Skin Rashes and Itching could it be due to new medication?

Hi Danel and welcome to HealingWell! I'm glad you found us!

I don't know if the metformin is causing the itchy skin but you need to call your doctor. Of course it's the weekend now. You might speak to the pharmacist in the meantime. Some people do have a rare allergic reaction to metformin but this should be addressed by your doctor.

I'm sorry about your mom. My mother also died of diabetes complications but I am determined not to follow in her footsteps. You have made at least the first step by looking for more information about diabetes to help yourself. First I will recommend that you read through the two stickies at the top of the Diabetes Forum for more information. Also, here is a website that will give you the best information about blood sugar available: www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/. You can also look back through the many pages of our forum here for older threads and posts that might be interesting for you.

I don't know about the headaches but I do know that metformin can cause abdominal problems including cramps, nausea, sour stomach, but these reactions mostly happen if you eat too many carbs and/or eat greasy fried food.

In general, carbohydrates will make your blood sugar high and stay high depending on the amount you're eating - and, in turn, if you're on metformin, you'll have some stomach problems. In order to avoid these problems and to help keep your blood sugar lower or to more normal levels, do not eat potatoes, bread (or other food made with flour), rice large amounts of fruit, pasta (of course that's made with flour). The thing about diabetes and blood sugar is that carbs are not metabolized correctly and drive our blood sugar very high.

Metformin works by helping the body use the glucose that is in our circulation. By itself, metform doesn't lower blood sugar; it just assists our cells to work the way they're supposed to.

So, your immediate problem with the cramps might be eliminated if you stay away from carbs and greasy food.

The rash concerns me and I would made an after-hours call to your doctor's office or at the very least ask the pharmacist.

The metformin is not a crucial medication for you like the blood pressure meds are because you can try to control your blood sugar by changing your diet. This is something I don't think you can do for blood pressure.

Can you write what your blood sugar readings have been? And, what do you normally eat for all your meals?

I understand when there is a 'conflict' between what you normally eat and some new medical conditions. In my house growing up, we always had bread at every meal and some kind of pasta a few times a week. Now, I understand that eating like that is bad for my diabetes so I made a decision not to eat any of this on a regular basis. It was hard in the beginning but it's the best way to help control my diabetes without a lot more medication. I'm on metformin and I would like to keep it at that.

Anyway, you can make adjustments. For example, eat less of the rice and more protein and vegetables. By the way, brown rice is much better than white rice, so that's great! The raw vegetables for salad are also very good for blood sugar. So, you can still eat the same food but just change the amount: less rice, more meat/chicken/fish and more vegetables. The oil does not bother the blood sugar but it will aggravate your stomach if you're on metformin.

Walking as you are doing is also the best thing to do! So, keep that up! And walking everyday is also good for blood pressure. I suppose your doctor told you to cut down on salt (sodium), so if you're using soy sauce, use the low-sodium kind.

Your 139 is elevated but not critical and if you do stop the metformin, make sure you also cut down on the carbs until you contact your doctor. I don't know if the itching is from metformin. It's possible. Maybe another generic form would be better or the name brand "Glucophage". It's the same drug but it might be a different formula than the metformin you have now.

I'm glad you found our forum!

Yes, absolutely. Generics from different manufacturers may have different side effects because of the other ingredients.