Adjusting to Metformin??
 

I was put on this medication 2 days ago - I'm only taking 1 pill/day at dinnertime, and then gradually working my way up to 4 pills/day at dinnertime. I was told to do this because it can make you sick ... well to say the least, its been horrible (and i'm only taking 1 pill!)

Has anyone else had this side effect from adjusting to Metformin??

I called the pharmacist and they said its normal and I just have to live through it :(

Any advice?

I take 2,000 mg of Metformin per day and have for several years. I have not noticed any side effects. I think that once your system get used to the med your problems with taking it will subside.

Oh I do hope it gets better!
I am currently on 500mg 1x/day but he wants me working up to 4 pills, so yes 2,000mg as well.

I'm just upset that me being soo sick is "normal" and I can't do anything about it but just "live through it and it'll get better" ya know?

Hard to be able to go to work, school, etc. when I'm in and out of the bathroom hours at a time :(

Thanks for the hope though! I do hope it'll all just subside. I'll probably stick to the 1pill (500mg) for a few days before I increase to 2 pills.

I was on metf. for a number of years. The first month was awful! I told my nurse there had to be something else I could use but she encouraged me to keep trying for another week or two. Finally I adjusted. The only problem I had after that was upset stomach if I ate a high fat meal. Fat is not your friend with this medication.

I'm on 500mg 2x a day...
 

I've been on Metformin for 16 months...the only reactions I had to it was the fact that my nausea, head aches and dizzy spells went away...I had those symptoms because my blood sugar was out of control. I felt better almost immediately...I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling well on the meds...hopefully you will feel beter soon...

Acid Indigestion
 

The only problem that I had with metformin, and I take 2000mg per day is indigestion. This may be after eating a meal high in fat. I have been taking it for some five years.

Why high fat?
 

I do not understand about the high fat meals. Why would MetFormin make one sick after a high fat meal? I really do not want to get into a debate on diet beliefs, but I am certain that carbohydrates are the major problem in dealing with diabetes. Why would a drug for diabetes be developed that would be sensitive to fat?

I take metFormin and have for the past month. I am having trouble with it. I started with 500 mg at dinnertime. My doctor told me to do that to see how well I tolerated it. I was fine with the once a day, but when I started taking it twice a day it really made me sick. One thing I found is that I have to take the second pill WITH dinner. If I wait even one hour I know that I will have indigestion and pain later in the evening.

Sometimes, even if I take it with dinner, I still feel sick in the night. When that happens, I cut back to once a day for a day or so. I notice a difference in my numbers when I take two doses a day so I stick with it. But it is a miserable drug.

Re:Adjusting to Metformin??
 

Bear in mind that Metaformin must taken with food in order to keep it from screwing up the blood sugar. Eaten with food, you should not have any problems with it. I'm up to 2550 mg a day (3 tablets, 1 tablet with a meal).

I have been taking Metformin for months, there are two types of this drug metformin regular and Metformin HCL. I cannot take regular as it gave me terrible diarrea and nausia. Once my Endo switched me to HCL I was fine. Is this what you mean by getting you sick?

RD

I was taking 2000mg of metformin a day, 2 pills with breakfast and 2 with largest meal of day. I was experiencing alot of diarrhea and stomach cramps, but the worst was constant headaches. As I already migraine frequently, this was not making me the happiest of campers. My internist switched me to Janumet twice daily. This has a combination of Januvia and Metformin (500mgs) in one pill. I take one with breakfast and one with either lunch or dinner, whichever is larger. This is keeping my blood sugar levels in pretty good control and I have been feeling better than I have in a long time. I hope this helps someone!!

KT in FL

I went straight on 3 per day, one with each meal. I've noticed a little discomfort, but not a lot. I notice more side effects if I don't eat well. So I try to stay on the diet I'm using to loose weight.

It must be taken with food. My bottle has this label prominently on it and the pharmacist told me about it when I picked it up. He said some people experience minimal nausea and diarrhea and others have it bad. Whichever way, he said it rarely lasts more than two weeks.

You can ask your doc for an anti-nausea pill to take with it. Don't take anything like that without talking to the doc or the pharmacist first!

About the fat, I wonder if it is because metformin does something to the liver? It makes it stop producing glucose so I wonder if that process causes fatty meals to not sit right?

I've been on Met. for 2 weeks now and was miserable the first week. I moved it to the morning and have had less problems since I did that. Don't know if it was the move itself or if I just adjusted to it.

Adjusting to meformin
 

I started this three days ago myself and like you I am having the same problems. I read the pharmacist pages included with it and these are possible side effects but should subside as you become used to the medicine. This evening I am much better than I did a few days ago.

I have been on Metformin for about three years. Nausea and diarrhoea are well known side effects. Also stomach cramps and flatulence. It can make you insecure to go out at first but it subsides if you persevere. I take mine in two doses of two tablets twice per day. Always straight after eating. I found that taking them four times a day made me feel more nauseous.
Most people I have spoken to who take them report a reduced appetite for food so I think they are an appetite suppressant too.
Stick with it. Things will improve.

Well I have been on metformin a year and I hate it. I have take mine twice a day with food and when I do it makes me go straight the bathroom. It is a headache. I can say glipizide works slot better in lowering my sugar than the metformin.

Metformin causes lots of adverse effects. There's a new natural medication, Sucanon, it's tested on more than 7000 people with no adverse effects.
http://www.sucanondiabetes.com/clinical-results/

I was on Metformin also and threw up every morning until I mentioned it to my Dr. and he said it was a common side effect. He took me off of it and put me on Actos. NO MORE PUKING!!!

I stopped taking it after about a week or so. BG level has been fine ever since. Change what you eat and save your life.

Man.... Metformin can really knock you out! It is a fast (very fast) acting Med. I have found that when you ease into it, your body will adjust eventually

Metformin
 

I have been on Metformin for several years. My experience, never take it on an empty stomach or with a light meal. It will give you diarrhea for several hours afterwards.

Metformin - Tough time adjusting
 

Hey there. I was recently diagnosed with TYPE 2 Diabetes and was prescribed Metformin. At first I was taking 500 mg a day, and after two weeks I started taking 1000mg a day. Lately I have been having headaches, stomach pain and i have been feeling very nauseous about 2 hours after taking the medicine. My main concern is the nausea. My question is - is there anything I can eat to counter act the nausea? It's really bad to the point where I have to lie down and just sleep it off. Sometimes I wake up nauseous. My doctor told me to basically deal with it and hopefully my body will adjust to it. Does anyone have suggestions/tips? Many thanks!

I started with the same dosage. I took about two weeks for side effects to go away. I'm doing a lot better now!! There is hope!

I was put on metformin about 6 wks ago. 2 days after I started taking it (2x's per day) I thought I had come down with the flu. I had nausea, diaherra, headaches, extreme fatigue, dizziness and some muscle pain. After feeling like this for 3 weeks I called the doctor. Apparently I was having severe side effects and he took me off it immediately. It took about a wk to start feeling better.

I started Metaformin about six weeks ago. The first week I dealt with a bit of stomach/diarrhea but after that it has been fine. I do
2 pills a day.

Several years ago I went into lactic acidosis and nearly died when they put me on metformin. apparently i can't tolerate it very well - they've since come out with a gradual release over time form of it and i'm doing a lot better. I get upset stomach and diarrhea now and then but it isn't as bad a few weeks into taking it.

Metformin
 

I take 4 pills of the extended release and generally haven't had any problems probably part due to having increased gradually over several years. This does possibly explain a couple of bouts of nausea I've had.

If the side effects don't fade don't fret. My life has improved immensely on Novolog and lantus. I never could get to feeling right on met. The needle ain't half as bad as I always feared.

Metformin side effects
 

I am so sorry you are going thru this. It has been so long since I've started as I've been on Metformin for just under 11 years. I advanced to Insulin Injections now with meals and in the evening.

I do remember those effects. Do you happen to have your Gall Bladder? If not, I rememebr when I had mine removed the feeling starting back eating was like a 10 minutes till bathroom! If you are on two, and you cant get thru it, ask your doc if you can take it in the evening before Supper. That way, you will sleep thru the worst. As the earlier comment stated, for me it was a 2 week tie frame until I got thr it.

Insulin may be the next step, but with everything, the side effects are there. While taking Insulin it is more difficult to lose weight. The key for many Type2, myself included, is critical to manage nutritional "INPUT" and I recently found out for men hormonal levels (I would assume that is similar in women).

My advice for you is to see your Primary Care Doctor and ask for a referral to a Diabetic Care Nutritionist or Nurse. Normally, most clinic driven care facilities will have one of these and MOST insurances will allow you to see them, or a series of appointments on them (as preventative). It can show you how to lower morning fasting BGL and live within a Diabetic Diet without changing what you eat. In y case, I needed to lose weight and they have supported that with a Nutrtion plan that will allow me to lose weight and exercise to lower BGL. This may lower it enough to not have to take meds (I pray) at soem point. Until then, Its so important to stay within a healthy BGL and A1C that Dealing with side effects are a way of every day.

Try the evening then possibly move toward exercise in the am and I pray you get the results you need!!!

Vinny

"BE WELL!":D