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THANK YOU Belle!!!!!
From: Linda (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 28 Mar 2000 02:20:54 -0600 (CST)
Thanks Belle, that was a great post. I just got my prescription filled
today and all the cautions the pharmacist gave me have me backing off a
bit. For one, I didn't get a comprehensive metabloic panel done and she
said not to take the Met if I am dehydrated say from the flu or
something because it clears out of the kidneys and it is a problem if
your creatinine is above 1.4. Now, I am an RN on a surgical floor and I
knew they held glucophage for surgical procedures and for 48 hours
after, but didn't really remember exactly why until the pharmacist
re-explanied it all to me (too much info in my head sometimes but I do
remember to hold it). In fact I had been surpirsed I had never heard
this mentioned here. Of course I think that just about all of our
patients on glucophage/Met are diabetic, so have even more concern for
kidney function. But I am going to ask for some more lab done first.
You know how it is knowing a little bit of info can be dangerous. I
have been thinking all day about this and didn't start the pills. Then
on the BB over at Inciid, someone asked about this with holding Met
before an HSG. Talk about answer to prayer! LOL! Defintely going to
wait now.
But your suggestions on starting out at a 500mg level dose is so
wonderful. This is what I am going to do. My doctor wants me to start
at 1000 mg a day for one week then up it to 1500 mg. He hasn't had very
many patients with the GI side affects in his practice. As I tend to be
a little bit on the irritable bowel side of things, I think it will be
likely that I will bes susceptible to these wonderful side affects and
want to limit them as much as possible. I had also not heard about
taking a mult vitamin yet either so thank you for that too. These
support boards are the best!!!! Whenever I have a question or doubt in
my mind, I always get the answer here.
At Mon, 27 Mar 2000, Belle wrote:
>
>What do you really need to know about taking Glucophage/metformin?
>
>I am glad you asked! (I am going to yell) GO SLOW! Start out very
>slowly. This drug has a side effect of GI problems. You may have
>nausea, diarrhea and general upset stomach. If your dr wants you to
>take 1500 mg, work up to it over at least three weeks. You should never
>start with more than 500 mg a day. You can even start with 1/2 pill or
>1/4 of a pill. If you start taking the met and find that you are having
>problems, decrease the dosage. It is not a contest to see how much you
>can take at a time, the goal is to take the correct amount for you. I
>would suggest that you take 1 pill (with your largest meal of the day)
>the first week, then the second week take 1 pill with your largest meal
>and one pill with the next largest meal, then the third week, take a
>pill with all three meals. If you are prescribed 4 pills a day then you
>would take two pills with your largest meal during your fourth week.
>When I started, I took one pill a day for about a week then I took 1 1/2
>pills for the next 3-4 days then 2 pills for a few days then 2 1/2, etc.
>Never start the next amount until you can handle the previous amount.
>Remember you can go lower if you neeed to.
>
>Before I started, I read a woman's suggestion to take a multivitamin
>with it because it really helped her nausea. I have done that from the
>beginning. I do not know if it actually works because I was too much of
>a chicken to try. You should take a multivitamin anyhow if you are low
>carbing.
>
>Always, always, always take met with food. Some women have better
>results if they take it before meals, others better after meals. You
>can experiment and do what works best for you.
>
>Some women have found that they get an upset stomach if they take met
>with a really high carb meal. You may want to keep an eye on this.
>
>After you reach your prescribed dosage, the side effects should go away.
>It just seems like they won't. :-)
>
>If you need to lose weight, a low carb diet seems to work best for us.
>Many women have found that just by using the diet, they regain their
>periods. I read the Zone, Heller's Carbohydrate Addicts and Adkin's
>diet plan. I go with the areas where they were all in agreement. I
>stay away from artificial sweetener. I drink mostly water (with lemon).
>You may find that one of these works well for you or you may decide to
>take the information and create your own plan. I have found that there
>are a couple of books I use more frequently than the others. They are
>"The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide" and "Calories and
>Carbohydrates". I found these books in the nutritional section of my
>local bookstore (Barnes & Noble). I have learned a great deal even
>though I have been supposedly trained in nutrition.
>
>It is great that you went in with the proper information and knew what
>the proper treatment was. As always I find that knowledge is the best
>defence.
>
>--
>Hope this helps,
>
>Belle
>
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