I've had my prescription of Metformin filled and sitting on my bathroom counter since April. I think I'm ready to start taking it, but I need some advice, first. Should I take it at night? With food? Doesn't matter? I know a lot of people get sick on it, so I'm hoping to try to avoid that as much as possible. How long does it take to start feeling the effects?
I'm on CD 61 of my 3rd cycle of the year. PCOS is annoying.
18 comments:
I've been on it nine months or so now. I love it. I feel so much better, overall: more energy, less thirsty (and less peeing!), much easier to lose weight with just minimal exercise.
I don't find that I get sick from it, although if I eat really rich food for some special occasion I have a fairly pressing need to use the restroom about an hour later. At first that was a bit worse (meaning I felt that way after most meals the first day or two), but it eased up quickly.
You can also ease up to your full dose, and that can help.
Depends .. how much are you taking? I am on 1000 mg 2 times a day... I tried the extended release and it about did me in.
I do 1 at night and 1 in the morning.. I eased into it as I was such a sugar fiend.
Theyhad me do 1 a day for a week, then add the second dose.
If I eat sweets and then take meds, i feel like dying.. gah.. I did drop weight as well. My Dr actually had me do SB diet when I started to help ease the pain : )
My SIL is on it as well and has no side effeccts, nor has she had weight loss so .... sorry can't help more
: )
I took it for 3 months and wanted to die. The doc told me to take it with my dinner and I would feel better but it kept me in the bathroom for hours.
You really have to watch what you eat when you take it and the first few weeks mght be hell.
I didn't get my periods regularly either. I started getting them after. Stopped taking it.
It does act differently in everyone so I wish you luck!
Here from LFCA
I have been on met for more than five years. It was the reason I was able to lose 60 pounds, and was ultimately the reason I was able to get--and stay--pregnant.
Why the pep talk? Because you'll need it to get through the early side-effects (unless you're so lucky to skip side-effects all together!). For me, it was hard to get to full dose without massive GI complaints. Even once I was used to it, it was hard to digest stuff that was very fatty, sugary, or had caffeine.
Some tricks that worked well:
1) Coconut (especially in macaroon cookies) can help slow or stop The Big D.
2) Graham crackers have a similar effect and are a great substitute for more sugary cookies.
3) Whole grains (especially brown rice) became my best friends.
4) Taking your pills with a small snack can solve stomach upset.
5) If it gives you heartburn, talk to your doctor about a prescription acid reducer. Those things are miraculous.
Good luck as you get started, and feel free to email with any questions. You'll do great, plus the older staff at the pharmacy might give you a knowing look and some sugar-free candy. (At least at my pharmacy, every lady over a certain age was taking it too, but for pre-diabetes or type II.)
I started with 500 mg once a day (at night just because it is easier for me to remember) and after 2 weeks went to 1000 mg and then after 2 weeks went to 1500 mg. No tummy problems.
Good luck!
Oops, one more thing. I asked for a referral to a dietician. He put me on the gestational diabetes diet, just until I could figure out how to do small snacks with a good balance of whole grains and protein. It helped a lot!
When I was taking it, I did it in the morning... I was on 500mg BID but it gave me such horrible gas and heartburn, and stomach pains around the clock that I had to stop taking it. I really didn't see a difference in it with my body; not sure. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention.
My symptoms were somewhat like Nikke's... I didn't lose weight either, nor did it make me anymore regular cycle wise. I found just working out vigorously, an hour a day and watching what you eat, it slowly kicks your body into gear and now that I've lost 40 pounds, my cycle is nearly every month, about every 32 days, which is a hell of alot better than a couple times a year that I'm used to. If i start eating junk again though, or have a crappy few weeks, it throws it off schedule and my cycle gets delayed. It's mainly what I eat, how healthy it is, and what I'm doing for my body.
Split the dose in quarters or halves, and increase it over a week or two. I started taking it at night, and then would take the other half in the morning. However, I've been told if you are on the ER version, you can take all 2000mg at night...and I started doing that--easing up to it again, and that was better with the symptoms.
Taking it in the morning, I felt like I didn't want to eat anything healthy all day long--everything was just so unappetizing. So I'd make poor eating choices because I felt lousy. Taking it all at once at night was better, even for 2000mg...as long as its ER>
Start slow-- 500mg a day for a week. Then add another 500 each day for a week until you reach your full dose. I know it's annoying, but that tends to cut down on the side effects.
My full dose these days is 2500, and I take it 1000 morning and evening (with food) and 500 at lunch.
Good luck!
Oi! 61 days, that's a crap cycle. I used to have cycles like that, before starting the Metfomin.
I take 2,000mg per day, but I started slow. I took 500mg for the first 3-4 days, then 1,000mg for the next 3-4 days and so on until I was up to the full 2,000mg.
Also, I take it before bed with milk. Some people take it at dinner time with no ill effects, but personally I get quite gassy and have loose bowels if I take it with food.
I do get ill (tummy pains/loose bowels) if I eat overly sugary foods, or drink a lot of juice. This has lessened as my body has become more accustomed to it, though.
Good luck! I hope it helps!
I agree with others - start slow and build it. Although I had some difficulties with it, as long as I am sensible with my food it's okay. Too much cakes, or refined starch, or sweet things is bad... wholegrains are good. I take mine with breakfast and dinner.
Here from LFCA.
I've been on mine off and on for a couple of years - 1500 mg for severe PCOS. Even though you'll likely be sick at first when you start taking it, I would STRONGLY recommend powering through it. It helps many women ovulate - it didn't help me, but I stayed on it because it's such a help in preventing miscarriage. There are many studies that it lowers the rates of miscarriage, that it helps prevent gestational diabetes, etc.
I take all 1500 mg of mine at night in one swoop. I always take a bite or two of food, then the pills, then eat the rest of my dinner. I find that filling up my stomach afterwards helps - it took me a week or two of getting sick to get there.
I hope that it works well for you! Good luck!
How much are you taking. For me I take it in divided doses. 500mg in the morning and 1000mg with dinner. It is better to take at night because of the affects. Just remember to watch your carbs...Metformin can be very EVIL!
I've been on met for at least 2 years last month they upped my dose to 1750. I'm going through all the beginning side effects again, but I know it's all worth it. Good luck!
Here are my two tips....make sure you add some extra fiber to your diet and ALWAYS have a snack with you just in case. I've had a few moments where I need food NOW or 5 minutes ago, so be prepared just in case.
Good luck. I hope it works for you and regulates things a bit.
It depends on your dosage. The first time I took metformin, the doc started me off on one pill a day, working up weekly to a total of three a day.
I threw up- a LOT. What I had to do was start with 1/2 a pill, and then slooooowwwwly work up to the three pills a day. I started with the pill in the middle of the day. It seemed to make it a little easier to stomach.
Good luck! Metformin, when you're not throwing up, is GREAT!
With food, at night. I had to take a break because it was too much with the flu too. The worst side effect for me was losing my taste for coffee.
However, it passes.
Post a Comment