Metformin - should I try again?

[ByGrace]

When I was first diagnosed with T2, my doctor prescribed metformin. I can't remember the dosage, but it immediately gave me diarrhea, which didn't stop until I quit taking it 6 months later. I'm talking never being far from the restroom, and several accidents, fortunately at home. I also had other problems that disappeared when I quit taking metformin. My blood sugars were great though! Anyway, a different doctor later prescribed Glucovance, which he said was half metformin and half something else (can't remember that either, maybe glyburide). Same results. So it seems I can't take metformin in any amount without horrible stomach problems.

I was reading on here the other day that there is a metformin extended release that lessens the tummy troubles. Is it worth going through that again to see if I can take the ER? My doctor wanted to prescribe metformin for me when I had to go back on meds a couple of weeks ago, but I asked not to have metformin. He didn't mention ER, and I didn't know there was such a thing. Thanks for any advice!

[Dan Gato]

Hi,
I'm on Metformin 1,000 X2 a day, they aren't ER. Lucky me, no tummy problems, knock on wood.
Try the extended release, I think that it's a good med, or ask your doc for lower doses.
I take it with Glipizide, but I'll ask my doc to change the Glipizide to Avandia because Glipizide causes damage to the beta cells in the long term.
Do more research, and have some tests done, do you know your A1c?
Keep good track of your BG lows & hi's, before & after the meals.
Good luck !

[ladytaz]

Be very watchful of yourself if your doc does prescribe you the Avandia Dan!! I will go to my grave saying that Avandia (my mother said it was actually Avandamet - same difference!) is the cause of my dad's Congesitve Heart Failure, from clear out of the blue, that nearly killed him. He was litterally on deaths doorstep!! He has had heart problems for well over 30 years now, but NEVER any Congetstive Heart Disease/Failure issues ... EVER, prior to the Avandamet!

I was taking Actos for 9 months. Altho I didn't have any heart probs (that I know of) I did however gain weight that I could not lose, no matter! I didn't feel it was helping me with my BG's anymore either. I went off it, and weight has slowly been coming off. And numbers have stayed the same. My dad also gained quite a bit of weight while on the Avandamet. Actos and Avandia are pretty much the same med, with the same basic side effects! Myself, I will NEVER take any Actos product again, nor take Avandia product EVER!

I'm not some irrational, non researching type either!! While learning about diabetes, I've read this same things over and over and over again concerning Avandia! From people who have taken it! The stuff scares the **** out of me! Figured the Actos stuff out later, on my own as well.

And look at what I just read: Defective Drug Information - Avandia Side Effects (http://www.adrugrecall.com/avandia/effects.html)

I don't know what the **** the FDA is doing these days, but it's **** sure NOT watching out for us! All the while we're paying two, three, four times .... oodles the price of meds that the rest of the world is paying, because we "supposedly" pay for the FDA riggamaroll to make sure these drugs are safe for us?? WTF EVER!

Just about every day it seems, some "new/newer" drug is being recalled, and law suits are going up about them! Well HELLO McFly, 2 or 3 years and 16 patient studies just isn't justified research in my book!

Just read the other day that there is an issue with these new stents they came out with a couple years ago ... well my dad has SEVEN of those freakin things in his arteries now, put in guess when, right after the CHF!! It's NOT good at all either!! Can't take them out! Those suckers are little time bombs waiting to go off!! I'm so pissed off at the FDA right now!

Sorry ... didn't mean to go off like that!! I just don't want to see any of y'all have any complications, that are not even diabetes related, because of meds that are SUPPOSED to help us take care of ourselves, that clearly haven't been researched enough!!

[Peter Lee]

Grace, it could be that you didn't put up with the Metformin long enough. I had terrible side effects which then just gradually disappeared after six months and were completely gone after twelve. Perhaps you are one of the unfortunate people who has to suffer longer before the side effects go.

I know how much you will have suffered, but if nothing else works for you and Metformin does work - then maybe it's worth another go. But certainly you will need a lot of support and understanding from those around you.

[Gunnie]

I have been on the ER version for awhile now, because I was having a hard time remembering to take a pill 3 times a day. Now I take 3 pills together at night and all is good. :)

[slipperyelm]

Well, I have heard that for some people the ER pill is much better. If it were me, yes I'd try again, no question!

I've wondered, too, if some kind of mild antidiarrheal might help with "metformin gut". Maybe some old fashioned kaolin suspension (Kaopectate). But that would be a question for a pharmacist, as you would not want to take anything which would interfere with absorption.

Also did, you take your metforim with meals or on an emptty stomach? Changing that could make a difference.

I sympathize because metformin nearly incapacitated me for a year. I was contract working from home and could not possibly have worked in an office at the time. It got much better when we added Avandia to the prescription (avandia + metformin in combination tablet = Avandamet) I really think it was the avandamet that made the diarrhea.

[ByGrace]

Thanks so much for your opinions on trying Metformin again. It's not that nothing else works for me - I'm on glyburide right now, but I was completely off medications for 2 years. I'm managing my sugar levels very well with glyburide, but it's made me gain about 5 pounds in 3 weeks, and one of the things I need to do is lose weight in order to have better control - it's a vicious cycle! I'm really not doing too bad; I only need 2.5mg of glyburide a day, and even with that small amount, I have to be careful to have snacks or I have lows. My doctor said it's just a little boost to help me get back in control after an out-of-control summer, and I'm hoping I can try just diet and exercise again after the first of the year.

The 6 months that I was on metformin were miserable, not only because of the tummy troubles, but other side effects were happening. For example, my bones in my arms and legs were aching, and it was becoming constant. My chest also ached. I also realized after the fact that my brain was foggy (don't know any other way to describe it!). I could think clearly again within a day of stopping the metformin. My doctor said it was not the metformin, but the aching stopped the day I stopped taking it. I was up several nights a week with a severely upset stomach, and that stopped immediately when I stopped the metformin. My doctor was very quick to take me off of it when I finally told him about the severe diarrhea and that it was getting worse instead of better. So I'm pretty sure I took it long enough - to suit me, at least! ;)

[slipperyelm]

Sorry, just noticed I left off a word or two that completely changes my intended meaning in speaking about Avandia. I meant to say that I think adding in the avandia with my metformin made the diarrhea STOP. And now I am able to be employed away from my own home (read: bathroom).

It does sound like you had a really bad reaction to metformin though. Hearing how bad it was, I have to admit I'd be reluctant to try again if I were you. But those hypos with glyburide and the potential for hypos can make you have to eat excess calories and have to live with a lot more reliance on routine and your meter. I got off a similar med and without additional effort lost 4.5 pounds in the first week. I had been on a mere 2.5 mg glipizide ER. My last hypo was caught at 47mg/dl and my pancreas must have been pumping out the insulin like crazy, as my BG kept falling all afternoon and night despite my carefully consuming glucose tablets. I s-o-o-o prefer the insulin sentisitzing medicines over the insulin stimulating medicines.

Good luck, ByGrace.