Glucophage?
Help me out here. What does this drug do? How
quickly can I expect an impact (on average)? What’s up
with this?<br
diagnosed as having hypoglycemia. As we all know, that is
considered a form of diabetes now, but then it was
considered a borderline condition and merely an indicator
for adult onset diabetes. Thirty plus years later, I
was diagnosed with diabetes and for the past six
years have maintained with diet and exercise only.
<br
bad cold. The infection raised my blood sugar. My
elevated blood sugar made me susceptible to another
infection for which I had to take anti-biotics which raised
my blood sugar, which made me susceptible to an
infection which raised my blood sugar…etc., etc., etc. If
I were a computer, we would be talking cascade
failure.<br
day in the morning fasting. He’s performed all the
preliminary tests on liver and kidney function for benchmark.
I would just like to know what I can expect from
someone who may have some experience with this stuff.
November 17th, 2003 at 11:26 pm
I wish I had my information sheet from the
pharmacy with me. I have found glucophage to be really
effective. I take it along with gliburide. They have a new
long acting form of glucophage, but I don’t take that
one. I take two tablets a day with meals. I adapted to
the medication really well, no major problems; but
you can get some stomach upset. If you tough it
out,however, it should get better and the positive results of
the medication are worth it. Most instructions say to
take it with food to lessen any side effects, so make
sure you understand how your doctor wants you to take
it. The pharmacist will probably give you a fact
sheet and if you look, you might can find more
information on the web. I believe that glucophage is a
metaformin. -Dona
November 19th, 2003 at 1:02 am
Hey, thanks. You can imagine that if I’ve not had
to take meds before, this is a big psychological
step for me. There’s a sort of guilt in having let it
develop this cycle to start with–if I had only exercised
more, not been content with reaching my goal weight,
been more careful about my diet, or seen the doctor
promptly when I had that cold in November, then maybe…
And you say that, and everyone else with diabetes
immediately goes on the defensive.<br
takes seventeen meds per day including glucophage four
times. He called to tell me that after I had posted
here, but he couldn’t tell me what glucophage does for
him because it is just one in a battery of drugs,
now, which he began taking after taking lots of
others. He was angry with me for asking, for questioning
the need for a drug or this drug. I think he felt I
was accusing him of some failure and the conversation
ended with him insulting me, or at least what felt like
an insult: “you’ve been fat all your life, this is
the consequence.”<br
looking in a mirror when he says things like that. The
fact is that neither one of us have ever been morbidly
obese. And, I wish there was a way around the guilt that
is always associated with adult onset diabetes. I
console myself that if I was a diagnosed borderline at
age twelve, I was actually a juvenile diabetic
waiting to happen and the fact that every adult in my
family–parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles–already had
diabetes at that time is a pretty good indicator of what I
could expect, what my brother could expect. But, the
fingerpointing doesn’t get much better. You are bombarded with
it in the statistical studies on the news, on the
Internet. The guilt is not helpful.<br
address that point, the psychology that goes with the
disease. They don’t understand that there is a sort of
grieving that needs to take place: denial, anger,
acceptance. My way of coping has always been to try to find
out everything I can.<br
here–and I do consider it a matter of luck–I will only
need to take this drug until we can reestablish
control. I hope no one here considers that an insult
because to me it is really a matter of the luck of the
genetic draw (you don’t get to pick your biological
parents).
November 20th, 2003 at 2:37 am
Hiya Angle,<br
go on Glucophage, it need not be permanent! As I’ve
been loosing weight, I’ve been decreasing my dosage. I
started out at 3 pills a day, 500 mg each. I am now down
to two pills a day. I hope to eventually do without
them completely, and just control it with diet and
exercise. But if this is not possible, I will be well
pleased with just getting down to one pill a
day.<br
you monitor yourself better and loose some weight
maybe you can eventually go off it. We gotta keep our
expectations up.<br
I’m kinda a yutz when it comes to these things, but
from what I recall from my Diabetes Education Classes,
there are different kinds of Diabetes drugs that work
in different ways. Some Diabetes drugs stimulate the
pancreas to create more insulin. But, from what I recall,
Glucophage doesn’t mess with the systems as much, it just
helps your body dispose with the excess glucose in the
system. From what I remember, glucophage seemed the most
benign of the Diabetes drugs.<br
few weeks it can give you a gimpy tummy, but your
body eventually acclamates to it. No real pain, just a
little abdominal discomfort.<br
development in a positive light, rather than a negative one.
Just use having to take the meds now as an incentive
to do a little better and possibly get
off.<br
personal failure. Sometimes even people who do everything
they should still need medicines. Everybody’s body is
different, and reacts differently. Let’s just be glad we
have the medications we have today. Not that there is
ever a “good” time to have Diabetes, but we are very
lucly compared to those who had it 30 years
ago.<br
December 8th, 2003 at 5:56 am
Hello, Devlin. I have a bit more to add about
glucophage having just finished my diabetes classes, plus
the doctors in my family have helped me understand
this medication a bit more. Glucophage actually works
as a “door” to enable cells to take in insulin
(necessary to use glucose for nutrition. In diabetes Type 2
most of us produce plenty of insulin, but our cells
are inhibited from taking it in (using it).<br
still on 2000 mgs. of glucophage a day but my bs are in
the normal range and I hope to reduce my dosage just
as you have. I have lost weight, but really didn’t
have that much to lose. My diabetes appears to be
inherited, as my father developed it just at my age.<br
this helped a bit? I hope so.<br
day.<br