I have been taking metformin for 7 years. I was fist taking 500mg twice a day. The doctor then increased the amount to 850 twice a day. I soon began having panic attacts. This was the only change in living. The doctor reduced the amount back to 500 an put me on nortriptyline to reduce or stop the attacts. It has helped. My question is, has anyone had any experiience of this nature with metformin?
Tom Baskin
Ive read about others having panic attacks and anxiety problems on Metformin as well. I also read about this in a medical journal the other day but didn’t pay it much attention as I’m a Type 1. The problem with all these drugs is that when given they address one problem burt have multiple effects in other parts of the body. When they perform the studies they can only measure so many side effects & health parameters with the money they have at their disposal. Studies are expensive.
One example is statin drugs. When people take stains to lower cholesterol, they can have problems with amnesia or muscle issues while.
My brother was put on some antidepressants/anti-anxiety medication and has gained a lot of weight since he began taking these. While his depression/anxiety have improved now he’s bordering on type 2 diabetes with a severely deranged cardiovascular & metabolic profile. He might have to be put on metformin as well to correct this.
But what will they have to put him on after they metformin starts giving him side effects? A never ending cycle…
Hi Neal.
Thanks for the info. If you could find that med journal it would be of great help. If they put your brother on metformin be sure to start on a low dosage and work up.It might be he will be able to lose weight with metformin. I take advantia as well and this drug causes weight gain and swelling in the exstemities. My doctors say metformin is one of the best drugs but all bodies are a little different. I know how hard it is to have medical problems so I really keep the problems as a chalange rether than a hardship. sometimes it is the worry that kills you.
Tom
Ive included 3 website addresses which touch on the biguanide (Metformin) drug class. Apparently panic attacks can result from the build up of lactic acid in the body a process called lactic acidosis.
The first link is an abstract from PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2799119?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
If you look to the right of the above abstract in the “Related articles” section you will see a couple of articles on the side effects of metformin of which lactic acidosis can be a prominent one.
The following link is an interesting journal article on the role lactic acid plays in panic disorders: http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/13/1/22 and can be downloaded as a PDF.
Here is one more article on metformin causing lactic acidosis in Type 2 diabetics from the British Medical Journal: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1632632&pageindex=1
Thanks Neral. You have been a huge help.
Hey Tom, I just noticed the link with Metformin and some anxiety attacks that I’ve been having. I’m glad that you posted this information because I was starting to feel like I was going crazy or something. It’s only happend in the last couple of days.This is the time of the month when I don’t usually need a lot of insulin or Metformin. I was diagnosed with Type 1 1.5 years ago and I am Lada or honeymooning one or the other. I require very little insulin and I take the Metformin instead of the background insulin. For the last couple of days though I have these attacks around 5 hrs after taking the Metformin. I reduced the dosage but I’m still getting the attacks…I’ll try reducing again tomorrow. I also found that if I eat right away I feel much better.
Anyhow thanks again and I hope your doing great!