Xmet 850MG (Metformin)

Xmet 850MG is Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd's metformin tablet, 850 mg, in a strip of 15 tablets. Metformin is the standard first-choice tablet for type 2 diabetes, a biguanide that lowers blood sugar without causing weight gain.

Metformin is prescribed for type 2 diabetes, alone or with other drugs or insulin, and for prediabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in some countries. Researchers are studying whether it slows ageing, but that is not an approved use.

Metformin lowers the amount of glucose the liver releases, improves the response of muscle and fat to insulin and slightly reduces glucose absorption from the gut. It does not push the pancreas to make more insulin, so on its own it rarely causes low blood sugar.

The usual start is 500 mg once or twice a day with or after meals, raised slowly every week or two to a usual range of 1,500 to 2,000 mg a day in divided doses, with a maximum of about 3,000 mg. Extended-release tablets are taken once a day with the evening meal. Swallow whole, and follow your prescription.

• Nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a metallic taste, which usually ease with time and with food.n- Loss of appetite and a small weight loss.n- Low vitamin B12 with long use.n- Lactic acidosis is very rare but serious: fast breathing, muscle pain, tiredness and stomach pain need urgent care.

Metformin is not used with severe kidney or liver disease, heart failure that is unstable, or in conditions with a risk of lactic acidosis such as heavy alcohol use or severe dehydration. It is paused before contrast scans and surgery. Kidney function and vitamin B12 are checked at intervals. Take care with alcohol, and tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning pregnancy.