problems with metformin!!

kimbo1962 · Jun 23, 2014

Mushroom said:
Read my last post and seems a bit nutty/obsessed but LCHF has really worked for me. No withdrawals as I started radually and then went with low GI and then went onto no foods that are overtly carby - no pasta, potatoes etc. I wouldn't eat Weetabix at all now. Used to love toast and breab etc but don't even crave it now. I was addicted to starchy carbs and for me just a little was too much to keep to so near zero now.
Cheese for lunch is good. Very portable if you don't mind it warm. Have handful of almonds and apple with mine. I used the fitnesspal app and found I was only eating around 700 calories a day but it meant a 2 - 3lb weight loss every week so it was rapid sugar control and weight loss.
There is a lot of advice about taking Metformin with or after food and that seems to help. Good luck.

Hi mushroom! No, you didn't sound obsessed at all!! Love hearing your experiences and advice. My cheese for lunch wouldn't have been warm as we have a fridge at work!! I didn't get to eat it though as I had a busy shift......today so far I have had two weetabix for breakfast, a few brazils and almonds around midday, got home around 3.45pm and had two cold chippolatas! Do you know if tinned tomatoes are suitable for LCHF by chance ? Thinking of some with bacon and poached eggs for dinner!! Love cheese with Apple too - Apple's in moderation if I'm right though?!

kimbo1962 · Jun 23, 2014

Mazzer said:
Hi Kimbo, I cut my carbs quite drastically, you can suffer with withdrawal symptoms, but it soon passes. Have a look at the attached link it explains all about LC/HF http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf I found this site very useful.

Weetabix does spike my bg, test and see how they affect you. If you are in a hurry in the morning boil a couple of eggs the night before and have them for breakfast until you can stock up. I find the best yoghurts are the Fage Total full fat ones which are only 3.8g carbs per 100g.

Let us know how you get on.

Marilyn

Hi Marilyn, well I will pass on boiled eggs as I don't like the white!! Am planning poached with bacon and tomatoes for dinner but as per I will leave the white!! Trying stay under 50g a day to start, think I'm well under today up to now .

Mushroom · Jun 23, 2014

kimbo1962 said:
Hi mushroom! No, you didn't sound obsessed at all!! Love hearing your experiences and advice.

Mushroom · Jun 23, 2014

Glad it didn't come over too fanatical - think the glass of red last night didn't help. lol.
Weetabix. Know I can easily eat 3 or more of those with sugar but that is definitely the 'old days' now.
Tinned tomatoes? Would think they have added sugar on top of the sugar in the tomatoes themselves. Anything in a packet or tin, tends to be preserved/processed in some way. I eat fresh tomatoes fried or grilled. I just test with the meter if I eat a new food/meal and see what the effect is. There is plenty on internet about carb content so have a look and see what you think. Think I am eating apples 'cos good for cholesterol. Make it up as I go along but seems to work.
Bacon - yum! And scrambled eggs with butter for me, please.

AnnieC · Jun 23, 2014

kimbo1962 said:
Thursday, day of the shock diagnosis I took one, then two Friday and Saturday and that led to last night being awful and feeling shocking today!! Just haven't dared take one today - worried as in two weeks I'm supposed to go to two twice a day !!

My husband was diagnosed T2 last week and put on Metformin he was told to build up the dose slowly over 8 weeks starting with one with his evening meal for two weeks then increase to one with breakfast and one with evening meal for another two weeks and so on increasing them every two weeks until week 7 when he will start taking two twice a day. So far so good he has not had any tummy upsets don't know if he will as he increases the dose though

kimbo1962 · Jun 23, 2014

I was hardcore - 2 weetabix, NO SUGAR!! crazy to think we can have BUTTER not low fat spread! Will have to occasional apple, hard to limit fruit but has to be done?!! Working later tomorrow - 2pm start so planning cheese and mushroom omellete before i go

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nessa024 · Jun 23, 2014

Arrgghh, now I'm scared, I'm supposed to start with 1 Met in the morning, for a week, then up it to 2, but we are going camping at the weekend! Hmm, what to do? Can I just stop if I've started? I haven't seen my Diabetic nurse yet and can't get an appointment till 3rd July. Any suggestions??

kimbo1962 · Jun 23, 2014

Hi nessa! Just the same, one twice a day for two weeks then up to two twice a day! My nurse appt is 22nd july.....i couldnt take them yesterday feeling so bad from the night before, darent take them on a morning when im working- have took advice on here and got a generic version of immodium in now, on stand by! Had one at 3pm and a few grumbles so far, must get other one in later though i guess!@

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willow67 · Jun 23, 2014

hi
i hope the jippy tummy settles down,it did for me,thankfully quite quickly,however i do sometimes rely on
it "having a moment" now and then as low crabbing can sometimes throw you the total oposite end of the scale,
either way may i say don't forget plenty of water.

kimbo1962 · Jun 23, 2014

Hi willow- well, now 4 hours and no rush to the bathroom yet! Fingers crossed it could be the start of settling!!

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Mazzer · Jun 23, 2014

kimbo1962 said:
Hi Marilyn, well I will pass on boiled eggs as I don't like the white!! Am planning poached with bacon and tomatoes for dinner but as per I will leave the white!! Trying stay under 50g a day to start, think I'm well under today up to now .

Hi Kimbo, glad you are feeling a bit better, poached egg, bacon and tomatoes is yummy and low in carbs, sounds great to me.

Marilyn

Rico · Jun 24, 2014

kimbo1962 said:
I was diagnosed four days ago, started metformin 500mg Thursday afternoon, since then each evening I am suffering with bad diarrhea and stomach pains- last night was the worst and this morning I feel like a bus has hit me!! Considering not taking any today?? I am worried about this happening while I am at work too! I know General advice is to perciver for a couple of weeks but I feel shocking, far worse than before I was even diagnosed!!! Can this be right??!!

Hi Kimbo !
I was diagnosed a month ago now, and was prescribed 500mg Metformin 4 times a day ! By the time I got to twice a day, I stopped taking the meds because I couldn't function. I felt like a zombie and numb all over ,,,I told myself there must be a better way and started my quest for knowledge. When I was diagnosed as T2 last month, my Fasting BG was 7.0 and H1c was 9.0 , and I was getting 12.5 two hours after eating ,,,,bad numbers ! I quit smoking, started the low Carb, high fat diet and am very strict with it. Three weeks later and my fasting BG is 4.7 when I wake up, 5.8 two hrs after lunch, 6.1 two hrs after dinner and 5.3 just before I go to bed ! I have no intentions of going anywhere near the meds again , and feel so much better in a short amount of time. I wish my doctor had suggested trying diet and lifestyle change before being prescribed and bought 3 months worth of Metformin which I have gladly disposed of !! Best of luck and I know you can do it,,,,because I have !

Mazzer · Jun 24, 2014

Hi Rico, welcome to the Forum. Wow! well done you they are amazing numbers. Keep up the good work, hope to see you posting more on the Forum and keeping us up to date with your progress.

Best wishes

Marilyn

AnnieC · Jun 24, 2014

kimbo1962 said:
I was hardcore - 2 weetabix, NO SUGAR!! crazy to think we can have BUTTER not low fat spread! Will have to occasional apple, hard to limit fruit but has to be done?!! Working later tomorrow - 2pm start so planning cheese and mushroom omellete before i go

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You may find if you are testing that you can eat a lot of different fruit ok a lot of members here eat all types of fruit and some can only manage berrys.
They do say it is better to eat fruit with a meal rather than on it's own between meals

AnnieC · Jun 24, 2014

twice

kimbo1962 said:
Hi nessa! Just the same, one twice a day for two weeks then up to two twice a day! My nurse appt is 22nd july.....i couldnt take them yesterday feeling so bad from the night before, darent take them on a morning when im working- have took advice on here and got a generic version of immodium in now, on stand by! Had one at 3pm and a few grumbles so far, must get other one in later though i guess!@

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That seems to be rather a quick rise in the metaformin dose two twice a day after only two weeks of one twice a day. My husband has started on one a day and will not be up to two twice a day until he has been increasing them for 6 weeks I am sure that slower increases help with the tummy problems

kimbo1962 · Jun 24, 2014

Rico said:
Hi Kimbo !
I was diagnosed a month ago now, and was prescribed 500mg Metformin 4 times a day ! By the time I got to twice a day, I stopped taking the meds because I couldn't function. I felt like a zombie and numb all over ,,,I told myself there must be a better way and started my quest for knowledge. When I was diagnosed as T2 last month, my Fasting BG was 7.0 and H1c was 9.0 , and I was getting 12.5 two hours after eating ,,,,bad numbers ! I quit smoking, started the low Carb, high fat diet and am very strict with it. Three weeks later and my fasting BG is 4.7 when I wake up, 5.8 two hrs after lunch, 6.1 two hrs after dinner and 5.3 just before I go to bed ! I have no intentions of going anywhere near the meds again , and feel so much better in a short amount of time. I wish my doctor had suggested trying diet and lifestyle change before being prescribed and bought 3 months worth of Metformin which I have gladly disposed of !! Best of luck and I know you can do it,,,,because I have !

Morning Rico - wow!! So inspiring, well done you!! I had my first day lchf yesterday, took my two metformin..........waited the for usual grumbles ...........nothing!! Can this be because of lchf mixing better with metformin than other diets?? Feels so good this morning, fingers crossed it continues!!

kimbo1962 · Jun 24, 2014

AnnieC said:
twice
That seems to be rather a quick rise in the metaformin dose two twice a day after only two weeks of one twice a day. My husband has started on one a day and will not be up to two twice a day until he has been increasing them for 6 weeks I am sure that slower increases help with the tummy problems

I was thinking the same......first day of lchf yesterday and took my two metformin.........absolutely NO tummy troubles all day and night! Wondering if the low carb makes the difference to tolerating the met?!! Seems quick, but it's all I can put it down to - fingers crossed today is the same!!

kimbo1962 · Jun 24, 2014

Mazzer said:
Hi Rico, welcome to the Forum. Wow! well done you they are amazing numbers. Keep up the good work, hope to see you posting more on the Forum and keeping us up to date with your progress.

Best wishes

Marilyn

Morning mazza! As I've just said to Annie and Rico.......two met yesterday, first day trying lchf - and amazingly NO TUMMY TROUBLES!! hoping for same today too, fingers crossed!!

lisapisa18 · Jun 24, 2014

Hi there, I agree with all the other comments but when I was 18/19 my body wasn't accepting my insulin for some reason and the doctors thought initially I had type 2 (I'm a type 1 diabetic) as well and they gave me metformin however, once I started taking this I also suffered from bad tummy aches, fatigue, diarrhoea, lost a considerable amount of weight as I went from 10stone to 6stone 3lbs and also because I was so ill and tired all the time I missed 2 years of my life however when I went to the doctors to tell them all my problems they asked if I had read the side effects of the drug, which I hadn't, and then realised that 4/5 of the side effects were the same as mine so immediately stopped taking them and got better in time. I did talk to my doctor about stopping them first and he said it had to be done gradually but in the end, yeah I'm back to 10stone but am feeling better now than I had done in ages
Basically all I'm saying is read the side effects and I'm not saying it's happening or going to happen to you but I was one of the unlucky ones so just have a read of them and if anything triggers a similarity of how you feel then discuss it with your doctor hope this helps?

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Mushroom · Jun 24, 2014

Kimbo, no sugar on those Weetabix. Used to make crispy crust. How could you? Love buuter. If you think of the manufacturing process for marg,don't think it should be called food.
In my opinion and ONLY my opinion, you do not have to start on the Metformin. You start by looking at your food intake.
You are offered to try diet and lifestyle changes for three months first on diagnosis but the nurses know most people just won't diet and so the path of medication starts. On that first visit, I faltered and took the prescription but didn't take the Met. Now much slimmer and active, I don't need it.
It seems people think the Metformin will solve their problems, they don't adjust their carb intake and then still feel unwell. Back to the doctors to manage increasing blood sugar, more met, no change to diet and then onto the rest of the drugs and risk of hypos and complications. If I am totally wrong in the case of people who are significantly overweight for a length of time, pre-diagnosis (in my case), let me know but looking at the threads on the forum, I think not.

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