Share your Metformin tips please :)

[Scotty13]

I started out rather slow...one 500mg tablet for two weeks...then two 500mg tablets twice a day for two weeks..then two 1000 mg twice a day. I took my pill when I sat down to eat. Because of this..or just because I was one of the lucky ones...never had problems...except one. It did suppress my appetite. Well not so much suppressed it ....more like killed it. Now..a year later... it is not as bad...but there are days when I am just not hungry...at all.

[jbmacomber]

never adjusted to it and always had digestive prolems so can't take it

[Meenie]

I hope I have that side affect, Scotty13!!

I started out rather slow...one 500mg tablet for two weeks...then two 500mg tablets twice a day for two weeks..then two 1000 mg twice a day. I took my pill when I sat down to eat. Because of this..or just because I was one of the lucky ones...never had problems...except one. It did suppress my appetite. Well not so much suppressed it ....more like killed it. Now..a year later... it is not as bad...but there are days when I am just not hungry...at all.

[Meenie]

The biggest problem I seem to be having now (at 1 500 mg tab in the morning) is indigestion.
And I can't take anything for it while I'm on the z-pak.

[Allison]

I have a question..I haven't been on Met ER long, this is my second week. Next week I start 2 at dinner instead of 1. I see several people saying it suppressed their appetite. I haven't experienced that as of yet, and don't know if I will. If however, it does happen, can anyone tell me about how long it took to happen? Was it an immediate thing or did it take a while for it to kick in appetite wise?

[Sulli]

I guess I am so lucky or maybe it's because of mine is (ER). My Dr. put me on 1000mg per day then when numbers was still high told me to double it to 2000 mg a day. I never had a stomach problems at all. I usually don't eat breakfast but just grab a 2 slices of sandwich ham on the way out the door after taking all 8 of my pills that include 1000mg of Metformin. If yours is not ER slow release, maybe that is it.

[Scotty13]

Metformin slowly but surely suppressed my appetite.....It started about three to four months after I started taking it. By the end of six months it really kicked in. I would get half way through a meal..and be saturated. It was almost like being anorexic. I would force myself to eat.....and almost throw up. It is hard to eat when your just not hungry. I started out with a diagnoses weight of 155 pounds on a 5 foot 8 frame...about idea. I dropped down to 129 pounds. I have managed to get back up to 135. It did get better with time...but there are still days when I just don’t feel like eating. On days when I do get hungry...I tend to really pack it in...trying to regain some weight but not spike. I had a friend tell me metformin should be given to over weight folks trying to lose weight. If it didn’t suppress their appetites...then all the exercise...running to the bathroom would...and if that didn’t work...there would still be a tremendous weight loss in the bathroom. It was going to get them one way or the other. Luckily most folks don’t have problems...even those that do most often get past them in time. Mine is much better and may well completely disappear.

[Hooterville]

I have a question..I haven't been on Met ER long, this is my second week. Next week I start 2 at dinner instead of 1. I see several people saying it suppressed their appetite. I haven't experienced that as of yet, and don't know if I will. If however, it does happen, can anyone tell me about how long it took to happen? Was it an immediate thing or did it take a while for it to kick in appetite wise?

I don't think I've ever had the appetite suppressant effect with ER. I did with regular....but then I had horrible gastric issues. I'm actually going to talk to endo about trying regular again as I have some other issues that have now cleared up and I'd like to give regular a try again for several reasons.

[CDeuce]

I took regular, generic Metformin 500 mg am & pm with meals for a couple of years. Had GI distress with diarrhea for a while, but it was not a deal breaker. Ultimately, I realized that my GI issues were worse when eating higher carb... I also struggle with DP & higher AM bg. I increased my night dose to 1000 mg about 2 months ago, and have much better am bg control. I no longer take with meals. I take my 500 mg dose when I get up, before eating anything, and I take 1000 mg at bedtime. I feel lucky to have few problems with Met, since it is helping me, and I have lots of room to go up if needed, before reaching that max daily dose. As with everything else D... YMMV!!

[Meenie]

So taking the metformin on an empty stomach doesn't exacerbate the GI problems? Does it help??

what is the max dose of Met?
Thanks

I took regular, generic Metformin 500 mg am & pm with meals for a couple of years. Had GI distress with diarrhea for a while, but it was not a deal breaker. Ultimately, I realized that my GI issues were worse when eating higher carb... I also struggle with DP & higher AM bg. I increased my night dose to 1000 mg about 2 months ago, and have much better am bg control. I no longer take with meals. I take my 500 mg dose when I get up, before eating anything, and I take 1000 mg at bedtime. I feel lucky to have few problems with Met, since it is helping me, and I have lots of room to go up if needed, before reaching that max daily dose. As with everything else D... YMMV!!

[Jan74br]

You gotta try it Meenie.

For me, on an empty stomach, even with the fish oil, I felt sick with nausea for a couple of hours. It was horrible. I do it immediately after eating.

Max dosage in the USA is 2550 mg, in Europe it is 3000 mg.

[ddphotography]

I just started Met on Tuesday, 500mg after Suppertime. I am on the extended release and take it immediatley after I finish eating. I haven't had any side effects at all so far.

[Meenie]

Guess those European people have stronger constitutions than us lol

Well, so far I'm now taking my metformin after breakfast and with a fish oil capsule. It seems to be helping a lot. I'm feeling a while lot better.

Ya know, the pharmacy labels can be misleading. For my Amaryl and Metformin, the label says "take with food".
The Diabetes Educator at the med center where I used to work told me the Amaryl should be taken before eating - you should eat 15 to 30 minutes after taking it! You'd think the label would tell you this!
I don't have access to her now but it would be interesting to hear what she had to say about metformin.

[CDeuce]

So taking the metformin on an empty stomach doesn't exacerbate the GI problems? Does it help??

It helped me. I consider Metformin my friend!

what is the max dose of Met?
Thanks

Usual is 2550 mg/day, which could be 850 mg 3 times a day. Many take 1000 mg twice daily.

[Calgal98]

I take 1000mg at nite and a 500mg in the am of the extended release met. It helps my day time numbers stay low which helps my dp greatly. I requested to take the additional in the am to see if it would help more. I'm now running about 90-95 am and anywhere from 80-110 during the eating hours. For me, thats great.

Type 2 (pre-diabetic by standards.

I'm also on a low carb program (approx 30 daily) which has made a huge difference.