Everything's great, so why go off Metformin?

swampdiamonds · 09-12-2009, 01:21 AM

This is the story, which will probably get LONG, so...sorry in advance for that.

I was diagnosed with PCOS a year ago after YEARS of frustration with my uterus/acne/hair/emotions/weight/etc. I have a strong strong family history of cancer, and have had nothing but trouble with birth control pills. My husband and I are not trying to conceive, and I don't know that we ever will want to, so that isn't really an issue in my case.

My doctor started me on Metformin last September, and after the horrible adjustment period (yuck), things got better. I completely changed my diet to all whole grains, no red meat, lots of fresh produce, as little processed food as possible, absolutely nothing fried, ever, etc. By January or February I had reached the weight loss goal prescribed by my doc--30 pounds (from 151 to 121). I used to have horribly bad spotting/bleeding all the time...sometimes it really just felt like I had six-week long periods. Bad cramps, all the other PCOS issues, you know the drill. Now I have a mostly-regular cycle, with only a few days a month of spotting. I feel good. I haven't gotten sick in months, I have energy, and my problems with depression and anxiety have become more manageable, and...yeah, I feel awesome.

So, this morning at a six-month check up, my doctor said, it's been a year, so let's start going off the Metformin. I felt surprised, because things are going so well, and I feel so normalized.

So, what I am getting at, is...is this a normal procedure, to go off it? Will the symptoms come back? Will I struggle with my weight again, and start bleeding all the time again? I assume a year of Metformin did not *cure* my PCOS, but maybe there's something I'm missing. Am I just...fixed? Just like that? I'm so afraid I'm going to start having lots of problems, and we'll restart the Metformin, and then I'll have to go through the hellish adjustment...AGAIN (I can not believe I powered through three months of nausea--the prospect of doing it again makes me tired).

Does anyone have any insight to this line of thinking, or about how Metformin works? Are there things I should be consuming/doing to help with this transition? Am I crazy for feeling so reluctant to lower my dose, or for tearing up after my appointment this morning? I feel so frustrated and worried.

mip1500 · 09-12-2009, 02:12 AM

Oh Wow! I would be right there in that same boat with you if this happened to me... but I have to tell you I have been on/off Metformin for years and never reached a great normal state as you have depicted. however, I can tell you on metformin, my "free tesosterone" number is better, and the minute I go off, it skyrockets back up. Higher that is, the worse my PCOS is. I have never ever been told "lets try Metformin". I've always said this is a daily lifelong drug, but wow I'd love more to say they know of it as a temporary thing as your doc is suggesting... because I think I've had 14 mos of nausea, not just 3, and trying diet like you mentioned... I just hate this, but plugging through right now and combining it with acupuncture to see what I get

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shadow0617 · 09-13-2009, 01:08 PM

it might be that your doctor wants to see if the weight loss has helped you and if your body can regulate itself without and meds to help it. I just started metformin about 2 weeks ago and let me say that its an insperation to see that it works for someone. what is your dosage? if your doctor wants to lower it to give your body time to adjust and see if anything goes haywire that might be a good idea, its never good to take a medication if your body or mind doesnt need it.