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How soon does metformin take effect?

Sugarmouse 21

Member
Good Morning,

This may be a silly question but I am still a fairly new diagnosed Type 2 & still really trying to get my head around everything!

I was formally diagnosed on 18th Jan and given Metformin, since then I have been taking one metformin tablet a day (for one week) and have now increased the dosage to 2 tablets for another week, after which it will be three tablets a day.

I have started adapting my diet to low carb and having had issues with low energy I have increased the fat in my diet which has improved things enormously and I am also now getting on better with the metformin (some of the side effects have reduced slightly although I don't know if this may change as my dosage increases?)

To try & help me with what foods etc work for me I got myself a blood testing meter (it arrived yesterday) I have only used it a couple of times so far (I plan to use it every day this week & keep a food diary to try & get to grips). But when I tested my BG this morning before breakfast my reading was 11.2, I tested it yesterday late afternoon and it was 11.3. Looking at the guidance on what it should be I am really worried as I know this is very high.

My question is, how soon should i see this number reduce? Should the metformin I am taking of had an affect on this or have reduced this by now? Or I am expecting too much too soon?

I appreciate its very early days but I really want to make sure I am doing the right things......
 
Do you know what your HbA1c and blood glucose levels were pre metformin and Low Carb?
Obviously your current readings are quite high but they may be lower than they were.
Metformin doesn't really act on bringing down your levels by a great deal but allegedly has other benefits.
I didn't get on with it at all.
 
I think the blood test was 68? But im not sure when I go back I am going to ask again to make sure I have the right figure?
 
Sugarmouse 21 said:
I think the blood test was 68? But im not sure when I go back I am going to ask again to make sure I have the right figure?
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Try and get a printout of all your numbers or even better get online access to your test results.
68 isn't astronomical although definitely a Type 2 number. I would suggest a more structured testing regime rather than random readings which won't tell you much.
Try testing just before you eat then 2 hours after the first mouthful. That will show you what the impact of that meal was on your sugars. You want to try and get a rise of less than 2 mmol/l at worst. If it is more than that ten you had too many carbs.
The Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) is often the last to drop, it was over 6 months before mine got down to "normal" levels so may be that one is less important in the early days.
 
Sugarmouse 21 said:
Just read the bit at the bottom of your message, I would be over the moon if I managed to control this with diet alone as you have achieved!
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As it says I'm an ultra low carb aficionado so thats how I control it. It helps to have a certain mind set. Mine was to prove the stupid Diabetes Nurse I met wrong when she said Type 2 was a progressive and chronic disease and that I would end up on insulin.
 
Thank you for your help, I feel a bit better if it can take a while for the fasting reading to fall, hopefully doing the regular testing and a food diary will help to get me on the right track, thanks again its much appreciated, so much to learn at the moment.....
 
We've all been there. Keep asking questions.. there'll be someone along to answer and we've probably experienced most things (or someone will have).
 
You have done an amazing job in proving her wrong! Its the possibility of Insulin at a later stage and all the potential health issues which is spurring me on to try & get this thing under control
 
Metformin is more of a help than a cure.

I took mine for the first 3 months where I managed to get my levels down to non-diabetic, and then stopped taking it.

I found that by not eating Bread, Potatoes, Pasta, Rice, Cakes, Biscuits and other obvious carb rich food my levels reduced rapidly. I didn’t over complicate things.

My aim was not to have to think about having T2D, which nowadays I rarely have to.
 
After my ✻probationary✻ diet-and-exercise-only period ..my HbA1c was still a whopping 10.8%

I was ℞'d one Metformin a day ..and this brought down my HbA1c to 7% within eight weeks.

Thereafter, it has taken me eleven years to build up to three Metformin a day.

As folk have put into words on this Thread, and elsewhere ..Metformin doesn't work in ✻isolation✻

What works for me is to eat ✻sensibly✻ ..stay hydrated and do lots of walking.

I'm trying to postpone the day when I'm moved onto another therapy, I guess.

"Better the Devil You Know" ..to quote ㉿yŁꀤҾ ʍꀤnℴgひҾ
 
Hello and welcome. As you now know, metformin does help, but not quickly or in a way that you will notice straight away.

I take it, and hope to stay on it because it has other benefits. It is supposed to help protect against certain cancers so I have asked to stay on it even tho my surgery said I could stop.

Take you time, read a lot, have a cup of sugarless tea and read some more. Come back, ask questions (anything at all!!)and find a few new friends.x
 

i take it partly to help weight loss... cuts my appetite a bit

weight loss is key to some T2s.
 

The nurse is really stupid alongside her professional tantrums
 
Hi Sugar mouse like you I have been recently diagnosed with T2, I had a lot of problems with Metformin as well as taking it with my BP tablets, I am not unique in any shape or form but my body reacts very quickly to any form of medication. I do not smoke am 71 year old male and used to be quite healthy and reasonably active, (motor cycling, scuba diving swimming etc.) but since retiring I have "let myself go" you will find this forum very useful as everyone has been there done that and not quite got the video and tee shirt. Buy food that is low in carbs, limit yourself to say 30-50 carbs a day, dont keep taking readings it will only make you paranoid or anxious, get yourself check by your GP. I was 16 stone 2 lbs one month ago, now down to 15 stone 7 lbs (today) eat carefully dont snack, unless you feel the need but snack on cheese (low carbs). Regarding medication I started on two a day but felt like **** literally, now on 750 mg slow release taken on at about now (19:30) do not eat after 18:00 hrs, still feel like **** but this is slowly wearing off, do not be despondent, I make a principle of not self testing, as when I do my own BP readings if it is too high I start to panic which pushes it higher. Good luck and enjoy your life read all of the stuff on here get some good advice. hope that helps
 
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Hi Sugarmouse love the name! Welcome to a group of the most awesomely generous and helpful people. As with all groups, you'll always get someone a bit off, by the majority of people are really supportive because we're all in the same boat. I have had type 2 over 2 years now and keep it under control, just about, with meds and diet. I found my morning readings are quite high, due I think to a glycose dump - you can read it up on the forum info. I used to worry about it being high, now I see it as just part of my disease. I think it's good you test 2 hours after meals to start with as along with your food diary it will help you to know what spikes your levels. Try not to worry as it's not one size fits all - if you find regular Metformin gives you problems ask for the Slow Release version, it seems to be more tolerated by some of us - I'm absolutely fine on it, 2000mg a day in two doses.
Good luck, and try not to worry - there are loads of new friends on here who can help.
 
Metformin doesn't work right away 'cause people are not on the correct dosage when they start. Drs usually start patients on a low dosage and gradually work them to up to higher doses due to the GI issues that metformin causes. In my experience, so your mileage may vary, doctors try to get you up to 2000 mg per day if you can tolerate it without severe GI issues. Once you are the correct dosage, you should should see good results (assuming your also putting in the effort with diet and exercise).
 
I'm afraid that Metformin will not reduce your blood glucose levels after meals, you need to cut back on the amount of carbs you eat and then you should see some results.
 
Morning
If it's any help at all. I am also recently diagnosed and on the low carb diet and calorie watching (trying to eat 500 calories under my BMR daily). I have been taking my meds in the morning, taking a reading and then if it's high fasting until it reduces and then eating later in the day. However I forgot my tablets one morning and took them with an early evening meal instead and I found that seems to work better. The Metformin seems to act fairly quickly, I am on a slow release formulation, so there is extended coverage. I tried taking it twice a day but kept on forgetting to take the second tablet so went back to taking them together. Weight reduction definitely helps with the management, as my weight reduces the numbers are coming down. Even after a cheating moment last night my numbers are 8.1 this morning but normally average around 7.5. Nurse is very happy with my improvement, as am I, but you do need a strict mentality to stick to the diet which is not approved by the NHS.
 
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