Big uh-oh, please help!

[ludemas]

Hopefully this message makes sense... I'm so dizzy it's hard to type. I've been on Metformin for two weeks and not feeling well from the beginning. Nothing serious, just general queasiness that never really went away. Then two nights ago I couldn't sleep, I tossed and turned until 4:00 in the morning! I was ready to give up on it, but yesterday I finally started to feel better. I had lots of energy (I've been taking 3 or 4 hour naps since I started the drug), the queasiness went down quite a bit, and I fell asleep just fine last night. I thought everything was looking up. Until this morning...
I woke up feeling severely constipated and in a lot of pain. I went into the bathroom, and it got worse. The pain spread all over my abdomen, and I started to get dizzy. I lay down on the floor, but the dizziness just got worse and worse. I broke out in a cold sweat and forced myself to keep breathing slowly, but I just gradually slipped unconscious (it was freaky!). According to the clock, I was out for 5-10 minutes. I came to very slowly, and I had never felt so messed up in my life. I was sweating, I couldn't breathe easily, and the dizziness was so strong I knew I would go down again any minute. I threw up twice, managed to poop (sorry for the gross details, but the poop smelled like aged goat cheese, if anyone knows that smell... not normal at all), and then passed out again. That time I was only out for a couple of minutes. I crawled to the couch and said a heartfelt prayer and fell asleep and slept for 4 hours. I'm feeling quite a bit better now, but I wanted to know if anyone else has had anything like this. Is it lactic acidosis? or is this just the flu? Are there certain foods I shouldn't eat if it is lactic acidosis? Is there any treatment other then just going off the meds? What do you all think?? sorry so long, kind of panicky...

Thanks!
Beth

[bbro]

I am not sure about the symptoms for Lactic Acidosis, but I would wholeheartedly encourage you to call your doctor immediately. I would think any type of passing out is cause for concern, especially with the other symptoms. It might just be stomach flu, but it would better to be safe and call.

Feel better and update us, please

[stormy1974]

Lactic acidose can show in a few ways...excessive tiredness, muscle cramps, head aches...not to say you don't have the symptoms...I would most definatly call your Doctor, You could be having a reaction to the MET or it could be a flu...better safe than sorry!!

Please let us know how you make out!!
Stormy~

[mnl1010]

I would encourage you to call your doctor! I didn't like the way met made me feel either, So I stopped taking it. I was nowhere near as sick as you are, but you need to be checked out. THOUROUGHLY. Please go!

Mandy

[Dave&Blondie]

What that is is called "dumping syndrome"! Welcome to my world!! Most people are familiar with it if you have had a Gastric Bypass and ate something your body can't deal with. Mostly sugar! What you either had happening is you blood sugar was too high or too low. I would say it was too high from what you are describing. Met cautions people with insulin issues (high or low) to always carry some sugar with them. If you know someone with a blood testing unit, I would check yours. ALSO...call your doc. Not sure what you have dealt with prior but this is something they need to know about. Since Met deals with insulin you need to find out if you have high or low blood sugar levels. They can test it for ya...its an inconvience but well worth it.

I have done this whole thing and its scary. My family now knows what to look for and know what to give me for things to go back to normal. Usually if I stop talking...LOL Seriously, the blacking out and such is very "normal" if you can call it that. You need to know what your body is doing and then do the oppisite. My prayers are with you! I have been sick to my stomach since starting Met a few days ago! I am seriously thinking of stopping it! I tried it once before and had to carry candy every where I went! Also...didnt loose weight from it! LOL

Bottom line...call your doc! I am no doctor and only going on what I have read and gone through! Your doc can direct you in the right direction!

Praying for you!

[ludemas]

I'm really feeling pretty good, now, just weak. I can't go to a doctor today and risk getting monitored or drugged. I'm a classical musician, and I have a solo recital tonight that's a pretty big deal. There's just no way to miss it or mess it up. Plus I don't currently have a doctor... we moved in the last week away from the one that prescribed Met in the first place.

You brought up something I hadn't thought of in the possibilities. I'm used to how I feel when my blood sugar bottoms out, that's been something I've lived with for years. I don't go more than 4 hours without food or I get shaky and dizzy. But I don't know if I'd know what high blood sugar feels like... I don't know if I've ever had it or not. Why would the Met cause high blood sugar, though? I thought it increased insulin activity, which would lower the blood sugar in the blood... I don't know if I understand this all. So would this be kind of like the attacks or seizures diabetics get? What do you do for high blood sugar? My father-in-law is diabetic, I bet I could go over there and test it. What numbers should I look for?

Thanks for your help, this is really weird for me...

Beth

[Stacie9778]

Like the others are saying call the doctor right away!!!!

[tiggerlily5278]

please call the doc right away; this could be something serious. if that happened to me, i'd be at the doc (or er if he couldn't see me for some reason). good luck. please let us know how you make out.

[ludemas]

Thanks for everyone's concern. I got a hold of my doctor on the phone, and tested my blood sugar with my Father-in-law's monitor. turns out, it was a severe hypoglycemic attack. My doctor said I was lucky I came to on my own, often if no one is there to give you sugar when it gets that low you slip into a coma! So I'm off the Met, that's for sure. Now we just have to figure out if that means that I didn't need it (because apparently it worked too much) or just if I'm extra-sensitive to it. He gave me a few key ways to tell low blood sugar attacks from other things. One of the ways was sweating (I've never sweat that much in my life! It was actually runnning down my arms in little rivers). I'm used to mild low blood sugar, I've gotten it lots. Normally, I get down to around 60 something if I go very long without food. He estimates I was down around 40 something this time! So a warning to others new to Met... don't take sleeping aids, because you won't wake up in the night if your sugar gets to low. And don't eat anything high glycemic right before bed, you could bottom out during the night. thanks to everyone who was worried about me and made me call the doc... I really appreciate your help!
Beth

[stormy1974]

Thanks for the update, glad your feeling better!!

Stormy~

[lpcale]

so glad to hear the you talked to your doc and you are feeling better. hopefully it will not happen again, but at least you will know whats going on and what to do. i had problems on the met too, but nothing that bad! my body finally somewhat adjusted to it after months and months. hang in there and thoughts and prayers are with you. good luck with your recitial tonight. you will do great! take care of yourself, and if it happens again, call the doc or go to the hospital just to be sure.

[Dave&Blondie]

Beth I am so thrilled to hear you were able to at least figure out what is going on. Trust me...the first few times it happened to me I woke up at work with about 5 people looking at me. Praise God I worked with a woman who dealt with Hypoglycemia and one with Diabetes! They shoved an orange in my mouth and I came too.

Just a word on what to carry with you. Get yourself some of those juice boxes in Orange Juice or something and put one in each car glove box. It wouldn't be cold but who cares! There are glucose tablets that are for diabetics that are fairly decent, although I didn't seem to think it worked as fast as candy or juice! Like I said before...I just have to make sure everyone knows what to do because sometimes it hits at the most inappropriate times! LOL (funeral, shopping, sight-seeing, etc.) Just get in the habbit of carrying some sort of candy, just make sure those around you know to look there!

If you have a health food store close by, I would suggest changing your "sugar" intake and use something called STEVIA. It is not only a sweetner (which is great!) but it actually helps feed the liver and actually can help sustain some of the peaks and valleys of insulin that is puts out. You can get it in powder or liquid. I use both depending on what I am eating. You can get it portable as well. Word of caution...its pretty sweet! A little goes a long way! Let me know if you can't find it. There is an online company that has it in a pure form which is awesome.

One more thing...just as what I have seen in the last week on Met...the first time I was on it I had horrible days like you described. I tried so hard to stay on it but it was just too much. Now this is the second try and its been 3 years and so far blood sugar is stable but I can't eat a thing without getting sick! Like I should complain since I definately don't need to be eating! LOL I have given myself a month this time and I am praying that like many have said it lessens over time. I would encouage you to try again in a bit or start REALLY slow and work up to it. I have seen that advice over and over around here. Guess we all have to decide what is worth the side effects. I know I have had to make that decision on a few meds I have tried.

SOOOO glad you got it figured out of sorts. I will keep you in prayer!

God bless!!!

Shari

[SnowFlower]

so glad you are doing better and talked to the dr!

[kadb27]

whoa! That sounds really scary, but I am So glad that you are doing better. I will keep you in my prayers!!

karen

[mnl1010]

Beth
I am so glad you are ok! And SOO glad you didn't slip into a coma! Someone was definitely watching out for you that day! Good thing you are going off of met. When I was on it I got dizzy a lot so I quit taking it!
Mandy