Metformin

Metformin is a treatment for Type II diabetes.

It works by decreasing the amount of sugar that the liver produces and the intestines absorb. It also helps to make your body more sensitive to the insulin that you naturally produce.

Be careful what else you take with metformin

Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

Amiloride, cimetidine, digoxin, morphine, procainamide, quinidine, quinine, ranitidine, triamterene, trimethoprim, or vancomycin ... may increase the risk of Metformin 's side effects
Calcium channel blockers (eg, nifedipine), corticosteroids (eg, prednisone), diuretics (eg, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide), estrogen, hormonal contraceptives (eg, birth control pills), insulin, isoniazid, nicotinic acid, phenothiazine (eg, chlorpromazine), phenytoin, sulfonylureas (eg, glipizide), sympathomimetics (eg, albuterol, pseudoephedrine), or thyroid hormones (eg, levothyroxine) because the risk of high or low blood sugar may be increased

Amlodipine besylate is one of the medications I take, and it's a calcium channel blocker.

The other day I went on an overnight trip and packed some pills in old pill boxes to throw in the suitcase. My old metformin script was for 500 mg pills, take 2 twice a day. My new pills are 1000 mg pills, 1 twice a day. I read the bottle, saw the twice a day, and thought I must have been taking the wrong dosage, so I took two pills.

When I got home I kept up the 2 pills twice a day (I just didn't look on the new label) and within a couple of days starting getting throbbing pains in my ankle. That's not listed as one of the side effects of meformin, but when I went back to the correct dosage the throbbing subsided.

So, if you're mixing metformin with other pills pay attention to side effect potentials. Common side effects are

Diarrhea; gas; headache; indigestion; nausea; stomach upset; temporary metallic taste; vomiting.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); chest pain or discomfort; dizziness or lightheadedness; fast or difficult breathing; feeling of being unusually cold; fever, chills, or persistent sore throat; general feeling of being unwell; muscle pain or weakness; slow or irregular heartbeat; unusual drowsiness; unusual or persistent stomach pain or discomfort; unusual tiredness or weakness.