Type 2 Type 2 Help please

[Esther444]

My Father-in Law has recently been put on Metformin after about three years of trying to control his diabetes by diet only.
He is experiencing quite debilitating dizzy spells most days and I am wondering whether this could be down to the manufacturer of the metformin, and if perhaps he tried a different brand it would make a difference as he is considering giving up on the pills and accepting higher bg levels. He is 81 and I am worried that this would be a bad decision.
Any advice or suggestion would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
Esther

 

[Squire Fulwood]

If you are convinced the Metformin is causing the problem then book an appointment with the nurse/doctor. My nurse said she wasn't there to make matters worse. Yours should be happy if he stops taking them providing he books an appointment to discuss it.

 

[bulkbiker]

My Father-in Law has recently been put on Metformin after about three years of trying to control his diabetes by diet only.
He is experiencing quite debilitating dizzy spells most days and I am wondering whether this could be down to the manufacturer of the metformin, and if perhaps he tried a different brand it would make a difference as he is considering giving up on the pills and accepting higher bg levels. He is 81 and I am worried that this would be a bad decision.
Any advice or suggestion would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
Esther

What kind of diet was he using to control his Type 2?

 

[Rachox]

Hi Esther, how lovely of you to be looking out for your Dad. Does he test his blood sugars? I’m just wondering if his blood sugars have dropped which is making him dizzy. I’m not suggesting he’s dangerously hypo, Metformin rarely causes true hypos, he may just be lower than he’s used to, a ‘false hypo’?

 

[Arab Horse]

He needs to go back to the Dr ASAP to see why. Is he testing his glucose regularly? Is he on slow release metformin or the "normal" kind? I was changed to slow release and had problems but he needs to see his Dr as we can't tell what the problem is and they can monitor him for a while to see what the problem is.

 

[alf_Josiah]

Any other changes as well ?

 

[Esther444]

If you are convinced the Metformin is causing the problem then book an appointment with the nurse/doctor. My nurse said she wasn't there to make matters worse. Yours should be happy if he stops taking them providing he books an appointment to discuss it.

Hi, thanks yes he says he will go to the doctors when we get home, we are away at the moment and my concern was partly that he was thinking to just stop taking them now and just let his sugars run high whilst we are away. I understand that with some pills you shouldn’t just stop taking them and he has just bought the pills not the packet so we can’t even read the dreaded instructions!
Thank for responding.

 

[Esther444]

What kind of diet was he using to control his Type 2?

He was trying to go as low carb as he could, but he really likes ice cream!! Also he takes a lot of holidays and when on holiday feels he can eat what he like. I had suggested he keep his carb intake down to around 120g a day? but he hasn’t been on any hospital courses and I think he and his wife struggle to get their heads round counting carbs.

 

[Esther444]

What kind of diet was he using to control his Type 2?

He doesn’t check his levels anywhere near as much as I would like but I haven’t heard any horrendous HBA1C numbers so I would guess not ‘false hypos’
I have felt hypo at around 5 before but only when my levels have been running in in the ridiculous for a while and to my knowledge I don’t think he has reached that point.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Hi, thanks yes he says he will go to the doctors when we get home, we are away at the moment and my concern was partly that he was thinking to just stop taking them now and just let his sugars run high whilst we are away. I understand that with some pills you shouldn’t just stop taking them and he has just bought the pills not the packet so we can’t even read the dreaded instructions!
Thank for responding.

I got this from the great god Google.

"But reducing the dosage of metformin or stopping it altogether is safe in some cases. However, this should only be done in collaboration with your doctor. Some people who change their lifestyle by increasing exercise and losing weight are able to stop taking the medication."

When I stopped them I just did it since it affected the taste of my food and I couldn't put up with it anymore. I had no ill effects from stopping.

Here is a link for looking up side effects and other advice.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?cli...side+effects&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8