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Type 2 Low Carb And Metformin Tolerance

tinyjellybaby

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Does anybody know if there is a strong correlation between the amount of carbohydrate you eat, and the body's tolerance to Metformin Slow-Release?

I currently take 2g of Metformin SR per day. I've been on a low-carb program for the last 7 days and I've had severe diarrhoea.

I took my sugars, and they are 5.8 (which is much lower than normal for me) and so I'm wondering whether reducing the Metformin may help?

I'm not asking for medical advice on the reduction on Metformin, I just wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and if they did, what did you do about it?
 
How long have you been taking the metformin?
I had a very bad reaction to regular and slow release so they went in the bin after 3 weeks.
I found that very low carb was more effective.
 
After taking Metformin for 5 weeks my hair started to fall out , my joints in knee and hip so bad I could barely walk I was so tired but still couldn't sleep as i have insomnia now saying all this it could well have been the diabetes that caused all those problems but like bulkbiker they went into the bin. Couldn't be happier also went low carb . Still have knee and hip pain but hair loss has ceased and still insomnia but I have had that for years. Good luck.
 
bulkbiker said:
How long have you been taking the metformin?
I had a very bad reaction to regular and slow release so they went in the bin after 3 weeks.
I found that very low carb was more effective.
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I've been on Metformin since 2012.
 

I take 1g (two tablets) in the morning, and then 1g (two tablets prior to bed).
 

Blimey! I'm so sorry to hear this. Just out of interest, how did you know that it was Metformin that caused all of this?
 
I had the same thing - most are resolved 18 months after binning the metformin and the statin, but my hair is still very thin on top. I can live with that rather than the aches pains and the usual horrible side effects
 
Did you start on the lowest possible dose and then build up gradually? If not, it might be worth going back and starting again with just 500mg daily.
 
Hi just to add in my personal experience. I was on Metformin for two and a half years 2 x tabs regular met one am and one pm had probs initially but was settled with them before went low carb. Low carb did result in tummy probs but it was when I started Intermittent Fasting with one meal a day and only water / black tea and black coffee that I started having major tummy problems which were so bad I had to stop taking them. Mind you I didn’t really need them by that stage as hbaca1 taken shortly after was 33 so dn agreed that not useful for me. I felt much better very quickly after coming off them within a few days and havent looked back!
 

I had to stop taking Metformin because of diarrhoea it really upset my tummy
 
tinyjellybaby said:
Blimey! I'm so sorry to hear this. Just out of interest, how did you know that it was Metformin that caused all of this?
Click to expand...
@tinyjellybaby I'm really not sure it was Metforim that did it, it's just that after taking Met all these symptoms appeared but some could actually have been the diabetes itself, even all of them, however after stopping the pills most of the symptoms left so I didn't want to end up bald. lol. Hair is still very thin but getting better so really it was hard to tell whether the pills or the diabetes.Hope that helps a little. I wouldn't ever tell anyone to go off their tablets it's just that I had to besides I was so terribly tired and could barely walk. For others it may be a very good tablet.
 
Contralto said:
hmm, hair loss. How's your thyroid? Have hashimoto's thyroiditis? There are various reasons for hair loss
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@Contralto Thyroid at the time wasn't good either and yes i did consider that i also considered high iron levels and quite a few things really but when those things happened after i started metforim i automatically thought it was the tablet. I was diagnosed with graves disease over 15 years ago now and it was low at the time of medication. I also heard that diabetes can cause hair loss as well and could have been a combination of things. As i said that is just my experience of metformin and wouldn't advise anyone to cease their medications on just my opinion.
 
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