I'm thinking of giving up metformin

[SouthernGeneral6512]

I've been on it for 6 weeks now and just haven't felt well almost since the beginning :thumbdown:. What's more as the time has gone on I've just continued to get worse with a light head and dicky stomach an almost constant companion now. I told my doctor before that I was having problems with them but she said just to persevere which I have done but no longer!

I'm going to see her on Thursday until then I will avoid all problem foods like the plague and hope my BS remains reasonably low but I can't go on taking this stuff any longer :sick:.

 

[lucylocket61]

I had big problems with metformin. You can ask your doctor to prescribe you metformin SR. It is much more gentle on ones stomach and costs only fractionally more, according to my pharmacist friend, so your doctor should be willing to prescribe it to you.

Not that you have to pay for your prescriptions anymore, but the price of things to the NHS can sometimes influence what a doctor is willing to prescribe.

 

[SouthernGeneral6512]

Tell me about it she wouldn't give me a prescription for test strips :sick:.

Thanks for the advice I'll see how I get on until Thursday ... I've just about given up eating all the bad things anyway so I might get a pleasant surprise :clap:

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I always try to comply with the instructions of my nurse. The reason I do this is because I hold the view that if anything goes wrong then it's her fault and not mine. I have had my fill of being told I used to smoke 30 years ago or I should lose more weight etc. etc.

Notwithstanding this I did ask for her approval to give up metformin for three months. It made no difference to anything at all. The sugar levels were as they always were and I still peed a lot etc.

During this time I had to see a doctor who took it amiss that I was off the metformin. She made much of it and for a moment I thought it might be one of those things where they judge your compliance on whether or not you take your meds. I couldn't find any other reason for them and the nurse has never told me why I am taking them.

The nurse said the peeing a lot was most probably due to the caffeine in my diet. She suggested I drink decaf tea and coffee. She refused to say the pills had anything to do with it.

I still don't know why I am taking metformin.

 

[Fraddycat]

I didn't get on with metformin to start with and then when my prescription was upped to 4 a day I used to throw up at least once a week. But I did get used to it, and have no side effects now. I found diet drinks and things with sugar replacement in them seemed to make me feel most sick and cut them out for a while but don't have to avoid anything anymore.

I guess we are all different in our response to meds though so if you are feeling rotten your doc should take you off them.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

I swapped to the SR version after spending a bit too long in the loo and carrying immodium everywhere. That sorted the problem immediately.

 

[Anonymous]

I was advised not to take metformin on an empty stomach, and to have it with food. I do this with very few problems. I did take it on an empty stomach once. It really did upset my stomach terribly.

Take it with food and you might find it more tolerable.

Dave

 

[SouthernGeneral6512]

Thanks for all the posts I guess we are all different

 

[iHs]

Hi

Both my neighbour's mum and my partner's friend are both type 2 using SR metformin. All because of stomach problems. They now both take it 2hrs after eating food with a full glass of cold water. The full glass of cold water seems to help somehow. They both have no problems now so that could be worth trying?

 

[iggy-lil]

Im still having nausea from taking the metformin, I asked 2 GP's for the SR version. One said it has been proven it doesnt do any difference. The other who is the diabetes GP has now dropped one of my pain killers thinking it is reacting with the metformin and have increased my other painkiller.
The only differrence over the past 2 weeks I have seen is some of my pain has increased and some have now gone but I still have the nausea and too be honest I dont know if I can be bothered to go back

Hope you manage to sort your metformin x

 

[))Denise((]

I sorted out my tummy problems with metformin by stopping eating wheat. Just a thought. Also the more carbs you eat the more problems with wind.

 

[Unbeliever]

Metformin gives great results to some people. I take 2g per day. It does nothing for my bg levels - never did- and i just take it in the hope that it gives me the cardiovascular protection they clainm it does. Overall it took 3 years for me to become accustoned to it and even now I can occasionally have a bad reaction. I found the SR version to be a great improvement but not totally without side effects.
It does seem worse for those of us who have no weight to lose. One dr remarked that it was cheap and cheerful and I have often though of it as a drug looking for a disease. It began as a heart drug. Then it was noticed that it lowered blood sugar for some, now it is being considered as useful in the treatement of breast cancer and alzheimers.

One again we are all different. I am not at all convinced ot the reasons for taking it but what do I know? others on here swear by it.
It is fairly obvious that its cheapeness is its main attraction for the medical profession but if it helps some people.........

 

[chris lowe]

I have the same problem with metformin, it seems to be a fairly common side effect going by the posts on the forum. Changing to the SR type may help as it seems to be gentler on the stomach. I take mine with food so I've got some food in my stomach and then more food on top (not sure if the stomach works that way but it seems to work for me) and I find it helps to lessen the nausea, also only very small amounts of alcohol i.e. one small glass of wine or 1 measure of spirits topped up with plenty of slimline, other than that I rarely drink. Hope you can get this sorted out