So here’s what’s up. I was diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic in April, though I was probably undiagnosed for quite a while before that. I’m currently taking metformin 500mg in the morning and 1000mg at night.
I went on a business trip this week, first time since being diagnosed and on the medication. On Tuesday I walked all around the city in bad shoes and my feet paid the price - some blisters but nothing too major (I don't have "diabetic" feet issues yet...) I also enjoyed a few beer in the evenings - didn't drink to excess or anything, but almost definitely more than I should.
Anyway, since Wednesday my feet and ankles have been exceptionally swollen. Thursday night they were disturbingly huge but it was 2am so I just put my feet up and went to sleep. They went down through the night but on the plane home the next day the swelling returned.
I took a diuretic Friday night and had my feet up for a while. The swelling went down through the night but since being up this morning they've started to swell again (not as bad). My hands and face also feel a little swollen. There is a slight tingling sensation when I have my feet elevated but no pain.
I have a dr's appointment Monday so I'll obviously bring this up then, but I was just curious what other people's experience has been? Was it the combination of the walking, beer and effect of the medication? And what can I do to help things out now?
Many things can cause edema like too much salt, some mineral imbalances, impaired circulation, kidney problems & heart problems. Never heard anyone here mention Metformin causing water retention, but this doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Doubtful that walking would contribute since you mention your hands & face feel somewhat swollen also. The caution about Metformin & drinking is the possibility of low blood sugar.
Metformin can effect the kidneys, but it’s considered to be a pretty safe med. Metformin can cause a B12 deficiency, so good to have your B12 levels checked at some point.
As odd as it sounds with swelling, be sure to drink a good bit of water.
When I first started taking the Metformin (3 months ago), my face felt a bit swollen off and on too. It doesn’t happen any more now. But I notice that if I eat something with salt - that i will have slightly poofy eyelids in the morning and that never happened to me before I started taking the Met. I was a salt alcholic before! I have been avoiding excess salt but I wonder if the Met makes my body more sensitive to the salt.
Although I will tell you that about a month before I started on the Met. I had an allergic reaction to a sulfa drug where my face swelled up ( and some other parts too) and I ended up in the ER. They gave me Bendryl but since it is an allergic reaction - you kind of still have to wait for your body to calm down on its own. Some people can still have some swelling off and on even months after having a sulfa drug reaction - so I don’t know if my slight swelling on the Met was that or my body adjusting to the Met. And yeah, it freaked me out because I didn’t want to be allergic to this stuff. But I never get it any more now. I think I had it off and on, right after i would take my pill, for the first several weeks - can’t remember for sure - it might have been a month. My feet never swelled up though. I did have some tingling but it is gone. I wonder if it is really just your body adjusting to the Met. I felt crappy when first taking mine = now I don’t even notice it anymore.
Another thing too, I ended up dehydrated on went for fluids before I started on my Met too (few weeks before) and I remember feeling awfully pouffy after they gave me a bag of fluids - so I wouldn’t say it isn’t impossible to feel “waterlogged” (for lack of a better word!) when you drink too much (or maybe you had something salty with it). Electrolyte imbalance can make you swollen too - the alchol is dehydrating even though it is liquid. I would not drink alcohol and avoid salt and lots of water and see if that helps too. You could also drink something that has electroyltes in it like gatorade or coconut water.
I take 500mg Met 2x a day. I started taking B12 too like Gerri mentioned. I don’t eat any meat though so I was probably deficient anyways.
Still check with the doctor though if it doesn’t go away- since mine went away and never got worse I never mentioned it to my doctor. Does it seem to get worse sometime after you take your pills?
Definitely see your doctor.
There are so many things that can cause edema. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I also had it too. Until such time that you get diagnosis for it, maybe you can try the following: reduce your sodium intake, try elevating you feet, hydrate yourself…drink water and B complex supplements.
I hope things will be better soon. do tell us what happens with your doctor ok?
I saw the doctor this evening and she didn`t think the swelling was from the metformin. I still think it was a combo of all of the above and the alcohol… anyway, my blood pressure was a bit high, likely due to fluid retention so she prescribed a diuretic to take for a week and upped the met to 1000mg twice a day.
I started having symptoms WAY before my bloodwork ever showed diabetes. One of the first things that started me wondering was that I would have that same sort of swelling after having a few beers. In the long run I gave up on the beer for the most part. I still have an occasional drink, but usually pay the price. I haven’t been on meds yet, but I can sure tell you that if I have to stand in the checkstand for more than two days at a time my legs swell horribly.
I use diabetec socks to help with this problem. It’s a mecanical solution, don’t leave room for the water. Stop it above the ankle or below the knee, depends on the legnth of the sock. Wear them when no load (not walking) beacuse the compression, if you wear them when walking, can be as great as a tight shoe.
Never walk barefoot.
I’ve never heard of metformin causing swelling. It might have been all that walking in bad shoes. Upset stomach yes, that’s why I can’t take it anymore.
I was put on Actos one time, it did cause my lower legs to swell up. The swelling went half way up to my knees. It went away within 2 days after I quit the Actos.
