# Metformin side effects



## cazscot (Sep 19, 2009)

Hi, Not sure if I am posting in the right place as I am new at this...  I was diagnosed type 2 yesterday and put on 1 x 500g metformin with breakfast and 1 x 500g metformin at tea time.  I have had severe tummy problems/nausea since last night.  Will my tummy settle down eventually and how long do you think it might take?

Thanks


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## C*5_Dodger (Sep 19, 2009)

cazscot said:


> Hi, Not sure if I am posting in the right place as I am new at this...  I was diagnosed type 2 yesterday and put on 1 x 500g metformin with breakfast and 1 x 500g metformin at tea time.  I have had severe tummy problems/nausea since last night.  Will my tummy settle down eventually and how long do you think it might take?
> 
> Thanks



Dear cazscot,

Firstlty, welcome to the forum this is exactlly the right place to ask any questions you have! A lot of people get "tummy problems" when they first take Metformin - it usually clears up after a few weeks. If it doesn't, go back to your doctor and ask him/her if he/she will let you have the "extended release" version. For example Glucophage SR.

Regards   Dodger


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## Steff (Sep 19, 2009)

hi there caz yes as dodger said many of us have had problems with metformin me being one of them , so much so i had to go see the doc and get put onto the liquid metformin, it will clear up in a couple of weeks usually does for most


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## AlisonM (Sep 19, 2009)

Caz, I've been on the Metformin for two weeks now and the tummy troubles were settling down nicely till the Doctor put me on statins as well (high cholesterol) so now I'm going through the whole thing again. 

Give it a week or two and if it hasn't settled, ask your doctor if you can reduce the dosage for a while.


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## Psychomuso (Sep 19, 2009)

I go along with what the others have said. I was on 500mg metformin 3 times a day when I was first diagnosed. After 6 months, I decided I had had enough, not only was I struggling to take it 3 times a day (due to irregular eating habits), I really couldn't deal with the GI side effects as they were ruling my life. My consultant changed me to 1g glucophage which he told me to take with my evening meal - he said that as it was a slow release version of metformin it was gentler and the effects do seem to be better. It may be a silly question, but are you taking it within 20 min either side of eating? I've come across a few people who didn't and if you take it without eating within 20 min you will get the full blast of side effects (please excuse the bad pun )


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## Caroline Wilson (Sep 19, 2009)

Hi there Caz, you are in the right place for asking questions. Welcome to the forums. The side effects from metformin settle after a while. If it is too uncomfortable some people find things like imodium helps, but take advice first. If that fails some people find slow release metformin is better, but you need to talk to your doctor about it.


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## Tezzz (Sep 19, 2009)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I found that the side effects are not so bad if I take them with food.


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## cazscot (Sep 19, 2009)

*Thanks*

Many thanks everybody.  I will wait a couple of weeks to see if it settles. Thanks again.


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## lynneb (Oct 1, 2009)

*metformin*

Hi, I was put straight onto 500mg of glucophage sr for 10 days then onto 2 x 5mg, had blood test last week and was 7, but still not low enough she says so onto 3 x 500mg a day, but i take the all together in the evening after i have eaten. I havnt had any side effects at all. I saw sone of you take these 3 times a day, is my nurse wrong? should i be taking them 3 times a day, or all together?


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## Psychomuso (Oct 2, 2009)

Lynneb, your nurse isn't wrong, it depends on what works for you. I was on 2 500mg tablets that I took with my evening meal, I then tried splitting the dose to try to lessen the side effects but it didn't work for me. On Tuesday I saw the consultant and he put me on Sitagliptin which doesn't seem to have the GI effects that metformin has. Apparently, it also helps weight loss and is unlikely to give me hypos.


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## grovesy (Oct 2, 2009)

lynneb said:


> Hi, I was put straight onto 500mg of glucophage sr for 10 days then onto 2 x 5mg, had blood test last week and was 7, but still not low enough she says so onto 3 x 500mg a day, but i take the all together in the evening after i have eaten. I havnt had any side effects at all. I saw sone of you take these 3 times a day, is my nurse wrong? should i be taking them 3 times a day, or all together?



I am presuming the SR stands for slow release so you don't need to take more frequently.


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## Steff (Oct 2, 2009)

hiya lynne no nurse is not wrong like pshycho says it is whatever works for you , i was firstly put on 1 then 2 then after all my bother was pput into the liquid.


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## ChrisP (Oct 2, 2009)

Hi Caz,

Like they all said what you are seeing seems to be pretty common.

I too had problems at  first but they cleared up after a couple of weeks.

So stick with it and know you do not suffer alone!
We're all in this together!

Hope it all works out.

Chris


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## williammcd (Oct 2, 2009)

srry to say this but you will have the troubles for a while untill your system gets used to the medication ,
my big problem was the simvestatin for high blood [even though ive never had high blood press]it caused me to have ibs,


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## sgd (Oct 2, 2009)

I was put on 850mg twice a day, but have had a dreadful week of 'side effects' so been back to the docs tonight and he has suggested reducing to once a day to see how that goes.

Fingers crossed


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## lynneb (Oct 2, 2009)

*simvastatin*

hi william
i think you will find simvastatin is for high colestrol, not high bp. I too am on simvastatin, but have been for 2 yrs. had no side effects though.
thanks everyone for respones.
I am having bad attack of almost compulsive eating, after having lost 2 1/2 stone. is this normal too?


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## cazscot (Oct 3, 2009)

lynneb said:


> hi william
> i think you will find simvastatin is for high colestrol, not high bp. I too am on simvastatin, but have been for 2 yrs. had no side effects though.
> thanks everyone for respones.
> I am having bad attack of almost compulsive eating, after having lost 2 1/2 stone. is this normal too?



Hi Lynne, I am having the complete opposite on my metformin I have a definate decrease in appatite.  But then a lot of that could be psychological because I am worried the metformin is going to upset my tummy again so dont want to eat much in case - if that makes sense...


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## AlisonM (Oct 3, 2009)

William, it's likely to be worse if you take it on an empty stomach. It certainly was for me. Now I take my pills immediately after a meal and I have less trouble.


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## Bill Wilson (Oct 3, 2009)

*Watch out for Vitamin B12 deficiency*

Hi,

Remember that prolonged use of Metformin CAN lead to a Vitamin B12 deficiency.  It did with me, and now I have to have B12 shots every two months.

All drugs can have unexpected side-effects (ill-effects).

Be careful about taking ANY of the statin range.  They,too, can have devastating ill-effects.  Simvastatin did with me.  Muscular degeneration has severely affected my ability to walk !!!!

For information, please read:
                                        'The Statin Damage Crisis' by Dr. Duane Graveline MD.

or:  'The Great Cholesterol Con'  by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick MD.


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## Northerner (Oct 3, 2009)

Bill Wilson said:


> ...For information, please read:
> 'The Statin Crisis' by Dr. Duane Graveline MD.
> 
> or:  'The Great Cholesterol Con'  by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick MD.



Thanks Bill - I have ordered The Great Cholesterol Con - ?5.49 from the Book Depository with free p+p!

I have been concerned for some time that I don't really need to be taking simvastatin, perhaps this book will help clarify the issues.


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## AlisonM (Oct 3, 2009)

I've been put on Simvastatin too, and I already have trouble walking.


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## williammcd (Oct 3, 2009)

me bad ,your correct the vistatin was for my cholesterol which is good ,
thats why they did`nt replace it with another med ,


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## C*5_Dodger (Oct 3, 2009)

*The Great Cholesterol Con*



Northerner said:


> Thanks Bill - I have ordered The Great Cholesterol Con - ?5.49 from the Book Depository with free p+p!
> 
> I have been concerned for some time that I don't really need to be taking simvastatin, perhaps this book will help clarify the issues.



Dear Northerner,

I have a copy of Kendrick's book. It is an interesting read. BTW he is the guy in the U tube video (see my post on whallycorker's recent thread)

Regards  Dodger


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## Psychomuso (Oct 4, 2009)

AlisonM said:


> I've been put on Simvastatin too, and I already have trouble walking.



I had the same problem when the consultant put me on Ezetrol on top of Simvastatin, after 6 weeks, I went to my GP as it was too much for me and he told me to stop them straight away. When I went back to the consultant last week, I told him about this and he didn't give me any new cholesterol meds, this makes me think that they're not that vital - either that, or they intend putting me on more meds if I haven't improved by the end of January.

Anyway, it might be a good idea to talk to whoever prescribed the Simvastatin pretty soon as having trouble walking is not a good side effect - they should be able to find you an alternative that isn't so bad.


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## C*5_Dodger (Oct 4, 2009)

AlisonM said:


> I've been put on Simvastatin too, and I already have trouble walking.



Dear Alison,

Your problem is one of the side effects of statins. I believe that elevated cholesterol is not a cause of heart disease and yes statins work, not by lowering cholesterol (which they do) but because they are powerful anti-inflamatory drugs. Anyway have look at this site.

The spacedoctor

Regards   Dodger


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## AlisonM (Oct 4, 2009)

C*5_Dodger said:


> Dear Alison,
> 
> Your problem is one of the side effects of statins. I believe that elevated cholesterol is not a cause of heart disease and yes statins work, not by lowering cholesterol (which they do) but because they are powerful anti-inflamatory drugs. Anyway have look at this site.
> 
> ...



You don't understand. I had the trouble walking *before* I was put on Simvastatin. I'm worried the problem might get worse, it hasn't yet.


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## C*5_Dodger (Oct 4, 2009)

AlisonM said:


> You don't understand. I had the trouble walking *before* I was put on Simvastatin. I'm worried the problem might get worse, it hasn't yet.



I guess I should have made myself clearer, but what I said is a reported problem. I just hope that you do indeed not get the side effect.

Regards   Dodger


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## AlisonM (Oct 4, 2009)

sharpwaa said:


> Alison,  Would you mind if I PM'd you on this,  I'm intreagued, trying to envisualise your mobility history before any further comment.  Bless you, you are a fighter.



By all means.


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## Bill Wilson (Oct 5, 2009)

*Typographical error*

Hi folks,

Re: My posting of 3/10/2009 @ 4.39pm.

I made a mistake when typing thr name of one of the books, on the statin con, which I recommended.

The correct title is:
                               The Statin Damage Crisis
                                            by
                                Dr. Duane Graveline  MD

I omitted the word 'Damage' in my earlier posting.     Sorry!

Bill Wilson


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