Metformin sickness/low carb dieting

Melroxsox

Ive been low carbing and doing really well at it, but all of a sudden last night my metformin made me sooooo sick to my stomach...like all night long...I was recently ( about 3 months ago) put on a smaller dose( went from 1000mg to 500mg/day) because of my weightloss and that helped for awhile, but now its acting up again.....I was wondering if I should only be taking it when I have a higher carb day? or should I split my pills in half? Any suggestions or advice would be fantastic. Thanks:)

dls06

Talk to the Doctor. No one should tell you how to take prescription meds but the Doctor.
dlife.com helps with recipes and info.

kristen49233

I'm on metformin also and fortunately I've had no side effects from taking it, but I'm looking forward to the day when I can cut down (like you) and eventually stop taking it completely!

If you think your dose needs to be cut again, I would recommend talking to your doctor first.

omma_to_3

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

anfmusicgrl

I have been taking it for over a year, I still have days where it makes me sick all day long, and sometimes I have weeks where I tolerate it well.

Only your Dr. will know if you should change your dosage, BUT I do know that they probably won't recommend taking it "here and there". It's a medication that is meant to be taken with consistency. Not just on high-carb days.

mander1621

I'm on 1000mg of Met a day....I re-started it a week ago (I used to take it for a few years but went a year without it). I've found that it doesn't matter what I eat, I still feel sick. I always take it with food but, it doesn't really help. Plus, I find that I have a weird metal taste in my mouth for a couple hours after. Not fun!

joeylu

i stopped taking it because i hate the way it makes me feel. I had my blood drawn last week and my sugars where fine without it

bcampbell54

I've taken 2000 mg/day for over ten years. I will say that I tolerate it well now, though it took a year or so, but even better since my weight is down and I'm eating more healthy foods.
Ask your doctor about spreading out the dosage, I don't think anybody here would want to suggest amending your prescribed medications.

Tajdancer

Yes, really, this is a decision you should be making with your doctor. My MIL had terrible nausea with Met; her doc prescribed Omeprazole for that, which seemed to help.

Melroxsox

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

I eat a pretty well balanced diet...but unfortunatley it has to be low carb because of my PCOS. I still eat about 40-80 grams of carbs per day though...so it's not quite ATKINS low carb... Im more of a Glycemic Index eater due to the Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Melroxsox

Thanks so much for the replies you guys! Im just at a loss currently about why this stomach trouble keeps coming in waves. I had some good suggestions to try the extended release version, which I will get on asking my Dr. about ASAP.

CyberEd312

I have been on 2000 mg a day since I was diagnosed in 2009 and my Endo Dr. has not talked about cutting my dosage and I have been at pre-diabetic levels (A1c- 5.4) for the past 14 months... I must be one of the lucky ones. I have never had side effects from Metformin, now in the beginning I was also on Glipizide and and had major issues with that (huge Blood sugar drops all the way into the 40's and fought blackout spells and whatnot) when I was taken off the Glipizide within 2 weeks all those symptoms ended... I would talk to your doctor before you regulate it because when I was put on it to begin with I remember it was a 4 week process to get to my current dose of 2000 mg. a day.. I have never done low carbing, from the beginning my dietician set me at 240 carbs a day (60 at main meals and 20 grams at my 3 snacks) and now we have upped my carb intake to 320 grams a day and I am still losing 1 to 2 lbs. a week. I understand the low carbing for people with medical conditions that have no choice but for others I can't speak for because I can only speak for what works for me.... But Good luck to you......

omma_to_3

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

I eat a pretty well balanced diet...but unfortunatley it has to be low carb because of my PCOS. I still eat about 40-80 grams of carbs per day though...so it's not quite ATKINS low carb... Im more of a Glycemic Index eater due to the Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I have PCOS as well. I wasn't saying NOT to eat low carb. I was saying not to focus on that to help the side effects. It hasn't seemed to help me AT ALL. Some foods in particular make the side effects infinitely worse. Like lettuce. Lettuce + Met = SICK for me. Every.single.time.

Also, if you have PCOS, why are you taking only 500 mg? If you're not diabetic and taking it for the insulin resistence of PCOS, the minimum recommended doseage is 1500 mg daily, spread between two or three doses. It has been shown in studies to be ineffective at reducing insulin levels if you take less than 1500 mg daily. Granted I haven't kept up on reading studies in the last so many years, but 500 mg of Met seems fairly useless for a non-diabetic. Diabetics it's much easier to gauge because you can so easily check your blood sugar.

ThisisMiss

Talk to the Doctor. No one should tell you how to take prescription meds but the Doctor.
dlife.com helps with recipes and info.

I agree, talk to a doctor about it. As far as I know, no one here is an expert and will know enough to give you accurate information.

Melroxsox

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

I eat a pretty well balanced diet...but unfortunatley it has to be low carb because of my PCOS. I still eat about 40-80 grams of carbs per day though...so it's not quite ATKINS low carb... Im more of a Glycemic Index eater due to the Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I have PCOS as well. I wasn't saying NOT to eat low carb. I was saying not to focus on that to help the side effects. It hasn't seemed to help me AT ALL. Some foods in particular make the side effects infinitely worse. Like lettuce. Lettuce + Met = SICK for me. Every.single.time.

Also, if you have PCOS, why are you taking only 500 mg? If you're not diabetic and taking it for the insulin resistence of PCOS, the minimum recommended doseage is 1500 mg daily, spread between two or three doses. It has been shown in studies to be ineffective at reducing insulin levels if you take less than 1500 mg daily. Granted I haven't kept up on reading studies in the last so many years, but 500 mg of Met seems fairly useless for a non-diabetic. Diabetics it's much easier to gauge because you can so easily check your blood sugar.

I started taking it 2 years ago 500 mg twice a day, then I started having the same awful symptoms Im having currently, went to my doctor, and she told me to only take it once a day. She said it was essentially because I had lost weight and the dose was too high for my body. (I had lost about 30 lbs at that time) This did work. My symptoms got MUCH better up until now. Thats why Im wondering if I just need to either be off of it, Use XR, or decrease my dose once more before going off of it...But I plan on asking as soon as possible. I am not diabetic, but WAS insulin resistant back then...maybe Im not anymore? Im scared to go off of it completely because of the PCOS....It's been insanely difficult and took ALOT of work sweat and tears to even get this much weight off. I suspect that my hormones are finally begining to balance out, but I have alot more weight to lose.

oh and I got horribly sick yesterday, most of what I ate WAS salads...................spaghetti squash and some fruit, eggs, celery, that sort of thing.

southernyankee716

Splitting my dosage up (1x in the morning, 1x before bed) helps alleviate the symptoms for me. My doctor suggested this when I told him how bad it was affecting my stomach. I don't see anything wrong with splitting it up but definitely make a quick call to your doctor (or pharmacist) to make sure. If I'm correct, they have Metformin and an Extended Release Metformin so you want to make sure.

Do you take it with food? That always helps me. And swallow it with milk instead of water or juice. Helps it go down easier and stay down. I also notice on days that I eat better (healthier) the symptoms are nearly non-existent. But if I eat too many bad carbs (sugar, bread, pasta) then my symptoms are unbearable.

lizard053

A friend of mine was taking metformin for a while, and it would do the same thing to her if she ate more than a few grams of carbs a day. Do check with the doctor about it too!

southernyankee716

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

I eat a pretty well balanced diet...but unfortunatley it has to be low carb because of my PCOS. I still eat about 40-80 grams of carbs per day though...so it's not quite ATKINS low carb... Im more of a Glycemic Index eater due to the Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I have PCOS as well. I wasn't saying NOT to eat low carb. I was saying not to focus on that to help the side effects. It hasn't seemed to help me AT ALL. Some foods in particular make the side effects infinitely worse. Like lettuce. Lettuce + Met = SICK for me. Every.single.time.

Also, if you have PCOS, why are you taking only 500 mg? If you're not diabetic and taking it for the insulin resistence of PCOS, the minimum recommended doseage is 1500 mg daily, spread between two or three doses. It has been shown in studies to be ineffective at reducing insulin levels if you take less than 1500 mg daily. Granted I haven't kept up on reading studies in the last so many years, but 500 mg of Met seems fairly useless for a non-diabetic. Diabetics it's much easier to gauge because you can so easily check your blood sugar.

A doctor who doesn't know much about PCOS will prescribe a lower dosage. I was on 2000mg a day but when I moved, I had to find a new doctor. He couldn't understand why I was on a high dosage and changed me to 500mg. You're right- besides the nasty side effects it has not helped me in any way (at least not like it was at the higher dosage).

southernyankee716

My reply came out wrong. I was not meaning to say your doctor doesn't know much about PCOS- That's from my own experience.

I hope you figure this out. I know how nasty the symptoms can be. Also- the last time (before I became pregnant) I was on 2000mg my symptoms lasted for more than 2 months before getting better.

omma_to_3

I've been on Met for maybe 12 years. I just have now gotten to the point that it doesn't make me sick. I have never found low-carb to help with that at all. However, lower fat and healthier eating (ie high fiber) seem to help quite a bit. So, I would concentrate on adding fiber to your diet and eating a healthier balanced diet, not just low carb, and see if that helps.

I eat a pretty well balanced diet...but unfortunatley it has to be low carb because of my PCOS. I still eat about 40-80 grams of carbs per day though...so it's not quite ATKINS low carb... Im more of a Glycemic Index eater due to the Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I have PCOS as well. I wasn't saying NOT to eat low carb. I was saying not to focus on that to help the side effects. It hasn't seemed to help me AT ALL. Some foods in particular make the side effects infinitely worse. Like lettuce. Lettuce + Met = SICK for me. Every.single.time.

Also, if you have PCOS, why are you taking only 500 mg? If you're not diabetic and taking it for the insulin resistence of PCOS, the minimum recommended doseage is 1500 mg daily, spread between two or three doses. It has been shown in studies to be ineffective at reducing insulin levels if you take less than 1500 mg daily. Granted I haven't kept up on reading studies in the last so many years, but 500 mg of Met seems fairly useless for a non-diabetic. Diabetics it's much easier to gauge because you can so easily check your blood sugar.

I started taking it 2 years ago 500 mg twice a day, then I started having the same awful symptoms Im having currently, went to my doctor, and she told me to only take it once a day. She said it was essentially because I had lost weight and the dose was too high for my body. (I had lost about 30 lbs at that time) This did work. My symptoms got MUCH better up until now. Thats why Im wondering if I just need to either be off of it, Use XR, or decrease my dose once more before going off of it...But I plan on asking as soon as possible. I am not diabetic, but WAS insulin resistant back then...maybe Im not anymore? Im scared to go off of it completely because of the PCOS....It's been insanely difficult and took ALOT of work sweat and tears to even get this much weight off. I suspect that my hormones are finally begining to balance out, but I have alot more weight to lose.

oh and I got horribly sick yesterday, most of what I ate WAS salads...................spaghetti squash and some fruit, eggs, celery, that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, not all Dr's, or all endocrinologists, really get how it works. If your insulin levels are controlled without it, FANTASTIC! But unless they did an insulin glucose tolerance test (similar to a glucose challenge and takes about 3 hours) you won't really know if your insulin levels have gone down. Every person is different of course, but my insulin levels went WAY up at puberty, before I was overweight. That's what contributed to my weight gain, despite my eating and exercise habits not changing. I haven't had my insulin levels tested in a long time, but I thoroughly suspect they are still high, regardless of my weight loss. Now, while I wasn't diabetic, my glucose levels ARE better since the weight loss. But my insulin levels will likely always be higher.

I have no doubt that reducing your dosage of Met reduced your symptoms. The symptoms are present for people regardless of whether you need that particular dosage or not. What I mean is, if you need 2000 MG and take that, you will still have side effects if you're a person that has side effects from it. Just the presence of side effects doesn't mean your dosage is too high, it just means your body isn't used to that particular med or dosage.

As for the XR version, try it. I had fewer side effects on that version. However, and this is WAY TMI, the pills passed through me too quickly. And whole. The Dr. said, oh don't worry, that's just the 'shell' passing through. However, it took about 6 hours for that to happen from the time I took the pill. So, there's no way the med was even in my system for 24 hours, so it wasn't being appropriately released. When I switched back to the regular version, my PCOS symptoms improved.

Melroxsox

you've been very informative, thanks. I will have LOTS of questions to ask my gyno now:) it seems every body is different for those who suffer with PCOS. some more extreme, some less. I guess time and experimenting will tell for me. sigh.....damn pcos.....