It's best to take metformin tablets with, or just after, your evening meal to reduce the chance of getting side effects. Swallow your metformin tablets whole with a drink of water. Do not chew them. If you're taking metformin sachets, pour the powder into a glass and add water (about 150ml).
The administration of metformin, as glucophage retard, at bedtime instead of supper time may improve diabetes control by reducing morning hyperglycemia.
What time should I take metformin? If you're taking metformin once a day, it's recommended to take it in the morning. If you're taking it twice a day, you'll take it in the morning and evening. If you're prescribed metformin IR, you'll usually take it one to two times a day depending on your dose.
Be sure to take it with meals to reduce the stomach and bowel side effects that can occur – most people take metformin with breakfast and dinner. Extended-release metformin is taken once a day and should be taken at night, with dinner. This can help to treat high glucose levels overnight.
Metformin can be taken with or without food. However, if you're prone to its side effects, such as nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, or vomiting, it is best to take metformin with or after a meal. This will make it less likely that you'll experience side effects and it will make metformin easier to digest.
Metformin is a common prescription drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. It can help lower blood sugar and HbA1c levels and is used to help manage weight. It's best to avoid saturated fats, excess alcohol consumption, too much sodium, refined carbohydrates, and processed and added sugars while taking it.
If you take metformin without food you may end up with an upset stomach, especially if you are just starting treatment.
A study on a few diabetic patients showed that the administration of metformin, as glucophage retard, at bedtime instead of supper time may improve diabetes control by reducing morning hyperglycemia.
Taking metformin can cause vitamin B12 deficiency if you take it for a long time. This can make you feel very tired, breathless and faint, so your doctor may check the vitamin B12 level in your blood. If your vitamin B12 levels become too low, vitamin B12 supplements will help.
Under certain conditions, too much metformin can cause lactic acidosis. The symptoms of lactic acidosis are severe and quick to appear, and usually occur when other health problems not related to the medicine are present and are very severe, such as a heart attack or kidney failure.
For adults, the starting metformin dosage for Type 2 diabetes is 500 mg once or twice daily, depending on the product you're taking. The maximum dosage can also vary slightly by product.
Metformin reaches the highest concentration in the blood (peak concentration) 1-3 hours after taking the pill. The half-life of metformin is 2-6 hours. Half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the concentration of a drug to be reduced by 50%. However, the half-life may take up to 14 hours.
Metformin has been referred to as a miracle drug because of some early findings in animal studies and small human studies showing that it may have some other benefits, including: Preventing cancer. Slowing down the aging process. Protecting the heart.
Metformin should be taken with meals to help reduce stomach or bowel side effects that may occur during the first few weeks of treatment. Swallow the tablet or extended-release tablet whole with a full glass of water.
Metformin alone: At first, 500 milligrams (mg) two times a day taken with the morning and evening meals, or 850 mg a day taken with the morning meal. Your doctor may increase your dose if needed until your blood sugar is controlled.
Metformin may have an adverse effect on renal function in patients with type 2 DM and moderate CKD.
Metformin can lead to modest weight loss. It can help people with diabetes lose an average of 4 lbs to 6 lbs, but results vary.
Metformin helps in reducing depression and anxiety by increasing serotonin, the happiness hormone. Even more astounding, data suggests that women who take metformin may have a staggering 3.3 times lower risk of developing major depression.
Bodybuilders have long been fans of the drug because it makes muscle cells more sensitive to insulin so that more nutrients can be shuttled towards muscle cells. While it's doing its magic on muscle cells, metformin simultaneously de-sensitizes fat cells to insulin's effect so fat cells can't store nutrients as easily.
“If someone isn't following healthy habits, then taking metformin will not result in weight loss,” she says. “It's important to follow a healthy diet low in refined sugars and carbohydrates if [you are] prone to high insulin levels so that maximum benefit from the medication is received.”
Also, exercise regularly and test for sugar in your blood or urine as directed. This medicine is usually taken within 15 minutes before a meal but may be taken up to 30 minutes before a meal. If you skip a meal, you should skip your dose for that meal.