I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. I am just wondering what I am doing wrong to make them not dissolve and therefore not do their job?
Sometimes my metformin comes out in my poo as a whole tablet. Today there were 3 tablets?
Question posted by shell bell on 5 Sep 2013
Last updated on 18 March 2022
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
25 Answers Page 2
Whasup
9 Oct 2017
This seems to be a problem, for some, with the ER/XR version of this drug. I've been on Metformin extended for sometime. I noticed that I was encountering the identical problem: looked like the pill was coming out exactly as it looked going in, it's so big it's hard to not notice! Asked the Pharmacist about this. He said he never heard of the problem but would research. He found that sometimes people don't digest the "shell" but the drug itself is being absorbed. You/ Your Dr. should find this out with your glucose numbers.
However, even though the drug may be absorbed, the non digested shell can cause serious constipation. If you have other medical conditions, i.e., hypothyroid, this can lead to very serious medical issues,i.e., impacted stool, hemoroids, fissures etc. For some reason the name brand; Glucophage doesn't seem to have this negative digestive effect.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where the medical community (pharmaceutical, insurance, doctors) stand to make lots of extra money when these conditions surface.
Personally, I've had problems getting Dr to prescribe the name brand because they need to present a letter of explanation to the insurance co for justification. More people need to speak up about this problem. If you notice, rarely is it addressed in any medical information on the drug.
Pamelaj831
11 Oct 2017
Thank you for the information. I thought it was a pill my only wonder is why is it orange instead of the original white? With insurance we are pretty much made to take the generic version or run the risk of paying all on our own. Seems so wrong.
Whasup
11 Oct 2017
Pamela - the color change is due to your internal "juices" (bile etc) in the digestive process. Your body tries to digest the pill along with other material. When the pill is passed it is just another waste product.
People need to speak up about this issue. Complain, complain, complain. Don't allow your Dr.s to poopoo you.
Snapz707
28 Sep 2017
I see others stating that when opened after passing there is powder left in the tablet. This is not happening in my case. Excuse my description, I put on latex gloves and actually took the pill and smashed it in my fingers. The consistency was like a gummy bear. No powder at all. Just a semi hard rubbery tablet. I wrote my doctor today seeking answers. I’ll update as soon as I hear from her.
Pamelaj831
2 Oct 2017
Excuse for my being graphic but I've noticed this in my stool but I take glipizide ER and also Invokamet. What I'm seeing is more the size of the glipizide ER but it is actually an orange color similar to a Motrin tablet. I too examined it and it was very hard but when I managed to break through it was gooey. Any information you've learned I'd appreciate.
RainG
10 June 2018
I’d like to know what your doctor says!
Annelize85
4 Sep 2017
I think there is just a slight communication problem here. As I understand it from the explanations above, the actual medicine is mixed into this 'vesel' which looks like a pill. The material that the pill is made of is non-dissolvable, because this is the method they use to ensure that only a little bit of the medicine is released at a time - hence extended release.
So as your digestive juices start working on this pill, it softens little by little, releasing the medicine as it does. Once it reachesthe end of your digestive tract, the medicine has all been released, but this non-dissolvable 'pill' gets excreted. In normal digestive functions, once it reaches the end of your tract, it would have become so soft, that it is broken down into smaller bits by the contraction of your bowels moving the matter down.
But, when you have diarrea, the pill moves through your system faster, so it's not yet as soft and broken down when it reaches the end, and this is when it comes out "whole". So basically, it's normal. That's how it's supposed to be. We just don't always see it. :)
Toughcookie6
17 Dec 2017
That’s a great way to put it, as a ‘vessel’. Maybe people can understand the polymer matrix as a sponge. Let a sponge soak up a liquid, and the liquid would be the active metformin compound in this analogy. The sponge is just the vehicle carrying it through your body, slowly allowing it to be released. The tablet-shaped thing we are finding is just the “dry sponge”.
This “dry sponge” is what people are meaning when they are saying “shell”, most likely. So, Bryan, simmer down ;)
Commenters should refrain from saying “capsule”, unless the medication is in a two-part gelatin casing.
Info about my metformin: I’ve been taking the white horse tablets, but recently moved and my new pharmacy is giving me pink-ish ones.
Adr1an56
7 July 2018
The pill, however, expands to almost 3 times its original size; and so, I was wondering if it is possible that it absorbs any meds that you may have to take otherwise and subsequently excretes any amount of these... should all other meds be taken long before the metforminER?
williep
7 Aug 2017
My endo explained that the metformin tablet is indeed an osmotic medication in a polymer matrix as MeggieGirl and DzooBaby shared with us. This slows the release of the medication at a constant rate so it works longer.
grylin3
6 Aug 2017
My mother also takes the horse pill of metformin, and has the same complaint of finding it in her stool. So I took one of them and put it in a cup of water. 3 days later it was still in tact and solid. I took a knife to it and it was still hard to cut. I personally don't believe this stuff works if it won't dissolve.
Briteizs
6 Aug 2017
The water is not the same as the acids in the stomach that breaks down the food. The metformin will remain hard in water. My dr said to me at my last visit that the metformin are enclosed in a capsule and the stomach acids break it down slowly releasing the meds.
Loleina18
5 May 2018
Going to try this before my next doctor's visit and show it to her cause she doesn't believe me. Thanks
BryanEichorn
16 March 2017
Whoever is answering this is not understanding AT ALL!!! These are the Metformin tablets:
There are NO HOLES!
They DO NOT break down or otherwise release any medication!
They have a THICK COATING! Not some thin outer shell that comes off and allows for absorbtion!
They are FULLY INTACT when found in our stool!
They are more plump from absorbing water, but not broken down at all. The powder/medication is still FULLY INTACT upon breaking open the tablet!
I'm going to research this somewhere else on the web and then call my pharmacist or DR.
I hope this cleared some things up for those of you who weren't understanding what was being described. Not trying to be rude. I just know how frustrating it can be when you're explaining a problem and people aren't grasping what you're saying. As I'm having the same issue, it was twice as frustrating.
Morgansmom
6 April 2017
I have the tablets (horse pills) as well and I was wondering the same thing. I thought surely that can't be my pill.
Honeybeelori
10 June 2017
Bryan- did your further research reveal anything? I too am reading all this and agree-- they are NOT capsules and they are frighteningly 100% fully intact in the stool. There is nothing to indicate they've done anything except go straight through me. Please post if you've uncovered further info. Thanks!!
slmil54
7 July 2017
Hello. I have this issue too. Were you able to find out anything else?
Chris4charlie
12 July 2017
Strange thing is it didn't happen when I was only taking two pills. Now that I take four ,all 4 are coming out roughly 8 hrs later.
Cleveland123
5 Aug 2017
I called pharmacy and told them about all of the responseS including mine and full pills versus shells, and they agree that the Dr and company making them are at fault. Mine is made by Amneal Pharmaceuticals.
Whasup
9 Oct 2017
Bryan, would be curious as to what your research turned up. Regardless of the medication being released or not, having piles of horse pills loaded in one's colon is not a healthy state for anyone's body.
texpa1
29 Nov 2017
I noticed the same thing I am on three tablets a day and a few months ago I saw some oddly shaped and colored Yellow undissolved "food" which I thought it was in my poo. Freaked me out. Figured ok if it doesn't go away I will call a Dr. Went away then about a couple weeks later same thing happened this time green, went away, and then just today it happened. This time RED and there have always been two of these undissolved "Foods" anytime the issue occurred. Took some gloves today and examined. And I was amused. It was the pill. Personally it looked like the full undissolved horse pill that was still in solid form. Squished it. Soft and then in the very middle it was still hard like the remaining pills. So odd. I am glad I came to this site and found out I am not the only one experiencing this issue. But is the actual pill still be absorbed by the body?
Loraine1
1 Dec 2017
Thxs Bryan.. I’m writing in behalf of my husband. This could b part reason why his numbers r up, esp a1c
The Drs look at us as if we r crazy
AlamoJo
14 Jan 2018
Several of my horse pill metformin tablets showed up in my PET scan.
Loleina18
5 May 2018
I'm having the exact same issue as you, Bryan. My meds are NOT capsules or round tablets. Mine are oblong, white pills. I couldn't believe that they are not dissolving in any way. No wonder my numbers are still high.
Janis Solders
16 Oct 2018
When I poop out this "bean" it's the size of a large lima bean. Has soft insides. The Dr says it's my metformin! Why?
MeggieGirl
15 Nov 2016
Are your pills round and if you look, in the center, is there a tiny dot? If so, you have an "osmotic" tablet. As the pill moves through your system, the medication comes out of the tiny hole(s) and enters your bloodstream. What's left is additional medication and the shell, which (I remember the instructions saying) you should expect to see eliminated in fecal material.
DzooBaby
5 Sep 2013
Are you on metformin Extended Release? Then it is just the polymer matrix you see in your stool. All of the drug has been absorbed. This is a common release mechanism for certain drugs to make them extended release. If they were not working, your blood sugar results would be sky high. Here it is in the literature:
System Components and Performance - metformin hcl extended release tablets, USP comprises a dual hydrophilic polymer matrix system. metformin hcl is combined with a drug release controlling polymer to form an "inner" phase, which is then incorporated as discrete particles into an "external" phase of a second polymer. After administration, fluid from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract enters the tablet, causing the polymers to hydrate and swell. Drug is released slowly from the dosage form by a process of diffusion through the gel matrix that is essentially independent of pH.
The hydrated polymer system is not rigid and is expected to be broken up by normal peristalsis in the GI tract. The biologically inert components of the tablet may occasionally remain intact during GI transit and will be eliminated in the feces as a soft, hydrated mass.
Djohn2016
29 Aug 2016
The medformin I take are tablets, not capsules. My blood sugar has been higher since I started having diarrhea.
abcpat06
21 May 2017
I am also having this problem and in 6 months my A1c went up 2.5 points. What I am pooping is the pill, not a shell. I have tried taking it an hour before eating, a half hour and right before eating, same results and my Dr. acts like it's no big thing but wants to know why my A1C is going up...
Briteizs
25 July 2017
Omg. Thank you so much for posting this... it explains it perfectly.. people don't understand that it is a tablet mixed with a polymer that helps it dissolve as a extended realease. The undigested pill is small amount inside the weird looking light yellowish/tan color capsule-like case. I take my pill everyday.. so I guess I get enough of the med... I see my dr on 8/2/17, I'll ask her.
Cleveland123
5 Aug 2017
Why do all doctors want to blame us instead of it being possible there is something wrong with the manufacturing?
Lmp910
3 Nov 2017
I take 2000 mg all in the morning. My average numbers are 170-190. Never, ever that high with Glipazide. I was sick and realease the "whole" pill. They are large white almost the same as a large bean!
Inactive
8 Jan 2018
Hey there, I was just wondering if your doctor has ever checked or done tests relating to your pancreas? I only see my diabetic tablets when I get my chronic pancreatitis episodes. It seems to happens due to the frequent diarrhoea. I am on Creon as I have exocrine insufficiency but don’t see tablets when I have good days. Just a thought. Please note the blood tests like lipase levels can show up normal even if your pancreas isn’t functioning. The best test which my Endocronologist did was the 72 hour fat faecal test and I was positive. If your qualitive FF test is negative demand a quantitive one. My qualitive was positive so I didn’t have a quantitive as even the small amount of fat was going straight through me and my vitamins too as per some vitamin level tests and I eat very low fat diet. Awful test to do but glad found out my malabsorption/EPI problem. Wishing you all the best. Best wishes from Australia.
Sstar4353
9 Nov 2018
I disagree. As a nurse, I've also 'examined' the tablets floating in my toilet water. They were solid, sponge-like, and it was definitely the entire tablet. AND, my blood sugars readings were coming up 20-60 points higher on my glucometer. I just wanted to know what I can do as a conscientious, compliant patient, to get these tablets to dissolve as they should be disolving. Since crushing them is not an option, would taking them with a hot drink be one solution? Or, taking digestive enzymes along with them be another consideration? I do not want to change my medication, especially not to insulin injections.
ang1049
5 Sep 2013
This is the most common question about Metformin I myself have noticed. I have seen this question on this forum so many times. I think it would be a great idea if this side effect would be printed on the information pamphlet when you pick up this medication. Or even a label on the prescription bottle itself. If I was a Pharmacist, I would mention to my customers to not be alarmed and explain this side effect is common.
kaismama
5 Sep 2013
You're seeing the tablet shell. The drug has been absorbed in to your bloodstream and it is only the inactive ingredients that remain in your stools.
Stiversmom
8 Aug 2016
I have taken a tongue depresser and opened the capsule and still has powder in it. Now what?
twinmom30
31 Aug 2016
I too like Stiversmom have taken a disposable spoon and crushed the "shell" there is still a formed powder pill. Not sure if the word capsule in this context meaning plastic outer shell , medicinal inner contents or the shape of the pill. My metformin ER is DEFINITELY a large pill with no plastic outer shell ?
abcpat06
21 May 2017
Me to, the pill is intact!
Cleveland123
5 Aug 2017
See if your metformin is manufactured by Amneal Pharmaceuticals. I'm having problems with xr met. dissolving.
Cleveland123
5 Aug 2017
Mine too.. Made by Amneal Pharmaceutical
JerCob
19 Oct 2017
I'm having the same issue along with abdominal discomfort since the manufacturer changed to Amneal. Perviously it was Sun Pharmaceuticals.
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- Metformin uses and safety info
- Metformin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Metformin (detailed)
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