What makes metformin smell

An extended release generic version, coated to make it dissolve more slowly, solved the problem. A second man refused to ever take metformin again, even coated formulations, they said. Doctors may simply think patients are having the other side-effects such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, flatulence, distention and abdominal pain, but the smell could make patients feel ill, Pelletier and colleagues said. He was unwilling to try an extended-release formula. Although drug directories list metformin as "odorless," and no previous studies have linked the smell of immediate-release metformin with discontinuation, the authors wrote that it's well known among pharmacists that metformin either smells like fish or "old locker room sweat socks.

Diabetes and prescription drug message boards, too, contain posts such as "my bottle of metformin smells like fish" and and "why does my metformin smell funny? The time-release version of the drug doesn't seem to have the same offending odor because it is film-coated. The authors concluded that "when patients stop taking metformin, physicians should consider inquiring more closely about revulsion to the odor of the medication," and perhaps suggest the patient try the odorless extended release formula.

Primary Care. Beverly, Massachusetts. Internal Medicine. Internal Medicine - St. Saint George, Utah. Hospitalist Physician Opportunity.

Waterbury, Connecticut. Nocturnist - NYC and Suburbs.