Hi all. I was diagnosed as type 2 last week with my first meeting with a nurse yesterday. I have been prescribed Metformin that I started today. To take this 1 per day for a week then up to 2 per day. I took this at around 9.30am with breakfast as told and I am already experiencing the common side effects. Is it normal to experience this from day 1? TIA
Metformin side effects
- Thread starter mcphil87
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On my first day I had an upset stomach after one tablet. But it didn't happen again. I wonder whether it was abit of nervousness about taking the tablets after hearing about the side effects but luckily was ok. I haven't increased the dose as I saw a reduction in blood sugars with the one tablet and reducing my carb intake. Hope it settles for you.
I was prescribed metformin 2 weeks ago...one tablet a day for the first 14 days within that time I had blurred vision... had to use my reading glasses as distance. Then on the 14th day l had to take another tablet in the evening after my main meal , within 2 hours l was so dizzy and just had to sleep. The next day l spoke to Dr who has stopped meds for a week and seeing opticians for my eyes.
Has anyone else had bad side effects... dr had never heard.of these side effects.
Has anyone else had bad side effects... dr had never heard.of these side effects.
JoKalsbeek
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I hope you didn't get expensive glasses...! Your eyes have been looking through a lot of glucose for who knows, maybe even years.... It's been distorting your vision for a while, and your brain's been compensating for it. When you lower your blood sugars, you get blurred vision for a while as your brain has to stop adjusting. Takes a week or two, until your blood sugars stabilise a little. Best course of action's just getting some cheap reading specs to get you through those weeks.
Mind you, once your blood sugars are lowered, stable and fine, you'll want to get an eye check to see where your vision's really at and whether, being newly diagnosed, there's any retinopathy going on. Just don't throw money down the specs drain right now, you'll have absolutely useless glasses in a few weeks.
Also, if the metformin isn't agreeing with you, diet's an excellent way to control blood sugars , should you and @mcphil87 be interested. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
Good luck!
Jo
Hi. Yes, it's normal for many. If it continues after, say, 2 weeks then ask the GP to prescribe Metformin SR (Slow Release) which is kinder
Agreed, I have zero side effects on the SR type for over a decade. It might calm down on the normal version, SR might be better, but it may take a little time. We are all different, many people tolerate this drug okay. Some don’t. Genetic lottery I guess
hopefully for @mcphil87 it will calm down. If not there are other options for sure. Diet and/or different medications. Good luck!
Glad to hear it, hopefully tolerance will build up and increasing the dosage won’t impact you
You’ll get through this. Keep reading on here, loads of advice and maybe a way to look in the right time at your diet and seek ways to improve that might bring you off the drugs
JoKalsbeek
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Just keep in mind... If the problems persist for longer than two weeks, and switching to slow release doesn't help, they're issues that aren't going to go away, and metformin might not be for you. It sure wasn't for me... Bleeding from places I shouldn't be bleeding from, dehydrated, exhausted. It got ugly. That's why I switched to diet-only and never looked back. There is other medication out there, it's just that metformin is the first stop. You have options. Different meds, a purely dietary approach, a combination of the two... Just keep an eye on your calendar on how long it all takes. You don't want to walk around with these issues any longer than strictly necessary.
I'm in the same situation 4 weeks in things did get easier for me after a couple of weeks so stick with it. However, having strange night sweats and dizziness over last few days - trying to see my GP as think may be low blood sugar but can't get appointment until mid Dec
JoKalsbeek
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Do you have a meter? I had night sweats and dizziness while I was uncontrolled, and thus, high. A lot of symptoms of a hyper and a hypo overlap, and with metformin, you technically shouldn't be experiencing hypo's. If you wake up in the night in a veritable waterbed, you should do a quick check of your blood sugars. You could be high rather than low.
I'm recently diagnosed sept 20..my blood sugar was 31.2......I started immediately on glucoside and metformin.....what a state I was in vomiting every where.....put on slow release was fine....but my vision went for one month then suddenly came back......I was OK on meds.until upped the dose last week now on 2 x gliclazide daily n 4 x metformin.....wow the hypos are scary......just coming outta no where within 30 seconds yesterday my sugars dropped to 3.4........my average is 7 so I don't think I've done to bad in 3 months to get from 31.2 to 7.......changed diet drastically alongside meds....just wondering if anyone else had this prob upping the metformin......I feel ill most days n the weight isn't coming off
JoKalsbeek
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You're mixing a low carb diet with gliclazide, and the hypo's you're experiencing are a result of that. (Been there, done that, and they were scary!). Nausea, vomiting and such can be due to the Glic, it's not just a metformin thing. And gliclazide may be responsible for you not losing weight. Quite a few people gain weight while on it. If your blood sugars are normalising, you really, REALLY need to dial back the gliclazide. Metformin doesn't cause hypo's, contrary to the glic, but it can make you feel horribly ill too, so the two might be making up a perfect storm for feeling wretched... Is there any chance you can speak to your nurse/doc and adjust the medication again? You might be doing alright on diet alone, but you'd have to be quite strict and keep it up... You made a massive difference already with the diet, that's NOT down to the medication. It makes a difference, yes, but not THAT big a difference. That's all you.
I am on week 3 three times a day and suffering with gastric pain... gas and eggs burps.. should I ring GP for long acting metformin
JoKalsbeek
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