I have puffy ankles and rapid weight gain with novolin (insulin) h, while taking metformin. is it possible to take only novolin (insulin) r with the metformin?

Won't last as long: I'm sorry about the side effects you're having.The problem with eliminating the NovolinH is that you may not have as good control of your sugars and you'd likely have to take a whole lot more Novolin R,which acts quickly,does not last as long, and may not give you an even glucose level.Have you tried one of the long acting insulins like Lantus or Levemir (insulin detemir)?Talk to your doc about concerns and options

Weigh gain: Hi. Yes, it's certainly possible to use just R with metformin. Insulin is strongly associated with weight gain. Type 2 drugs that are NOT associated with weight gain, and are actually associated with weight loss include the GLP-1 agonist drugs (Victoza (liraglutide) & Byetta) and the SGLT-2 inhibitor drugs (Invokana & Farxiga). Metformin & the DPP-4 inhibitors are weight neutral. Good luck!