Metformin side effects

[fhjp]

Hi,this is the first time I've been on the forum.I've just come off the slow release Metformin following side effects that were becoming intolerable.Extreme fatigue,nausea, constipation,loss of appetite and weight loss.Have others experienced the same side effects

 

[EllieM]

Hi @fhjp and welcome to the forums.

Metformin has been around for a long time (it's also a treatment for PCOS) so the gastric side effects are well known, and though some people tolerate it very well, others really don't.

I must admit I haven't heard of weight loss as a side effect, unless that was a result of the gastric ones (nausea/diarrhoea?).

As a T1 I haven't used it personally though I was on a metformin trial for a couple of years so may or may not have been taking it then (Half the participants were on a placebo).

There are many other diabetic medications and to be honest many of the T2s on here find that reducing the carbs in their diet has a greater effect than metformin.

Can I ask how long you've been diabetic?

Once more, welcome.

 

[fhjp]

Hi, I was borderline for some time and thought I could control it with diet and exercise.Until last November it went beyond my control and jumped from 58mol to74mol.It was then they the diabetic nurse put me on Metformin.I went from 500mg for two weeks but because of my nausea put me on slow release Metformin twice daily.The side effects again we're nausea,extreme fatigue and weight loss because I can't face food generally.I regularly go without lunch and get very little appetite at dinner.18lb lost so far and I wasn't that overweight to begin with.

 

[catinahat]

When I was first diagnosed the metformin side effects were unbearable, they changed my prescription to the slow release ones but they were no different.
So the whole lot went into the bin and I changed my diet to LCHF.

 

[Resurgam]

I could only manage 5 weeks taking the ordinary Metformin, but I was so very ill physically and the mental effects - !!!- I was suicidal.
When I had recovered a bit - I threw the tablets in the bin, I realised I never needed them in the first place.

 

[Munyanezagilbert]

Hi @fhjp and welcome to the forums.

Metformin has been around for a long time (it's also a treatment for PCOS) so the gastric side effects are well known, and though some people tolerate it very well, others really don't.

I must admit I haven't heard of weight loss as a side effect, unless that was a result of the gastric ones (nausea/diarrhoea?).

As a T1 I haven't used it personally though I was on a metformin trial for a couple of years so may or may not have been taking it then (Half the participants were on a placebo).

There are many other diabetic medications and to be honest many of the T2s on here find that reducing the carbs in their diet has a greater effect than metformin.

Can I ask how long you've been diabetic?

Once more, welcome.

Am Gilbert from Rwanda almost 2 years with T2D ,from that time I have been diagnosed Diabetes I used Metformin ,it has more side effects

 

[fhjp]

When I was first diagnosed the metformin side effects were unbearable, they changed my prescription to the slow release ones but they were no different.
So the whole lot went into the bin and I changed my diet to LCHF.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I have stopped taking metformin for a week to see how my body reacts. The doctor has prescribed dapagliflozin as alternative. Has anyone had experience of taking this medication?

 

[catinahat]

After my experience with metformin I decided that not eating the foods that caused my high blood sugar was a better option than an ever increasing amount of meds. So I don't have any personal knowledge of Dapagliflozin but here's the NHS list of possible side effects https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/dapagliflozin/side-effects-of-dapagliflozin/

 

[wozey]

I’ve had the nausea constipation diarrhoea, but not the one I was looking forward too and that was the weight loss although I don’t need to lose much to get back into the normal weight range so I’m probably lucky because I could have ended up underweight. I’m just starting to see it all settling down now so I think the worst is over

 

[kamrez2224]

Hi, I was borderline for some time and thought I could control it with diet and exercise.Until last November it went beyond my control and jumped from 58mol to74mol.It was then they the diabetic nurse put me on Metformin.I went from 500mg for two weeks but because of my nausea put me on slow release Metformin twice daily.The side effects again we're nausea,extreme fatigue and weight loss because I can't face food generally.I regularly go without lunch and get very little appetite at dinner.18lb lost so far and I wasn't that overweight to begin with.

Hi I was borderline diabetic , although at one time my HBA1C level was 46, I was told to lose weight sand low carb diet, It came down to 39 , what i found which i was told by fried to take Moringa powder one teaspoon in water after meal, and berberine I have noticed no matter how rich carb food i eat, My blood sugar levels don't exceed 6 mmoles , these are natural substances with no side effect, Berberine is a natural herb which is better than Metformin.
On youtube watch Dr Berg lecture on Berberine and Metformin.

 

[KennyA]

I've never used metformin myself. I thought it might be helpful to add here what Bilous and Donnelly have to say about metformin in the "Handbook of Diabetes".

"Metformin is a deriviative of guanidine, the active ingredient of goat's rue (galega officianalis) used as a treatment for diabetes in mediaeval Europe. Metformin increases insulin action (the exact mechanism is unclear) lowering glucose mainly by decreasing hepatic glucose output. Unlike sulphonylureas, it does not cause hypoglaecemia or weight gain and, indeed, has some appetite-suppressing activity that may encourage weight loss....Major side effects are nausea, anorexia, or diarrhoea, which affect about one third of patients. Lactic acidosis is a rare but serious side effect that carries high mortality. It can be avoided by not giving metformin to patients with renal, hepatic, cardiac, or respiratory failure or those with a history of alcohol abuse. "

pg 82-3

 

[Deleted member 475901]

My mother had all the metformin side effects, and the development of diabetic complications eventually.
Seeing what she went through is the reason I went straight onto low carb instead. OK, it meant giving up a few foods but there are alternatives for nearly all of them and unlike low calorie diets I never have to feel hungry.

 

[Grammy24Angels]

I take metformin but don’t always feel good. Some days I can take 2 and other days I can take 3. I can get extreme nausea, vomitting, diarrhea, stomach cramps. I also take ozempic once weekly. I eat a pretty strict diet and hope to get off metformin.

 

[AloeSvea]

I don't blame you for wanting to get off metformin with side effects like that @Grammy24Angels.

I know how helpful the talk of side effects of this common medication for T2D has been for me. (Big ty @Resurgam!)

Reading of stomach cramps made me realise that's what was happening with me some days - I couldn't figure out what it was from. Now I'm pretty sure it's a from-time-to-time symptom of the met, as is some effect on my mood, and sometimes nausea. I am pretty sure after experimenting for a year, I am no longer being positively affected by it, outside of allowing me to more painlessly experience intermittent fasting regimes due to the appetite suppressant aspect, as in my fasting blood glucose levels have risen again, and are more affected by degrees of exercise I am engaging in, which is how it has been for me for the duration. I guess for some people it stops working as well over time? (And apparently it has only a 1-2% reduction affect on ones blood glucose at any rate.) (2% is at best.)

Lucky folks who don't get the bad side effects, and they can see it positively affect their symptoms in their blood glucose readings. Not so me anymore I don't think. Oh well.

 

[Retanna]

I've been on Metformin SR since July 2022, initially 2000mg daily but now on 1500mg thanks to my low carb diet getting me almost in remission. Hoping the DN nurse will advise dropping another 500mg of the metformin soon. HBAC1 around 35 last week!

I have suffered with extreme constipation and moderate tiredness since being on MF. To counter I now have two dessert spoonfuls of Flaxseed with water when I get up and the same dose of Chia seed in the evening. I have also on the advice of a pharmacist started taking 30ml of Lactulose. I eat plenty of veg fibre during the day - lots of celery! I have also greatly increased my fluid intake. These measures do seem to help with the constipation.

Hope that helps?

 

[EllieM]

(And apparently it has only a 1-2% reduction affect on ones blood glucose at any rate.) (2% is at best.)

But bear in mind that isn't a drop of 1 or 2 in a hba1c of 100 mmol/mol, but a reduction to 8% in an hba1c starting at 9% ie a drop in mmol/mol of 11 or so. Not massive, but useful to many. The use of differing units one of which is a % makes it very confusing.

 

[AloeSvea]

Hi there @EllieM - you lost me on that % explanation. I haven't read an 8% starting at 9% reduction figure, with the use of different units, but I have 1% usual, 2% maximum.

I agree - a reduction in 11 numbers is not bad at all.

I understand the different way of measuring HBA1c, ie the IFCC, and the DCCT, as in the % system the Americans use, the mg/dl, and the mmol/L system the rest of the world does, basically. I have had T2D for nearly 10 years, and read a lot on topic, so I am not confused by those two different ways of measuring blood glucose (and the different American way of measuring - everything, lol).

But I would love to understand this 8% starting at 9% reduction formula better - can you direct me to something online that might do that for me, or explain further? I would greatly appreciate it, for sure.

 

[AloeSvea]

Hi again @EllieM - I see you are online now. The math and blood glucose reduction on metformin maths issue has been bugging me since pre-dawn! . So I called upon a STEM friend of mine, who I go to with all matters tech and mathematical,when they arise. And the actual reduction in blood glucose due to metformin has in fact been a maths issue of mine for - years! As in trying to get to the bottom of it. WAY too difficult for THE go-to T2D drug out there, to find a simple answer. Because believe you me, I have been going online to do just that for ages.

So, after a couple of breakfasts, many many cups of coffee and even a cup of tea over four hours, I had the sense to get out my '50 Shades of Diabetes' chart and immediatly saw where you were coming from, with the 11 mmol and the 9% going down to 8% thing. Cos there it is - in the American % HBA1c method a 9% is our 75 mmol/L reading, and so a 1% reduction is - yes - your 11 mmol reduction at 8% or our (IFCC) 64 reading.

If you are right, and this IS what is meant, then minussing a percentage of a percentage is really weird maths. Says my friendly STEM expert. And if that is the case, then the Americans have surpassed themselves with idiosyncratic measuring! Because, as far as working out percentages goes, there should be nothing more straight forward than taking a hyperthetical reading of say, 100, minusing 1-2%, and coming up with 98-99. Which is how percentages are supposed to work, simply.

But, I accept that weird percentage readings is where it's at. IS that where it is at?

 

[AloeSvea]

I have no idea if anyone else is interested in this - exactly what kind of reduction in BG we should be expecting from metformin. From what I can gather is - it is way more controversial than what is being openly said, as it is SO hard to find the science and the maths for, and behind, this. I did find an actual figure mmol wise, from NZ, and this one is - wait for it - 16mmol! Wo ho! There is no way my own experience backs that one up. Mine is actually more to the 1-2% generally quoted, and not on the American percentage of a percentage! ie a few mmol at most. Anyhow - here is a screenshot of the 16mmol ref

 

[AloeSvea]

The editor and author of that information...