Joint Pain? Is this Normal?

[LWManchester]

Hi. My name is Lesley and I'm fairly newly diagnosed with type 2. I was started on 1x500 SR metformin and had all kinds of horrible side effects, however when I started on week 2 2x500 SR metform I started with painful joints, lower back pain but the worst was my knee - the site of an old injury where I have a squishy lump. The DN said it was the cold weather and advised stopping for a few days. I did and felt wonderful - no pain. I went back on 1x500 and on day 6 the knee pain started again with a vengeance - my lumpy knee throbs. I could barely walk on it. The doc told me to stop meds immediately. I've since been back to be told by another doc that I have a bad back and sciatica.. erm NO. It all stops when I'm off the meds. Does anyone else suffer like this please??? I'm sad as clearly docs don't believe me! I'm still off meds and I'm great but they want me back on them. Any advice please?

 

[ME_Valentijn]

Does anyone else suffer like this please???

Yes, 1000mg of Metformin gave me a lot of muscle aches and burning, muscle weakness, plus twitching muscles, headache, and full body coldness. I'm not sure if my joints were aching more than usual or not. Most of it resolved soon after stopping the Metformin. At 500mg I had just had mild burning on the outside of my upper arms.

The "normal" side-effects from Metformin are nausea, diarrhea, and upset stomach. But it can also cause lactic acidosis, which can be dangerous. The first doctor is probably concerned that your joint pain may be an early sign of a reaction going in the lactic acidosis direction, which is where mine went as well.

I'm now just on Gliclazide, instead of Metformin. My GP wanted me to start back on 500mg, but I refused. The 1000mg experience was a nightmare, and I still haven't completely recovered after a couple weeks. I can't imagine that half as much of the drug would be a good idea.

 

[LWManchester]

Thank you. I was starting to feel like I was making it up. The doc who said it was sciatica advised she wants me back on metformin sooner rather than later but I know it's the tablets causing my pain.... and oh boy do I know what the other side effects are !!! These tablets just don't sit well with me. I will suggest a different tablet. Thank you.

 

[bulkbiker]

Have you thought about amending your diet to gain control over your blood sugars rather than taking medication?
A whole lot of us find that by lowering our carbohydrate intake our blood sugar readings come down as well with no meds.
I had a dreadful time for the three weeks that I took metformin so cut out almost all carbs from my diet. Managing quite well since then. Huge amount of info available on this forum as well as on

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Have a read around and see what you fancy doing.

 

[LWManchester]

Hi. I have thought and am actively sorting my diet but my DN nurse wouldn't just let me do diet alone. She said that if I lost weight (and I need to drop about 3st) then I could maybe come off the meds then. Thanks for the link. I will have a good look. Do you think I should refuse meds for now and just continue with the diet. My bloods are just at 6.5 .

 

[berylc]

Thank you. I was starting to feel like I was making it up. The doc who said it was sciatica advised she wants me back on metformin sooner rather than later but I know it's the tablets causing my pain.... and oh boy do I know what the other side effects are !!! These tablets just don't sit well with me. I will suggest a different tablet. Thank you.

Been there, 4 yrs of diarrhoea! A year off metformin and I feel great.

Look up on the forum the LCHF (low carb, high fat) diet. Dr Michael Mosley's book 'The 8 week blood sugar diet' is great with helping get levels down. My diabetic nurse told me about the diet.
S
Don't be bullied by the Dr, they don't always know what is best.

 

[LWManchester]

Hi berylc. Funnily enough that's the book I have. He just happened to be on TV the weekend after my diagnosis. How's that for timing eh. My word.. 4yrs of it. I'm glad you have sorted it. I am really going to give it my best shot as I just don't want to be on tablets if they are going to make me poorly. And thank you, I think I will stand my ground for now. Thank you.

 

[bulkbiker]

Hi. I have thought and am actively sorting my diet but my DN nurse wouldn't just let me do diet alone. She said that if I lost weight (and I need to drop about 3st) then I could maybe come off the meds then. Thanks for the link. I will have a good look. Do you think I should refuse meds for now and just continue with the diet. My bloods are just at 6.5 .

What was your most recent HbA1c?

 

[LWManchester]

What was your most recent HbA1c?

Most recent bloods were taken January and the result was 6.5. I don't do daily readings (not got a blood monitor) but the doc who advised I stop the meds did a quick check and on that day my reading was 5.4 at about 12noon, an hour after food.

 

[bulkbiker]

Sounds pretty good.. personally I would have been lost without my meter especially in the early days as it showed me what I could eat without spikes.. I think most of us would recommend testing food types regularly. But as always each to their own.
In your situation I would probably try to do control by diet only for a few months but again I think that would be with regular testing so I know how I was doing rather than rely on infrequent tests at the docs.

 

[Resurgam]

I was put on metformin and statins at the same time, so I am not sure which did what, but pain in the lower back, a few inches each side of centre, pains in my muscles - my lower legs are still not feeling right, the left one in particular, fiendish itching, plus being unable to learn or remember - losing the car at the supermarket just before Christmas was quite frightening. I stopped taking the tablets but my memory is still poor. I should take my Thyroxine tablets every morning, and I am constantly forgetting. I sometimes remember later on - like just now - but I sometimes look at the bit of paper where I record taking them and I have missed several days - though of course I might have taken them and not remembered to write it down.
The low carb diet seems to be perfectly adequate for controlling my BG, so I plan to stick to it. Reducing cholesterol and getting a good ratio is a side effect I had not intended, I pay no heed to fats, saturated or otherwise. No trans fats though.

 

[ME_Valentijn]

I stopped taking the tablets but my memory is still poor. I should take my Thyroxine tablets every morning, and I am constantly forgetting. I sometimes remember later on - like just now - but I sometimes look at the bit of paper where I record taking them and I have missed several days - though of course I might have taken them and not remembered to write it down.

Sorry to hear that. I think I'm still having some cognitive issues after my Metformin episode, though I have cognitive issues anyhow so can't be entirely sure it's due to that.

Anyhow, at some point I gave up on relying on my memory and got pill organizers which are labeled with days of the week. I fill it up once a week, and then I can just glance at it to see what I still need to take.

 

[LWManchester]

In your situation I would probably try to do control by diet only for a few months but again I think that would be with regular testing so I know how I was doing rather than rely on infrequent tests at the docs.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for your sound advice hun. I've decided I am going to do a 3 month trial. I'm going to ask my nurse for a personal meter and test frequently whilst implementing a low carb diet and doing more exercise. I'm going to log everything! Hopefully I can produce a drop. If not then I know it's time to try alternative tablets. I get my bloods tested at docs next week so this will give me a perfect starting point. Watch this space. Thank you for the advice.

 

[LWManchester]

I was put on metformin and statins at the same time, so I am not sure which did what, but pain in the lower back, a few inches each side of centre, pains in my muscles - my lower legs are still not feeling right, the left one in particular, fiendish itching, plus being unable to learn or remember - losing the car at the supermarket just before Christmas was quite frightening. I stopped taking the tablets but my memory is still poor. I should take my Thyroxine tablets every morning, and I am constantly forgetting. I sometimes remember later on - like just now - but I sometimes look at the bit of paper where I record taking them and I have missed several days - though of course I might have taken them and not remembered to write it down.
The low carb diet seems to be perfectly adequate for controlling my BG, so I plan to stick to it. Reducing cholesterol and getting a good ratio is a side effect I had not intended, I pay no heed to fats, saturated or otherwise. No trans fats though.

Thanks. I'm going to give diet and exercise and close monitoring a good go for 3 months. Glad its working for you. My nurse wants me on statins. I'm so reluctant as I know so many people who have had issues, just my personal view tho. Thanks hun.

 

[Ziggi]

Hi. My name is Lesley and I'm fairly newly diagnosed with type 2. I was started on 1x500 SR metformin and had all kinds of horrible side effects, however when I started on week 2 2x500 SR metform I started with painful joints, lower back pain but the worst was my knee - the site of an old injury where I have a squishy lump. The DN said it was the cold weather and advised stopping for a few days. I did and felt wonderful - no pain. I went back on 1x500 and on day 6 the knee pain started again with a vengeance - my lumpy knee throbs. I could barely walk on it. The doc told me to stop meds immediately. I've since been back to be told by another doc that I have a bad back and sciatica.. erm NO. It all stops when I'm off the meds. Does anyone else suffer like this please??? I'm sad as clearly docs don't believe me! I'm still off meds and I'm great but they want me back on them. Any advice please?

 

[Ziggi]

Hi. My name is Lesley and I'm fairly newly diagnosed with type 2. I was started on 1x500 SR metformin and had all kinds of horrible side effects, however when I started on week 2 2x500 SR metform I started with painful joints, lower back pain but the worst was my knee - the site of an old injury where I have a squishy lump. The DN said it was the cold weather and advised stopping for a few days. I did and felt wonderful - no pain. I went back on 1x500 and on day 6 the knee pain started again with a vengeance - my lumpy knee throbs. I could barely walk on it. The doc told me to stop meds immediately. I've since been back to be told by another doc that I have a bad back and sciatica.. erm NO. It all stops when I'm off the meds. Does anyone else suffer like this please??? I'm sad as clearly docs don't believe me! I'm still off meds and I'm great but they want me back on them. Any advice please?

 

[Uncle Fred]

Hi. My name is Lesley and I'm fairly newly diagnosed with type 2. I was started on 1x500 SR metformin and had all kinds of horrible side effects, however when I started on week 2 2x500 SR metform I started with painful joints, lower back pain but the worst was my knee - the site of an old injury where I have a squishy lump. The DN said it was the cold weather and advised stopping for a few days. I did and felt wonderful - no pain. I went back on 1x500 and on day 6 the knee pain started again with a vengeance - my lumpy knee throbs. I could barely walk on it. The doc told me to stop meds immediately. I've since been back to be told by another doc that I have a bad back and sciatica.. erm NO. It all stops when I'm off the meds. Does anyone else suffer like this please??? I'm sad as clearly docs don't believe me! I'm still off meds and I'm great but they want me back on them. Any advice please?

I know that the post is quite old, but I am a newbie to this forum so grateful for what has been posted.
I also have an old knee injury which was manageable until I started with metformin. For some 15 years I have been controlling my hba1c by ‘sensible eating’ and regular exercise. The same also enabled me to maintain a steady weight, which I regularly monitor. However, in more recent times the weight (and waistline) had surprisingly started to creep up. As diabetes takes no prisoners, I asked the doc if my thyroid was misbehaving. Blood tests were duly taken following which I was advised by the surgery that no action was needed. 12 months later a letter arrived advising that I needed another blood test to check my thyroid!! This time I asked to see the results. In the event, they happened to be similar to those taken twelve months earlier and from the figures I could see that I had (according to British and US thyroid associations) an underactive thyroid, which probably explained the increase in weight. Putting my findings to the doc I am now taking Levothyroxine to kick the thyroid into action. On the latter score, I personally feel that I need a higher dose but because the results fall into the ‘normal range’ the docs won’t budge! During the same period, the hba1c value had also crept up from 47 to 51, at which point the diabetic nurse advised me to start with metformin. Two weeks in and I started to get lower back pains and also severe knee pain (originating from the old injury), the latter not surprisingly perhaps also linked to pain in the corresponding hip. Regular exercise is thus becoming very difficult. Initially I thought I had somehow engineered a musculoskeletal problem but it seems too coincidental with the start of metformin to be ignored. Still further, I note that I am not alone here and also that in the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have indicated that:

If you manage your type 2 diabetes with a medicine classified as a DPP-4 inhibitor, the FDA has issued a warning that the medication may cause severe joint pain.
The warning applies to the following medications, which are available under different brand names alone or combined with other diabetes medicines like metformin:

Not sure where to go from here but in the meantime, I thank you for taking the time to read my story