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Reducing metformin

Terryrhino

Terryrhino

Well-Known Member
Messages
231
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello you lovely people I'm back again I've just see my doctor and she is very pleased and evidently happy with my results excellent work were her exact word I wish everyone was like you I told her it was mostly down LCHF lifestyle and lowering my alcohol intake also mentioned this forum as the best place for support and advice (non medical) she has reduced my metformin from 1500mg 3x a day to 500mg 1 a day, my question to you is if I cut down instantly will I get adverse side effects!? Or should I start with 2 a day for a bit then go to 1 a day ?? Any thoughts
 
This is entirely a personal opinion. I never found Metformin to do anything that I could detect. It didn't lower my blood sugars when taking it and nothing happened when I stopped. From my experience I don't expect you to have a difficulty.
 
Thanks @Squire Fulwood I may carry on for a while with 1500mg until these are gone lol lol
You know just in case ?? Haha

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Only had one ok two ..... gave the rest to the locals in the pub I just like baking
 
Squire Fulwood said:
This is entirely a personal opinion. I never found Metformin to do anything that I could detect. It didn't lower my blood sugars when taking it and nothing happened when I stopped. From my experience I don't expect you to have a difficulty.
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Ditto :) I was only taking one 500 dose. Made me feel awful and didn't seem to help at all (took it for 11 weeks) I just stopped and felt better straight away.
 
@Terryrhino I dropped from 2 to 1 4 months ago, no noticeable effects, earlier last year I forgot to take them on a 2 week holiday, the uptick in BG levels was probably more to do with the cuisine than the lack of medication
 
Terryrhino said:
Hello you lovely people I'm back again I've just see my doctor and she is very pleased and evidently happy with my results excellent work were her exact word I wish everyone was like you I told her it was mostly down LCHF lifestyle and lowering my alcohol intake also mentioned this forum as the best place for support and advice (non medical) she has reduced my metformin from 1500mg 3x a day to 500mg 1 a day, my question to you is if I cut down instantly will I get adverse side effects!? Or should I start with 2 a day for a bit then go to 1 a day ?? Any thoughts
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I came off Metformin 4 months ago. I did my own form of Hflc diet and my normal 3 mile walk every other day alongside fly fishing and ice skating once a week. I stopped taking the lunchtime one, then a week later the evening one and finally the evening one after 3 weeks. My hAb1c was 5.3% last week. Currently my daily ave BG is 6.0mol/l. No side effects of stopping them.
Daibell said:
Hi Metformin is a drug that can be reduced/increased quite quickly apparently with no side effects. It doesn't have a dramatic effect on the body even at full dose.
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I am 71 and had been on Metformin for many years. During that time my appetite was never very good, mainly I suppose because Metformin is an appetite suppressant and aimed at overweight people. I have never been overweight, my present weight of 60kg, being my nine month pregnant weight, is the highest I've ever been. Last year I felt very tired and my appetite was even worse than usual, I had blood tests done and found that my B12 was low. Metformin is well known for causing B12 deficiency. After a course of injections my appetite got a bit better but the thing that really helped was when I decided to stop taking them for a week or so to see what happened. It was miraculous, my appetite got better straight away, I even had hunger pains, something I hadn't experienced for years. My guilt made me start taking them again for a few months but last week, when I saw my diabetes nurse for my annual review I told her I had been naughty and had stopped taking them and she asked me how I was. I told her my appetite was better and I felt better in myself, except for the fact that I've had a cough for the last five weeks. Anyway, she told me to stop taking them and took them off the prescription. My sugar levels are mostly below 10 but for some reason they shoot up before bed, possibly caused by me snacking in the evening or my Lantus wearing off so I think that needs tweaking a bit. I don't want to have to go back on Metformin as I didn't think it had done me much good and was actually doing me harm with the B12 deficiency. I would just stop taking them and test regularly and see what happens.
 
I was on gliclizade and because my dietician was so pleased with my results (due to LCHF) came off it. Came off gradually - stopped the evening dose for a week and then the morning dose with no adverse affects. Well done to you.
 
daisyduck said:
Ditto :) I was only taking one 500 dose. Made me feel awful and didn't seem to help at all (took it for 11 weeks) I just stopped and felt better straight away.
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I UNDERSTAND from a website which I think was David Mendosa that starting Metformin at a lower than recommended dose reduces unwanted side effects i.e. If you start at the recommended levels it causes nausea etc but coming up gradually over a week or two means it is tolerated well. So I suggest coming off it slowly as well.
 
Terryrhino said:
Hello you lovely people I'm back again I've just see my doctor and she is very pleased and evidently happy with my results excellent work were her exact word I wish everyone was like you I told her it was mostly down LCHF lifestyle and lowering my alcohol intake also mentioned this forum as the best place for support and advice (non medical) she has reduced my metformin from 1500mg 3x a day to 500mg 1 a day, my question to you is if I cut down instantly will I get adverse side effects!? Or should I start with 2 a day for a bit then go to 1 a day ?? Any thoughts
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Hi i put this somewhere else but heres a copy for you :I UNDERSTAND from a website which I think was David Mendosa that starting Metformin at a lower than recommended dose reduces unwanted side effects i.e. If you start at the recommended levels it causes nausea etc but coming up gradually over a week or two means it is tolerated well. So I suggest coming off it slowly as well.
 
hi all, have type 2 for 20 years and been on metformin and insulin all that time when I had a heart attack 3 years ago I was approx 22 stone since then my weight has gone down to 15 st 10 ilbs my gp has taken me off metformin and a blood pressure tablet and my insulin has been reduced from 220 units a day to 80 units a day so folks anyone can do it I celebrate my 72 nd birthday soon
 
Terryrhino said:
Hello you lovely people I'm back again I've just see my doctor and she is very pleased and evidently happy with my results excellent work were her exact word I wish everyone was like you I told her it was mostly down LCHF lifestyle and lowering my alcohol intake also mentioned this forum as the best place for support and advice (non medical) she has reduced my metformin from 1500mg 3x a day to 500mg 1 a day, my question to you is if I cut down instantly will I get adverse side effects!? Or should I start with 2 a day for a bit then go to 1 a day ?? Any thoughts
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Hi. I am newly diagnosed and was put on 2 x 500 Metformin. I suffered terrible side effects but put up with them hoping they would go after week 3. They didn't and so my diabetic nurse told me to just stop taking Metformin and go back on 1 x 500 when my symptoms subsided. I had a bad head for 2 nights after stopping but after that all symptoms went and I felt great again. I have just started back on 1 again (only 2 days in though) and so far so good, but I'm hoping to get some weight off and be totally tablet free. So I believe you can just stop them from what I discussed with my nurse but even if you did have some side effects I don't think they would last long. Good luck.
 
LWManchester said:
Hi. I am newly diagnosed and was put on 2 x 500 Metformin. I suffered terrible side effects but put up with them hoping they would go after week 3. They didn't and so my diabetic nurse told me to just stop taking Metformin and go back on 1 x 500 when my symptoms subsided. I had a bad head for 2 nights after stopping but after that all symptoms went and I felt great again. I have just started back on 1 again (only 2 days in though) and so far so good, but I'm hoping to get some weight off and be totally tablet free. So I believe you can just stop them from what I discussed with my nurse but even if you did have some side effects I don't think they would last long. Good luck.
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Hi LW, I was diagnosed five years ago with Type 2. Last year I followed Eight Weeks To Sugar Free as well as doing walks with Walk For Health. I had quite rapid weight loss. My Nurse was pleased with my results and I have reduced gradually from four Metformin to two and hopefully one by May. I don't test but feel better. Good luck with your weight loss.
 
I was put on one tablet of Metformin with instructions to increase to three a day as tolerated - but I could not tolerate even one - my insides were in knots, I could not leave the house as I was running to the toilet. After a few weeks I just stopped taking it and things got better. I stick to low carb and nothing would make me go back to Metformin. I have no problem with temptation if Metformin is considered the first option.
 
Hello everybody.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 three days ago and was told that my mmol/mol was 68. The nurse has told me that she wants it down to 55 or less by my next blood test in three months time or she will put me on Metformin three times a day plus something else once a day (only I can't remember what the something else was). Within six months she wants it down to below 48.

Since having a second blood test the previous Tuesday, my first was during an asthma clinic before Christmas, and which was ordered by the doctor after he received the results of the Asthma clinic one, I have been on the LCHF diet (although it does relate quite strongly to the Omni Diet) and between the Asthma clinic nurse weighing me and the diabetic nurse weighing me I have lost 4Kg. I am hoping this will continue as I do not want to go on Metformin and whatever the other drug was.

I would also like to say that I only discovered this site yesterday while searching the internet for a diabetes related problem and the posts I have read make more sense than the bumf the nurse gave me to read.
 
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