Metformin not working (yet?)

[tsurf]

Hello, tsurf here. new to the forum. I've been controlling my type 2 for a few years now (I'm 38) with strict low carb diet and lots of exercise and was keeping things under 120. for some reason my fasting levels have jumped to 250-300 so my doctor put me on metformin. I took 500 mg for 5 days and nothing was happening, then forgot to take my pills on a trip so I missed two days, got back and started taking 1000mg. 3 days later (exercising every day and dieting) and I still have a morning reading of 300. Of course paranoia sets in and I think my pancreas is not working, etc. does anyone have any ideas????

[travis]

I've followed a path similar to yours, diet and excersice, then adding metformin. It took 3 weeks taking it regularly before I saw results from it. Talk to your doc, and hang in there.

[SVanderkolff]

I was newly diagnosed this January and went immidiately to the metformin. It took about 3 weeks for me also to get my numbers down.
Steve

[RBmumsie]

I agree - you haven't been taking the increased dosage long enough to tell and you should call your dr. to see if he/she wants to change anything just yet (I'm betting no).

[Peter Lee]

It took three weeks for me to see an effect due Metformin and a good three months before I came under control.

Because of the intestinal side effects the technique that doctors, in my experience, seem to use when putting people on Metform is to put them on a very low dose to start with for about four weeks and then graudually increase the dose every few weeks until the desired effect is achieved.

I ended up on 2550mg after having minimal improvement at lower doses, so to me 500mg looks very low! You will need to have patience I'm afraid, and give it a chance to have an effect and for your body to get used to it.

[EdnBama]

Yeah, I agree that 500mg/day sounds low, especially for numbers greater than 300. I've been on 1000mg/day ever since diagnosed nearly 3 years ago. I was around 350mg/dl when diagnosed. It took about 2 weeks of the meds (metformin, avandia) plus strict carb control to get my numbers down.

[donkeyhotay]

FWIW, it took six weeks, in my case, before the metformin had any effect.

[mg_2204]

... It took a good 6 weeks in my case for Metformin to really kick in.

I was told that fasting BG is a problem for most T2. Dawn phenomenon or something like that. I can go to bed with a BG of 6.2 mmol/L and get up with a fasting BG of 8.5 mmol/L. Highly frustrating. I have discovered that a supper of a lean meat and veggies and a little protein 30 minutes before bed will keep BG under 7 mmol/L in the morning. Perhaps worth a try? Before that I tried exercice like an athlete, starving myself, BG would still be up in the curtains in the morning. I must mention that throughout the day my BG is steady and low (between 5.2 and 6.2 mmol/L, with the help of meds of course).