Metformin Newbie

seza said:

Hi all,

My doctor is a fan of Metformin - recently he prescribed it for me even though he thinks I am pre-prediabetic!
also there is a history of prostate issues in the family - my doc thinks that Metformin will help with that too.

The type they prescribe here is a brand called Glucophage 500 made by a French company,
each tablet contains 390mg of METFORMIN CHLORO-HYDRATE
he put me on 250mg (1/2 tablet) twice per day with food for the first week to double the dose by the second week and stay at that for couple of months then go back for a follow up.

I am free to tweak the the formula if I need to,

I am mindful to reduce the side effects as much as possible - can you good people confirm that above is a good start if not what would you recommend?

thanks and good health to all,
S

Click to expand...

We cannot really advise individuals on dosage levels as it breaks the forum rules. (If things go wrong, who takes the blame?)

Presumably your doctor has decided on that doseage based on some clinical information and because you are not fully diabetic.

Just see how you get on and talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

seza said:

Hi all,

My doctor is a fan of Metformin - recently he prescribed it for me even though he thinks I am pre-prediabetic!
also there is a history of prostate issues in the family - my doc thinks that Metformin will help with that too.

The type they prescribe here is a brand called Glucophage 500 made by a French company,
each tablet contains 390mg of METFORMIN CHLORO-HYDRATE
he put me on 250mg (1/2 tablet) twice per day with food for the first week to double the dose by the second week and stay at that for couple of months then go back for a follow up.

I am free to tweak the the formula if I need to,

I am mindful to reduce the side effects as much as possible - can you good people confirm that above is a good start if not what would you recommend?

thanks and good health to all,
S

Click to expand...

You are lucky, as Glucophage is mentioned by Dr Bernstein as possibly twice as effective as some other generic forms of Metformin. And also that your doctor is up to date with the 2017 guidance from NICE that GPs should give pre-diabetic patients Metformin in order to protect them from progressing to full diabetes. AND that he is aware of the need to start Metformin gradually to avoid upsetting your digestive system. Going by the following article, you could even start more gradually still:
http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=1261
Having said that, I was defeated by the difficulty of cutting up my 500mg tablets, so I started with 500mg once daily and have progressed to 500mg twice daily, with no ill-effects other than a little looseness of the bowels, which may actually be due to also starting Dabigatran. Anyway, nothing uncontrollable.
Many people here are keen to get off Metformin. Personally, I was keen to get on it, I need all the help I can get, and I managed to persuade my GP to prescribe it despite my recent A1c of 37. I would like to get my A1c down to 34, or even 31 (normal) and I am hoping soon to get my GP to raise my Metformin dose again, with a view to eventually taking a total of 2000mg. I'd like also to switch to Glucophage, but I don't want to push my luck too far!
Jenny Ruhl is another Metformin enthusiast: you can read some of her views and advice here: http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/timing-your-metformin-dose.html