On Metformin/Gliclazide. Jetlag effect on tummy?

Monotono said:

I am on Metformin and Gliclazide and have just flown 6 times zones west and then 6 back east. On both occasions I have immediately set the medication to the new time zone along with meals. On both occasions I have had a rather runny tummy for about 48 hours in the new time zone. Is this something to expect from the medication, i.e. the "metabolism" does not keep up very well with a change such that this can result?

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Hi and welcome to the forum. Metformin can cause diarrhoea in some people, and if you have been fine previously then maybe the change in dose timing increased the level in your body and caused this side effect? Or it could have been caused by something else and coincidentally at the same time.

It's a while since I've done long distance travel but I think I'd check with my doctor first before changing things, as our body doesn't know we are in a new time zone so maybe the adjustment is best done gradually over several days?

I've done plenty of long haul before and since diagnosed. I have never taken any medication, but I have always found my tummy habits change a little for a few days around the travel. I put it down to sometimes erratic eating patterns, "alien" foods and fatigue/jetlag, and dehydration.

These days, I just plan to eat lightly for the first 24-48 hours after the journey and concentrate on taking in enough fluids. It doesn't make me unwell or feel unwell, it's just a change that I now understand and can minimalise the impact of.

I do 3 - 5 long haul trips a year (Maybe i ought to move to Asia!!!) and always aim to run my blood sugar a little on the high side during flights. I am usually under 7 but on flights look for 8.5. I order normal meals, sometimes with fruit rather than dessert. I once ordered a diabetic meal and it was awful - steamed chicken with a smear of tom puree on it, no carb and steamed veg - yuck. Tasteless. If I leave London in the evening, I take my evening dose of gliclazide as usual, The journey time is 12 hrs and the time difference is 7 hrs so it means my ' morning dose needs to be timed so that my evening dose the next day is at the right time, so about 9 hrs after takeoff. Metformin always upsets my tum in any case, and I only take it for short periods to humour my doc who thinks its the best drug for diabetes, and is sure one day I will tolerate it. However if I take it at less than 24 hrs intervals I get the runs - not nice at the best of times, let alone when travelling, so I would just miss a dose of metformin, but not gliclazide while in transit and take it on arrival at the new morning time

Hi Monotono,
I was suffering from similar symptoms when driving my car. I put it down to being in a sitting position for long periods.
I have stopped taking Metformin now as I went on a high protein diet to lose weight since I am type two. The symptoms got much worse when ketosis started.