Indications for use of Metformin: instructions and reviews

"Metformin" is a vital tool for people with diabetes."Metformin Richter", the indications for which are suitable for most patients with diabetes, helps to reduce blood sugar, ensures the maintenance of carbohydrate metabolism at the proper level, thereby improving the quality of life, as evidenced by numerous positive reviews of patients.

Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics

"Metformin" inhibits the process of gluconeogenesis in the liver and becomes an obstacle to getting glucose from this intestine into this organ. This increases the peripheral splitting of glucose and increases the susceptibility of liver tissue to insulin. These processes are not accompanied by hypoglycemic reactions, the agent does not affect the natural production of beta-cells of the pancreas of insulin, unlike some analogues of the drug "Metformin".

Indications for use for weight loss have emerged due to the ability of the drug to stabilize or even significantly reduce the patient's body weight.

After the adoption of Metformin, active substances start to flow from the gastrointestinal tract, and the effective effect of the drug begins after 2-2.5 hours. A feature of the drug is its almost complete incoherence with the blood plasma protein.

"Metformin" is able to accumulate in the kidney and liver, salivary glands, muscle tissues. It is excreted almost completely by the kidneys after 9-12 hours after administration. If the kidney function in the patient is broken, the agent can accumulate in the body for a long time.

Indications and contraindications

Indications for use of "Metformin" are:

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus, which passes without a tendency to ketoacidosis, which is very important for diabetics with excessive weight.
• In combination with insulin for type 2 diabetes, obesity-aggravated, followed by secondary insulin resistance.

Despite the high effectiveness of the drug, there are contraindications to the use of Metformin:

• Ketoacidosis in diabetes, pre-coma or coma.
• Abnormal functioning of the kidneys.
• Acute diseases leading to renal dysfunction - infections, dehydration with severe diarrhea or vomiting, high fever, respiratory system diseases, hypoxia.
• Acute and chronic diseases leading to the onset of tissue hypoxia - insufficiency of the heart or respiratory, acute myocardial infarction.
• Postponed surgical procedures followed by insulin therapy.
• Liver dysfunction.
• Acute ethanol poisoning, chronic alcoholism.
• Pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding.
• Individual intolerance.

Dosage of the drug

The dosage of Metformin is determined by the glucose content in the blood and is prescribed by the doctor personally for each patient. Usually the starting dosage ranges from 0.5 to 1 g / day.(1-2 tablets), and then, based on the level of glucose, after 10-15 days of administration, a stepwise increase in dosage is possible.

The maintenance dose of Metformin is 1.5-2.0 g / day.(3-4 tablets), and the maximum dosage is 3.0 g / day.or 6 tablets. For patients at a solid age, the highest dose is not more than 1.0 g / day.(2 tablets).

Indications for the use of "Metformin" and patients' reviews suggest that the drug should be taken during meals or immediately after it, washing down with ordinary water. The daily dose is recommended to be divided into 2-3 doses during the day.

Overdose Actions

An overdose can lead to the development of lactic acidosis, which is fatal.

Lactacidosis is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Dizziness accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• A sharp drop in body temperature.
• Increased respiration rate.
• Acute pain in muscles, abdomen.
• Loss of consciousness and coma.

If any signs of lactic acidosis appear, stop taking Metformin immediately, take measures to hospitalize the patient.

The most effective therapeutic measure for lactic acidosis is hemodialysis, and the treatment of individual symptoms is also effective.

Interaction with other drugs

The drug "Metformin", the indications for the use of which exclude the simultaneous reception of the drug with other medicines, can not be used together with dinazolum due to the hyperglycemic effect of the latter. If you need to undergo a course of treatment with dinazol, you need to adjust the dose of Metformin, which the doctor must perform.

Metformin should be completely stopped or adjusted in combination with the following medicines:

• Chlorpromazine.
• Neuroleptic means.
• Oral contraceptives, thyroid hormones, thiazide and loop diuretics.
• "Epinephrine".
• "Cimetidine".

Also, when indications for the use of Metformin should completely abandon the intake of alcohol, otherwise, judging by the opinions of patients, the therapeutic effect is significantly reduced.

"Metformin": reviews when used for weight loss

The only therapeutic effect is not limited to the area of ​​use of the drug "Metformin".Indications for use, testimonials also testify to such abilities as:

• Reducing the sugar content in the blood.
• Reduces the natural production of insulin, leading to a decrease in appetite.
• Blocking the formation of carbohydrate fuel in the liver.
• Decrease in the level of assimilation of carbohydrates entering the body with food.

To use Metformin for weight loss, it should be understood that its main function is to create conditions in which fat deposits, rather than muscle tissue, are consumed. Therefore, for an effective and harmless for the body weight reduction, according to a lot of reviews about the drug of both patients and doctors, it is necessary to create favorable conditions:

• Refuse the sweet and floury, as well as from instant food( noodles, porridges, mashed potatoes).
• Reduce calories.
• Actively and regularly engage in sports.

When using "Metformin" for weight loss, the dosage should be 500 mg / day, and the reception should be provided before lunch and dinner. Reviews of the patient's drug indicate that it is effective enough to lose weight, but the use of Metformin for this purpose is unacceptable without consulting a therapist and a nutritionist.

Side effects of

Despite the wide indications for use, "Metformin" can cause and the manifestation of some unpleasant symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract, which are a consequence of the side effect of the drug:

• Vomiting and nausea.
• Weak or no appetite.
• Flatulence, diarrhea, abdominal pain.

Quite often such symptoms appear at the very beginning of treatment and, according to patients, disappear on their own.

Side effects from other systems are much more serious:

• Hypovitaminosis B12 and lactic acidosis.
• Megaloblastic anemia.
• Hypoglycemia.
• Skin rashes as an allergic reaction.

Special instructions for use and patient feedback

Like any other drug that has its own contraindications and indications for use, "Metformin" requires careful attention to dosage and timing of admission.

In particular, during the reception it is necessary to constantly monitor the kidney function, for which at least twice a year, and also with the manifestation of myalgia, it is necessary to determine the lactate content in the plasma. In addition, every half a year should monitor the serum creatinine, especially in age patients.

When taking Metformin in combination with sulfonylureas, it is important to constantly monitor blood glucose levels.

If you have genitourinary or bronchopulmonary diseases, you should immediately inform your doctor.

Taking the drug does not affect the ability to drive a car and does not interfere with the work with the mechanisms.

The combination of Metformin with other hypoglycemic drugs can lead to the development of hypoglycemic conditions characterized by memory disorders, in which it is forbidden to drive and engage in other activities that are potentially dangerous and require increased attention and reaction.

During the treatment period, it is strictly forbidden to take alcohol and drugs containing ethanol.

According to reviews about the drug "Metformin", despite the frightening many side effects, they are observed very rarely or to a weak degree. And, what is especially noted by lovers of sweet, during the taking of the medicine it is quite possible to afford a piece of cake or a candy, albeit infrequently.

Also in the reviews of diabetic pamphlets, there is an increased likelihood of becoming pregnant during the Metformin administration, which helps not only to get rid of the disease, but also to find family happiness.