Metform over long period of years.

[rogers1938]

Have been taking 500mg Metformin for something over 15 years. Now, overnight and most nights, I wake inn the morning with a white furry coat on my tongue and back of my throat which feels dry. My GP adjusted dosage to two tablets in the morning and one after evening meal. Any advice or comment would be most wellcome.

 

[Traceymac23]

side effects appearing after 15 years would be unusual in any medication I think?

 

[Guzzler]

Do you test your blood glucose levels at home?

Sounds more like a fungal problem and fungal infections can be a sign of raised bg levels. Just a thought.

By the way, does your GP monitor your B12 levels? Long term use of Metformin can in some people cause malabsorption of vitB12 so it is worth checking on that.

 

[Rachox]

Has your Dr increased your Metformin in response to an increase in your HbA1c? If so have you ever adjusted your diet over the years for more control than depending drugs alone?

 

[millenium]

By the way, how effective in lowering bg is for example 500mg dose twice a day?

 

[Rachox]

By the way, how effective in lowering bg is for example 500mg dose twice a day?

I reduced my dose by 500mg per day for a spell last year and I noticed a rise of average bloods sugars of around 0.5 mmol/l

 

[Daibell]

I've been taking Metformin for 15 years or so with no problems. Note that Metformin never has a big effect and a low-carb diet is always the highest priority.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

By the way, how effective in lowering bg is for example 500mg dose twice a day?

A good question, the effect of Metformin, "the first-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes", seems to differ from patient to patient and I suspect will depend on the degree of insulin resistance of the individual. Only an opinion, but I've seen different views from different forum members over the years.

 

[millenium]

I suspect the one mmol upper limit of bg lowering effect at max dosage is likely to be true. If it is so, taking it without controlling carb intake and without staying active will be meaningless. I have personally seen a few patients that eat what they like as and when while on metformin. After a while, they were requested by their doctors to go and test their bg on a monthly basis. Why? i do not know.