Hi Ceni
First off, to read more info about Chromium and it's place in PCOS treatment, I'd recommend reading its section in "Mary's PCOS Treatment FAQ" at:
http://members.aol.com/marykateroget/#Chr
This will give you some background info about how it works, dosage and such.
I'll answer the rest of the questions from my perspective, as that's all I really know aside from Mary's excellent FAQ.
1)I know for me, chromium actually makes me physically hungry. Now that might not sound good at first glance, but since puberty I've only known when it's time for me to eat when I've felt ill (symptoms of low blood sugar). My stomach NEVER growled. Taking chromium, even at a low dose, I began to actually get physically hungry and my stomach growled for the first time since I can remember! I nearly cried! I have no scientific basis for this belief, but I believe that means my metabolism is actually working for once.
I have lost about 50 pounds since beginning the chromium, that's out of a 120+lbs loss. The weight seems to come off quicker when I take my chromium and people definitely notice.
As for IR, chromium tempered the wild blood sugar swings I was having for years, so it must be doing something, somehow. I no longer get "the shakes", my stomach growls before that happens. I no longer get "carb overload" as I stop eating carbs when I am full of them, and it's not much. In fact, it pretty much ended most of my cravings for them (except during PMS and AF!).
2) I have had no side effects and I take as much as 1,000mcg daily. I do take the Piconolate form, which in at least one study has been linked to possible chromosomal (?I hope my memory is correct here!) damage and that could lead to cancer. There are other forms available however if this concerns you.
3)I've definitely had success and will not be without it, at least until I reach my goal weight... perhaps not even then. It doesn't work anything like a traditional "diet pill" for me, if anything it's the opposite, making it easier to eat many tiny meals throughout the day to keep my blood sugar stable. This seems key to my losing weight. I even read a study where 1000mcg daily acted as an effective antidepressant, and so far this year I haven't needed one (I'm bipolar and usually need one in the winter). I've heard many (privately) say that it has helped their "boils" and as I suffer from Hidradenitis Suppurativa this interests me. My HS has gotten a bit better, but whether that is from the weightloss or the chromium is anyone's guess. It definitely accelerates my weightloss and whenever I stop getting hungry or plateu, I've raised my dose. I'm not sure I can safely do that anymore though. For now I love my chromium and won't be without it!
If you would like to research more on your own go here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
And search Pubmed for chromium or "chromium piconolate" and see what comes up! Pubmed is a great resource.
Hope that helped at least a little!
Dana
Chromium-please help! (3 questions) 
