Nausea - due to HF / Metformin

jcbman said:

Well, we all play god don't we?
Just hopefully to ourselves, and not messing with others beliefs
Cos then we're accountable to the big man if we do.

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Sorry I fail to see what taking my own health back into my control has to do with "god", "God" or the "big man".

Boo1979 said:

Personally I think the most appropriate aim is to keep blood sugars within a good range on the minimum dose of meds necessary - for some that will be zero for others it will be somewhere in a range of doses of meds, all of which will be lower than they might otherwise be.. “ Dumping the meds” can become a sort of peverse badge of honour, no matter how it is achieved,

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Perhaps, and I didn't in any way endorse that as a generalised target for all diabetics, no matter their type or situation. But I know that my meds - with potentially life-threatening side-effects - are something I'm eager to stop taking when I feel the time is right and I'm confident of my control.

I won't see it as "dumping the meds" though (was quoting poster who first used that phrase), but as a milestone in a journey that will last the rest of my life. No badge of honour there: just hard work and sticking power.

And, in any case, no-one was suggesting - on any level - that the OP should be thinking of being long-term drug free. But she's suffering with gastric issues that have flared up since she started taking her Met. The logical thing is to then see if briefly eliminating it improves her discomfort - and then finding a different formulation if it does.

That's a far cry from going med-free.

I would love to dump all my meds and my GP and DN, too but that would, in essence, mean that I do not need them therefore I would be totally healthy. This is not for any badge of honour, it is because everything we put into our bodys carries risks and benefits. Of all the medications I take I have succeeded in dropping the grand total of One drug. I was chuffed with this because I had taken it for years and had become addicted to it. I managed to do it on my second attempt and I was proud that I had done it, for me, not for imagined perverse gloat fest.

jcbman said:

Dumping the meds?
I guess as you are some sort of mod from your handle, this is an like official sort of recommendation?
Me, I'd never second guess the doc.

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Really? I second guess my doc all the time. And a good job too. It has saved me from a number of problems, including drug clashes between blood pressure medication and cabergoline, which could have been nasty. Also when the doc mistakenly decided to discontinue a medication the endocrinologist considers necessary and insisted be prescribed again. I long ago learned to check everything my general practitioner says and prescribes.

I also have excellent blood glucose control - by testing my blood glucose regularly - which the doc says is unnecessary.
This has taught me to follow a low carb way of eating.

So while you may chose not to second guess your doc, i am extremely glad I second guess mine.

Alexandra has stated that the Metformin is a new introduction to her blood glucose management - and that she had to persuade her doc to prescribe them. A two week hiatus to test whether her nausea is a Metformin contraindication, or not, is a perfectly reasonable suggestion, and is certainly not a recommendation to ‘dump her meds’.

@Alexandra100 , I hope you didn’t think I was suggesting that you abandon medical advice and strike out into a life of rebellion.

I doubt if you did, since I have read enough of your posts to know you are a person of common sense who makes reasoned, informed decisions. But just in case, if you do feel like dropping the Met for a few days, you could always give your surgery a ring and let them know of your decision. They may even be interested to learn the outcome.

When I was prescribed metformin (for a few months in 2001 for PCOS) It gave me a terrible metallic taste in my mouth. Which made me very reluctant to take the tablets. I raised it with the consultant at my next appointment, and he shrugged and said ‘some people just can’t tolerate Metformin.’ And that was the end of that. Ironically i would now like to try slow release Metformin, in the hope that avoids the metallic taste, but they keep telling me my bgs are too low to need it - even though my fasting readings are nowhere near as good as yours.

It is certainly wise to keep your medical team advised of your decisions. And medical advice should never be ignored. But that doesn’t mean we should blindly follow it.

bulkbiker said:

Sorry I fail to see what taking my own health back into my control has to do with "god", "God" or the "big man".

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I would not regard anyone on the NICE comittee as 'the Big Man'.but they certainly have the power via the NHS to control life or death, They are not infallible, and I certainly do not worship the ground they walk upon, I go by what my body tells me, and if I find the meds I am on are contrary to what my body needs, then I most certainly will (and have on several occcasions) Dump the Meds. It is my body, my life. There is no law that I have to take any treatment from a doctor or otherwise, and there is a legal right for me to refuse treatment if I choose to do so. I can discharge myself completely if I choose so to do.

Boo1979 said:

I think we probably all have different tolrance levels / needs when it comes to fibre.
For ages I followed the reccomended 21g but never found it was enough I currently eat 30-40g fibre a day and my stomach and bowels seem much happier on it. I suspect the type of fibre also makes a difference - a lot of mine is soluble fibre from chia seeds, konjac noodles and foods containing chicory root ( source of inulin) so alco v low carb. I suspect insoluble fibre might have a harsher effect.

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I think both are necessary One to bind them all, the other to get them shifting. But to go back to the OP, I too suspect the Metformin, since I too get the occasional CB (Confined to Bog). as happened this morning to me. I get a session about once a month, and I am on 2000 mg/day dose, so I can tolerate it reasonably well. Mind you it could have been the curried goat.

Alexandra100 said:

What is an OP? Is it Old Person? That would certainly be appropriate. Was it in the Arthur Ransome books ("Swallows and Amazons" etc) that the children referred to someone as "AP" ie Aged Parent?

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Original Poster.

Opening Post or Opening Poster.

Alexandra100 said:

Was it in the Arthur Ransome books ("Swallows and Amazons" etc) that the children referred to someone as "AP" ie Aged Parent?

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You are so awesome. <3

Alexandra100 said:

What is an OP? Is it Old Person? That would certainly be appropriate. Was it in the Arthur Ransome books ("Swallows and Amazons" etc) that the children referred to someone as "AP" ie Aged Parent?

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I think (she says in a speculative tone of type) that the Aged Parent comes from Dickens... but can't remember which book. So it is very likely that the term was used in Swallows and Amazons (which I LOVED as a child). And I must confess I have used it myself... up until tmy parents actually became aged - at which point I definitely stopped saying it!

Brunneria said:

I think (she says in a speculative tone of type) that the Aged Parent comes from Dickens... but can't remember which book. So it is very likely that the term was used in Swallows and Amazons (which I LOVED as a child). And I must confess I have used it myself... up until tmy parents actually became aged - at which point I definitely stopped saying it!

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Great Expectations.. well remembered Brunneria
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...P-My-favourite-Charles-Dickens-character.html