Metformin

[broads]

I was out on slow release Metformin about three months ago which I take once a day with my evening meal. A question, if for some reason I do not have an evening meal do I still take the tablets?

 

[mossie1958]

hello there ,

i am a type 2 diabetic since past 15 years

i am very new to this forum and this is my first posting. taken me a while to learn how to join the forum { afcos my 9 year old grandson sorted in a few minutes}

this is a question i have wanted to know also . i have my 6 monthly diabetic routine check up in 3 weeks,

yes i will ask the diabetic nurse and if i get to see the doctor i will ask him too and will try and post what i am told.

last few weeks i have noticed my morning sugar very high. have tested and kept record to show doctor. sounds like the dawn {GOOGLE} syndrome as hourly test from 3 am onwards shows rising from 8.2 and rising every hour till about 10am in the morning to about 14,6 .. have been scared to have breakfast and the morning metformin .i start work around 4 am in the morning everyday and finish at 4pm
i am 0n 1000 metformin in the morning with breakfast and 1000 in the evening wit 5mg of onglyzya with the evening meal around 6pm


SO HAVE BEEN SKIPPING BREAKFAST COMPLETLY AND THE 1000 METFORMIN TOO AND HAVE BEEN HAVING AN ONLY EVENING MEAL AROUnd 6 when sugar levels drops to around 6.2

apologies for going round the house a bit

so it would be nice to hear from people of there experience and knowledge to know if skipping a meal do we still have to take metformn. and how often could we do it without any complications.

 

[broads]

Hi mossie 1958 Hope all goes well for you. Hopefully we will get a simple reply to our query. Best wishes

 

[mossie1958]

Hi mossie 1958 Hope all goes well for you. Hopefully we will get a simple reply to our query. Best wishes

thank you. hope all goes well with you too and someone helps out with some suggestion aand ideas.

 

[Robbity]

Since it's "slow release" it's going to be working over 24 hours, so if I don't eat I still take mine. But you can check the information leaflet that comes in the pack.

Robbity

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Just keep the Metformin going. The SR is as it says, slow release, and doesn't need to be taken with food. It has a small continuous background effect and won't cause your blood sugar to go low.

 

[mossie1958]

Hi. Just keep the Metformin going. The SR is as it says, slow release, and doesn't need to be taken with food. It has a small continuous background effect and won't cause your blood sugar to go low.

hello robbity,

thank you so much for replying.

am going to take the metformin sr as normal in the morning around 7 am at work with breakfast or no breakfast and moitor during the course of the day.

breakfast is usually around 8am in between work. 2 boiled eggs or poached or scrambled to keep bit of varitey thoug i must admit it gets bit boring sometimes. and wholemeal toast no spread at all ..every few days have a banana too { eeesh delicious ] luch is wholemal sandsich with salad or tuna ..and evening meal is anything grilled with leaf salad... psst weekends have an ice cream treat with grandchildren .have managed to drop a about 11lbs in 3 months..but have not bought new clothes yet .just in case it all goes pear shape at sometime..have bought couple of suspenders which i wear inside my work clothes..sooooo comfy .

 

[mossie1958]

hello robbity,

thank you so much for replying.

am going to take the metformin sr as normal in the morning around 7 am at work with breakfast or no breakfast and moitor during the course of the day.

breakfast is usually around 8am in between work. 2 boiled eggs or poached or scrambled to keep bit of varitey thoug i must admit it gets bit boring sometimes. and wholemeal toast no spread at all ..every few days have a banana too { eeesh delicious ] luch is wholemal sandsich with salad or tuna ..and evening meal is anything grilled with leaf salad... psst weekends have an ice cream treat with grandchildren .have managed to drop a about 11lbs in 3 months..but have not bought new clothes yet .just in case it all goes pear shape at sometime..have bought couple of suspenders which i wear inside my work clothes..sooooo comfy .

thank you daiebell.

will start that in he morning ..

 

[Robbity]

@mossie1958: I eat a low carb high(er) fat diet, which is healthy, tasty, and varied, and I've found that less carbs and plenty of fat help me (possibly more than my Metformin) in keeping my blood glucose readings pretty stable. In spite of what the doctors and nurses generally tell us diabetics, eating carbs with every meal (particularly higher carbohydrate/sugar foods) is likely to be the cause of your high readings. Personally I keep well away from toast and bananas.

if you're interested in skipping meals, have search through the forum, as there are several people who are doing various types of fasts. If I have a cup of coffee with plenty of double cream in it for breakfast, that will often last me to through to my evening meal without me getting hungry.

Robbity

 

[Tim55]

I agree entirely with robbity.

I also take 2x 500 mg metformin twice a day and try to take them while eating meals.

This is probably more important for me as I an on the standard version ,not the SR one .

But if I can't take it with a meal I still take them at roughly the same time every day.

Have you tried using your meter to see what effect the various foods you are eating are having, ie test before a meal then one and 2 hours after it?

Log and ideally graph you results and you might find some surprises.

I know I did.

I also follow LCHF principles, shaped by"eating to my meter" and got my Hb1ac down from about 12 to 5.5 in 3 months, where it has remained since.

Diabetic nurse didn't like it, but hey, it seems to work for me.

HTH
Tim

 

[fpk]

I agree entirely with robbity.

I also take 2x 500 mg metformin twice a day and try to take them while eating meals.

This is probably more important for me as I an on the standard version ,not the SR one .

But if I can't take it with a meal I still take them at roughly the same time every day.

Have you tried using your meter to see what effect the various foods you are eating are having, ie test before a meal then one and 2 hours after it?

Log and ideally graph you results and you might find some surprises.

I know I did.

I also follow LCHF principles, shaped by"eating to my meter" and got my Hb1ac down from about 12 to 5.5 in 3 months, where it has remained since.

Diabetic nurse didn't like it, but hey, it seems to work for me.

HTH
Tim

Metformin is bad stuff. Side affects are intolerable.

 

[TheFish]

You shouldn't take metformin on a empty stomach it had nasty side effects

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Some people find metformin intolerable with nasty side effects, but most people don't.

I seem to be able to take immediate release metformin on an empty stomach without problems, for example.

The only time it was a problem was when I was due to have surgery and the anaesthetist failed to tell me beforehand to stop my metformin the day before. This meant that, combined with the pre-op fast, I had a hypo. It was easily corrected but it could have been easily avoided if he had told me not to take it.

So, apart from when you are actually fasting, I think it's fine to take it on an empty stomach, if you are one of the people who don't get the bad side effects.

 

[Sirmione]

I would see a big difference between a planned fasting day and skipping breakfast.
Skipping one meal would see my BGL going up and down like a roller coaster for the next 24 to 36 hours.
I find that the best way to moderate the post dawn rise in blood glucose is to eat a very small amount before going to bed and immediately on waking, followed by my morning Metformin.

Metformin has different side effects on different individuals, I am on normal Metformin and while on my current dosage (2 x 500 MG per day) I have no problems when following my normal daily routine if took it on an empty stomach it would cause discomfort.

From what little I have read on Metformin I understand that even with the normal non-SR type while the side efects hit soon after taking a dose but it doesn't have and instant beneficial effect on BGL but instead over several hours enhances the bodies ability to stabilise BGL. With this in mind I try to take it at regular equally spaced intervals always with some food.

 

[britishpub]

Hi. I have never had any side effects or issues with Metformin, and I just take my 3 x 500 whenever I remember to during the day and not always with meals. In fact I've just taken my morning one about 5 minutes ago, and I'll probably have breakfast in 15 minutes or so. Knowing me I'll probably take the second one an hour or so after I eat my lunch as I'll forget to take it at the time.