I’m happy to say that I still find energy levels and sleep are good 9 months on.
Gaining control does take a little bit of time and effort on our part but it’s worth it, I’ve said many times that although I wish I hadn’t been diagnosed as a diabetic it was the wake up call I needed and I’m grateful for the improved health I have now as a result of losing weight. I’m fitter and lighter than I’ve been for about 8 years and that’s a good thing.
You will get there, don’t give up.

 

[Marcus1234]

Thanks janey27.

 

[jayney27]

Thanks janey27.

Hi how is today going? I hope you are feeling more settled and positive today.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Ask the GP to change your script to Metformin SR (Slow release); it should help a lot. Do also ensure you have a low-carb diet

 

[rosco 2]

Hello Marcus, you have my sympathies. I was diagnosed T2 same time as you. Got the trots from the metformin and GP changed this to slow release metformin when I saw him next. I have had the occasional dodgy day but better than before. Realistically, if you live in most of the UK you are sweltering in the heat. Makes many people feel completely exhausted.
I took up low carb diet and increased exercise and although it is no pleasure to walk the grubby streets of East London, that’s what I do if I have a reason to go somewhere. It seems to be working. It’s easier for me to walk now and I am starting to do a bit of work in local gym. Seem to be losing weight so far which is good because I had BMI of 30. I know BMI is not the be-all but it’s one measure. For sure, I feel better despite it being quite tough but that is after all, my choice.
I hope your decrease in wellbeing is not related to your work?
Worth a thought...
Look after yourself.

 

[Marcus1234]

Hi how is today going? I hope you are feeling more settled and positive today.

Not really janey27, I've felt worse today tbh, I had some scrambled eggs and 1 toast for breakfast at work, I felt dizzy light headed, headaches, extremely tired, feels like I'm slightly drunk. This lasted most of the day so I didn't bother with lunch or evening meal because I start with the symptoms as soon as I start eating.
Thanks for your reply.

 

[Marcus1234]

Hi. Ask the GP to change your script to Metformin SR (Slow release); it should help a lot. Do also ensure you have a low-carb diet

Thanks for your reply. I do try with low carb but I am not seeing any improvement, if anything I am getting worse.
I will speak with my GP about the SR metformin.

 

[Marcus1234]

Hello Marcus, you have my sympathies. I was diagnosed T2 same time as you. Got the trots from the metformin and GP changed this to slow release metformin when I saw him next. I have had the occasional dodgy day but better than before. Realistically, if you live in most of the UK you are sweltering in the heat. Makes many people feel completely exhausted.
I took up low carb diet and increased exercise and although it is no pleasure to walk the grubby streets of East London, that’s what I do if I have a reason to go somewhere. It seems to be working. It’s easier for me to walk now and I am starting to do a bit of work in local gym. Seem to be losing weight so far which is good because I had BMI of 30. I know BMI is not the be-all but it’s one measure. For sure, I feel better despite it being quite tough but that is after all, my choice.
I hope your decrease in wellbeing is not related to your work?
Worth a thought...
Look after yourself.

Thanks Rosco 2.
I would have expected to see some improvements by now but I'm seeing none. I want to exercise but this is becoming impossible because of how I feel. If I was sitting at home doing nothing all day then I wouldn't expect to see any improvement in my type 2. Yet I'm working full time and trying to reduced carbs and exercise daily with my dogs and I'm physically drained.

 

[jayney27]

Not really janey27, I've felt worse today tbh, I had some scrambled eggs and 1 toast for breakfast at work, I felt dizzy light headed, headaches, extremely tired, feels like I'm slightly drunk. This lasted most of the day so I didn't bother with lunch or evening meal because I start with the symptoms as soon as I start eating.
Thanks for your reply.

Hi, I think like others here, you may need to get your doctor to change your medication, there are many posts on here from people who struggled with side effects and distressing symptoms but after a change things improved.
It’s easy for me to say that you should try to eat something throughout the day, by your own admission you used to eat quite a lot of carbs and now if you are trying to fuel your body on just a couple of eggs you will no doubt be feeling weak and generally unwell. Try, if you can to start introducing some fat into your meals as this will help to fill you up and then your body will use this and any fat you already have stored in your body as it’s fuel, you should, in theory, then find your energy levels increase.
I really do feel so much better, more alert and increased energy levels since changing to LCHF, I rarely feel hungry nowadays and wouldn’t go back to filling my body with lots of carbs if you paid me, it really is worth giving it a go.

 

[Marcus1234]

Hi, I think like others here, you may need to get your doctor to change your medication, there are many posts on here from people who struggled with side effects and distressing symptoms but after a change things improved.
It’s easy for me to say that you should try to eat something throughout the day, by your own admission you used to eat quite a lot of carbs and now if you are trying to fuel your body on just a couple of eggs you will no doubt be feeling weak and generally unwell. Try, if you can to start introducing some fat into your meals as this will help to fill you up and then your body will use this and any fat you already have stored in your body as it’s fuel, you should, in theory, then find your energy levels increase.
I really do feel so much better, more alert and increased energy levels since changing to LCHF, I rarely feel hungry nowadays and wouldn’t go back to filling my body with lots of carbs if you paid me, it really is worth giving it a go.

The eating side seems to be causing a lot of problems, if I eat LCHF then this is not good for my cholesterol, if I eat a diet for lowering my cholesterol this is not good for my diabetes.
I don't know if I should be asking my GP for a change in medication just yet because I haven't been on metformin for a full 4 weeks and think my GP may say I haven't given them time to work.
I still say the biggest problem I face daily is the headaches, dizziness, light headed and extreme tired after eating. I think if I could stop these symptoms then I would see a 70% improvement and would be able to exercise and being more active. It was the headaches dizziness etc that took me to the doctor in the first place, I was then diagnosed and prescribed metformin, yet I feel no better.

 

[mike gibson]

I was diagnosed October 2017 and the first few months were the worst...denial, struggling with diet and the effects of metformin... then after first review with my diabetic nurse she but me on metformin sr and I saw an immediate improvement in the toilet situation and no more stomach cramps... a few more months passed with not much improvement in my bg, mainly due to my diet....Hb1ac only dropped to 80 from 95 sonthen gliclazide added to the mix and from that moment I decided to give the low carb thing a go...the last couple of months my bg has really come down averaging around 5.6 and I feel so much better than I did this time last year... I’ve noticed with a breakfast of eggs and bacon it keeps me full for longer especially compared with the old days of having cereal...with an active job I do get tired in the late afternoon, probably down to only having a salad for lunch, but I try to snack on nuts or a protein bar to keep me going for the day...I’ve a long way to go but I’ve found the advice on here a great help and I’m sure you’ll get there too...

 

[jayney27]

The eating side seems to be causing a lot of problems, if I eat LCHF then this is not good for my cholesterol, if I eat a diet for lowering my cholesterol this is not good for my diabetes.
I don't know if I should be asking my GP for a change in medication just yet because I haven't been on metformin for a full 4 weeks and think my GP may say I haven't given them time to work.
I still say the biggest problem I face daily is the headaches, dizziness, light headed and extreme tired after eating. I think if I could stop these symptoms then I would see a 70% improvement and would be able to exercise and being more active. It was the headaches dizziness etc that took me to the doctor in the first place, I was then diagnosed and prescribed metformin, yet I feel no better.

Hi, I’m not sure you need to wait 4 weeks, if the medication is causing you such problems they can swap it for a slow release version, I have read many posts where this has been the case and people find this much more tolerable. The headaches etc could be similar to withdrawal symptons, again, many people experience flu like symptoms when they reduce their carb intake.
It might be worth asking the question here about cholesterol and LCHF there are people who have managed to eat low carb and at the same time reduce cholesterol, personally, my level was ok at diagnosis, 4.1 at my first check up after diagnosis it had dropped slightly to 4.0 and in May, my second check up it was 4.1 so you might find that it isn’t as harmful to your levels as you fear.
I think @shelley262 might be able to shed some light on this for you, I hope I’m right in thinking that her levels were are the high side when she started LC but she has been very successful in managing this, hopefully she will see this tag and help you.

 

[shelley262]

Hi @Marcus1234 pleased you enjoyed your holidays but sorry coming back to reality has been a bit much. I think a few things are worth considering
- when you start reducing carbs you need to take it a bit slowly and then work your way down. It could be this that’s contributing to how you feel so maybe take it a bit slower on carb reduction but do keep going!
- do consider the Metformin - are you building it up slowly? It may be that again this needs to be done slowly please do talk to the dr about it as slow release may help. You may also find that over time you don’t need Metformin if you can control with diet.
- you need more energy from fats as you reduce your carbs to make you feel better. If you’re worried about your cholesterol then why not focus on the Mediterranean fats which most people know put up your good cholesterol the HDL type of cholesterol so they will be improving your cholesterol not making it worse. Olive oil, fatty fish, nuts, advocados etc will help. Cholesterol is quite a complex subject and there is increasing evidence that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Mine did go up but has now started to settle again and I also eat a range of saturated fats and full fat dairy. Low fat with low carb is very hard to do in my opinion
- stress and anxiety is Central I think to how you manage your diabetes and you need to look at how you manage this - could you ask for some help with this or do you have any methods like mindfulness you can use?
Hope this helps Marcus you will get through this difficult anxious time try to make some time for relaxation and take things more slowly one step at a time you will get there.

 

[jayney27]

Hi @Marcus1234 pleased you enjoyed your holidays but sorry coming back to reality has been a bit much. I think a few things are worth considering
- when you start reducing carbs you need to take it a bit slowly and then work your way down. It could be this that’s contributing to how you feel so maybe take it a bit slower on carb reduction but do keep going!
- do consider the Metformin - are you building it up slowly? It may be that again this needs to be done slowly please do talk to the dr about it as slow release may help. You may also find that over time you don’t need Metformin if you can control with diet.
- you need more energy from fats as you reduce your carbs to make you feel better. If you’re worried about your cholesterol then why not focus on the Mediterranean fats which most people know put up your good cholesterol the HDL type of cholesterol so they will be improving your cholesterol not making it worse. Olive oil, fatty fish, nuts, advocados etc will help. Cholesterol is quite a complex subject and there is increasing evidence that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Mine did go up but has now started to settle again and I also eat a range of saturated fats and full fat dairy. Low fat with low carb is very hard to do in my opinion
- stress and anxiety is Central I think to how you manage your diabetes and you need to look at how you manage this - could you ask for some help with this or do you have any methods like mindfulness you can use?
Hope this helps Marcus you will get through this difficult anxious time try to make some time for relaxation and take things more slowly one step at a time you will get there.

Thank you @shelley262 i hope you didn’t mind me tagging you to help @Marcus1234, but I felt sure you would have some worthwhile advice and knowledge to share and help Marcus.

 

[shelley262]

Thank you @shelley262 i hope you didn’t mind me tagging you to help @Marcus1234, but I felt sure you would have some worthwhile advice and knowledge to share and help Marcus.

No worries hope my bit of advice is helpful

@Marcus1234 just thought too I get really dizzy if I don’t have enough salt and also when I’m dehydrated are you getting plenty of fluids in this hot weather and also are you taking enough salt on board. When I went low carb adding extra salt really helped. Trouble is carbs often have salt added and also your kidneys don’t hold on to salt on a low carb diet so may be worth considering this.