I was just diagnosed on Friday and put on metformin 500 twice a day. My sugars are on the high side. My problem is I am soooo tired. Is this part of the adjustment phase to the metformin? I have 3 kids that are coming home today. And I have no idea how I’m going to function.
I don’t know about others’ experience with Metformin, but got me, meformin interrupted my sleep cycle to the point that I never for more than 90mins sleep at a time and never very deep sleep. I did not dream while on metformin. Eventually, I had to stop taking it (I take insulin now instead), because the sleep deprivation was causing me to have memory loss.
My research in the subject found that a study had been done which concluded that there was no evidence that metformin interferes with normal sleep - however, that said, the fact that such a study was conducted indicates that such complaints were heard. I never took more than 1000mg of metformin a day, but even on just 500mg/day I had these problems.
I hope that for you, this issue is part of the short-term adjustment period, as metformin can be a very helpful medication with all sorts of beneficial side effects. Note, I have heard that it can take six weeks and sometimes more to become fully acclimated to metformin. My mother took metformin for 17 years without problems with terrific results, and should probably still be taking it. She has no complications of diabetes after 20 years.
I take 2,000 mg of metformin a day, and have no problems. One of the very common side effects is that it can upset your stomach - luckily, I seem to have an iron stomach and it never bothered me.
I take 1500 mg of metformin a day and have virtually no side effects. However . . .
Like any other medication, metformin affects each individual . . . individually. Some people experience really troubling side effects, others nearly none. Physiology is a fiendishly complex system, and each person’s is distinct in its response to disease, medication, environment . . . pretty much everything.
All of that said, it could possibly be the metformin that is triggering your fatigue. Or it could be those sky-high blood sugar levels themselves; fatigue can result from that, too. If this has been going on for a while, your body could have finally exhausted its ability to tolerate the high levels. And it’s very possible that the simple stress of being diagnosed pushed things over the top. Certainly wouldn’t be the first time that happened.
My suggestion is to give things time to settle. Your life’s pattern has just been knocked for a loop and you have a lot of unanswered questions right now. It’s going to take a little while for the picture to clarify.
Metaformin interferes with vit b absorption, You need to take Vit B supplements ( Complex and B12).
I was feeling so tired all the time that I stopped metformin. Later only I realized about this but at that time I was diagnosed as LADA.
Vit B is also responsible for deep sleep. I used to wonder that why didn’t I get dreams anymore. After Vit B complex, I started having those vivid movie like dreams,
The sad part is that doctors don’t tell us about this even though its a side effect of this drug.
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If your blood sugars are still on the high side, this may be the likely culprit. High blood sugars, in and of themselves, lead to fatigue.
I took Vitamin B supplements when taking metformin, but I still had the sleep issues I described. Blood tests did not indicate any vitamin deficiencies at that time, in my case… I’m not saying that isn’t the issue for others, but not me.
I get real sleepy if my levels run high. I will tell you this too, some people with OSA/hypopneas will run on the high side because sleep disorder breathing messes with metabolism. I remember it took a while for the meds to bring my glucose and I felt better after my levels came down.