Those of you who are on metformin. Before you got on it, when you were diagnosed and began taking it, did you find that it helped you lose weight? Or just regulate your sugar level to help coceive?
I am not IR and my RE put me on 500mg once a day just to appease me. I have lost 24 pounds over the last 4 months. I have lost 4 of those in the last 3 weeks, during which I was not eating very well. I think it's the met.
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beagle, Daisy 6
Married 5/00
TTC since 11/02
Prozac, prenatals, Prevacid, Toprol, Wellbutrin, Neurontin, 500mg metformin, 1000mg calcium, 1000mg Vit C
3/03--HSG--all clear/SA "wonderful"
4/03--hysteroscopy--removed polyps
5/03-12/03--4 clomid/IUI cycles--got follies, but no PG
Injectibles next cycle!!!
Wow. Metformin seems like a miracle drug for those of us with PCOS. I know that metformin is used to help women with PCOS to conceive, but can it be used along with birth control pills for women who want the weight loss and other benefits but who aren't ttc?
There are varying opinions around here on birth control pills and whether or not they help or hinder PCOS since they are hormones being added to hormones that are already messed up.
You have to take that into account if you decide to use them, and make your own choices.
That being said, my Dr gave me my perscription for both met (for now 1000mg a day) and birth control pills at the same time. I am sure that there are others around here that are the same way. So, other than the potential to mess with your mix of hormones more, I am pretty sure that they are safe to take together. But it couldn't hurt to have a conversation with your Dr about it...
As for the weight loss...I was diagnosed many years ago, moved around alot, finally found a Dr to help me, got met, started early Dec, after a week stopped to have surgery, started again earlier this week, so realistically, I've only been on it a really short time so I haven't seen any weight loss, but its literally only been a few days.
Well its not a miracle drug for everybody... It hasnt helped me loose weight... and well I'm not pg... unfortuantely... so it really depends on each individual person!
Within the first couple months of taking met, without making any diet changes at all (and I was not a healthy eater) I lost 14 lbs. I still really havent changed my habits much and the weight seems to keep coming off. Only 25 lbs in a year but when you dont diet or exercise, what can you expect right? I'm happy with it.
Met makes many of us pcos'ers normal and that just so happens to include ovulation in some. If you would like to regulate your insulin levels and prevent pregnancy, I cant see any reason why you shouldnt use the two of them together.
I'm taking Yasmin for bc and 500 mg of Met ER daily...my doctor wants to see if it will help me lose weight and he's hoping it will also cause my periods to be more regular.
Those of you who are on metformin. Before you got on it, when you were diagnosed and began taking it, did you find that it helped you lose weight? Or just regulate your sugar level to help coceive?
Both....sugars/insulin and weight. But Met on it's own isn't a weight loss drug...only my own hard work did that. The weight loss is just a side benefit of getting insulin levels under control (excess circulating insulin is stored as fat).
Met helped me get my insulin levels where they should be and started my menstruation, but the weight was pretty minimal until I got serious about moderating carbs and exercise (lost 13 pounds in a year and a period every 35-60ish days). But when I started moderating my carbs and increased my exercise from 20-55 minutes per session, I lost another 35 pounds in the next 12 mo period and my periods started every 31-35 days. My labwork also became normal for the first time in years.
So while met can help alone, I found it far more effective with the diet and exercise changes too. The more you can do to lower than insulin, the better met's effects can be for you.
Hope it helps.
__________________ Christy
33 yrs, 1 precious hubby, 2 miracle kids, At Goal Wt for 4 yrs, Trygly's down 445 pts, Free Androgen down from 20 to 2, 3 half 'thons ran, 2 mtns hiked, 1 crazy run in the Rockies, 4 forest trail races, profiled in 2 magazines...1 woman determined to kick PCOS butt!
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Well, in my case, it did both too. For those of us that are IR, what the met does is help to level the playing field so that we can lose weight like normal people, if you are willing to do the work. The drug itself does not work as a weight loss drug. It simply corrects the imbalance of your pancreas overproducing insulin, thus making weight loss more difficult, since you are fighting against your own body. Once your body starts using insulin more efficiently, a diet lower in carbs along with exercise should finally start yielding some results. Other cysters are put on a low dose of met to help straighten out cycles and aid in conception. The reason this happens is because insulin is one of the master hromones, and once one goes out of whack the hormones adjust up or down to compensate. It's kind of like a row of dominoes...once one is screwy, the others will follow suit. Luckily, the opposite is also true. Once the insulin is being worked on and it moves back to a healthier level, the other hormones will move to regulate also. There is a lot more to conception than just a healthy egg... your hormones have to be in shape to keep the pg going and healthy also. For many cysters, once the hormones are acting the way they should, their cycles regulate, and eventually, they can conceive. Now, keep in mind that for every one of us, the results can differ. Met is not a miracle for everyone. One thing I am very grateful to my endo for is that she made me focus on one thing at a time. We decided that the weight loss would be the number one priority, then after that, we'd see how much still needed adjustment. Now that I have lost all the weight I wanted to, she is fairly confident that when we are ready, I probably won't need much help, as the met has pretty much straightened things out on its own. Sorry for the long response...hope this helps!
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? 4 MY Soulcysters... 
But Met on it's own isn't a weight loss drug...only my own hard work did that. The weight loss is just a side benefit of getting insulin levels under control (excess circulating insulin is stored as fat).
Wow..Loaded question.... 
