Metformin

[iggy-lil]

Started 2nd week with increase of metfromin this week. Now take 1 x 500 with breakfast and 1 x 500 with tea. How long before the nausea and cramps ease. I know I have to give myself a chance to get used to the medication but just curious. I must admit I have so far been lucky as in no ''episodes'' from the other end like some have had. :roll:

Thanks

 

[xyzzy]

Iggy I would say if they don't ease up after a week go back and ask for the slow release (SR) version as that seems to sort most people out.

 

[iggy-lil]

Thanks xyzzy, this is what I have been thinking to give it a chance and if it does not settle I will go back
thank you

 

[jimmyr]

Will go with xyzzy on this, i was on the normal Metformin, Nausea, dizzy, felt bad all day long, went to my Docs and said i can no longer take them as i was finding them even difficult to even swallow, could not stand the thought of the side effects.
Anyway he put me on the slow release, 2x500mg morning, 1x500mg in afternoon, 2x500mg in the evening, seems a lot but hey ho, never looked back so much easier to get on with.

 

[Cowboyjim]

IMHO you have to "earn" the slow release ones... the ordinary ones must be cheaper... makes sense, kind of... 8)

 

[iggy-lil]

IMHO you have to "earn" the slow release ones... the ordinary ones must be cheaper... makes sense, kind of... 8)

Oh I do understand about giving things time to settle, to be fair its still early days (day 10) but these tablets are supposed to improve my health/life not make it worse :shock:

DH had the day off today to take me to get an e reader and then onto craft shopping at a big fair(planned it a few weeks ago) - I felt so sick in the car that when it came to going to the craft fair(had got the ereader) I couldnt go and asked to come home. For me to miss a fair is not me as crafting is my hobby/vice. :cry:

I am having to sleep/ lie down when these ''waves'' of nausea come as that is the only way of coping. Just thank goodness I am self employed and working part time as I dont know what I would do .

One good thing I dont want to eat much so ever cloud has a silver lining I suppose :wink:

 

[Unbeliever]

I had unusually bad symptoms with he ordinary metformin not just stomach problems . The diabetes specialist GP offfered o prescribe something for the symptoms.. I really did not want to get into the medication for medication cycle so soon after diagnossi so declined. I didn't know the Sr version existed and heard about it accidentally while in the pharmacy.
I bypassed the dianbetes doc and asked one of the others for the SR version. he told me that there was a whole pound per monh
price difference between the two.
I don't know what the diabetic doc was intending to prescribe for the effects of the ordinary metformin but had i accepted the difference would obviously have been less than a pound.
I understand that a pound per month x thousands of diabetics can come to a sizeable sum but metformin is a very cheap drug anyhow . The side effecs can be devasttating in some cases and the psychological effecs should not be underestimated.
Is it really worth it?
if r was prescribed for all from the beginning perhaps the cost tothe NHS could be reduced by the manufacturers.

 

[Artichoke]

Metformin has been around since the 50s and it's really cheap. I had rear end probs with Metformin and switched to Metformin SR. Even so if I manage to miss a dose or am hours late taking it I can get probs but it doesn't give me nausea or GI discomfort now that I've been taking it a few years. Metformin has been shown to be heart protective, it also decreases a woman's risk of breast cancer, and anyone's risk of pancreatic cancer. It's also used to treat PCOS. There are a lot of other drugs out there with worse side effects and risks I'm afraid.

 

[iggy-lil]

I know there are lots of other drugs out there that cause worse side efforts - have seen some of them over the years for various reasons. I am currently on several other meds(not a lot compared to some but more than enough for me ) one of which used to cause nausea and I have other med to help with it. Just dont want to go through all that again. I can cope with a lot of side effects - just the nausea that gets me more than anything. Also what may be a little nusiance to someone can effect others a lot more.

With a family history of breast cancer and having been told by the GP a month before I was diagonsed with the diabetes that I now have a 50% chance of a heart attack (due to Dad having one last year) I am very grateful for the added help the medication does gives.

Hopefully things will settle soon, dont see the GP now for 3 months when I get my first diabetic clinic and medication review and hoping I wont have to visit until then

 

[Cowboyjim]

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/...-of-the-public/20120605diabetesdrugcombo.html
"monotherapy with metformin was associated with durable glycemic control in only about half of children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes who participated in the trial, whereas the addition of rosiglitazone, but not an intensive lifestyle intervention, was superior to metformin alone."

Methinks more attention to the ones who DID do more exercise... I suspect as with adults it is no more than a third who do much of what might be called intensive exercise let alone sustained... 8)

 

[SouthernGeneral6512]

I had unusually bad symptoms with he ordinary metformin not just stomach problems . The diabetes specialist GP offfered o prescribe something for the symptoms.. I really did not want to get into the medication for medication cycle so soon after diagnossi so declined. I didn't know the Sr version existed and heard about it accidentally while in the pharmacy.
I bypassed the dianbetes doc and asked one of the others for the SR version. he told me that there was a whole pound per monh
price difference between the two.
I don't know what the diabetic doc was intending to prescribe for the effects of the ordinary metformin but had i accepted the difference would obviously have been less than a pound.I understand that a pound per month x thousands of diabetics can come to a sizeable sum but metformin is a very cheap drug anyhow . The side effecs can be devasttating in some cases and the psychological effecs should not be underestimated.
Is it really worth it?
if r was prescribed for all from the beginning perhaps the cost tothe NHS could be reduced by the manufacturers.

It is astonishing that they would put you into the medication for medication cycle for 1£ ... in fact it's not even saving £1 because the new pill will probably cost more than that :crazy:

 

[Mileana]

I have found, when I was still trying metformin, that if I could get them without lactose as aiding stuff in them, I would have an easier time.

I am unsure if that is helpful to anyone one else and whether they can be had in the UK.

Might be worst a stab though.