Mary Frances..........
Find a Conversation
Mary Frances..........
| Thu, 09-20-2007 - 7:27pm |
Is there ever anytime that a pt is told to take both of the Glucophage (or Metformin) tablets at one time? I post on another board and one of the ladies asked about her DB eating potatoes. I think that he lives with her and her DH; she cooks for the entire family, and she is concerned about the amounts of potatoes that she prepares. She also mentioned that her DB is on Glucophage and that his bs is often very low (78). She said that he took his pills at breakfast. This seems wrong to me; aren't we supposed to spread them out during the day? Could it be a mistake in writing the Rx or maybe reading it? "Twice daily" as opposed to "Two daily"? I don't want to write anything that might be wrong to her, but I am concerned about her DB.
2sweet02

This was asked of Mary but if you dont mind I have put my thoughts here as well.
It's not unusual for a doctor to ask a patient to take more than 1
Hi 2sweet02,
Glucophage doesn't cause hypoglycemia but it does tell the liver to stop converting fat (glycogen) into glucose so it makes the body more responsive to the insulin that we produce. This process is called gluconeogenesis. The plasma half life of Glucophage is 6 hours and only about 50% of the drug is absorbed. No where could I find a recommendation as to when to take the drug other than to take it with food in the stomach. The books talked about taking it after dinner but didn't say that was necessary.
I take mine twice per day as that was the way I was instructed to take it from my endo. It would seem that this is a more logical way to take the drug or to take it after dinner if the goal is to prevent the liver from making too much glucose in the middle of the night.
I think the real problem is that the DB of your poster isn't counting his carbs and probably isn't checking his BS often enough. There isn't any reason that he can't have potatoes IF they don't send his blood sugar out of control. I have to be really careful with potatoes but I need to have at least 30 grams of carbs for dinner and if I eat potatoes I measure them so that I don't have more than 15 grams. Of course sweet potatoes are better than white potatoes.
One other thought--- any blood sugars of 80 or less in a diabetic need to be reported to their physician. He may need an adjustment of his medications. If he has
Thanks for your input.
2sweet02
I knew that Glucophage or Metformin do not lead to hypoglycemia, but I was wondering if his taking the two pills at once would make his bg drop more than it would if he took
2sweet02
2sweet02,
You brought up an interest point. I have seen many low income folks who couldn't afford to eat what they needed to control their diabetes. Carbs are a lot less expensive and many times their growing and production is supported by the government through the farm bill. The growth and production of fruits, nuts and veggies are not supported by the farm bill and these farmers are frequently struggling. There has been a debate for the past several years of allowing people to use their food stamp money to buy produce at Farmer's markets. In most cases this isn't allowed. It is only in a few states that WIC vouchers can be spent for some veggies.
Sometimes one side of the government doesn't know what the other sides are advocating.
By the way, I still think it is logical to take the metformin twice per day, after breakfast and dinner based upon the half life of the drug. This way you would always have some of the drug working in your system. Just my HO!!
I know here in WI they can use WIC vouchers. They can also use something else. Not sure if its food stamps(and we are out of compliance with the feds on it) or if its maybe just a WI program. I saw it mentioned in the latest Senior citizens newsletter. They were reminding people to be sure and use the vouchers because what the program gets next year is dependent on what is USED this year, not what is given out.
Auntydoxzz
I can tell by the tone of the woman's posts that she feels partially responsible for her DB's health.
2sweet02
2sweet02,
I am absolutely sure that you are doing a wonderful job helping people on your boards. I have seen the messages you post here and so I know your thoughtfulness.
I was on the board of directors of the local food bank for six years. I was the only one on the board who was responsible for giving food out and trying to make what we had fit what the client needed. It is amazing how many people who come to my agency and need food are diabetic. I usually try to sequester foods that would be appropriate for them for these occasions. There was a nutritionist also on the board and the two of us were instrumental in getting the food bank to supply more fresh fruits and veggies to out partner agencies. There is much produce grown in California in the very fertile San Joaquin valley but if the fruits or veggies are too large or too small there is no market for them so this wonderful food is discarded. Through a network of California food banks arrangements have been made to purchase this food by the bin full and then to distribute it
Nancy,
We have several food programs where we could get more food if we could get people to come in and get it. One we have is Brown Bag which is a program for low income seniors and another is USDA food which is available to all low income families. We try to get people who come in for emergency to come in for these other programs because they