Side effects of Metformin or Eucreas (metformin combined with vildagliptine)

[aseret]

Hello, new(ish) member here.

I was diagnosed over two years ago as 'pre-diabetic' and was sent to see nutritionist and dietician with a view to controlling the condition with diet and excercise. I have struggled with my weight for 10 years, despite eating healthily , everything from fresh, no processed foods and takeaways are a very special treat and I do not lead a sedentary life. I was told that if I lost 20 kilos the diabetes would probably go away.

A year down the road, my glucose levels were still high and the endocrinologist prescribed Metformin and arranged to see me in 6 months. I took the Metformin for about 20 days but had SUCH BAD DIARRHOEA AND NAUSEA that i became totally housebound. I stopped taking it and continued with the diet and excercise, hoping that next blood test would reveal that the diabetes had magically gone away!. My meds were changed to gliclizide but over the next 3 months I gained 6 kilos (I am only 5ft tall) and the endocrinologist was quite rude about it so we had 'words' (we live in France, English is my native tongue and even though I speak reasonable French, it really is not good enough to have a good row , with its sarcasms, ironies and insults...) and my GP has now referred me to someone else. My new consultant is lovely, BUT she has prescribed Eucreas 50/1000mg, one tablet per day, in the morning with food for seven days and IF it did not upset my stomach too much, then I should increase to one morning and one evening with food........... OH-OH! No can do. Cant go anywhere not in range of a toilet, and that includes work. I am exhausted and nauseous. I am a chef and self employed contract caterer and not working is not an option. I called her and she said 'hopefully, it will settle down'. Anyone else had this problem? What was the outcome?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. To be blunt your doctor should have prescribed Metformin SR (Slow Release) for you as I assume you were given the cheaper vanilla version. Gliclazide is not the best choice for a diabetic who is overweight and not already on Metformin as it stimulates the pancreas and if your pancreas is OK the end result is too much insulin the body can't use due to insulin resistance. The gliptin drugs can be useful where a bit of extra insulin output is needed where the pancreas is failing. Can you describe some of your typical meals so we can comment on them? If you are not already low-carbing do set yourself a daily limit of, say, 150gm and see how you go. Many on the forum have much less but see what works for you. If you low-carb enough you will almost certainly lose weight. I wonder whether your dietician was over-concerned with fats rather than carbs?

 

[aseret]

Hi. To be blunt your doctor should have prescribed Metformin SR (Slow Release) for you as I assume you were given the cheaper vanilla version. Gliclazide is not the best choice for a diabetic who is overweight and not already on Metformin as it stimulates the pancreas and if your pancreas is OK the end result is too much insulin the body can't use due to insulin resistance. The gliptin drugs can be useful where a bit of extra insulin output is needed where the pancreas is failing. Can you describe some of your typical meals so we can comment on them? If you are not already low-carbing do set yourself a daily limit of, say, 150gm and see how you go. Many on the forum have much less but see what works for you. If you low-carb enough you will almost certainly lose weight. I wonder whether your dietician was over-concerned with fats rather than carbs?

 

[aseret]

Nutritionist wanted me to eat more carbs and less fat and more fruit and nyoghurts which I can't tolerate, even less so when on the metformin. I was trying to limit myself to 150g per day, she wanted me to increase to 250g. I have tried low fat high carb diets in the past, always made me feel dog rough and did not work, ok if you are mo farrow I guess!

I am a foodie. I love buying it cooking it and eating it! I am a chef and so is my son and I run my own contract catering company so we don't eat processed food at all. I know how to balance a menu but objected to being spoken to like an idiot when the problem is not one of ignorance but of conditioning.

I don't have a good relationship with food, I have been trying to lose weight for a long while and basically subscribe to the more calories in than out equals weight gain school. I try and restrict myself to about 1200 calories a day, made up uf about 150g of carbs with the rest being lean meat fish and veg, occasional cheese, a limited amount of dairy and no caffeine or alcohol. I don't limit butter or oil but don't add it uneccessarily and I tend not to eat desserts. BUT I cannot bring myself to eat anything I don't enjoy, to me, it's would be wasted calories. For example, I could not bring myself to eat a breakfast of 200 calories made up of shredded wheat and low fat fromage frais , might as well eat regurgitated cardboard. I would rather go without and eat one of my quiches for lunch, same calories, but no comparison on the enjoyment chart.

Now I know that it's very bad practice for a diabetic but I will often skip meals to save my calorifies for dinner so that I can eat with the family. No one in the family has any weight or health problems and they don't want to change their diet, I find It impossible to cook for them and eat separately. Dietician says I have got to stop seeing food as pleasure and start looking at it purely as fuel for life. My household pivots around the enjoyment of food, we create new delicacies and try new dishes and recipes every week and that would be anathema to me.

I am 57 years old, it's hard to change the habit of a lifetime especially as Its what I am good at! I don't know whether my high carb diet triggered my weight gain and my weight gain triggered the diabetes or the diabetes contributed to the weight problem and so on. I do feel that filling myself with drugs is not a magic solution but the doc says its necessary, however the drugs just give me an upset stomach make me feel sick and generally under the weather. I have gone on enough, don't expect you to have a magic solution either, just venting a bit of steam.

 

[Totto]

I suggest you do the opposite to what the nurse said, as low in carbs as possible and go for the fat instead, good quality fats like coconut oil, butter and olive oli, no margarine or vegetable oils apart from the ones I mentioned.

If you do have carbs, see that they are low GI or better, low GL. All carbs are converted to glucose in your blood, but the GL/GI are slower acting so doesn't spike your bg level. Good idea to stay away from them anyway.

I eat celeriac instead of spuds and almost no bread. This way I can keep my bg normal, more or less. One or two slices of toast send my level up to 12, while after a breakfast of bacon and eggs it stays where it is.

 

[Daibell]

HI. Do look around the forum and take the diet advice about reducing carbs. You have obviously had some very bad advice from nutritionists and dieticians in the past and this is not a surprise based on many posts on the forum. To advise any diabetic to increase their carbs to 250gm is criminal. To be honest many of us would avoid these 'experts' like the plague and take the advice from others on the forum who have personal experience of what works. Try to get the carbs down further than 150gm/day at least for a while until your weight comes down. Do ask the GP to prescribe Metformin SR. GPs know it is kinder on the stomach but as it costs a bit more they don't offer it until asked. I was lucky as my GP prescribed the SR version from Day 1. The good thing about modern thinking about food for diabetes is that fat is OK in sensible quantities and having unsaturated for preference. Much of the taste in food comes from the fats, so you can cook enjoyable food and lose weight

 

[Madbazoo]

I believe it is better to eat regularly when possible as your body can deal with the BG levels better. Saving it for one big meal will give you greater spikes in your levels.


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