Good-bye Metformin, Hello Actos

[Ronman]

As of June 1st, I am officially off my personal poison, Metformin, and taking Actos instead. I had about every negative side effect possible with Metformin, including just feeling crappy every single day I was on it. It did help somewhat with my high morning fasting numbers but it just wasn't worth it to me in the long run. Now I start on Actos. I assume many of you are taking it as well. Can you tell me what to expect and any problems you might have had with it?

[MJB]

Sorry the met was bad for you.

I took Actoplus met (Actos + Metformin) when first diagnosed and it had a tendency to drive me too low; I was always eating hard candy.

So test often to know where you're at and good luck with the new treatment.

[Lloyd]

Can you tell me what to expect and any problems you might have had with it?

You are not likely to have any side effects. You need to be aware, it is very slow to take effect. It is about an average of 6 weeks before you get the full benefit it gives.

-Lloyd

[boelkowj]

Actos didn't seem to help me at all. It depends I suppose how insulin resistant you are. If you are overweight then Actos may do more for you. My Doc dropped the dose from 30mg to 15mg/day as my A1c went up instead of down. Other possible side effects have to do with heart block which might be related in my case. My problem is more related to a secretory dysfunction rather than insulin resistance.

Larry

[Phonelady61]

It had been 6 months of feeling crappy for me too to get rid of it . Of course the first dr i had was a moron and had no idea what the heck to do with me . so finally in came the endo which I had to pay for out of my pocket because I dont have insurance cannot afford it it is too costly . The endo was seeing that there was a problem and he put me back on insulin and am feeling so much better . and for me thank god for wally world cause their insulin and their syringes are so much cheaper .I know what you went through . and god bless your dr for realizing it .

[RaiderRob]

I made it about 3 weeks on Metformin 500mg x2 daily and finally had the doc switch me to actos. I always felt drug out, no energy and had no time for anything but camping on the toilet with BAD diareha. 2+ weeks on Actos and I've had energy and good #'s so hopefully it works the same for you!

[Hammer]

I wondered if anyone else had the same bad side effects that I had on metformin. I thought that I was the only one that needed to know where every restroom was from my house to my workplace.(a 45 mile drive)

I have wondered what military pilots do when they are in the middle of a 4 hour mission over Iraq and they develop diarrhea ....or maybe they had one too many coffees before they took off.

Getting back on topic, metformin not only gave me severe diarrhea, but it made me physically ill....not to mention the chest and abdominal pains. They say that those symptoms go away after a few weeks, but mine only got worse. It's good to know that I wasn't the only one who suffered these side effects. I was beginning to think it was me....:)

[fgummett]

I have wondered what military pilots do when they are in the middle of a 4 hour mission over Iraq and they develop diarrhea ....or maybe they had one too many coffees before they took off.Depends.. (http://www.depend.com/). :D


I also had a really bad time with Metformin :o

[slipperyelm]

Well....I guess most would think I am crazy, but I suffered diarrhea and feeling intestinally gross for a year and a half on metformin. I put up with it because it did lower my BG. I thanked God my husband had a decent job, because I could not have worked in that condition. I did have a quarter time tele-commuting job, hours for which I could do any time. That is about the only way I could earn any money. I could not go into a work place and always be back and forth to the bathroom, plus, maybe lying down for a while to wait for a bout of nausea to pass. This is what I needed at home.

After a year and a half I also started taking Avandia. Avandia can cause the opposite problem--constipation. But the two seemed to balance each other out, intestinally. So the diarrhea stopped. I no longer have those frightful, nauseating internal events, and thank goodness, I do not have the constipation of Avandia either.

I've never heard anyone else mention that metformin plus Avandia (also available in the combination pill Avandamet) solved their metformin problem. Just thought I'd throw that out there, though.

[hermit104]

Now I start on Actos. I assume many of you are taking it as well. Can you tell me what to expect and any problems you might have had with it?

Hi, Ronman.

I have been on Actos for nearly nine weeks and the side-effects are beginning to wear off. None were unbearable but I need painkillers occasionally to get a good night's sleep. I should say that I tend to have reactions to most diabetes medicines (Metformin, Avandia, Gliclizide) and none do much to lower my bg levels.

The side-effects started after a few days and seem to be mostly due to water retention - sharp breast pains (enough to keep me awake some nights), groin pain, feelings like an electric shock anywhere on my body, foot swelling, foot tenderness (now gone away) and occasional blurring of vision. The most dramatic is water retention round my waist as I usually gain 5 - 7 cms from when I get up to an hour later after taking 45g Actos, water, 2 coffees and breakfast.

Good luck with it!

Rona

[Kim_in_TN]

I hate to put a damper on your new medication but Actos put lots of water weight gain on me. As soon as I got off of it, the weight came back off as well. Maybe it won't have that effect on you! I hope it works very well for you! ;)

[Staceyy]

I also was taken off of Metformin and put on Actos due to complications. My dh takes Metformin with no problem. I've had no problems whatsoever with Actos.

Stacey
The Diabetic Pastry Chef (http://www.diabeticpastrychef.com)

[Aurora96]

I hope that you have better luck on Actos than I did. The side effects were awful - 20 pound weight gain in 3 months, constant hunger, lethargy, exhaustion, muscle and joint pain - I felt like I was dying. I couldn't move off the couch I was in constant pain. It helped with my blood sugar levels but it just wasn't worth it - after 3 months, I got off of it and started feeling normal again.

[Ronman]

Wow! I guess the only way I will find out how I adapt to Actos will be to take it. I tahnk you all for the replies even though several of them troubled me a bit. My only real consolation is that the Metformin made me feel so crappy all of the time that the Actos cannot be as bad (at least I am keeping my fingers crossed). I usually have such a high tolerance to anything I've taken that I can only hope that is the case with Actos as well.

[georgepds]

Sorry to hear your trouble... I'm on 2000mg /day of metformin and have no side effects.

(on the off chance that knowing different people react differently to a drug that may help)

[Achilles]

Well this has been an interesting thread to read for sure. I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones that hasn't had the nausea or other ill effects from Metformin. I sometimes wonder where I'm heading with it though, staying at 1,000 day, up to 2,000 mg/day or if I'm going to have to use Byetta or something else like Actos. It is good to read everyone's experience.

Thanks for sharing.:smile: