Just diagnosed as Type II I'm suppose to take 500 mg w/meal in a.m. then add a p.m. one in about a week or so.
Took it for 9 days, lost 9 lbs but was so sick to tummy and diarrhea I got tired of it and went off on the 10th day.
Going to try it again because 2 pharmacists said I should try it for at least a month and the symptoms will go away.
My other option is to pickup a script called Januvia. However this med can cause your blood sugar levels to drop and I don't want to deal with that too.
If you're not taking the extended release version, you should definitely try that as an alternative. The branded version is Glucophage XR, or generic is Metformin ER. Dosages are the same and there are usually no gastrointestinal side-effects for most people.
Metformin and Glucophage ER/XR and regular gave my unrelenting diarrhea, so bad I had to stop using it. I went directly to insulin. I had to ask my MD for it but I was not interested in any of the pills other than Metformin. Your gastrointestinal problems may go away in 15-20 days or they may not go away at all. For some, the lowering of the BG makes it worth it. I gave it a year and the cost/benefit ratio was not worth it to me. I had several social accidents on Met.It could have lowered me to 83 for ever and the ratio would not have worked for me. Good luck.
I would give it some more time. After many years of taking met I had to up my dose yet again. Hitting 2000 mg gave me a few weeks of problems then settled down and now it rarely affects me. Extended release helps. I even knew someone who found that taking 1-1000mg ER worked better for her than 2-500mg ER.
I haven't ever taken Januvia but I take Amaryl which can also cause lows. I found that after a couple weeks of wild swings I adapted and it is better. Given my control is so tenuous I do watch what I eat like a hawk anyway. With amaryl I have had to stick to eating 3 meals and 3 snacks per day but I tend to eat that way anyway so it isn't a huge burden.
For me the symptoms gradually disappeared, but it took months. I switched to ER and it helped with the symptoms. I went back to the regular after a couple of years because I found it more effective.
Thanks for all the tips. I did decide to take only 1/2 of the 500 tablet in the a.m. and the second half in the p.m. So far I'm doing good. I'll increase it in the a.m. to a full pill next week. However, today I was doing errands and felt my blood sugar was low and when I got home sure enough it was 91. I immediately ate and I'm feeling great.
I'm also on 50,000 mg of Vit. D because I had almost no "D" in my system. I'll see the doc in 2 weeks so I'm hoping I can continue to adjust to the Met.
Trenia , we all react differently to medication and how it affects us. The other thing about metformin is if you eat a high fat diet it will give you GI Distress. Watch your schedule of meals,snacks, and yes exercise.Nancy
The first 9 days I couldn't eat anything. I don't usually eat high fats food. I'm still doing 1/2 table of a 500mg. So far so good. Monday i'll try a whole tablet in the a.m. Hope it's resolved.
So far I haven't had a hard time adjusting to the diet because I never ate sugar too much and carbs I don't really like. I'm on the uphill swing of things now!!!!!
