Question: I was recently diagnosed with diabetes and my doctor put me on metformin, but it upsets my stomach. Is there any other medicine you would recommend I take?

Dr. Hibberd's answer:

Metformin is a drug that actually sensitizes your cells to glucose and helps many diabetics lose weight. Unfortunately, some are intolerant to it and have to use other medications or insulin.

Ask your doctor for a different formulation of metformin, perhaps a non-generic to see if you have the same difficulty. Consider a sustained release preparation as another alternative before you give up this rather wonderful drug for Type 2 diabetes.

Be sure that your symptoms are not due to another situation such as a gastric disorder, reflux, or heart disease that can easily be overlooked.