metformin

Hi
Metformin was given to me before xmas and I could not get to 2 tablets a day before I got explosive diarrhoea. Could not eat for days after. Have stopped and am now trying lchf diet as I have been insulin resistant for 25 + years. Look up metformin on forum lots have not been able to tolerate. You may settle down. But I have decided to take a more proactive approach because I followed advice for last 12 yrs and has got me nowhere.

Good evening @jaspajax I was diagnosed in October 2016 with a HbA1c pf 114(12.6% I was prescribed 2 x 500g Metformin daily ,one in the morning and one at night with or after food,I took these for the first 3 months until my first assessment on January 5th as you can see I was quite pleased with the progress I had made my,my HbA1c had come down to 50 after that I started getting a lot of 3.readings so decided to cut one tablet out(with Doctors knowledge) as I felt it was coming down to low,so now I am only taking one tablet a day at midday +low carb diet(80 to 200carbs daily) and exercise,now awaiting my 6 month assessment due on March 24th,I had no problems at any time taking the Metformin,hope this helps

wiseowl_123 said:

Good evening @jaspajax I was diagnosed in October 2016 with a HbA1c pf 114(12.6% I was prescribed 2 x 500g Metformin daily ,one in the morning and one at night with or after food,I took these for the first 3 months until my first assessment on January 5th as you can see I was quite pleased with the progress I had made my,my HbA1c had come down to 50 after that I started getting a lot of 3.readings so decided to cut one tablet out(with Doctors knowledge) as I felt it was coming down to low,so now I am only taking one tablet a day at midday +low carb diet(80 to 200carbs daily) and exercise,now awaiting my 6 month assessment due on March 24th,I had no problems at any time taking the Metformin,hope this helps

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Hi @wiseowl_123 is the attachment with all of those figures what you have received from your GP or surgery? You see I was put on metformin last October and the nurse said to go back in January after three months for another HbA1c to see if there was an improvement and if there wasn't she'd call me back in. Well no call or appointment came so I was guessing the results must have shown some improvement and have been feeling pretty hunky dory about that. However after mentioning this in another post I was advised that I should go and ask for the results for my own records which I intend to do Monday, but was wondering from the above if that is what i'm going to get? You see my surgery does not seem to do results over the internet, well certainly not when I've logged on and tried. If that is what i'll get then that looks great

On the Metfirmin thing I found taking the drug with food caused me a problem, however the leaflet that comes with is said with food or straight after. Well changed to taking it about 5 minutes after and found it less of a problem

I found that Metformin did a number on my insides just taking one a day - taking four times that much must be absolutly miserable if you can't tolerate it. I stopped taking it before Christmas, and did not see any change in blood glucose levels for the worse - in fact I was probably so motivated to avoid having to take the nasty stuff that I was even stricter in what I ate.
I was taking a statin as well and the combined effect was sudden senility, so I can't be exact about the dates - I am still suffering from a poor memory - losing things, forgetting to do dinner and suchlike, but I think that was the statin and I hope it is not permanent.

Good evening @Johnjoe13 well what happened was that I originally phoned to get my results ,after 4 days,the receptionist said they are fine,I said can you read them out to me please as I would like a full breakdown of them and her reply was Oh I can't do that as I'm not qualified ,you will have to make an appointment to see your doctor to discuss them with him,I politely informed her that I was on my down to the surgery to get them straight away as they might not be important to her but I had been waiting 3 months for them and said I would see her in 10 minutes,when I got to the surgery I asked for a copy of my results which would save the doctors time and mine could she please print them off from the computer if she was qualified to do that (tongue in cheek) which she duly did,bless her,

ps.my surgery used to do the on line service but conveniently it has been off line for the last 2 months

jaspajax said:

and feel sick most of the time. When I try to eat I can only manage three or four mouthfuls.My question is can metformin do this, or is there a possible underlying cause. Many thanks

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You are allowed to tell the nurse and others of these problems and unless they can come up with a really good reason for you to continue then they should modify your medication. Metformin can upset your taste buds and appetite and cause "bowel" problems so discuss it with your nurse/doctor and tell them what you are going to do about it.

Alison Campbell said:

@Johnjoe13 , if you registered online with your GP before they changed to online test results and notes, you need to ask reception for a new form and register again ticking the boxes for all access. Take photo ID with you to the surgery and once approved by a Doctor a new password will be sent to you in the post. This was the case with my boyfriend.

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Thank you i'll ask Monday. I only registered on line when they changed the prescription rules and the pharmacy could no longer order repeat ones which you have do yourself now. I have to say that the whole process of getting the set up with password, username, accound ID, organisation code,passphrase was an absolute nightmare, anyone would have though I was signing up to work for MI5 for gods sake. I work in an office with passwords for everything other than using the gents and they are security mad, but the surgery one was worse, and it took me three attempts with me finally writing everything down in my notebook, god I hope i've not got to go through all that again.

@wiseowl_123 - @Johnjoe13
Most people take to Metformin, it can cause upset stomach and diarrhoea at first especially if taken on empty stomach - always take it with or just after food and drink a glassful of water too. But, there is another version: = Slow Release Metformin that is much kinder to your stomach and your GP and/or Diabetic Nurse can prescribe this for you.
Metformin takes time to build up in your system and can take up to a couple of months to reach it's full effect.
It also lowers the amount of Sugar created by the Liver and decreases the amount of Sugar absorbed by the Intestines. It may also help Type 2 Diabetics loose weight as it can lower appetite.

DevonVee said:

Hi
Metformin was given to me before xmas and I could not get to 2 tablets a day before I got explosive diarrhoea. Could not eat for days after. Have stopped and am now trying lchf diet as I have been insulin resistant for 25 + years. Look up metformin on forum lots have not been able to tolerate. You may settle down. But I have decided to take a more proactive approach because I followed advice for last 12 yrs and has got me nowhere.

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Hello. Have been taking metformin and then gliclazide. In September started with explosive toilet episodes and told I'd got Diverticulitis. Only in the last week has gp stopped me taking metformin, something about having been on it for 6 years I could have started to being 'poisened' by it. Obviously blood readings have gone up and got to have review next week. Toilet explosions are slowing down a little. Just listening to what my body says and to what professionals say and sorting it out myself.

Metformin doesn't always works wonders for everyone. But they won't hesitate to prescribe it anyway.

@kathyg123 - Hi . My Mother was Type 2 and suffered with Diverticulitis, she could not take the Standard Metformin or the Slow Release Metformin it gave her terrible Diarrhoea. But, she could take Gliclazide with no problems at all.