Type 2 Stopping metformin

Hi @meJulie

Tell your doctor to get his text book out and look up Metformin SR. This is a Slow Release version of the medication and many people find it to be beneficial in reducing the fairly well known side effects of the normal version.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

urbanracer said:

Hi @meJulie

Tell your doctor to get his text book out and look up Metformin SR. This is a Slow Release version of the medication and many people find it to be beneficial in reducing the fairly well known side effects of the normal version.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

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I suggested this to a woman on the Xpert course last year. When I saw her for a follow up session recently she said she asked the doctor for it and Hba1c has come down (in combination with her other oral medications. Previously, he was talking about putting her on insulin - without trying everything else first!

meJulie said:

Thanks for reply, I am on 2000 mg metabet SR metformin at the moment.

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Ok, if you're reacting badly to the SR type then it maybe best to try the doc's advice. Do you have a meter, are you testing at home?

meJulie said:

I have been having ongoing stomach complaints, so have been going through teats, scans, colonoscopy, bloods which all came back clear. The doctor is suggesting it could be the metformin and to come off them and see, but I have been low carbing for 3 months and my hbaic results have reduced from 70% to 51% which the doc thought was amazing but whilst I was low carbing my stomach complaint was much better almost non existent.

So doc sais come of metformin but don't low carb to see if it's the medication. I am worried and confused, and also scared not being on metformin or low carbing my bloods will shoot up

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If your stomach was better on a low carb diet, what valid medical reason would your doctor have for telling you to stop?

Aside from anything else, as a person of science, s/he should know you never change two variables at once. If it resolves the issue, you still don't have a clue which change made the difference. Beyond that you start with the one most likely to be the troublemaker (in this case, Metformin).

Of course, the counter-argument - since your complaints have stopped - is why change anything? Metformin (aside from GI issues) is a pretty innocuous medicine. It isn't likely hurting anything, and may be helping things.

I was on Metformin Sr and could not cope with the stomach cramps which were extremely severe and the explosive diarrhoea.
Give going off it a chance it took 2 days for everything to settle down for me.
Some people are just unlucky and cannot use either form of Metformin.

Just continue your low caring as usual.

Hi and welcome. Most people do very well with Metformin SR but not everyone. It only ever has a small effect on blood sugar so in my opinion it is not an essential drug but useful if you tolerate it well. As others have said try stopping one thing at a time and perhaps moving the carbs up a bit. Experiment but try one thing at a time. If the problem remains then see the GP to discuss other possible causes of the problem although you have already had tests.

Personally, I would want to change one thing at a time, not two. Either diet or Metformin; otherwise who can tell which was causing issues?

But, I'm not your advisor, just commenting on how my mind works.

Hi meJulie
I've been off metformin SR for about 3 wks now and my bowel 'problem' has gone away! The only trouble is my blood sugars went up, but I still can't work out what foods are good and what are bad! I've got a meter now (paid for by myself as Dr won't give one) and I've started to test. I've started back on Metformin SR, taking 1 x 500 breakfast and teatime (before I was 2 x 500) and I'm watching to see how that goes. Then once I have the LCHF diet sorted I will try to come off the meds. Metformin had taken over my life, but I was told by the dietician that it was an allergy to food. so years of suffering for nothing.Actually the NHS dietician was quite useless! I'm hoping that I can cope with the lower dose of Met SR, but only time will tell.