Metformin is a drug that was classified under the class of biguanides, that inhibits the liver from producing glucose. Metformin does not increase the levels of insulin in your body, but instead it will help the body to produce and absorb less amount of sugar. As it helps in lowering the production of glucose in the liver, metformin is also effective in lowering the blood sugar levels by increasing the sensitivity of your body towards insulin. Besides that, it will also reduce the amount of glucose that our body will absorb from the foods that we eat daily. People with type 2 diabetes commonly are treated with metformin to manage their blood sugar levels. In order to get a better result, metformin is always combined with a healthy diet and regular physical activity to bring down your blood sugar levels gradually. The drugs were assumed as a cheap, safe and effective medication that was used worldwide, and can be accessed in most countries.
But, you need to remember that all drugs have their side effects as well as metformin. Metformin has a common side effect that about 25% of people will have stomach problems after consuming it. The problems can be a bloating stomach, full of gas in the stomach, frequent diarrhea, belly pain, constipation and loss of appetite. To reduce the side effects, taking the drugs with food will help. But the side effects may return if you increase your drug dose. Although doctors try to avoid prescribing metformin to the patients with kidney problems, it is safe to be consumed by patients with mild or moderate kidney disease. Research has been done to study the relationship between the long term of metformin usage with higher chances to get Alzheimer disease and Parkinson’s disease. But more research is required to study the relationship better and what it actually means. In one study, about 5% of people reported heartburn, headaches, upper respiratory infection, and a terrible taste in their mouth after consuming the extended-release metformin. For the people with a regular formula of metformin, approximately up to 12% of people will get the side effects. Apart from that, they may also come with complaints of flu-like symptoms, frequent sweating, flushing, palpitation of the heart, skin rashes and some problems with the nail.
Although metformin is widely used for medication, we must be careful as metformin can give us serious side effects. One of the serious side effects is metformin can lead to lactic acidosis, a threatening condition where there is an accumulation of lactic acid, a chemical that was produced by your muscles and red blood cells naturally. If it happens while you are consuming the drugs, then it will be called metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA). Besides that, metformin also may cause deficiency in vitamin B12. A lack of vitamin B12 can occur in anyone, but there is a higher risk to get it for people who consume metformin. As a result, it will cause peripheral neuropathy and for the patient who already has a risk with diabetes, they may experience numbness or tingling in the feet and legs, as well anemia that results from low levels of red blood cells. Finally, metformin can cause you a serious side effect that is hypoglycemia. Consuming metformin while fasting or doing any heavy physical activity may cause your blood levels to fall down too low. It is advisable for you to refer to the doctor first to know about how likely you are to have low blood sugar levels before consuming any combination pill or metformin with some other diabetes medications or insulin. However, you may have a low probability of getting low blood sugar levels if you are taking metformin by itself.
