[Phranp]

I'm a Type 2 diabetic and I have been prescribed 1000 mg metformin twice a day ... but ... I only take 1000 at night ... I take perhaps 500 mg in the morning ONLY if my numbers are high enough ... why? ... because my numbers have been very low lately ... I have been crashing or near crashing way too much.

So here's what happened, on Thursday morning I ate breakfast late -- had a breadfast burrito -- it was almost 10 a.m. my BS was at 127 before I ate so I thought it might be a good idea if I took at lease 500 mgs of metformin ... so I did .. at noon I wasn't hungry for lunch so I decided to eat later ... about 1 p.m. I started getting the shakes, ... I checked my BS and it was 71 -- for me, that's very low -- I ate some hard candy but it wasn't helping ... I couldn't get up so I asked my co worker to get me some cola, I was shaking so bad that she had to feed me the cola ... let's add to that I was stuttering so badly that I couldn't get a sentence out ... when I could stand up we went into my co worker's boss' office ... he has a couch where I could lay down ... I couldn't stop shaking and stuttering ... they fed me more cola and some chocolate and got my BS up to 91 ... but ... I was still shaking and stuttering ... I begged them not to call 911 ... I wanted to go to Cedars Sinai ... the hospital that my doctors work out of ... so when my family arrived they took me to the hospital ... long story short, my endocrinologist thinks it was a hypoglycemic episode ... the neurologist thinks it was something different ... I had a cat scan and an MRI ... cat scan was okay ... haven't gotten the MRI results yet ...

FYI, I have high blood pressure, a pituitary tumor (small and begnin) ... also, I had a headache all morning and my eyesight was worse than usual ... still is

Anyone experience anything like this ... ever?

[babySlon]

metformin shouldn't cause reaction like that. then again....
as I undersdand, its better to take it with every major meal(not snacks).

[Funnygrl]

That doesn't sound like hypoglycemia to me. 71 isn't terribly low, and 91 certainly isn't.

[mortis505]

What are your normal numbers for the past few weeks?? If you are used to running higher, Then 71 can feel like a low. Have you been exercising and dieting low carb? You may want to ask your endo about reducing the met.

[jsntay]

Sorry to hear about your trip to the hospital. I don't think Metformin is supposed to cause low blood sugar unless you take it with a Sulfonylurea type drug like Amaryl which is what I take along with Metformin. If I miss a meal, I always go hypo.

[Samantha]

Glad your ok now . I have no advice because I'm new to all this .

[Cloudedbrains]

Metformin may not be "meant" to cause low's but I know a few people who it does cause low's in, so it is a possibility

71mg is under 4mmol and so good well be a low for you

Some people feel lows at different levels, what is normal for one person, may be very different for another person

[Phranp]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Sorry I could not respond sooner but I started feeling poorly and had to lie down. Cloudedbrains I think you said it all ... low is low for different people. I am definitely low at 71 and I am comfortable at 124.
Thanks for the well wishes. I am watching my sugar more closely ... no more HOSPITALS! LOL