metformin

If you're taking one pill a day, like the 500 mg., it might not be effective all day for you. It's usually prescribed to be taken with food, so it would be before you eat. Let's say you take it before you eat breakfast. Personally that once a day dosage didn't last all day for me, so my doctor prescribed it twice a day, and I now take one 500 mg. before breakfast and one before dinner.

There are other strengths to metformin besides the 500, and there's the ER kind (extended release). So, there may be a way to change the dosage and frequency for you that would help.

Fasting is reflective of what you ate the evening before especially. It also may depend on what time you test in the morning. If a person tests at 6:00 or 7:00 when waking up, the fasting might be lower at that time compared to taking it at 9 or 10, still without having anything to eat or drink. The reason for that is our blood sugar rises by itself in the morning to give us the energy to take on the day even before we eat something.

What is the dosage you're on now?

Normally when metformin is first prescribed, it's begun gradually because of those very same stomach issues. So, starting with 500 before a meal once a day (at the same meal) is best and if that's tolerated and more is needed, then another 500 before another meal.

Knowing what I know now, I'd start at lunch once a day. Also, as I think you already know, avoiding greasy, fried food and heavy carbs will help avoid stomach issues. I know this is not 'you' but some people think they can eat whatever they want if they're taking something for diabetes/blood sugar because the medication will "take care of it". Wrong.

Anyway, if a person goes to twice a day, then I think before lunch and dinner might be best if that person is prone to stomach issues. Otherwise, before breakfast and then before dinner is better, in my opinion. But this is an individual matter and whatever works best for you is great.

So two things (actually more than two...) strike me in your post: the fruit and not testing after eating. Depending on the fruit and the amount, you could be getting a lot of carbs. And if you're not testing about two hours after eating, then you don't know how that food is affecting the blood sugar. You already know that but you're thinking needles.

So, fruit. Yes, it's full of natural sugar and it raises our blood sugar. What fruit are you eating? How much?

And, your doctor said you could take from 500 to 2000 mg a day? No guidance about when? Don't get me started on this because I'll never quit.

Oh! Sorry I misunderstood. Hmm. Well, you say you're eating differently now so that needs to be taken into account but the fruit is probably what's keeping the levels higher than you want. So, if I were you, I'd cut down on the amount of fruit and also check out the amount of carbs in the different fruit and go with the lower ones. Berries seem to work well but I know they're not as juicy as melons. Try to eat half a banana at a time, saving the other half for later and get some protein with the fruit. Peanut butter, nuts and cheese work well with apples.

Again, the only way to know how any of the food you're eating affects your blood sugar is if you test right before eating and about two hours after you start eating. If you test at 2:00 p.m. and your blood sugar is 120, it means nothing unless you know what you were before. If you were at 115 before eating, then that's great. If you were at 90, then the jump was 30 points.

One of the criticisms of Bernstein's eating plan is that he doesn't include fruit. This is because fruit has so much natural sugar that it does raise blood sugar a lot. You can get all the nutrition that fruit gives you from fresh, colorful vegetables and greens. It's just that who wants to eat a bell pepper instead of an orange for vitamin c? I understand that.

Anyway, if you go back on metformin, I would start on 500 once a day at the same time before a meal and see how that works for you. Then, add another (500 mg.) before another meal. Don't take it on an empty stomach so breakfast might not work well, at least now. These are the instructions that my doctor gave me in the beginning and if you have any questions, you know you should ask your doctor.

Keep us updated! You might want to keep a journal, too. Good luck!

Welcome to the Diabetes Forum, 21Jellybeans! I hope you're doing well with the blood sugar! Please feel free to start a new thread to introduce yourself!