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Metformin side effects

J

Juju13

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi all I originally started on metformin 3 times a day and it didn't settle I am now on the slow release and have been on them nearly 2 months and the side effects are still not settling how do you all get around this it's stopping me from working and socialising
 
I have an appointment tomorrow just don't know what other options there will be
 
yes the main side effect would limit work unless a toilet is very close. very very close. like all meds they have side effects most are rare just not this one.
 
I found that stopping taking them worked quite well and cutting out almost all carbs controlled my blood sugar better than the pills ever had. But that was just me.
 
Some folks just cannot tolerate Metformin and have to discontinue use. Talk it over with your GP, I have not heard of an alternative to the slow release Metformin but perhaps a change in dosage may help. Sorry I could not be of more help to you, good luck.
 
SGLT2 inhibitors are now approved as a "first line" drug for people who don't get on with Metformin, if I was you, I would be asking my GP about them. (Also sometimes if someone stops Metformin for a few weeks, then restarts on the lowest possible dose, they find they can cope with it, often the dose is increased too fast.)
 
I went from 500mg three times a day quick release to 1000mg in a morning and 500mg at tea time of the slow release
 
if your on long term pain meds codeine based meds like cocodamol can help a little. not that i recommend the use of pain meds to stop the squirts. now colchine for gout has spectacular effects on me. but it really does stop a gout attack
 
I got into such a state that I stopped taking Metformin and the statin I was put on straight after diagnosis. I lasted 5 weeks, but it was Christmas and life was just not worth living, so I thought that whatever happened I was not going to spend the rest of my life in a nappy.
So far so good.
I had no difficulty in lowering my BG to normal and now whenever I check my BG it is normal.
As you will be seeing someone maybe request time off for putting up with the dreadful stuff for so long and see what your next Hba1c is.
 
@Juju13 - Have you experimented with when you take your Metformin? Some people seem to find a sweet spot when they can take it and be fine.
 
Hi Juju. So I’m not going to tell you to stop taking your medication but I am going to ask you to do two things. I increase the fibre in your diet and two, take all three tablets at once, do it 10-12 hours before you would wake up. Try this for two weeks. If your symptoms don’t improve then your medical team is the way to go.
I suffered for two years with having to find a toilet and stopping and starting Metformin, till I was advised about the fibre and letting the metformin work on a full days stomach. Now if I have a toilet issue, then I must have come into contact with lactose somewhere. Good luck
 
We can't tell you what to do as we are not GPs, but if I had this problem, I would stop the Metformin until the problem went away, then start at 1 tablet a day with food, increasing the dose after 1 week to the 2 tablets a day the GP has requested.
 
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