Up until July my husband was able for 5 years to control blood sugar with diet and exercise. In July his blood sugar went way up for no known reason so doctor put him on metformin. He was taking 1 - 500 mg. in morning and 1 at dinner. All seemed ok. Then in October he had to take another one at dinner so his b.s. would be down in the morning.(now takes total of 1500 mg.per day- 3 pills) Since then he has had a terrible metalic taste. Is there anything he can do about this?
Your husband needs to report this side effect to his doctor. There are many medications available to help with bloodsugar control, and sometimes it takes awhile to find the right combination that works for you. Also as you have seen with your husband our diabetes changes over time and most diabetics gradually need more or different medications. The most important thing is to remember to work with the doctor to get good bloodsugar control to avoid longterm diabets complications. Best of luck to you and your husband.
I take metformin and I fpoun a 8oz glass of milk stops the metal aftertaste so I can go to sleep. Unfortunatly the taste comes back by morning Mr. Rick
This message was edited on Jan-31-07 at 10:59 AM (EST)
Beware of this medicine. I took it for about 2 years. The taste you are describing is one of the side affects. It is suppose to eventually go away . In Aug.06 I started having weird taste and spoke with pharmacist abut this. She asked immeidately if I was taking metformin. I was surprised when she told me my problem was a rare side effect. My sense of taste became a real problem that was causing me much distress. All of a sudden everything had an awful strange taste , everything I ate. I could not smell hardly anything. It went on from 8-05-06 until this month(Jan.07). I went to ear,nose specialist and had cat scan of my sinus.Nothing showed up. I had mri of my brain. I continued back to my primary doctor and the conditon that was driving me nuts. He did blood work and found my iron level was seriously low. I have had to take iron injections once a week for a month and every month, thereafter. He immediately took me off this drug admitting it might be the cause of my problems. He switched me to actos about a week ago. Since 1-29-06 I am having severe leg pain. I don't know which way to go. I went through every channel to find the manufacturer of metformin. I finally got the actual doctor that works for this company and discussed this with him. He did say that the metal taste would go away. He had not heard of the side effect I told him I was having. He asked if I would contact him after finding out my results so he could add them to possible side effects. I am sorry to have wrote a book, but after taking this drug make sure iron levels are checked.
Metformin can affect the liver. A change in taste can be a symptom of a lack of Vitamin B12 which some medications can cause by lessening something called intrinsic factor.
Your husband should take a B complex supplement or get his doctor to check his body is absorbing B12. My dad can't absorb it so he has to have B12 injections.
I am on Metformin 500mg, twice a day along with Glipizide 5mg twice a day. When I first started these medicines, I had this metallic taste, but it finally went away after the first month. It was really bothersome until it went away. I was in the hospital in March, and alot of bloodwork was done...everything was in normal limits besides my blood sugar, which was high.
