Cinn-Max cinnamon supplements

[LMT3]

I was started on Metformin in Jan of this year. About the same time I started taking Cinn-Max cinnamon capsul supplements to also help control my sugar. I developed diarrehea a month later that has become persistent. I went to my GI and he seems to think it is the Metformin and wants me to try going off it for a while to see if he's right. I checked all my meds on my list and the Cinn-Max was the only other thing I started at the same time as the Metformin. I have gone off the Cinn-Max for the last week and the diarrehea has almost gone. Has anyone ever heard of this side effect from using cinnamon supplements?

[Shelby905]

A related discussion, Cinn-Max Cinnamon was started.

[LMT3]

I'm on the one that Reader's Digest put out called, ChangeOne. You eat regular food, just much smaller portions. I eat 1200 calories a day. My medically supervised one, you had to stay on their food (except for fresh fruits and vegatables) basically the rest of your life. I maxed out a credit card trying to do that. I got so mad at myself when the weight came back on plus and extra 20. It was like I just threw all that money down the drain. That's why I am so happy with this one. I wanted on that I could lose slower (the weight didn't get on overnight so I shouldn't expect it to disappear overnight). I didn't lose any over Thanksgiving but I didn't put it on either.

I talked to both my doctors today. They agreed that the cinnamon is what has been causing the diarrhea. So I don't have to stop the metformin.

Laura

[strawberri]

Hi Laura, when u said u got all the negative stuff, ills from your parents, I have done the same. My spine troubles and diabetes and high bp are from my Dads side of the family. I think I'm a carbon copy of him. I know its said God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but I sure ask him why he chose me to hold up and finance the hole darn Medical industry. No answer....lol. What diet are u on now? Well u take care of your self, Debbie  

[LMT3]

In 2001 I went on a medically supervised diet and lost 60 lbs in 5 mos and was able to go completely off the Prevacid. But when I went off the diet (it was way to expensive to keep up) the weight only stayed off for 4 months the weight started coming back. In very short order the reflux came back. That's why in Aug I started a diet that seems to be working, it also is benificial to my diabetes, my blood pressure, angina, as well as the reflux.

I take my metformin in the morning right after I eat my breakfast, and at night right after I eat dinner. That is the way my mother told me to do it (she's been diabetic for over 30 years and also takes metformin as well as insulin).

I have to take care of myself because I have been divorced for 11 years, my family all live out of state and my friends are slowly retiring and moving out of state also. So I'm it and so I watch my health very closely. I sometimes wonder why I ended up with all the negative medical stuff from both my parents but as they say God doesn't give you more than you can handle. So I just keep my faith up but these boards help when I have questions.

Laura

[strawberri]

wow laura, geez what a medical mess :( I have had a yr of clusters of Autoimmune diseases. hasn't been fun, and real scary, were in the same boat, hopefully with no hole in it. LOL Gee, i do take the Cinnimon at dinner time, acids are naturally low at night. Do u take the metformin at bedftime with food, or at dinner time with food. Did u know u can even take the Metformin at the end of eating. Maybe you should ask if u can take it at noon with lunch and then the acid is lower. It might help u over all. Your poor stomach. And stress is a big factor for higher acid. Have u looked into something more natural then the Prevacid. I am starting to believe Pharm med's rip the stomach and intestines and where ever else it goes through up. I started taking Acidophilus, it keeps the flora in the intestines healthy. I was on antibiotics and I thought I was going to die of stomach pain. A friend in Homopathic told me to get some, so my husband went to Walmart and got it, by the next day I was feeling better, and then the next round of antibiotics the Nurse told me to take them, I told her I never stopped and do u know my stomach never bothered me.  well u take care, and I will pray for u each night and morning, God will know who Laura is, I'm sure... Debbie

[LMT3]

I didn't start taking the cinnamon until just after starting the Metformin. I saw it in the store and saw it was supposed to help control blood sugar levels so I thought I'd try it. When I saw my doctor on Wed she had gotten a message from my GI, it was his suggestion that I try going off the Metformin. He had already tried taking me off the Flax Oil that my GYN told me to go on. The stuff he had me take either blocked me up or just slowed up the diarrhea but did not stop it. It was after my appointment with the GI that I also started looking at my med list and realized that I started the Metformin and Cinnamon at the same time. Also when I eat oatmeal with cinnamon in it I have to hit the bathroom almost immediatley. I have to take my Prevacid or else the reflux is awful. That is so bad that it has eaten away the lower sphinxter of my esaphagus. I can't even take a baby asprin as it totally tears my stomach up and being as my grandfather died of esaphageal cancer I do whatever it takes it keep mine under control. I do know that the few times I got indigestion while taking the cinnamon that is the taste I got in my throat.

Anyway my regular doctor is the one that suggested that I stay off the cinnamon for a couple of weeks and if the diarrhea was still there to try going off the metformin too. Also I take a metformin in the morning and one at night. I took the cinnamon one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I am not bothered with diarrhea in the evenings. In the past 3 months I have been inundated with medical problems. In Sep they found 4 pre-cancerous polyps in my colon (my dad died at 57 [same age as me] with colon cancer), in Oct they found abnormalities on my yearly mammogram, and in Nov I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer (DCIS). All that made me question the diarrhea.

I did google cinnamon, even the brand Cinn-Max, it said alot about how good it is for b/s levels, and reducing cholesterol, even that it has been used for treating diarrhea [they say when a baby gets diarrhea to put them on the ABC diet [apples, bananas and cheese] but my son's diarrhea would get worse. Anything with apples in it acts just the opposite of stopping the diarrhea.  My pharmacist checked for me and she said yes cinnamon has been known to cause diarrhea.

So I will see what my doctor says on Monday.

Laura

[strawberri]

laura, if the diarrhea is gone why stop taking the Metformin. If it was the cinnamon don't take it anymore. have u ever had a problem with cinnamon in your lifetime? Because all cinnamon capsules are is cinnamon in a capsule. And do u take it with the Prevacid? And maybe because of the high dose of that there is a very low amount of acid in your stomach to desolve the capsule. Who knows, with little acid in your stomach, it might even be the Metformin, it is said to be hard on the stomach. And u can google cinnamon and find alot of information to.

[LMT3]

Thank you for your response. I researched cinnamon supplements on-line and could not find any info on them, except they were good for controlling the sugar and cholesterol levels. I have been off the cinnamon for 9 days and the diarrhea is gone. Makes me a little leary of going off the Metformin when my blood sugar is so under control right now. I plan on calling my doctor on Monday to see if I should, also I was to start taking Benicar but she wanted me to wait to see what was causing the diarrhea.

Laura

[LMT3]

Whenever I start a new medication I always research the side effects because if there are rare ones I will usually get them. There isn't any way for me to develop the side effect Lactic Acidosis because I have a really severe case of GERDS and I take a high dose of Prevacid daily and that controls the acid. I have been off the cinnamon now for 9 days and my diarrehea is gone. Type II diabetes runs in my family and I have been doing everything I can to control it. I was able to control it with just diet and exercise for almost 3 years before going on the Metformin. In Aug I went on a stricter diet (mostly just cutting my portion sizes) and have lost around 25 lbs. Just went in for my diabetes check and my A1C was down to 6, fasting b/s 114. My mother is on both insulin and Metformin, my brothers take a higher dose of Metformin than I do. If I eat oatmeal with cinnamon I noticed the diarrhea was worse, which made me start looking at the supplements.

I know how medicines can effect different people in different ways (I ended up getting pancreatitis from taking Premerin which is one of the rare side effects). I hope your check up on the 21st goes well.

Thank you for answering.

Laura

[strawberri]

I have been on Cinnamon for over a Month 1,000mcg, my new Dr. told me to start taking them, along with Rise n Shine, I also take Acai berry twice a day, and no problems. I was on Metformin a few yrs ago and ended up in the hospital and after 3 days of gi test I was told I had Lactic Acidosis. I was one sick puppy. I had diarrhea from day one on Metformin and  at 6 weeks my intestines were bleeding they said, and it was coming out of me, it caused a infection and I was taken off it in the hospital and tol to never take it again. I am going to be starting Insulin soon my new dr said. I go back to see him on the 21. I am betting its the Metformin, have u ever read the side effects and the serious side effects of it? Do, u will learn something....

[Anita Ramsetty, MD]

Hi,

Diarrhea can be caused by Cinnamon supplements, as seen in some recent studies using the spice. Metformin is   also commonly the cause, so it is best to try a period off of each medication to see which is the culprit.
Be sure to keep an eye on your blood sugars while off the medications incase you need a substitute medication to help keep them controlled.
take care.