I just started taking Met yesterday and today I woke up w/ burning stomach and diarreah. I was wondering if there are any tricks to helping to diminish these unpleasant side-effects. I had a glass of hot tea and felt better. Do you just have to put something in your tummy? Now that I actually ate a brunch, a reasonable brunch, I feel like I will have diarreah again. Is this a predictable thing or just erratic?

When I try to post a thread in the diabetic's forum I get a message that I am not allowed. Why?

I can't take met for that reason. It kills my stomach. I did it to conceive and it worked like a charm, but I can't stay on it for long periods of time. Supposedly it gets better over time.... I also have fibro and IBS, so that might be my problem.

i think they dont like u postin about it in diabetic forum cause metformin is not realy meant to be for PCOS patients but thats just a guess as to why they do that

as far as i know there isnt anything u can do for the tummy trouble, i have been on it since feb last year and it only was a prob for the 1st two months after that it was fine, ocasionly though if i eat something high in carbs i can get the same thing come back but very rarely

the up side is u dont eat as much as u start losing some weight right away

took me about 2months to get ride of all side affects so best thing is just bear with it

i was 21st when i started metformin and just over a year later (with very little work from the gym) i am 18st

the runs will all be worth it later on

If you are talking about USENET Newsgroups, those are posts pulled off the USENET (which has nothing to do with this forum) and are for informational purpose only. They are delayed 48 hours from their original post times and can be offensive. To respond to those you need to be a member of USENET and do it there.

Everybody is a little different. When I was fist diagnosed with diabeties my Dr. put me on Metformin 500 mg twice a day and I had these symptoms for maybe a week or two at the most. When my body got acclimated to the drug the symptoms stopped. Eating LC, exercising and losing 70 lbs got me to a point where I no longer needed to take the Metformin because I could control my diabeties with diet and exercise alone.

Hi Inzonetera!

Kevin is correct. It appears that you were trying to post to the USENET diabetes forum. I've moved your thread to the diabetes forum here on this board for you.
To answer your question, there are two types of metformin; one that is time released and one that is not. The time release version of the drug has an XR after the name although I'm not sure if the generic comes as an extended release. The name brand is called Glucophage XR. In my experience the Metformin that is time released doesn't have as many side effects as the one that is not.
Another tactic that my doctor recommended is to take it during dinner, not first thing in the morning.
Other than that, you can only wait it out; for some the side effects last longer than others but after 2-4 weeks, I'd suggest talking to your doctor if it doesn't improve.

I had serious problems with Metformin, i.e., cramping, nausea, diarreah, low energy. It was so bad that I stopped taking it. My doctor said try a 1/2 dose, but I had the same problem. A friend suggested that I try taking it at night so you ride out the worst of the symptoms while you are asleep. I started taking it after dinner and it worked like a charm. Give it a shot.

If it doesn't though, talk to your dr. I had serious stomach problems at night- so much that I ended up in the ER on several occasions. No more Met for me- ever! It wasn't worth the pain!

I could not take it either, but it had opposite effect on meL constipation, that nothign coul resolve, and I ended up in ER too. I also had unbearable muscle pain, nausea, and hurtburn, tried it three times, and had to quit because of the side effects. Whiel taking, did not see much improvement in FBG, but had low 50s in the afternoon.

The xr form does now come in a generic. The xr may be very helpful in coping with the gastric problems from regular metform.

I had gastric problems at first but they resolved. I take it twice a day after meals. It does help a great deal. My goal is to not need it anymore.

Do try the timed release!
I had those problems on regular metformin, too, although not as bad as you describe.
I switched to the Glucophage XR, and it was much better, no more problem.
Then the generic metformin came out in an XR version, and I switched to that to save money, and that's still working good for me.
Now I'm on a very high dose, (2250) and have occasional queasy tummy, but nothing I can't live with. I hope with continued low carb and weight loss, I'll be able to decrease the dosages soon.

The generic Metformin ER is called Fortamet. I am giving it a try....so far no gastric events. Keeping my fingers crossed!