Low Carb and Metformin.
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Scorpiotwin
Posts: 124 Member
Are there any low carbers taking metformin? What has your experience been like with the low carb woe. I started back up with low carb and since I started Drastically reducing my carbs, my stomach has been in complete chaos. It seems like the only time it stopped was when I broke down and ate a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries. (I was stuck at a football game and it went well past dinnertime). For the most part, have been sticking with meat, and veggies. My blood sugar is dropping quite a bit from the cutting of carbs, but I'm scared of dropping my dosage to soon.
Any advice or suggestions would be great.
Any advice or suggestions would be great.
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Replies
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Scorpiotwin wrote: »Are there any low carbers taking metformin? What has your experience been like with the low carb woe. I started back up with low carb and since I started Drastically reducing my carbs, my stomach has been in complete chaos. It seems like the only time it stopped was when I broke down and ate a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries. (I was stuck at a football game and it went well past dinnertime). For the most part, have been sticking with meat, and veggies. My blood sugar is dropping quite a bit from the cutting of carbs, but I'm scared of dropping my dosage to soon.
Any advice or suggestions would be great.
It just so happens....
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10394798/t2d-glucophage-name-brand-metformin-generic
I haven't been able to get off it, but my stomach troubles are pretty much gone taking name-brand Glucophage XR.
The only thing you can do if you are concerned about stopping too soon is to monitor your blood sugar regularly until it's stable and you have a handle on it. It will take a few months for things to reach a new homeostasis keeping your diet steady LCHF.
I'm still regularly surprised at my BG levels, so I'm still testing up to 10x daily - waking, before meals, and 1 AND 2 hours after every meal. It's a pain, but it gets to be just another habit after a while, and it's the only way to know when/how much you can drop your meds.
Hopefully, your BG drop will be a sign of things to come and you can get off everything!5 -
I've been taking metformin for years. It upset my stomach for a good 6 months before I got used to it, but now it doesn't bother me at all. Try taking it at a different time of day and see if that helps.1
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I've been taking metformin for years. It upset my stomach for a good 6 months before I got used to it, but now it doesn't bother me at all. Try taking it at a different time of day and see if that helps.
6 months, whew! You're a trooper.
Are you on Metformin XR? Do you find that the timing of your dose affects your BG?0 -
I take Metformin 4 times a day.
I've been taking it for 33 years.
No problems.
You can check out my diary for
ideas to help you out if you want.
or 
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Honestly, if you are diabetic and/or have under-functioning thyroid, you are almost guaranteed to have digestion problems, whether you realize it or not. Metformin seems to uncover these for us when we aren't carbing up. I would look into including digestive enzymes to help balance, that might help you adapt. That was my biggest complaint when I first went low carb, as well...0
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I've been taking metformin for years. It upset my stomach for a good 6 months before I got used to it, but now it doesn't bother me at all. Try taking it at a different time of day and see if that helps.
6 months, whew! You're a trooper.
Are you on Metformin XR? Do you find that the timing of your dose affects your BG?
No, I'm not on XR. When I first started taking the metformin, I was burping all the time and nauseated. I asked my doctor what to do about it, and she suggested taking it at night instead of in the morning, and that did help a bit but not much. It was awful for the first 6 months. I remember telling my sister that my metformin was sucking the life out of me. Not a problem anymore though, thankfully.0 -
I've been taking metformin for years. It upset my stomach for a good 6 months before I got used to it, but now it doesn't bother me at all. Try taking it at a different time of day and see if that helps.
6 months, whew! You're a trooper.
Are you on Metformin XR? Do you find that the timing of your dose affects your BG?
No, I'm not on XR. When I first started taking the metformin, I was burping all the time and nauseated. I asked my doctor what to do about it, and she suggested taking it at night instead of in the morning, and that did help a bit but not much. It was awful for the first 6 months. I remember telling my sister that my metformin was sucking the life out of me. Not a problem anymore though, thankfully.
So do you still take the immediate release at night? Seems like that would leave you with a reduced amount in your system by dinnertime the next day, but it must have worked for you. ??0 -
I've been taking metformin for years. It upset my stomach for a good 6 months before I got used to it, but now it doesn't bother me at all. Try taking it at a different time of day and see if that helps.
6 months, whew! You're a trooper.
Are you on Metformin XR? Do you find that the timing of your dose affects your BG?
No, I'm not on XR. When I first started taking the metformin, I was burping all the time and nauseated. I asked my doctor what to do about it, and she suggested taking it at night instead of in the morning, and that did help a bit but not much. It was awful for the first 6 months. I remember telling my sister that my metformin was sucking the life out of me. Not a problem anymore though, thankfully.
So do you still take the immediate release at night? Seems like that would leave you with a reduced amount in your system by dinnertime the next day, but it must have worked for you. ??
I take it with dinner now, works well for me, and my sugars have been great.0 -
Scorpiotwin wrote: »Are there any low carbers taking metformin? What has your experience been like with the low carb woe. I started back up with low carb and since I started Drastically reducing my carbs, my stomach has been in complete chaos. It seems like the only time it stopped was when I broke down and ate a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries. (I was stuck at a football game and it went well past dinnertime). For the most part, have been sticking with meat, and veggies. My blood sugar is dropping quite a bit from the cutting of carbs, but I'm scared of dropping my dosage to soon.
Any advice or suggestions would be great.
I am taking metformin and following a LC WOE. It has worked wonders for me. The glucose readings are reasonably predictable. My A1C was 12.8 when I was diagnosed. In three months it was 6.9. MySugr estimates my next A1C will be 5.4. I have found it easy to follow, and I have lost some weight I needed to lose.
Today was a funeral with a luncheon afterwards - so funeral potatoes, etc. I got a fried chicken breast and two deviled eggs. The afternoon was busy with the graveside at 2:00 and a service at 6:00. I ate supper before checking when I got home, but an hour later I was at 106. Two hours after supper I was 104.
FWIW, I take 1000 mg metformin with breakfast and 1000 mg with supper. I kept my carbs at 20 for today (net). Usually I will be 10 or under. Calories for the day were 1684. I got in a mile walk to the PO and back after the graveside.
My stomach gave me some issues for the first couple of weeks on metformin, but it settled down.2 -
Scorpiotwin wrote: »Are there any low carbers taking metformin? What has your experience been like with the low carb woe. I started back up with low carb and since I started Drastically reducing my carbs, my stomach has been in complete chaos. It seems like the only time it stopped was when I broke down and ate a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries. (I was stuck at a football game and it went well past dinnertime). For the most part, have been sticking with meat, and veggies. My blood sugar is dropping quite a bit from the cutting of carbs, but I'm scared of dropping my dosage to soon.
Any advice or suggestions would be great.
I am taking metformin and following a LC WOE. It has worked wonders for me. The glucose readings are reasonably predictable. My A1C was 12.8 when I was diagnosed. In three months it was 6.9. MySugr estimates my next A1C will be 5.4. I have found it easy to follow, and I have lost some weight I needed to lose.
Today was a funeral with a luncheon afterwards - so funeral potatoes, etc. I got a fried chicken breast and two deviled eggs. The afternoon was busy with the graveside at 2:00 and a service at 6:00. I ate supper before checking when I got home, but an hour later I was at 106. Two hours after supper I was 104.
FWIW, I take 1000 mg metformin with breakfast and 1000 mg with supper. I kept my carbs at 20 for today (net). Usually I will be 10 or under. Calories for the day were 1684. I got in a mile walk to the PO and back after the graveside.
My stomach gave me some issues for the first couple of weeks on metformin, but it settled down.
If I'm not mistaken, you initially had some questions whether it might prove awkward if you were to start laying off the sweet/starchy food. Sounds like you sailed right through that barrier! In the meantime...... any converts?0 -
If I'm not mistaken, you initially had some questions whether it might prove awkward if you were to start laying off the sweet/starchy food. Sounds like you sailed right through that barrier! In the meantime...... any converts?
I am still a closeted T2D. I probably need to get over that at some point. I have had people notice the weight loss and ask what I was doing. I tell them about LCHF. There is a little interest, but the only convert really is my long-suffering wife. To be honest, I don't think people are ready for the lifestyle change.
Initially for the weight loss I was giving up snacks, sweets and seconds. I was being mindful of portion sizes. This was before my diagnosis and before I found this forum. I was not tracking anything. This WOE was bringing my carbs down, but I am not sure by how much.
I had a couple of things in the week that were the last to let go. I still had hash brown potatoes with the Friday morning men's breakfast. I was still having a donut at the coffee hour after the 10 AM service. I did not consider these "cheat days." They were more like a planned feast day in a season of fasting. You get the Feast of the Annunciation in the season of Lent, and that is just part of the rhythm of things.
After my T2D diagnosis, I eventually moved more from a fast/feast spiritual model with food to a "food is medicine" model. The change took me a little while to internalize, and I went back and forth. An important part of this viewpoint change was the forum here. I was still going back and forth a little when I was new at LCD, and people were patient and mostly presented as non-judgmental. The T2D diagnosis gave me a new lens for viewing all this which I did not like but was suddenly a "given" in the formula.
You would not schedule a "break" from meds or think it wise for the addict in recovery to plan a few lines of cocaine as a weekly "treat." We understand that, but you have to buy into the frame of reference. Coming around to the "food is medicine" or the "addicted to carbs" thing is not done instantly. For me anyway, it took some rethinking.
I am not sure I really sailed through that barrier, but I seem to have made it through some mined waters.
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If I'm not mistaken, you initially had some questions whether it might prove awkward if you were to start laying off the sweet/starchy food. Sounds like you sailed right through that barrier! In the meantime...... any converts?
I am still a closeted T2D. I probably need to get over that at some point. I have had people notice the weight loss and ask what I was doing. I tell them about LCHF. There is a little interest, but the only convert really is my long-suffering wife. To be honest, I don't think people are ready for the lifestyle change.
Initially for the weight loss I was giving up snacks, sweets and seconds. I was being mindful of portion sizes. This was before my diagnosis and before I found this forum. I was not tracking anything. This WOE was bringing my carbs down, but I am not sure by how much.
I had a couple of things in the week that were the last to let go. I still had hash brown potatoes with the Friday morning men's breakfast. I was still having a donut at the coffee hour after the 10 AM service. I did not consider these "cheat days." They were more like a planned feast day in a season of fasting. You get the Feast of the Annunciation in the season of Lent, and that is just part of the rhythm of things.
After my T2D diagnosis, I eventually moved more from a fast/feast spiritual model with food to a "food is medicine" model. The change took me a little while to internalize, and I went back and forth. An important part of this viewpoint change was the forum here. I was still going back and forth a little when I was new at LCD, and people were patient and mostly presented as non-judgmental. The T2D diagnosis gave me a new lens for viewing all this which I did not like but was suddenly a "given" in the formula.
You would not schedule a "break" from meds or think it wise for the addict in recovery to plan a few lines of cocaine as a weekly "treat." We understand that, but you have to buy into the frame of reference. Coming around to the "food is medicine" or the "addicted to carbs" thing is not done instantly. For me anyway, it took some rethinking.
I am not sure I really sailed through that barrier, but I seem to have made it through some mined waters.
Bump1 -
FWIW, I am a month out from this last post and still staying the course. As I have gotten used to the LCHF, I have finally mostly eliminated any snacking between meals. Previously I would have some peanuts at coffee hour just to be sociable. I am just sticking to the coffee these days.
The "food is medicine" thing has taken a subtle twist. My appetite has been very poor recently, and caloric intake has been low. I am having to remind myself to eat on a schedule to spread macros out over the day. I might have to look hard at this and think about it a little.
Weight loss continues at a slow but relentless pace. Glucose readings have been mostly good. I had a trip to see someone at the Emergency Room last night and only got 3.5 hrs sleep before my 6 AM service. I tested at 117 when I got up - 10 hour fast.3 -
I've been taking Metformin ER for a little over a year. We call it S&*# Formin because that's all I do. Doc recently changed my med schedule to 1 Metformin and 1 Farxiga in the morning and 1 metformin in the evening, but I haven't started that yet. My glucose is really good I just hate wearing poop colored pants because its like I have no control. Hating it!!2
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diarrhoea is a common side effect of metformin- cut dose to 1 for better result Also leeches B12 from your system= get B12 injection every three months0
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sarahtrust wrote: »diarrhoea is a common side effect of metformin- cut dose to 1 for better result Also leeches B12 from your system= get B12 injection every three months
While gradually increasing the dose is a good idea, T2Ds should be aware that generic versions of Met vary greatly in their GI effects. Many independent pharmacies have access to several different generics. I've had good luck with Oceanside.
Per Dr. Bernstein, not everyone taking Metformin experiences B12 depletion, and supplementation by tablets or injections may not be necessary.1
