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Metformin with food, what is the minimum amount to eat

T

tjs

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Hello,
I was diagnosed with type 2 about 8 months ago and took it as an opportunity to turn my life around, with strict dieting and regular meds I have lost 5 1/2 stone and got my BS down to a level where even my grumpy old GP smiled. Things have changed though and I am now struggling to take my first 500mg Metformin of the day.

I used to be able to have breakfast at work (porridge, skimmed milK) and take my Metformin with that and everything was great, now I dont get the chance to sit down and eat so I have missed it on a few occasions now.

As things are, due to having 3 young kids and the commute from hell it is normally 3.5 hrs between getting up and getting to work and then another 4hrs until lunchtime, if I eat breakfast at home before the kids and commute I am famished well before lunchtime and want to start snacking.

What I want to know is what would be the minimum amount of food I could eat to take my meds with first thing in the morning before chaos begins.

Thanks for listening,

Tony
 
Hi. I suspect none can really answer that. If you are on Metformin SR (Slow Release) it's probably not very critical. If on the plain version I guess much depends on whether you suffer any stomach problems with it
 
Thanks Daibell, I ask because there seem to be 2 schools of thought, first that food is required to avoid digestive problems and the the other is that it increases the effect of the dose
 
I was under the (possibly mistaken) impression that the reason for taking meds with food rather than without is either to do with preventing digestive irritation and/or because the med needs to be absorbed from the stomach rather than passing through to the intestines ( like some meds do if you have to take them with just a drink of water on an empty stomach.) In that sense it CAN influence the effect of the med because different meds need to be absorbed from different places to work effectively.

I think therefore that as long as you have 'something' rather than nothing you should be ok. Small snack size.... If that makes sense. An apple or 2 crackers or something that sort of size.

Don't take my word for it though. :)
 
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