Hello,
My Dad is 82 and has Type 2 Diabetes. He's been on Metformin for a while now and is generally very active (still played tennis each week until a few months ago) but is currently recovering from a heart bypass.
For a long time he was blindly taking 850mg x 3 per day of the Metformin (GP's instructions) and eventually wound up losing loads of weight, not wanting to eat at all and had no energy. His GP didn't seem to register this. A friend suggested he drop one tablet and he improved within days.
Before & since his recent bypass, he's had sporadic intestinal problems and doesn't feel much like eating. He's back on 850 x 3 because lack of activity etc. seems to have brought his blood sugar level up. I think it's too much, he's a tiny little man, barely 5ft 4 and probably weighs about 9 stone.
Should he ask for a referral to a diabetes specialist? His GP wants him to have a colonoscopy but it really does sound like he's just taking too much Metformin.
I'd be grateful for any advice.
Thanks so much,
Stella
My Dad is 82 and has Type 2 Diabetes. He's been on Metformin for a while now and is generally very active (still played tennis each week until a few months ago) but is currently recovering from a heart bypass.
For a long time he was blindly taking 850mg x 3 per day of the Metformin (GP's instructions) and eventually wound up losing loads of weight, not wanting to eat at all and had no energy. His GP didn't seem to register this. A friend suggested he drop one tablet and he improved within days.
Before & since his recent bypass, he's had sporadic intestinal problems and doesn't feel much like eating. He's back on 850 x 3 because lack of activity etc. seems to have brought his blood sugar level up. I think it's too much, he's a tiny little man, barely 5ft 4 and probably weighs about 9 stone.
Should he ask for a referral to a diabetes specialist? His GP wants him to have a colonoscopy but it really does sound like he's just taking too much Metformin.
I'd be grateful for any advice.
Thanks so much,
Stella
