Metformin accidental overdose.. feeling so stupid..

[zaphod37]

Ok so I have been on 2000mg of metformin sr per day for a few years. They always come in the 500mg tablets, 2 in the morning and 2 at night. So i put them out in the pill box for the week then its done. Tonight I was putting out my tablets and noticed the tablets seemed large so I checked the label and it said 500mg, then i noticed the box said 100mg.

Now for the dumb part.. for at least the last month, I have been taking the usual 2 tablets morning and night, however, looks like i have been taking double the dose. For the last few days i have has tummy and bowel upsets and felling a little nauseous. I just put it down to a stomach bug. I am now wondering if its been the metforming and my stupidity.

I am going to give the Doc a call in the morning and see what happens. I wont take any more metformin till i speak to her. I just cant believe how stupid i have been.

 

[Rachox]

I would advise ringing 111 in case there is anything you should do immediately, that is quite a long time to be taking that much too much. They might just say to go ahead with talking to your dr tomorrow, but better safe than sorry. Let us know how you get on.

 

[zaphod37]

I would advise ringing 111 in case there is anything you should do immediately, that is quite a long time to be taking that much too much. They might just say to go ahead with talking to your dr tomorrow, but better safe than sorry. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for your reply, just spoke to a paramedic from 111 and he adviseed me to talk to my GP tomorrow as they may want to do some tests, he was happy that I didnt need to go to A&E. I just feel so stupid now lol.

I will let you know what the gp says.
Thanks again

 

[ATB123]

Ok so I have been on 2000mg of metformin sr per day for a few years. They always come in the 500mg tablets, 2 in the morning and 2 at night. So i put them out in the pill box for the week then its done. Tonight I was putting out my tablets and noticed the tablets seemed large so I checked the label and it said 500mg, then i noticed the box said 100mg.

Now for the dumb part.. for at least the last month, I have been taking the usual 2 tablets morning and night, however, looks like i have been taking double the dose. For the last few days i have has tummy and bowel upsets and felling a little nauseous. I just put it down to a stomach bug. I am now wondering if its been the metforming and my stupidity.

I am going to give the Doc a call in the morning and see what happens. I wont take any more metformin till i speak to her. I just cant believe how stupid i have been.

I would also contact the pharmacy if they have dispensed the wrong dose, if the label says 500mg tablets and the tablets in the box are 1000mg then they have made a serious error and need to investigate.

 

[zaphod37]

Thanks for all of the replies, I contacted my GP today and he gave me a call back, he has arranged urgent bloods, the drug can cause Lactic Acidosis so he needs to checlk my levels and kidney function etc. He told me to stop taking metformin untill the results come back and he tells me to continue using them.

I think they probably didnt have the 500mg ones so substitutes them for the 1000mg. I usualy check my meds before dispensing them into the pill bank, it was just a stupid mistake on my part I should have checked.

like my late mam used to say... I bet you wont do that again lol.

 

[Hopeful34]

I'm glad the gp is doing that urgently, and hope the results of your blood tests are OK @zaphod37

If the chemist was going to change the strength of your tablets, they would have had to get a new prescription from the gp, and should have made you aware. It was in no way your mistake.

 

[KathrynB]

In no way are you stupid- it's the pharmacy's fault for not telling you they'd changed your tablets. Considering they look different depending on different brands, they should tell you if you need to take fewer.

 

[zaphod37]

Hi all, just a quick update, just got the results back and the doc cleared me to resume metformin as nothing was amis there. They did find however that I was borderlline macrocytosis, possibly a b12 problem (I was told this could be an issue at some point after the bowel resection) so the doc has requested repeat bloods after a couple of weeks.
Thank you for all of your replies.

 

[Ro9998]

Ok so I have been on 2000mg of metformin sr per day for a few years. They always come in the 500mg tablets, 2 in the morning and 2 at night. So i put them out in the pill box for the week then its done. Tonight I was putting out my tablets and noticed the tablets seemed large so I checked the label and it said 500mg, then i noticed the box said 100mg.

Now for the dumb part.. for at least the last month, I have been taking the usual 2 tablets morning and night, however, looks like i have been taking double the dose. For the last few days i have has tummy and bowel upsets and felling a little nauseous. I just put it down to a stomach bug. I am now wondering if its been the metforming and my stupidity.

I am going to give the Doc a call in the morning and see what happens. I wont take any more metformin till i speak to her. I just cant believe how stupid i have been.

Don’t beat yourself up I take other meds do all time

 

[Jordi77]

Done it with insulin before and I was taking to hospital for a hypo because of it but I still got through it just but if I left it for any longer I may not have but it's life you have other things to think about and you don't need to worry about it as it won't hurt you not like to much insulin anyway

 

[Glitterlady71]

Glad you got sorted

 

[HSSS]

Hi all, just a quick update, just got the results back and the doc cleared me to resume metformin as nothing was amis there. They did find however that I was borderlline macrocytosis, possibly a b12 problem (I was told this could be an issue at some point after the bowel resection) so the doc has requested repeat bloods after a couple of weeks.
Thank you for all of your replies.

Metformin can cause low b12 over time, even if you don’t double your dose accidentally. Your dr should know this and be testing for it periodically anyway, though many don’t seem to.