Post # 1
Member
1052 posts
Bumble bee
OH MY GOD ladies. OH MY GOD. I saw my dr this morning and she prescribed me 500mg of Metformin. She instructed me to take one pill per day for a couple weeks until I’m used to it, and then graduate to two per day. I took one today with my lunch and a few hours later I think my stomach exploded! I came dangerously close to losing every shred of dignity I have at my dog’s obedience lesson this afternoon. One minute I was fine, and the next I was yelling to my classmates that I would have to leave early and running for the park bathroom, dragging my very confused dog behind me. I’m starting to understand the weight loss side effect, since after today I’m pretty sure I never want to eat again if this is the result. What if I’m not within 10 feet of a bathroom?? I had about 10 seconds between feeling fine and needing the bathroom IMMEDIATELY.
Has this happened to anyone else? How do you manage the side effects? I was thinking maybe I should only take them at night? I never want to have to drag my dog into a bathroom stall again, but I don’t want to give up on Metformin after only one pill :/
Post # 3
Member
242 posts
Helper bee
My boss had this problem, apparently it’s a common side affect of the generic version, but not trade name.
Post # 4
Member
120 posts
Blushing bee
it really sucks but stick it out for maybe two weeks and you will finally be normal again. the first month i lost about 4 pounds a week! it was great! do not eat greasy foods! make sure to eat food with it. avoid a lot of sugar also. don’t give up. what are u taking met for? i have PCOS
Post # 5
Member
169 posts
Blushing bee
Awe!! I’m sorry!! That’s shitty! *hahahah* sorry, I had to say it!!
I had the exact same side effects, make sure you take it with food… and like pp stated, after a couple weeks you feel normal again, swear!!
I have PCOS, took metformin, lost 50lbs and I’m currently 33weeks pregnant!! Don’t give up!!
Post # 6
Member
1052 posts
Bumble bee
I actually don’t have PCOS (to my doctor’s knowledge) but my hormones are definitely not right. My FSH was high, estrogen was low, gained a lot of weight out of nowhere, we haven’t been able to get pregnant over the past 12 months, but my cycle is totally regular and I am ovulating every month. Basically we’re not sure what’s going on :/ She’s hoping it will help regulate my hormones and get things back to a healthy normal.
Did you find that you had these lovely symptoms every time you changed the dosage? I’m supposed to take one pill for two weeks, then up it to two pills. I’d like to prepare so i can make sure I’m home if my stomach is going to die like this again lol.
@Mewithoutyou Congrats!! This is what I’m hoping for too 🙂
@MegGan9912 Four pounds a week sounds amazing. I’m working out 6 days a week (and have been for almost 6 months) and the weight isn’t budging!
Post # 7
Member
1052 posts
Bumble bee
@krex Yep, I think mine is generic :/ That’s wonderful to know, especially because I have two bottles of it lol.
Post # 8
Member
2196 posts
Buzzing bee
Yep, i had this problem as well. I was prescribed 1000mg of Met when I was seeing an RE. They told me to take 500mg for a few weeks before taking the full 1000mg. To be honest, i took the 1000mg for maybe a week before I couldn’t handle it anymore and went back down to 500mg and never went back up to the 1000mg because of how horrible it made me feel.
Your stomach will start to adapt to the changes, but it will likely be a week or two before you start feeling much relief. I was pretty yucky feeling while on it – diahrea, upset stomach, and just felt “off” most of the time. After a couple weeks it became much more tolerable and predicable, so hang in there. Take it with a full stomach if you can, I found it made a difference if i would eat half of my dinner, take the met, then finish my dinner. Had more to absorb into perhaps and was much easier on the stomach. Be super careful with alcohol too, I pretty much avoided it while on it or just had a single drink when out.
Sorry to hear you are suffering, it’s not fun at all.
Post # 9
Member
136 posts
Blushing bee
Sorry your having to be on this!
I was on 2000mg of metformin. I know the racing to the toilet all to well. Once you take it for a few days your body will get used to it but when you increase it might start up again. If it doesnt get better ask your doctor for the metformin extended release, should be easier on the stomach. After 3 months of feeling sick ALL the time, i finally told the doctor i was going to stop it all together because of the side effects. Just wasnt worth it and wasnt working out with the job i do. Thankfully She put me on glumetza and I’ve had zero side effects!! So much better, wish i would of switched sooner!!
Post # 10
Member
329 posts
Helper bee
My doctor gave me Glumetza 500 mg extended release to start with, saying that i wouldn’t have the bad side effects. Well, I did. The first 4 days were awful. Mostly a really upset stomach and nausea. After that it went away. I take it with my last bite of food at dinner and I’m fine now. I didn’t think I was going to last those first few days, though. When I picked up my refill I saw that they had given me the dosage of 1500 mg per day with the regular version. I had the pharmacist call the doctor back because I knew that would make me terribly sick. I’m still on 500 mg ER and it’s fine. Definitely see if you can get ER. At Target it only cost me $3.00 for a month’s supply, so it does come in generic.
Post # 11
Member
1390 posts
Bumble bee
Yep. That’s a big reason why I stopped taking it. My grandmother never adapted to it and she was on it for 20 years. She always had to be near a bathroom.
Post # 12
Member
2808 posts
Sugar bee
my Fiance has been on metformin for diabetes for over a year now. he still has stomach issues.
take it with food. every time. if you don’t, it’ll screw with your stomach even worse.
Post # 13
Member
120 posts
Blushing bee
@Mewithoutyou: yay congrats on your prenancy!!! we are trying to get prego.. no luck. did you have to take clomid? what did you do? did you have periods on your own? sorry not trying to jack this thread. just so curious! i cant have periods unless on the pill. was off of it 6 months and no period! which is soo bad! please in a nut shell tell me what you did!
Post # 14
Member
120 posts
Blushing bee
@saraja87: yeah it is awesome after the side affects are gone. that’s so strange u dont have pcos and your doctor mentioned hormones.. that is what pcos does…. messes with your hormones.. good luck!! feel better!!!
Post # 15
Member
1052 posts
Bumble bee
@MegGan9912 Yeah I have no idea what’s going on with my body. I have regular 28ish day periods, appear to be ovulating every month (BBT and OPKs), have low cholesterol, clear skin, light periods.
But my FSH is high, estrogen is low, LH was perfect, gained a bunch of unexpected weight quickly, bruise really easily, no pregnancies and I sweat easily, although it’s also about 100 degrees here so that one is harder to pin down.
I think she’s now suspecting some sort of cortisol disorder?
Post # 16
Member
480 posts
Helper bee
@saraja87: Hey! I’ve been on metformin for more then a year now for fertility reasons. I found, especially as I was adjusting to a higher dose, that eating ‘clean’ reduced almost all of my symptoms. As metformin modifies how your body absorbs glucose, anything really refined (white breads, pasta, potato, sugars, candy etc) really made my upset tummy and diarrhea 100x worse! If I stuck to whole grains, veggies and proteins I had no issue 🙂 I now take 2000mg per day and have no issues – and I have a regular period again, woohoo.
