AboutCatherine Burns. RN. BS. Expertise I will endevour to answer questions re daily "Self Management of Diabetes Care" for people who are currently under the care of a physician.
My focus would be Diabetes health care education and not diagnosis.
Experience I have 15 years experience as a Diabetes Nurse Educator.
Education/Credentials I am an RN for many years.
I have a BS in Healthcare Management.
I was a Certified Diabetes Educator for many years.
Question My boyfriend and I both have type 2 diabetes, and we both take metformin. I don't know if our ages will be relevant, but I am 45 and he is 65. This past Tuesday, he told me that he hadn't taken his metformin for two or three days, as his prescription had run out and either the doc or the pharmacy was not being efficient in getting him a new one. I was going to bring him a couple of pills last night, as his pills are 1,000 mg and mine are 500, just so he would be able to get some into his system, but he told me that day that the pills had arrived. He also said that he took one of the pills, and a couple hours later he took another. When I went to dinner with him that evening, we had Italian food. Not long after we ate, he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and said that he kind of felt as if he were stoned. I haven't spoken to him yet today, but this feeling seemed to last for at least a few hours. I said it was too bad that I didn't have my meter and stuff with me, because then we could check his sugar. He said it wouldn't matter anyway because since both had recently ate, we would both have high sugar. He thought that his feeling was due to high blood pressure (he is on a few meds for that). There are extenuating circumstances: He worked the night before and didn't get home until 4 a.m., and then he only had about 4 hours of sleep. Even so, I can't help but wonder if the cause of his dizziness and lightheadedness was that he doubled up on the meds and then later on ate a heavy-carb meal. Any insight you could offer would be appreciated.
Answer Dear Teri,
It is recommended for safety that all medications be taken as prescribed by the physician.
When a dose or doses of medication are not taken it is recommended to restart as prescribed. All medications can have side effects so taking a double dose of a medication may increase the risk of experiencing the side effects.
You should have been notified that some people have developed a life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis while taking metformin. That is important information regarding metformin for all. Get emergency medical help if you have any of these symptoms of lactic acidosis: weakness, increasing sleepiness, slow heart rate, cold feeling, muscle pain, shortness of breath, stomach pain, feeling light-headed, and fainting.
I am not at liberty to make any diagnosis, but the personal physician who has the medical history is the best resource for this.I recommend a visit with the physician. Medication adjustments if needed will be addressed by the physician.
In the meantime it is always a good practice to order medication refills a week before they run out, and never double dose, ever.
Good health to you both,
