my Metformin experiences

amy-s · 01-10-2003, 02:39 PM

Doc put me on met about 18 months ago. I've tried at least 6 different times and chickened out. The longest I've lasted is about 3 months, but usually I don't last more than 3 wks. For me, I have the worst of the side effects, and they last and last and pretty much never go away. It's disrupting to my life in a big way. Self torture is how I see it. Sometimes I hold that pill in the morning and gag just looking at it, knowing what the rest of the day will be like. So it becomes kind of like a diet, I find excuses to skip a day. Got big plans and won't be around a bathroom, going to a seminar where I won't be able to get up and down the whole day (how embarassing), it's a holiday, there's a social gathering, going to be doing something athletic outdoors very far from facilities, so I'll skip, just today right? Then the next day there's another excuse, so I'll start back tomorrow right? Nah... pretty soon I'm off it again, and then to start back is such an ominous feat... I just don't.

Well this time I'm determined bigtime. I HAVE to do it this time. Doc said there is no alternative med that has the same features. I can't be a baby and just wish this away. It could be worse, I could have cancer and need chemo, I could be a diabetic and have no choice but to change my diet and get injections to live, or some other more complicated thing... Suck it up and just do it, right?

So my doc put me on the very lowest dose, the 500mg of regular met, but he said to get a pill splitter and only take 250 a day to start, and gradulally work up to 1500 if I ever can, however long it takes me to get there.

So even on 250, I'm sick as a dog!!!!!!!!! I started the week of Christmas because my company was shut down and we had no major plans (family is all out of town), and then the week of New Years I got permission to work from home. So 2 weeks of being near my own bathroom was a big help.

I discovered something kinda cool this time, and totally by accident! I had previously taken all quantities of Immodium and nothing would help, even taking 3 in one day (usually a half of one will lock me up for days!) but it had no affect at all while on met. I figured out that I was always taking it AFTER my tummy started rumbling. This time one time I took a chewable immodium right at the same time in the morning that I took my 250mg met and WOW, it worked, I didn't have trouble all day long! I was so encouraged! But then I started wondering about some things...

Is that something that would counteract benefits of the met if I did it everyday? Is it harmful to take immodium on a daily basis for years (like does it end up hurting you in other ways)? Will I still have a shot at losing some weight or is the diarhea itself the cause of everyone's weight loss? I cut back to half an immodium and it pretty much is still working.

Here's the other thing I'm dealing with... I have that metallic taste in my mouth bigtime! It was there in a light flavor that I'd notice a few times a day before, but just in the last 2 days it is so strong that I feel like each individual tooth is pure nickel! It's so gross! We went out to dinner the other night (first time I had left the house in a week) because I sorta felt better, and I had grilled Mahi Mahi with this lemmon butter sauce and capers, I thought it was the capers I was tasting all night and I only had one (I don't really like them) but I brushed and flossed twice that night, and swished scope for a full 3 mins, and still could taste it and that's when it hit me what it was... metal. Yuck! It hasn't gone away. Is there something to do about it? Something that neutralizes it? I've tried gum, both fruit and mint, and chocholate, and hard candies. Ug. Gross! But again... it could be worse, right?

Thanks for reading this. I don't post here very often, but I love this forum and getting to "talk" to others who are going through similar stuff and can honestly say "I know what you mean" is so valuable!

amy

JulieC · 01-10-2003, 03:00 PM

Amy, good luck with the met this time! I haven't had much in the way of side effects in the four weeks I've been on 1000mg, except gas.

Are you taking met with food? Make sure you do, it can decrease the stomach upset.

I've lost a few pounds though I wasn't really trying and I've only had one bout of diarrhea.

amy-s · 01-10-2003, 04:49 PM

Yes I take it in the morning with breakfast. I find I do ok until around 2pm (like now!) and then it's like Montezuma's Revenge until the next morning. Occasionally around 10am it will start, but most mornings I'm ok.

I'm going to experiment with some of the suggestions from the other threads on things to try. Those are helpful.

Roo · 01-10-2003, 04:55 PM

Hi, Amy. I'm with you, I think taking Met is torture but I want to stick with it. I have been on it for about a month. The Dr. started me on a lower dose for two weeks and then on the third week increased it to 850 MG twice a day. I've had diarrhea pretty much every day. I have taken Immodium a few times. It does help me, but I'm worried about taking it too often too. I asked the Pharmacist about it the first time I took it with Met, and he said I could take it but if the diarrhea continues I should call my doctor. I haven't called the doctor yet. I keep hoping it will subside. I'm wondering if changin to Glucaphage (sp?) would help. I've read that some people can't tolerate Met but do better on Gluc.

Good luck sticking with it. I'm not currently TTC, I just want to lose weight and lower my insulin.

Take care.

DCKIA · 01-10-2003, 05:14 PM

For me the side effects in the beginning were terrible but I found that once I took Greasy food out I was fine. Then someone on here told me to take it 2 hours after I at instead of right after I ate and I worked. I guess my body after 2 hours had pretty much digested the food so there was nothing to come back up. Good Luck on your journey

amy-s · 01-10-2003, 05:47 PM

I think Glucophage and Metformin are the same thing actually. Met is the name of the drug, Gluc is the brand name. There are 2 types though, one is just regular and one is I think XR or something like that. I've tried both. Seem to do better on the regular. Plus doc said the XR I can't split the pill, but splitting the regular pill has no affect on performance. It is true that if you try one type and it doesn't agree with you, sometimes switching types will help, sometimes not, everyone is different.

phillygal · 01-10-2003, 06:30 PM

I agree with Amy. Have you tried Glucophage XR? It seems like a lot of cysters have found it to be much more bearable with less side effects. I take it right before I go to bed every night.