Dear Nat,
My RE-Andrea Dunaif is a very well-respected doctor in PCOS. Unfortunately she was unable to put me on medicine since I was pregnant already, but she did say I could come back after I finish breastfeeding and then she might consider me for Metformin. She does a lot of research in the field and she told me that Metformin is no longer considered safe during pregnancy and she explained that the miscarriage rate was actually higher in their study (I was taking cinnamon and I was told to stop and I worried that if my testosterone went back up, I might miscarry). I did have bloodwork done five years back which showed elevated testosterone, irregular periods, physical symptoms, and U/S showed cysts. I was not and am not IR. Dr. Dunaif did do a glucose tolerance test and complete blood work just as my GYNO did five years back.
I think a doctor with a lot of experience can use physical symptoms such as dark line on your neck, waist to hip ratio, fatigue after meals, abdominal fat etc, and dx you with IR. However, considering that doctors kept missing my Hypothyroid (can cause brain defects in fetus) for a year (it was within the range for a normal person, but out of range if they applied pregnancy stds and we were TTC), I would still insist on some blood work. Dr. Dunaif said she would like it to be around 2 during pregnancy.
Since I have never been on anything other than the BCP, I can't answer your previous question regarding the Meds. Hope this helps in your decision to get bloodwork.
All the best,
Neena |