Metformin side effects
 

Hey. I had a question for you all. I have been taking metformin for about 3 months. 500mg twice a day. Taking 500 in am and then again in pm I occasionally had the wonderful side effect of being in the bathroom to often. Well I was having problems remembering to take my pm dose so the doctor said I could take them both at the same time if I wanted. I started that and began to live in the bathroom. I have gone back to twice a day and I am still in the bathroom all day. any sugestions? I can't take this. I, as alot of people do, have 2 young children that are now home on summer vacation and I can not stay in there all day. Any ideas would help. I am really thinking I need try something else.

How is your eating? Are you eating any refined sugar or high carb items? Are you eating a lot of raw veggies and fruit? Are you eating before taking the medicine?

Are you on the extended release formula? If not, call your dr and asked to be switched since you are still having problems.

My dr told me that I could take immodium if I was having problems and had places to be. It has helped a bit. I also have less problems when I make sure I don't eat a lot of raw veggies and fruits. Oatmeal, beans, popcorn, bananas, and benefiber seem to help as long as I don't overdo on the carbs during the day. I also don't drink regular pop or juice anymore because those cause problems almost immediately.

HTH

My Dh is on it and it makes him have lots of trouble. I think that diet soda sets it off even more. He takes immodium at night when it gets out of control. I notice certain foods seem to increase the problem. I would suggest you start looking at what your eatting and see if there is something that seems to increase the problem. Good luck, I know this can be so miserable.

I am trying to watch my diet. I do still eat refined sugars, just on a smaller scale. I will have a regular soda on occasion, not on a regular basis and a scoop of ice cream occasionally as well. But taht is rare. I can't do alot of veggies because they give me severe gas. I have tried gas x and beano and nothing helps with that so.... I stick to the ones I can eat. I eat alot of salads (most of those veggies are ok). If I eat before I take it and I am fine until I eat lunch, then it happens after lunch. If I eat breakfast after I take it then it goes on all day. I am lost. I have thought about taking all 1000 mg before bed instead of in the am and see if the side effect will resolve before breakfast in the am. Since I only get it if I eata after I take it and it is resolved before dinner. Ok now that I have confused myself...... Thanks for your imput.

Sharon

I would try eliminating or reducing the amount of salads that you eat and see if that helps the problem. Or try to balance out the salads with other food that will bulk up your stools. I know it seems like it would be counterproductive to reduce your veggies but cooked ones in place of the raw don't seem to be as much of a problem. Lots of people say that lunch and dinner salads are a cause of problems so you are not alone in that at all.

Since you are only taking 1000mg see if you can take it after dinner and not have any low blood sugar episodes. When I was on 1000mg I took it all at night and then allowed myself enough time in the am to eat and get it over with before I had to leave if there was going to be a problem. I have come to the conclusion that there may not be a way to stop feeling like you are more regular than most people but at least if it isn't just liquid it doesn't seem as bad (sorry TMI but I know that we have all been through that with this med). This is where balancing the insoluble fiber with soluble fiber seems to help.

I've sorta narrowed down what causes my stomach problems. Any time I eat ANY carbs, or anything sweet, I instantly get cramps and have to rush to the washroom. Also, fruit seems to be pretty touchy. Coffee is also troublesome. Jeez, seems like we can't win sometimes!!!

I found that eating tons of fruits and veges, sweets, and exercising makes me go tons more (maybe that's why we lose weight with Met...;) )

Try keeping the sweets and carbs as low as possible. Do you drink tons of water? I do and it does push me to living in the bathroom.

I take Metformin 500 mg. twice daily. No problems with diarrhea, quite the opposite. I am on a low-carb diet and this may be why the difference. I just started this med 4 months ago and have not notice that it helps any with my weight loss. It could just be that since I am close to goal that it would have came off slow no matter what. Good luck to everyone else.

I have terrible problems with coffee, too!! I thought I was the only one. Now I'm tired all the time b/c I can't drink it. lol I also have trouble with movie theater popcorn (tried it once, and never again). It's nice to know that other people are going through the same thing I am going through with the met, but keep on pushing. So far I've lost 17 pounds (2 more to my 10% goal!), so there is definitely hope. Good luck! Hope you start feeling better.

17 pounds! That's great. I'm wondering how long it took to lose the weight? I've been on Met for just over a month and I've only lost 3 lbs.

I've been on Met for just over a month. Started at 500 mg once a day. Dr. just upped it to 500 mg twice a day.

In one month I have only lost 1 lb.

The only side effect I'm having is that I'm absoutely exhausted 24/7. Dr. says this should correct itself. I wish it would hurry.

Kitty, you'll probably see more weight loss after upping the dosage. 500 mg is only a small amount. 1000-1500 is a more common dose. Did you count calories this past month, or exercise? Exercise is vital to those of us with IR.

My doctor took me off of it as it was making me very ill.

Metformin is not a weight loss pill - what it does do is make the insulin do all the right things and work properly to help you lose weight where you might have failed before and your body wasn't using insulin properly. Simple carbs, refined sugars etc and greasy food should be avoided on metformin.

I am on 2000mg a day and I take 1000mg after breakfast and 1000mg after dinner and it works great for me. I was exhausted all the time on 1500mg so it might be an idea to get the dosage upped.

I have just started Met two days ago and hope that combined with my exercise (usually 2hrs 5x week min) plus my own low carb/high protein/Low GI diet that it will assist my weightloss and prevent diabetes.

My s/e have been mild but I am only on 250mg 3x per day, hopefully my Dr will allow me to increase my dose from this level.

The s/e that is concerning me a little at this point is the lack of hunger, I am really having difficulty eating my food (B,snack,Lsnack, dinner, snack). My BMR is 1600 without excercise (which for other reasons I have had to cut down this week anyway), but the last two days I have struggled to eat and have not reached 1200 calories.

Getting enough calories is always my problem - I know its bizarre for someone who is obese, but I guess it was all those years of sub 900 per day trying not to gain any more weight with this stupid disease:(

Does the lack of hunger go away? I'm kind of forcing myself to eat today because my weight loss (minimal as it is) stops if I am under 1200 calories for too long. I'm just wondering if I should add some good but high calorie things, like a few more almonds?

From what I understand, it is perfectly ok to go under 1200 calories a day and still be healthy. Some experts disagree and others agree but don't want to start a controversy. :) The traditional answer has always used 1200 as a guideline, but with the popularity of gastric bypass, it looks like the ultra low calories have been researched more. I personally wouldn't recommend it unless your doctor knows so he can watch for signs of malnutrition. Make your food choices count. Almonds and also yogurt are good choices. (some studies suggest that diets that include almonds or dairy have better weight loss. )

Side effects normally go away as your body adjusts. When your doctor increases your dosage they may return while you adjust again.

LOL - under 1200 calories might be considered healthy by some, but for me my metabolism shuts down after a few days at that calorie level and I just don't loose any weight which at the moment is my biggest concern.

LOL Of course, not feeling hungry definitely has its advantages so I hope it only improves a little bit;)

Hangovers!
 

New question about metformin... I now get these killer hangovers from one or two drinks. I know that I'm not really supposed to drink while I'm taking it. But does that mean none at all, or just that I shouldn't drink excessively? I don't really understand the relationship between alcohol and blood sugar. The only thing I can find online is that alcohol could trigger hypoglycemia or lactic acidosis.

I take 500mg twice daily.

You should definitely not drink any alcohol at all. It can cause lactic acidosis, which can be fatal. It isn't certain you will develop LA, but if you do, the consequences could be severe.

LA doesn't happen because of blood sugar response. The met can actually cause lactic acidosis as a rare side effect, but drinking any alcohol at all greatly increases your chances.

I myself couldn't handle the Glucophage or Metformin, no matter what the dosage was or when I took it, it made me live in the bathroom and I also got really sick on it. So my dr. switched me to Foramet, which is a form of Metformin, but different and its just fine with me. I have no side effects from it at all!

Good Luck!

I haven't been able to figure out why the alchol is treated differently when you are on the "sugar eater" medicine but I find that I feel awful and get tipsy easier on less if I am using my meds.

Both alcohol and the medication is metabolized in the liver, so they can/do interact with each other, causing undesirable effects. The meds work on/in the liver, and the alcohol also works in the liver and pancreas as well. This is more than the body can sometimes handle. It is very important to not drink while taking the medication. Even taking a day's break from meds is not recommended because of the long term effects that is has on the liver. It takes a while to metabolize completely. I haven't done much research in to the other blood sugar meds, but Met has potentially very serious side effects and it is extremely important to not drink alcohol while taking it.

Thanks for the info. After my most recent experience, wine (which I love) doesn't even sound appealing, so I'm going to stop drinking for now. Hopefully I can eventually stop taking this stuff and resume a life that includes the occasional glass.

Lisa, when I was taking Met, I was the exact opposite! I wanted wine every night. :lol: Must be the taboo factor.

ive been on the Met for 1 year now .. at first i was losing quite steadily.. but now the Met doesnt seem to be having any effect on the weight loss and I am stalled and even went up 5 lbs... I am wondering if i should talk to my dr about increasing my dose.. i take 500 mg twice a day

That's funny Jennifer--I'm trying not to think too hard about it. "No alcohol" sounds a lot worse than it is (for me, anyway). I hardly ever drink anyway, but don't tell me I can't!

I haven't had any other side effects, but I also haven't noticed that Met has helped me lose weight...

Weird-I am just like you in the fact that I have been eating very low calorie for years and still gaining weight. I did WW, followed the plan exactly, exercised, and still gained weight. PCOS certainly makes things hard. I have been exercising for 30-45 min 4-5 days a week and still no weight loss. Now I started 500mg/day of Metformin last night and low-carb today. Hopefully the weight will finally come off. Maybe this is the trick..............

Latest studies recommend 60-90 minutes of exercise a day for weight loss, and 30-60 per day to maintain the weight loss. I will find the link for you later, I have to dash off to work. But it is listed in Maintainers if you want to check it out.

Hopefully the Met will work for you, and help you utilize that insulin that is getting in the way of weight loss. Are you increasing your dosage later?