Daffodil256

[Daffodil256]

Thank you to everyone who advised me on the side effects of taking Metformin. My husband had none of the usual ones, but it has completely taken away his appetite. I know it is good to lose weight, but surely he needs to eat a certain amount. We both find a diabetic diet mostly tasteless, and do not like foods containing chilli or curry. Also, he has developed a very painful back, just below his shoulder blades. He is taking paracetamol every 4 hours, day and night, but still feels dreadful. We are both feeling depressed at the situation that we find ourselves in.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It very much depends on what his weight is at present.

I confess, I am surprised you find a diabetic diet tasteless - I eat a low carb diet and find it very tasty without eating chilli or curry. What have you been told to eat? It shouldn't be significantly different from your usual diet but it will exclude large amounts of carbohydrate foods and added sugar.

[Daffodil256 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for your reply. My husband also has OCD, which means that he is unhappy with any changes to his life. He eats breakfast at around 10.30am. He is not keen on porridge, and misses the sugary cereal that he had before. He eats weetabix or a cereal with no added sugar, and one round of whole meal toast.

We have coffee at 3pm, with crispbreads and soft cheese. We have dinner at 5pm, which is the most difficult meal for me. I make my own soups, but we were told that he must not have any more bread or a roll. He is not a lover of salad, so I can only get it once a week. I can’t make lasagne, as I can’t find whole wheat lasagne sheets. I can do roasts, stews and stir fries. We both miss cheese, beans and sardines on toast. Frankly, we are both feeling fed up.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daffodil256]

I think your GP needs to let you see a dietician for some advice. If you are eating lasagne, then the rest of the ingredients smooth the effect of the pasta on blood sugar and I doubt you eat it every day? Nurses often hand out blanket advice without any thought about confounding factors like the OCD. But you do need to discuss the effect of the metformin on his appetite and the excessive weight loss. It isn't the only drug.

Barilla make wholewheat pasta and Sainsburys do as well although there appear to be supply issues at the moment, is that the problem you are having?

[Daffodil256 in reply to PMRpro]

I tried Sainsbury’s, but with no luck. We are seeing the Diabetic nurse today, and I have a long list of questions to ask her. Then the doctor on Friday, and hopefully find out what is causing his back pain, which is hard for him to tolerate.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daffodil256]

You might find this helpful

diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-di....

If you were to make your lasagne as normal with white pasta, and then chill it overnight or even freeze it, and then reheat it thoroughly the next day to serve it, the effect on your husband's blood sugar will be far less and similar to making it with wholewheat pasta,

Another article about it

sciencealert.com/heating-yo...

[jaykayvee in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for these very useful links! I sometimes make a Lasagne recipe using different types of pasta (tagliatelle, penne etc.). You could do this with whatever wholemeal pasta is available. It tastes much the same. I'm definitely going to try the reheating idea!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to jaykayvee]

I make lasagna using courgettes or aubergine slice thinly and grilled instead of the pasta - then it is low carb.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to jaykayvee]

See this for pasta options-

zenb.co.uk/?utm_campaign=pm...

[RachelJDH]

My husband too had these symptoms with Metformin and when combined with covid the weight fell off him and he looked very drawn and ill. The plus side is he has lost at least 2 stone and is no longer diabetic and does not need to take Metformin any more. It took a while to get over the symptoms after he stopped taking it tho and I was very worried trying to get a balanced diet into him. A good quality multivitamin helped.