Increased carb cravings on Met?

Dragonwolf

I average about 100g of carbs per day (total, none of this "net carbs" stuff), and until recently, I've been just fine with it. I started Metformin a little over a week and a half ago (500mg ER, twice daily; was once for the first week).

Now, though, I feel as though all I want to eat are carby stuff, and sugar cravings have come back. My fasting blood glucose was merely borderline (99, with the cutoff at 100), so it's not like it's all that high on a regular basis (insulin levels were what got me on Met). I also don't feel as though my sugar's low (been there, know how it feels).

Has anyone else experienced an increase in sugar/carb cravings after starting Met? Has it gone away for you? If so, how long did it take?

boxem180

That's really interesting. I was the exact opposite. Before I took Met, I was starving all the time and all I wanted was carbs. After i had been on Met for about a month, the cravings went away and I was finally full after a meal. I average about 150g of carbs a day and I shoot for at least 100g of protein a day. For me, if I eat 2 carbs and 1 protein, I feel fuller longer and those cravings go away.

melodymedlin

I have diabetes so I feel like I crave carbs all the time! LOL Metformin didn't really have that effect on me; but everyone is different. I do find that if you pair protein with minimal carb intake it makes your craving less. Also I try to eat around 100-150carbs daily but then again it depends on you. I wish I could offer you more advice.

ladypinktulip

For me, being on metformin for years now, I eat much less carb. I do protein and that helps me feel full

anothercolleen

I had just the opposite experience. I was a carb addict. One I started taking metformin, I didn't seem to crave them as much.

I think it really helped when I started skipping my bagel for breakfast and going with something with more protein. I have a breakfast sandwich with an egg white. I no longer feel the need to snack before lunch. Protein has definitely helped me.

Dragonwolf

Protein's not really an issue for me, though, since I do LCHF Primal, with a 1g/lb LBM protein goal (I weight lift). My breakfast generally consists of eggs and bacon, and lunch and dinner are typically a meat and vegetable. Since I do lower carb, I typically go after the protein/fat combinations for food in general, but lately, I've wanted nothing but carbs and have had to force myself to eat my usual foods, otherwise I just go for pretty much anything with sugar in it (not necessarily junk food - I've been just as satisfied with a piece of fruit for a meal).

ContentedBeauty

It also had the opposite effect on me. I used to crave carbs like crazy but once I started Metformin, I can take or leave them. I can even have a bread basket in front of me without inhaling the whole thing now.

melodymedlin

Why not add in some carbs (ie. fruit, or even one ounce of pasta etc..) for one week and see if you feel better. I notice that on the metformin that keeping under a certain amount of carbs does make me crave anything with carbs in it! I hope this helps you out. GOod luck

Dragonwolf

Why not add in some carbs (ie. fruit, or even one ounce of pasta etc..) for one week and see if you feel better. I notice that on the metformin that keeping under a certain amount of carbs does make me crave anything with carbs in it! I hope this helps you out. GOod luck

They seem to have stabilized now, but the problem wasn't that I was feeling worse on the amount of carbs I consume. It was simply that, given the choice of eating something with little sugar, something with a moderate amount of sugar, or something with a lot of sugar, I'd be inclined to choose the thing with the most sugar, to the exclusion of protein and fat.

The problem with that is 1. the lack of protein and fat (specifically protein), and 2. higher carbs tend to thwart what little weight loss I've been seeing lately and make me feel bloated (basically - I feel worse if I eat more carbs).

sorcha1977

This only happens to me if I eat the bad-for-you carbs, like a donut or pasta or something. It can take as long as two days to get rid of the cravings (since they stack), so I'm reaaaalllly careful now. I've been so much happier on the metformin (not being hungry all the time is so freeing).

Could it be your cycle? I notice that I crave bad-sugar things for 2-3 days before my period, and absolutely *nothing* works. I just give in and have a piece of chocolate or some grapes or whatever and deal with it. It slows my weight loss, but it's better than being a holy terror for three days.

StephanieMoon6

I've been on Metformin for a week, and YES, I am craving SUGAR and carbs like HELL. I was doing so good before, but now I caved and had some low fat ice cream and pieces of cookies here and there. But tomorrow, THERE WILL BE NO SUGAR. I can't afford to gain any weight back.

StephanieMoon6

I'm gonna start incorporating more protein to see if that will help my cravings. I usually never have time to cook a proper breakfast. But I'm gonna start making time, dammit.

Sheli_L

So I am not the only one. I have been on metformin for PCOS for 10 days. Today I woke up craving carbs like crazy. I had been doing really good watching my calorie intake etc.. but today..ugghhhh

RebeccaMaunder

That is the main reason I stopped taking my metformin. I was trying not to consume everything insight. I never found that it helped to balance me out. It didn't seem to matter what I did with my eating habits it just didn't do anything.

KnitOrMiss

For me it was a threshold thing. If I was above 75-100 carbs, I wanted ALL THE CARBS. If I was below 50 or so, I could manage. So I either had to go super low or go way high... Plus I had "disaster pants" with any diary 4 hours either side of it, so it was heck on me, already having that complication without a gallbladder. That being said, my latest insulin test was ridiculously higher than it has been tested at before, but my endo is still okay with me not getting back on Met, as my glucose numbers were still safe/low, and this test was a discrepancy with a lot of mitigating factors. I imagine the results of my next test will be a better indicator of next steps...

KnitOrMiss

StephanieMoon6 wrote: »

I'm gonna start incorporating more protein to see if that will help my cravings. I usually never have time to cook a proper breakfast. But I'm gonna start making time, dammit.

@StephanieMoon6 There are tons of breakfasts with eggs/protein, etc. that can be made ahead and either reheated or eaten cold (scotch eggs are one of my faves to eat cold), so let us know if you need some recipes. I NEVER cook a meal on work days unless I'm up super early or have no other options for a meal that day.

Dragonwolf

This is an ancient thread, but I'll post a follow-up. I ended up going off of Met since this post, then back on it for a very sorry time, then off of it, again.

The last time was the worst. Not only did the carb cravings return, I also had some horrible food aversions. Even worse, I'd done it after I had great success with a way of eating and it threw me off that way of eating like a bull. Several months later, and I'm still trying to get back to that sweet spot I had finally found.

ShrinkinMel

I agree on upping protein. I've been including protein bars and shakes around my workouts and I do have a lot less hunger. Fiber and drinking a lot of water helps me but I still get sugar cravings big time. Not so much pasta bread but straight sugar, candy. argh! I've been on 500mg twice a day for 2 years and some I think now. Not sure of my exact dates. I just know when I started in 2014 I was losing slowly and took off 30 lbs. Then in 2015 gained and lost the same 10-15 lbs range is seemed. Or something around that. Now I've added in the gym membership and that way I plan for the trips(and a friend is doing it with me) ahead and then of course once there you gotta do it. It's been motivating on my food tracking too. Although Sunday and Monday I was over(more so on Sunday, weeks always rough for me) I've been good the last three days. Today will end about 50 under my target calorie.

ShrinkinMel

oops ancient thread now i see. But good info to see. For the longest time I though tummy issues that I've had for a year were from the meds. Now that I did a food journal on paper with times and then tummy symptoms recorded at times they started and stopped. I found the likely culprit to be wheat/gluten and corn syrup does a number too. Especially HFCS.

I can't wait to get off. I don't see much improvement in PCOS symptoms from it except maybe very regular cycles now still range a few days but starting to get earlier and earlier and I miss my 3 month cycle lengths sometimes. HEHE Based on ovulation pains I'd suspect it isn't helping with that. Just making it worse if anything because well they are more regular. My fasting glucose though was pushing closer and closer to diabetic range so I agreed and have been compliant with my meds(I take a BP pill and an allergy pill as well). After she increased to twice a day I saw one normal A1C reading then a creep back up and I haven't gone for recent labs. I have the order just need to go. Should have gone today while I had unexpected day off. Maybe I'll get up Saturday morning and go. I'm curious where they are. I take my fasting at home but it always seems around the same. 110-115 lately. So still a bit higher than should be. I hope this exercise and food tracking will help see some difference and hopefully reduction and eventual end to Metformin.

KnitOrMiss

ShrinkinMel wrote: »

oops ancient thread now i see. But good info to see. For the longest time I though tummy issues that I've had for a year were from the meds. Now that I did a food journal on paper with times and then tummy symptoms recorded at times they started and stopped. I found the likely culprit to be wheat/gluten and corn syrup does a number too. Especially HFCS.

I can't wait to get off. I don't see much improvement in PCOS symptoms from it except maybe very regular cycles now still range a few days but starting to get earlier and earlier and I miss my 3 month cycle lengths sometimes. HEHE Based on ovulation pains I'd suspect it isn't helping with that. Just making it worse if anything because well they are more regular. My fasting glucose though was pushing closer and closer to diabetic range so I agreed and have been compliant with my meds(I take a BP pill and an allergy pill as well). After she increased to twice a day I saw one normal A1C reading then a creep back up and I haven't gone for recent labs. I have the order just need to go. Should have gone today while I had unexpected day off. Maybe I'll get up Saturday morning and go. I'm curious where they are. I take my fasting at home but it always seems around the same. 110-115 lately. So still a bit higher than should be. I hope this exercise and food tracking will help see some difference and hopefully reduction and eventual end to Metformin.

@ShrinkinMel My endo just told me this last time that Insulin is the hormone that impacts our female hormones. So if Metformin is leveling it out, it's either improving the other sex hormones - or it's stopping the negative impacts that it was having before. But, with Met mitigating extraneous affectations to the female hormones, it might be time for a recheck there, see if you need additional hormone balancing stuff, like Inositol and/or Vitex... Just a few thoughts.

Dragonwolf

ShrinkinMel wrote: »

I agree on upping protein. I've been including protein bars and shakes around my workouts and I do have a lot less hunger. Fiber and drinking a lot of water helps me but I still get sugar cravings big time. Not so much pasta bread but straight sugar, candy. argh! I've been on 500mg twice a day for 2 years and some I think now. Not sure of my exact dates. I just know when I started in 2014 I was losing slowly and took off 30 lbs. Then in 2015 gained and lost the same 10-15 lbs range is seemed. Or something around that. Now I've added in the gym membership and that way I plan for the trips(and a friend is doing it with me) ahead and then of course once there you gotta do it. It's been motivating on my food tracking too. Although Sunday and Monday I was over(more so on Sunday, weeks always rough for me) I've been good the last three days. Today will end about 50 under my target calorie.

And again, protein is not my issue.

At the last time that I went on Met, I was consuming -- I kid you not -- solely meat. I was thriving best on it, and for the first time in years, losing steadily. I made the mistake of going on Met, and suddenly would get physically ill at so much as the thought of eating just about any meat, and basically only rice and other similar starches and sugars were the only thing not making me feel ill at the thought of consuming. When I attempted to just "suck it up," I would physically gag on it.