Tired on Glucophage????

believer · 10-28-2002, 07:13 PM

I was just wondering if anyone else is really ,really, tired on Glucophage? I started it about 3 weeks ago. I feel great otherwise. I've had no other side effects besides being tired. It's very different for me because usually I only sleep about 4-6 hours a night- every night.....But now I go to bed early and don't wake up a million times. I am sooooo tired during the day though. I'm not used to this. I am wondering if my blood sugar is low. I'm on 1000 mg. Let me know if any of you suffer from this.

MotorGirl · 10-28-2002, 10:35 PM

Yes, I seem to be very tired since starting it. I have been going to bed 2 hours earlier than usual since I started it (over a week ago). I dont seem to be any more tired during the day than usual though.

MelissaAnne · 10-29-2002, 01:16 AM

I notice that I am very tired when I wake up in the morning...it's a struggle to get up. And the dreams I've been having! I normally have pretty vivid dreams, but the ones I've had since starting gluc have been nothing short of wild.

It varies during the day as to whether I'm tired or not...I was pretty tired yesterday, but did all right today. I'm just going to give my body time to get used to it, I guess.

Melissa

StaciM · 10-31-2002, 03:42 PM

When I first started taking Glucophage last year, I was on 1500mg from July till November. During that time, my body was responding to it quite well except for ONE thing, fatigue. I was exhausted all the time. I've had problems with this for as long as I can remember but it seemed to get worse with the Glucophage. I would have to take naps in the afternoon and they didn't help one bit! In fact I would feel worse for the rest of the day. In November of last year, I accidentally took an extra tablet without realizing it. I didn't have to take a nap that day and felt pretty darn good. I counted my pills and found that is what I had done. I wouldn't recommend it, but I went ahead and took 2000mg for the next couple of days to see if it was a fluke. It wasn't! I felt the best I had felt in years! I went to the doctor the next week and told him what I found and eventhough my blood work didn't suggest I needed that high of dosage, he upped it. It's been the best thing that ever has happened to me! I feel pretty good. Instead of needing to sleep 9 hours at night, I sleep between 7.5 and 8 hours and am not sleepy during the day. Very rarely do I need naps and that is just because I didn't get enough sleep the night before. I needed to be on MORE Glucophage to help my body get the energy it needs.

I really believe I have been energy starved all these years and since Glucophage helps my body utilize the blood sugar, my cells are functioning MUCH better! Btw, over 6 years ago I lost over 108 pounds, ate the best I had ever eaten(low carb too) and exercised both aerobically and weight training 6 days a week. All it did for me was to make me a thin and exhausted Cyster!

I would highly suggest you discuss this with your doctor. Good luck!

brendababy · 11-01-2002, 09:45 AM

I started glucophage about a month ago, and I noticed that I was really tired, especially around 8:00 at night. I kind of wondered if it could be that medicine but then I talked myself out of it thinking that usually I hear stories on this board saying how much energy everyone is getting from the gluc. I'm used to waiting up until midnight when my husband gets home from work, but for the last month I've been lucky if I can keep my eyes open! And yes, getting out of bed in the morning is getting harder and harder. I have to have the alarm clock right next to my ear and it has to be really loud.
Gee, I sure am happy I saw this post, I thought it was my imagination. Thanks

Eva34 · 11-02-2002, 05:52 PM

Hello

I've been on Meta about 6 or so weeks. At first I was really tired, and was in bed by 8 each night. Now I manage to stay up until about 10 - which is normal time for me.

Eva

Pattyannruss · 11-02-2002, 10:32 PM

Yes I too get tired.

So I wait and take it about an hr before bedtime.

Patty

rainbowbright · 11-04-2002, 12:55 AM

I too can barely keep my eyes open past 8:00. I'm up now because I had to watch the Sopranos and will be going to bed right after I post. I'm trying to stay up like I used to, but by the time 12:00 pm rolls around I'm exhausted. If I take a nap right after work, I could probably sleep straight through into the next day!! I'm really glad I saw this post. I go to the Dr. in a couple weeks to bet more blood work done, so I will definitely bring this up to him. I've been on Gluc XR for almost 2 month's. I just couldn't figure it out. All the other post's about having all sorts of energy. I just thought that I didn't have the energy part of it because I'm a "normal" weight. So then my only explaination was maybe I was depressed, but I couldn't really find a big reason why. Except for the PCOS part, but I'm glad to know what is wrong with me and hopefully my hormones will become more "normal". My poor DH has to listen to me complain about how exhausted I feel and me going to bed so early. I hope it's the med's. I'll have to see what my Dr. says.

Thanks.

momof2lilblessings · 11-04-2002, 01:16 PM

I just started taking glucophage on Saturday and boy, I am so tired. I thought it was just the weather. After reading the boards I am now blaming the glucophage. I have no appitite what so ever. I even had a tootsie roll yesterday and let me tell you.... It turned my stomach. I have no cravings for junk food at all. Yay!!
I am supposed to take the 1000mg of glucophage for 2 weeks then go up to 1500 mg until my next doctors appointment which is in March. I hope this works for me.

believer · 11-05-2002, 10:51 PM

Well....... I talked to my Dr. about the tiredness and he said to eat very balanced meals with equal amounts of carbs and proteins. He said 3 balanced meals and 2-3 snacks that are concisted of a protein and a carb (like apple and cheese). He also said to eat a little before bedtime because 6-8 hours is too long to go without eating when on Glucophage. Thats why we are so tired in the morning. I tried it and it worked. He said the goal is to balance the insulin and the blood sugar and when that happens you feel good and energetic. It really works. I feel much better. I told him I wanted to lose some weight in the process and he said to eat a lot of fiber because it's harder for the body to break it down- therefore you burn more calories while burning fiber. I am seeing a nutritionist next week so maybe I can get more info. I do feel much better though. I am not diabetic but am insulin resistant but I guess it's the same kind of meal plan. I was also told not to count calories but to keep an eye on my carb intake. I kind of knew this already. Hope all of this helps!

HopeNJesus · 11-07-2002, 04:46 PM

I have been very tired after starting Metformin also! I've only been on it about a week, but I have noticed a change. That's not so good considering that I'm a college student! LoL! Oh well, that's life right? I don't think that this comes from abnormally low blood sugar it's just that Metformin does lower our insulin levels because being IR causes the insulin levels to be so high. Hope you start perking up soon! Have a great day!

HippyHippo · 11-09-2002, 05:26 AM

I have to agree with Staci on this one. After I read her post on another thread about tiredness on Metformin, I upped my dose for a couple of days too...wooooooooweeeeeeeeee! Energy central! I immediately called my doc and asked him if I could up the dose permanently and he was all for it.

It seems that you have to find the dose that is right for you, lowering it or upping it. No two people are the same and PCOS is a trial and error syndrome as it is. Some things will work for some but not for others. For those of you who are experiencing the fatigue, I would really suggest upping your dose for a couple of days and see how you feel. If this doesn't work, go back to your original dose for about a week and if you are still tired, lower your dose for a couple of days.

We all have different levels of Insulin Resistance, some of us are not even Insulin Resistant but are still prescribed Metformin and you have to find out what suits you the best and tell the doc, they can't tell you, it's your body.

Just my 2 pennies worth....