Metformin side effects

I have heard people say that but I got another effect which caused them to be stopped. In the meantime here is a link to the side effects. If you think you are on the list then see your DN or doctor.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/metformin-side-effects.html

As I said, I have heard of other people having similar problems but I have no personal experience of it since my time on metformin was quite short due to it altering the taste of food. I think you are going to have to see your DN.

I fortunately only ever experienced 2-3 unpleasant cases of the runs with metformin (standard version) in the early days when I first started taking it after I had slightly more carbs than normal for my lowish carb evening meals - and the results were fairly fast and unpleasant. Carbs can cause fermentation in your gut and this is actually a known side effect. See here: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045911.php and scroll down to section on Gastric distress.

I've never had any issues with the slow release version, but I'm fairly strict about limiting my carbs.

But you can also get similar issues with eating foods containing some of the sugar alcohols/polyols used as sweeteners in "sugar free" products, again if you indulge a little. I've seen warnings about this included with these recently online - Thorntons is one that comes to mind.

Robbity

Hi. Metformin (standard version) is well-known to cause bowel issues. If you have this problem then ask the GP for the SR (Slow Release) version

Hi - if you've been on metformin for 2 years and still reacting to it you probably can't tolerate it. I was on it 5 years and I'm sorry to say I didn't tolerate any dosage or the slow release version either. I just had a lot of diarrhoea and nausea with it. I always ate it with food as well, only took it a few times without and that was even worse. It's probably a good idea to have a chat to your doc about alternative treatments. I wish your the best.

I was on the standard metformin and let's just say I had to plan my route around the town carefully when out of the house as I needed the toilet QUICK! So I was put on slow release, ok for a while then the troubles started again. Told by Dr it was iritable bowel and sent me to the dietician. She agreed and told me to keep a note of what I ate.... Now 4 yrs later, the diabetic nurse told me to stop the medication when I went on holiday and then go back onto it slowly. The same results, even on 1/2 dose. So now following the LCHF diet and doing well. The tablets were controlling my life, only I didn't realise it was them in the end. So speak to your Dr and don't be fobbed off with IBS, in fact the last visit to the Dr and was told I'd got celiac disease! Blood test proved that wrong

berylc said:

I was on the standard metformin and let's just say I had to plan my route around the town carefully when out of the house as I needed the toilet QUICK! So I was put on slow release, ok for a while then the troubles started again. Told by Dr it was iritable bowel and sent me to the dietician. She agreed and told me to keep a note of what I ate.... Now 4 yrs later, the diabetic nurse told me to stop the medication when I went on holiday and then go back onto it slowly. The same results, even on 1/2 dose. So now following the LCHF diet and doing well. The tablets were controlling my life, only I didn't realise it was them in the end. So speak to your Dr and don't be fobbed off with IBS, in fact the last visit to the Dr and was told I'd got celiac disease! Blood test proved that wrong

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unfortunately for me I've had IBS-D ever since I've been taken off metformin, so it's like the metformin side effects never stopped... that was over 6 years ago I stopped it too. They've diagnosed me with IBS-D since then. I definitely didn't have any issues with my bowel or my digestive tract for that matter prior to metformin. I'm not sure whether 5 years of not tolerating a drug upset things for me, triggered things or what. I wished I was more assertive with insisting they take me off it, instead of just putting up with side effects and the endless changes to dosages by docs when I complained to try and get me to tolerate it. For some reason docs think metformin is like a miracle drug for diabetes and insist type 2's have to be on it. I remember the lectures I got how it's important I stay on it because it's the only drug for insulin resistance. I don't want to scare people.... but from my own experience I'd tell anyone to do your absolute best to get off it if you keep having side effects... if I had my time again I'd probably try a full on tantrum to get my point across instead of being polite about it. If it works for you I'd imagine you should only have a very short term of side effects and then be ok on it and function well, plus see results. A lot of people are fine, but there's a group of us that aren't. But then that's the nature of all drugs really.... they either work or they don't, tolerated or they aren't. It so happens I'm sensitive to a lot of drugs and have had some bad reactions over the past 6 years (non diabetic drugs). It does make a docs job hard for people like myself I suppose.

Mep said:

It so happens I'm sensitive to a lot of drugs and have had some bad reactions over the past 6 years

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I'm sure you've asked the question, but surely there's got to be a link between all that medication where the effects of some drugs compromise others.

Mike D said:

I'm sure you've asked the question, but surely there's got to be a link between all that medication where the effects of some drugs compromise others.

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yes, I've had that happen... eg. don't take domperidone and amitriptyline together, it took them a while to figure that out. But in general it is just I don't tolerate some drugs like tramadol, lyrica, pristiq, sertraline, norfloxacin, etc. So anything I don't tolerate my doc lists as allergies.

The doctors here put me on Metformin variants twice, the first, serious stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea, that after 1 tablet. The second occasion, serious stomach pains to the extent of having morphine..seriously it was that bad. However they persisted, and second pill, still was sti on morphine, getting above diarrhoea again and all muscles locking up, could not see, could not talk, had difficulty breathing. Anyway that rubbish was stopped and after 4 days allowed to go home, could not focus my eyes, that lasted for about 6 weeks before I could ride my motorcycle again, severe stomach pains and aformentioned side effect lasted about a week, was very weak.
So, as the doctor said, "we won't try THAT again!"

I was on metformin standard and very unwell, stomach cramps, bowels in uproer etc. Then slow release was OK for a few days and then no better than standard. My blood sugsrs were in the teens when I was taking metformin. I told doctor that my bg was up when on metformin and she told me to stop testing my bg and keep taking the metformin. Another month of hell and I stopped taking the horrible drug, started testing again and bgs had come down, not as good as before metformin, but a lot better than when on the drug. Eventually saw diabetes specialist who said "of course the drug makes your blood sugar rise, your blood sugar rises when you're ill, if it makes you ill then the blood sugar rises. We normally tell people not to test blood sugar". I can't believe that the "scientists" in exeter are intending to give this awful drug to children who haven't got diabetes! I don't take it any more, but I haven't been offered anything else and I really don't understand how not testing blood sugars helps if the drug is having a damaging affect?

Mike D said:

I'm sure you've asked the question, but surely there's got to be a link between all that medication where the effects of some drugs compromise others.

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I forgot to mention that when I was metformin I wasn't on the meds I'm on now. So I can't really blame interaction of other drugs impacting metformin. I've only been placed on more drugs after coming off metformin because surprise surprise that's when all my problems started worsening other than what I already had diagnosed which was diabetes and pcos. I quite often get asked when did all my digestive problems start and I say it was when i was on metformin... it started 3 years into being on that drug in 2008. I remained on the drug a further 2 years after my problems started. I was finally placed on insulin beginning of 2010 and taken off diabetic oral drugs. But that decision had nothing to do with drug tolerance and everything to do with my pancreas not producing much insulin.