Tigger says she's ok and thank you for all who wrote in on the discussion

Hello gang -

I finally figured out how to edit this discussion - and have changed it so that it doesn’t get everyone concerned and and responding in alarm.

I learned many things aboaut metformin - thank you to all that replied - this support group has helped me tremendously in understanding metformin. thank you again.
Thank you.

Call 911 and they’ll help you get to poison control.

They know all about medication overdoses.

Now is not the time to depend on strangers on the interwebs. Take care!

Yes please call 911. They will advise you on next steps/direct you to Poison Control.

Please don’t put yourself at risk of a life-threatening hypoglycemic episode by waiting, do it now!

Metformin is very safe. The maximum dose is 2.5g less than you took. Don’t call 911, you will be fine. Metformin at high doses (like 25 g doses) can stress your liver, but that is about it. It is unlikely you will have a hypo and if you do you will react naturally and it wont be serious. Maybe just an excuse to have an apple.



I left you my cell phone in a PM in your inbox. But basically, this is not serious, you will be fine.

Like we said…

What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. An overdose of metformin may cause lactic acidosis. Get emergency medical help if you have any of these symptoms of lactic acidosis: weakness, increasing sleepiness, slow heart rate, cold feeling, muscle pain, shortness of breath, stomach pain, feeling light-headed, and fainting.”

“A drug overdose is the accidental or intentional use of a drug or medicine in an amount that is higher than is normally used.”

Metformin is typically dosed up to 2.5 g, it has a listed maximum dose of 2.55 g. So this is not a case of overdose. In fact, I take a maximum dose of metformin and take 1.5g in the evening, the same amount that tigger took.

In general practice, most medications are not dangerous at double doses, simply due to the safety considerations they have been through. Yes, you will find warnings about metformin overdose, for instance a metformin overdose of “85 grams” “may” cause lactic acidosis. So in this case and in most cases, taking a drug within its normal dosing ranges is not a concern.

What we need to do as patients is read all that silly information that comes with the drug, know what the issues are with taking a double dose and be able to handle it smoothly. I do hope that we were helpful to Tigger, but it is clear that it is easy to get confused on these things and have trouble finding the right information when we need it.

Im also on metformin and had accidentally taken twice the amount I am required (Im taking 500mg daily and took 1000). It actually happened more than once…I know…bad Teena! I panicked as well and called my doctor immediately if I had to go to the ER. I was only advised to constantly check and monitor my blood sugar for the day. I took the necessary glucose when I see my sugar going lower than 70…but other than that, that day went on pretty well. My doctor however warned me of symptoms like extreme sleepiness, weakness, nausea, irregular heartbeat etc. On this case I have to go to the nearest ER.
Of course we also react to drugs differently… I hope you are okay.

“In fact, I take a maximum dose of metformin and take 1.5g in the evening, the same amount that tigger took.”

  1. Your body is not her body. She could have half or less than half your body weight. Or be chronically dehydrated. Or have liver impairment. Or a thousand other things.

  2. Your metabolism is not her metabolism, hence your VERY different dosages. There’s a REASON for that.

  3. You are not her doctor nor a trained medical professional working at the poison control center. Telling her to NOT seek a professional opinion is both unethical and DANGEROUS.

Do you know all her other medications? Or even the name of the blood pressure medication she doubled-up on at the same time? Or how that might interact with her other health issues?

I take great exception to anyone on the internet telling a stranger, in so many words, “Don’t seek medical advice from an appropriate professional when you’ve overdosed your medication by accident.”

This isn’t about your ego or being right. This is about tigger’s life and health.

I’m very disappointed in you.

Jean, Calmus downus.

I feel bad the first comments were to call 911 and run to the ER, possibly wasting her evening and incurring a huge cost over basically nothing. Those comments were an overreaction, but I didn’t criticize, people were trying to be helpful. But don’t jump on me about comments like this. When someone double boluses and posts in this forum, they don’t get recommendations to call 911, you suggest how to work through it. Insulin at 10 times the regular dosage KILLS, metformin at 10 times the regular dosage is a risk, but you should be fine. A huge difference.

This is about being informed and just using “common sense.”

I am very thin, 112 pounds. I take 3 x 850 g of metformin a day. It has nothing to do with body weight. I have experimented with different timing of my med. Often on purpose I take 2 pills before bed to see if it will defeat my DP. It didn’t work, actually it raised my bgs. Since metformin works in the liver, not the pancreas you don’t have to worry about lows. I find the best way to take my metformin is not at meals, but on an empty stomach. I take it when I wake up around 7-7:30 and then I take it around 10:30 am and then the last 850 right before bed. I wouldn’t worry about it.

bsc:

Calling the poison control center or 911 and being transferred to them is FREE.

Listening to the “advice” of a stranger on the Internet after overdosing on medication could KILL.

I’m an intelligent woman in a highly technical field, but I’m not impaired with The Ego, so I give advice to seek appropriate professional help, not “listen to me, I know everything and those pros know nothing”.

I will jump on anyone who tells people to not seek professional advice after an overdose. It’s ethically wrong and dangerous. You don’t know her full medical history. You have no way of knowing what her blood pressure is, or her liver function, or really anything else about her unique biology.

You continue to act like she was asking about something like taking two enteric-coated 81 mg baby aspirin instead of one. However, you still don’t know the name or dosage of her blood pressure medication, do you?

I know someone who spend six months in a “halo” after she shattered her jaw by fainting onto her face during an episode of too-low blood pressure. If she’d fallen down stairs she would have shattered her neck. You don’t mess around with that crap.

Anyone over 13 should already know better than to market “common sense” as superior – no, a replacement – for appropriate medical advice after an overdose of an unknown medication.

I agree with what the rest say - go to the ER. Sure, they may send you home after doing nothing but checking your blood sugar and giving you advice, but… It is better to be safe than sorry!!!

For someone to go to the ER after having taken 2 metformin rather than one is for her to waste her time and our tax dollars.

Two metformin pills is not an “overdose.” Good Lord.

Eat. Check your blood sugar frequently. If its low, eat more. call your doc, hopefully they;ll answer. Glucophage doesnt really make your blood sugar go down, it just keeps it from going up. So if your takin gother meds they work better… Good luck, I know your scared…

Did you also miss the part about her taking two of her blood pressure medication, too?

That’s what the poison control hotline is for.

She took double HER dosage. That is the very definition of an overdose. Over (more than) dose (the amount prescribed).

She also took double of her blood pressure medication, a double overdose.

Are you licensed and qualified to know what that would do in her unique body? I’m not.

If I say that I am, will you possibly calm down and stop trying to incite a riot?

She also said she wasn’t worried about the BP med which to me would be more worrisome than the metformin. I have accidntly taken 2x why I was supposed to and didn’t run off to the er but did check blood sugars. Didn’t even get to eat anything to counter a low! I’m with bsc on this one.

I’m out of this discussion.



It makes me too upset to see know-it-all lay-people tell someone who overdosed TWO of their medications that it would be a waste of their time and (rising blood pressure here) a “waste…of our tax dollars” to seek medical advice.



This is why some medical professionals HATE the Internet – and really, who could blame them?



They have to counteract a fire-hose in the face of disinformation at every visit.



When I had melanoma, I literally stopped going anywhere on the Internet for information except PubMed (a federally funded clearinghouse of peer-reviewed medical research papers.)



If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I could “cure” my melanoma with shark parts or green foam or crystals I’d be a very, very, VERY rich woman. If I’d listened to them, I’d be a very DEAD woman.