I did get some pain and discomfort for a while, but it got better after a couple of weeks. Without stopping the metformin altogether, why not skip a couple of doses. Won't totally screw your sugars if you eat carefully and if its the metformin, you will get better quickly.
Some people don't tolerate the side effects. I was getting very bad leg pain, (like a bad cramp, but didn't get better with walking) but found taking a b100 supplement helps, (metformin affects B12 and folic acid uptake. )
For another list member (Butterbutt, hasn't been here for a while) she got the leg pain a couple of months into using the metformin, but the B's didn't help enough. I can understand. This was pain, (not discomfort) and if I hadn't found a solution, I wouldn't have been able to take it.
While metformin is a good drug with lots of benefits, its not for all of us.
Hope you find an answer to the issue though!
