
Diabetes Medication Metformin: Why Patients Stop Taking It
Gretchen Becker, author of The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed , has been taking metformin for more than 20 years after receiving a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 1996.
I never had any problems with metformin until I took a pill that I thought was the extended-release version, but it wasnt, Becker told Healthline.
Beckers doctor had accidentally prescribed the regular form of metformin.
I had very loose bowels for several months until I figured out what the problem was, Becker said.
After getting the proper prescription, it took several months for Beckers digestive system to recover.
Corinna Cornejo, who received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2009, told Healthline that her digestive woes didnt start until shed been taking metformin for more than a year.
At first, I thought it was a response to dairy, but my doctor eventually switched my prescription to the extended-release version, Cornejo recalled. That has helped, but the side effect has not gone away completely.
For some people, however, metformins unpleasant side effect of loose stools provides a much-needed balance to the side effects that can result from other diabetes drugs theyre taking.
GLP-1 drugs, like Victoza or Byetta, can cause constipation, explained Robinson. Taking metformin with a GLP-1 drug means they actually complement each other, balancing out those side effects.
And for some, metformin simply isnt the right drug.
No matter what you do, some patients just dont tolerate the side effects well, said Robinson.
Although there are many diabetes drugs
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