Has anyone heard of brain fog or confusion after taking Metformin for diabetes?
No patients I have worked with have reported experiencing "brain fog" or confusion as a result of taking Metformin. Usually, the main side effect is gas, bloating and diarrhea when first starting the medication.
That said, medications have many idiosynchratic (unexpected) reactions. It's hard to tell with your mother's Alzheimer's condition. Since you noted an improvement in her mentation when she was NOT taking Metformin, it's best to let her doctor know so other options may be considered.
I had that fog and confusion last winter when I took Metformin for about 2 mo. Having just recovered from Pancreatitis with somewhat similar problems I thought it was a reoccurence of that. Drs put me through all kinds of tests but none suspected Metformin. When I did stop within 2 days was able to do my taxes on line so easily. Before I could barely keep Drs appointments or pay bills and was worried I could no longer live alone. Dramatic and so scary.
I was on Metformin for 2 years. I was slowly losing my ability to work. I was wondering what was happening to me. I am an engineer and I get paid to solve the big problems. I was on a one week trip that lasted a month. I ran out of Metformen and in 3 days I was back the normal. I stopped taking it and the FOG lifted. The same thing happened to my wife, the salad queen. She was in the kitchen the other day and she looked at me and said “I just can’t remember what goes in a salad”. She is now off Metformen and back to normal. I think there a lot of people out there on Metformen that are in a fog!
I started metformin a month ago and have episodes of brain fog. The best explanation that I have heard so far is that diabetics can develop symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) at a blood sugar level that would still be normal or high for other people. In other words, a drop in blood sugar from "very high" to "high" might cause symptoms of hypoglyemia. Brain fog is one of the warning signs for hypoglyemia. (The warning signs are more important to learn for those who take insulin shots.)
I have not found a simple answer for dealing with the situation. Possible solutions include temporarily decreasing the metformin dose for 1 to 3 months, changing eating habits, or changing medication.
Wow I have often felt that my brain fog was from metformin but I started metformin around the same timeframe as my "mental pause" so I have never been sure. I too ended up retiring early because as an engineer I couldn't stay on top of my game when the wrong words were coming out of my mouth...pretty ineffective. But on metformin I have been able to stablize my weight for 8 years, prior to that I was adding 5 lbs per year...I was going to balloon if I didn't stop.
