Metformin

Joannie30
Joannie30 Posts: 415 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

3 weeks ago i was prescribed Metformin for PCOS. My GP advised me to take 500mg twice a day (in the morning and at night) but he suggested that for the first week I only take 500mg once a day and then move on to the 2 doses daily on the second week. The first week (taking one 500mg per day) i felt absolutely fine. I thought i was lucky to have avoided all the horrid side effects i'd read about regarding Metformin. I moved on to the increased dose on the second week. I took one 500mg in the morning (about 8am) and one shortly before bedtime (about 9pm). The first morning after doing this I felt like i had been hit by a train!! I felt sick, worn out and actually pretty depressed. I continued with it but after a few days i was just feeling so bad from the moment i woke up that i would just cry with misery. Needless to say, work has been a nightmare with these horrid feelings.

What i have started to do is change the times i'm taking them. I find that if i take my pm dose around 6pm instead of 9pm, my nausea etc has been still there, but less than it was. I've been wondering if taking my pm dose even earlier than this (around 3/4pm) would further reduce the severity of the side effects i've been having.

Anyone else on the same dosage of Metformin able to offer any advice?

Replies

  • travisseger
    travisseger Posts: 271 Member
    I'm diabetic and take the same dosage. I was fine the first week I was taking 500 mg per day, but as soon as I added in the second 500 mg it was awful. I was walking around in a fog all day, having vivid nightmares every night, and a bunch of other stuff. It took about two weeks, but one night the fog lifted and everything has been fine since. I think it just takes the body a while to adjust to taking the stuff. I know other people who have had problems and switched to the extended-release version, which worked better for them.

    I think you're on to something about the time of day you take the last dose. I usually take my evening dose around 6:00 p.m. If I take it after 8:00 p.m., I do seem to wake up feeling a little off the next morning.
  • bjfrezell
    bjfrezell Posts: 241
    My husband takes his with a full meal. It seems to work better for him than just taking it by itself or with just a little food.
  • Joannie30
    Joannie30 Posts: 415 Member
    Thanks for your input! I took my second dose yesterday at 3pm instead of 6 and this morning i don't really feel sick. I do still feel a bit cloudy-headed though but i'm not sure if that's Metformin or the cold i have starting.

    I find taking it with a full meal makes me feel sick, but it's less if i just take it with a biscuit or something small. I suppose everyone's different that way. x

    Have any of you noticed any effects on appetite? ever since i've been taking it (even on the rare days my nausea has been less) i have a very reduced appetite. When i sit down to my evening meal at night it seems like someone has put a full banquet in front of me!!!!
  • justjustine1
    justjustine1 Posts: 10
    wow. I've taken this dose for over a year and didn't have those issues - my side effects were more stomach upset and more gas than usual... : /
  • hanniejong
    hanniejong Posts: 556 Member
    I started with 500g twice a day and had no problems at all then I had to up it 1000g. twice a day and I am still fine and I take my night time ones at about 8-9pm I am also a diabetic.
  • iHEARTcardiacnurses
    iHEARTcardiacnurses Posts: 437 Member
    I was prescribed it when I was diagnosed with PCOS. I took it for a month and lost 30 lbs but only because I couldn't even stomach the smell of food (working in a coffee shop didn't help either). I had to go off it. I'm down 70 lbs now and my PCOS is much better. My testosterone levels are normal and I'm no longer pre-diabetic (even at over 300 lbs). My blood sugars have been great and my A1C is 4.
  • JaneDoughSanAntonio
    JaneDoughSanAntonio Posts: 65 Member
    It makes me INCREDIBLY sick too, and finally a nurse told me to take it AFTER a meal. To me, WITH a meal (which is what the label and everyone prior had said) means I can take it before or during. After is entirely different. It hasn't been nearly as been since then. Good luck!
  • snewsome7
    snewsome7 Posts: 189
    I was prescribed it as well and it made me feel like I had the flu. I don't take it anymore. I'm not diabetic but my doctor thought it would help my body break down sugar or something. It was a few years ago so I don't really remember.
  • cadency
    cadency Posts: 51
    Some studies are suggesting diets like the paleolithic diet are helping with the insulin resistance of PCOS. A lot of MDs are beginning to recommend it for their PCOS patients with a lot of success. It has a similar effect as the metformin - improving the body's ability to utilize insulin...

    but I'm not sure about any way to improve the nausea related to metformin. hope you find something that works best!
  • Shirvona
    Shirvona Posts: 43 Member
    You can always ask you to give you smaller dosage pills and take 3 or 4 at different times of the day like 9am, 12pm, 6pm, 9pm. I was something that the pharmacist has suggested to me in the past when any medication that bothered me. My doctor wouldn't let me try metformin, he decide to go straight to Clomid. Hope it helps.
  • AriaAzurestone
    AriaAzurestone Posts: 6 Member
    I had a different dosage prescribed to me. My doc told me to take 2 1000mg daily. I take them both at the same time along with 1 5mg of Lisinopril. I take all three right after dinner, which is usually around 5:30pm.

    I either haven't noticed any side effects from the Metformin, or I have been lucky enough not to have them.
    I just looked up the side effects and realized I didn't have any of them when I started on the Metformin, which was a couple years ago.

    Anyways, I wish you good luck with the side effects and that they go away soon. :)
  • Joannie30
    Joannie30 Posts: 415 Member
    I was prescribed it when I was diagnosed with PCOS. I took it for a month and lost 30 lbs but only because I couldn't even stomach the smell of food (working in a coffee shop didn't help either). I had to go off it. I'm down 70 lbs now and my PCOS is much better. My testosterone levels are normal and I'm no longer pre-diabetic (even at over 300 lbs). My blood sugars have been great and my A1C is 4.

    Wow 70lbs is amazing!! Well done!!!

    I long for my testosterone levels to be normal. Have you had facial hair growth with PCOS? has it reduced much since losing your weight?
  • anaussie
    anaussie Posts: 88 Member
    Hi... diabetic for over 10 years. Stopped metformin at doctor's recommendation. Average fasting blood sugars in the range of 4/5 or 80/100. Diet, walks, and low-carbs help. After dinner, I take 1 capsule containing cinnamon+gymnema+fenugreek+chromium+zinc.

    http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/152431/metformin-forever
  • rachf2013
    rachf2013 Posts: 69
    hey, i know this is several months later from the post, but i just got on Metformin for PCOS and I have been having super bad nightmares and feel just awful. And I havent been able to stomach food before noon (which sucks, cuz Im a breakfast person). I take it at night with my dinner around 7pm. It's been about 3 weeks; I finally started taking the full dose a few days ago.

    I know everyone says the side effects eventually just go away, but is there anyway to help that along?
    Also does anyone know why the nightmares happen?


    Oh and I was told it will help reduce my testosterone and excess hair growth, has anyone experienced this working?
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
    I stopped taking it because I couldn't handle the stomach issues. It made me feel so bloated.

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