Type 2 Prescription Change

[DaveB728]

Afternoon all, just returned from a visit to my GP(that was an experience)I went with the intention of getting my prescription changed from 500mg Metformin 4 tablets daily to something else, well cut a long story short I had all on with him and ended up requesting to see the practice manager, the doctor was adamant that he wouldn't change me to another medication, and I quote, ''Metformin is the best medication there is for Type 2'', well lets put it this way, I'm now on Sukkarto, SR 1000mg, still Metformin but slow release, thankfully I'm only on it for a month till I go back to see the Diabetic Nurse, we'll see what happens in the next 4 weeks.

A quick question though, has anyone been on this medication and if so did you have any side effect's and if so what were they and how severe were they,

 

[britishpub]

What "something else" were you hoping for ?

from 500mg Metformin 4 tablets daily to something else

Slow release metformin usually has far fewer side effects that the normal stuff, and is usually prescribed if you are having issues with it.

 

[Daibell]

Most of us use Metformin at some point. Metformin SR (Slow Release) is much kinder than the plain variety. The GP is right that it is the standard medication for 'standard' T2. It helps a bit but isn't a miracle cure. A low carb diet will have much more effect.

 

[bamba]

I had the most commonly reported problem with metformin only the first day I took it.

However I now believe metformin was not to blame. I had been STRONGLY advised NO MORE SUGAR,
and the only sugar free sweets in Poundland were Polo mints - which are all sorbitol.

I think the sorbitol was the real culprit.

 

[Oldvatr]

I had been on standard Metformin (2000 mg/day) for a couple of years now, and my GP swapped it to Sukkarto as an NHS savings initiative, but without telling me. I soon realised something was up as my daily average jumped suddenly when I got a new delivery by over 2 mmol/l where it had been very stable for weeks. So I went back and complained, and my bgl returned to where I expected it quite quickly after going back onto standard Metformin. I am not sure if it was just not working at all, or was due to slow release causing my meals to become out of sync by introducing a delay in digestion or absorption, but I found the change was not helpful for me.

Edit to add: the Sukkarto pill uses shellac (a varnish) to give the slow dissolve characteristic, and this is different from Slow Release Metformin which uses a plastic coating. It may be that my digestion system could not break through the shellac coating, but can cope with the plastic one that most UK meds seem to use for slow release (The plastic is actually based on cellulose so is intentionally biodegradable and is not like oil based plastic as we understand it)