Itch. Nausea. Metformin.

Ianh0711 said:

Hi. I've Type 2, diagnosed for 2.5 years. I'm 61. I'm not sure my system is tolerating Metformin. I had to have 6 B12 injections last year and now take a supplement. I wake constantly during the night with unbearable itching, especially to my lower legs and lower arms. I have slight stomach discomfort and can have diarrhoea if I forget to take Metformin with a meal. Any help would be a godsend.

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Are you taking the slow release form of Metformin? That is supposed to be easier to tolerate. I take that form, but always also with meals. (I'm a belt and braces kind of person). The itching sounds horrid, but I'm not totally convinced the Metformin is responsible. Maybe suggest to your Dr that you'd like to experiment with a break from the M to find out? I'm very pro M, badgered my GP to prescribe me the highest dose, but I don't think it's the sort of drug you need to keep taking once you start, or leads to very serious consequences if you stop. Slightly raised bg perhaps? Good luck!

Welcome @Ianh0711
We can't really give advice on medication because we're not dr's.
But I can tell you how I solved my issues with metformin, they went into the bin and I started to eat low carb. It seems that the Metformin really wasn't helping much anyway because my glucose levels stayed roughly the same after I stopped taking it.

It may be the metformin, or it could just be that particular brand of metformin. Might be worth asking for a different brand to try. That's resolved issues with itching (sometimes with a visible rash, sometimes not) for me on many an occasion. It all depends if it's the metformin, or the 'fillers' they use in medication that's the issue, as the 'fillers' are different with different brands of tablets.