The diabetes medication Metformin 500 mg and the potential side effects are discussed.
Hi this is josh i’m a pharmacist with pharmacist tips.com here today to tell you just a little bit about the drug metformin and the side effects associated with this medication first off what what is metformin it’s a medication that reduces liver production of glucose it can also enhance glucose use by the muscles or glucose or blood sugar the muscles can utilize
That blood sugar a little bit better it also decreases the absorption of glucose in the colon it’s considered very low risk for a low blood sugar hypoglycemia just due to its action if we do see low blood sugar it’s usually because somebody is taking another medication that has a blood sugar effect with this one some of the common u.s. brand names are glucophage
Glucophage xr format and then it’s available in several combination products as well so what are the uses of metformin the typical uses treatment of type 2 diabetes that’s used to be called adult onset diabetes but there are also several off-label off-label simply means the medicine wasn’t studied for this but they found that it improves these conditions so many
Prescribers feel comfortable using it for that sometimes it’s used to treat medication induced weight loss or weight gain there are several medications that can cause weight gain sometimes some of the medications used to help with mood will cause some weight gain and they found that metformin can sometimes reduce that they’re finding it can prevent the onset of
Type 2 diabetes if you’re pre-diabetic starting on metformin may reduce the chance that you’ll develop full-blown type-2 diabetes gestational diabetes or diabetes in a pregnant woman polycystic ovary syndrome or pcos found improvement with metformin use there are also some interesting studies coming along maybe cancer prevention of course die vitas does put one
At risk a higher risk for cancer and things like that there are no a definitive answer here but it does seem like it may reduce the risk of certain types of cancers also a risk of heart attack and stroke and some studies looks like it has been decreased on those who are taking metformin and there are more there really a lot of interesting things are finding out
About long term metformin use so the dosage what is a standard dose of metformin first off it’s usually increased gradually due to the side effects of diarrhea and stomach upset typically started out at 500 milligrams a day then you’re do you know this is up to your doctor but they’ll often increase it by 500 milligrams every week or so the target dose for the
Most effect on diabetes is around 2,000 milligrams a day or that would be four of the 500 milligram tablets now you may need to start over this titration or the slowly increasing the dose after you’ve missed doses even for a few days some people just cannot tolerate the full dose and have to start over with this schedule of once a day for a week one twice a day
For a week and so on so some of the side effects we did touch on diarrhea nausea some weakness vomiting flatulence and some weight loss can occur on a whole we do see most people tolerate metformin really well especially if they start off slow on the dose and work their way up some people cannot tolerate the smell of metformin metformin has kind of an odor to the
Tablet sometimes the xr form of the tablet can reduce the odor it was thought the xr form could sometimes help with the stomach and for some people it does but the studies are mixed it the xr certainly does reduce the odor but may or may not help this stomach issues some of the serious side effects is lactic acidosis we’ll touch on more of that in a minute and liver
Toxicity as it works through the live helps reduces the glucose production or sugar production in the liver and then other side effects of course can occur so lactic acidosis it is a serious adverse reaction it can result in death symptoms are often difficult to identify sometimes it’s muscle pain difficulty breathing just extreme sleepiness and more some of the
Risk factors that put you at risk are impaired kidney function used of contrast in certain tests required you use contrast they’ll they will take you off the metformin and they will not restart you until your kidneys are functioning properly again certain acute heart failure simply your body is unable to clear it from the body properly reduce liver function and
Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to lactic acidosis now this is extremely rare but it is something we have to watch for your doctor will monitor for it if you’re ever not feeling right you’re taking that form in you should contact your doctor right away make sure you’re not experiencing a side effect from the medication some of the monitoring your doctor
Or your health care provider may do is a1 see that’s just going to give an idea of how your blood sugar is doing so they’ll probably check that every three to six months kidney function of course because we don’t want that lactic acidosis to occur now they can still use kidney metformin if you’re having some kidney issues at a lower dose that will be something
You and your doctor can chat about a cbc or a complete blood count they’re going to monitor that because occasionally we can see some anemia occur or some effect on the blood they may test for b12 and then they may have you a supplement b12 and folic acid again it kind of sometimes have that effect on the blood and especially if you’re on it long term we can see
Some b12 and folic acid deficiencies and your doctor of course may want to order more labs to monitor your therapy as well as your current health conditions some drug interactions medicines like beta blockers metoprolol propranolol they have a blood sugar lowering effect we often see them used together it doesn’t mean they can’t be used together just means that
They should be monitored cephalexin and antibiotic can also increase metformin level cimetidine it’s an over-the-counter product called tagamet can increase the metformin level increases risk of side effects again these things can often be managed it just because there’s an interaction doesn’t mean they cannot be used together your doctor and you just need to be
Aware of the side effects and they can often be managed quinolones those are antibiotics like cipro and leave a quin that could increase the blood sugar again you can probably still use them at forming your blood sugar will just be at higher levels for a while and there are many more again many of the drug interactions can be managed it is something you can speak
To your doctor and pharmacist about to make sure just so you’re aware and let your healthcare provider know right away if you seem to be having some major i do appreciate you watching this video feel free to ask questions in the comments i’d appreciate it if you’ve subscribed to my channel remember always talk to your health care provider if you think you’re having
Side effects you think you’re having problems with your medication you just don’t feel right the sooner we can identify those things the less likely it will have any permanent ramifications for you and i’ll have a summary of this at pharmacist tips comm slash metformin thank you for watching
Transcribed from video
Metformin 500 mg and Side Effects By Pharmacist Tips
