Hi! I'm new to the boards. I am thin PCOS (5', 100-105 lbs). I am TTCing again, but haven't gotten back on met. My doc had mentioned at one point that he had read that they now think it may take approx. 4 mos on met for it to be an effective agent to getting pregnant. I have scoured the internet, and haven't found anything to confirm this. What are your experiences and/or docs telling you?
Quick history so you know the basis of my question:
Jan 2004: Diagnosed w/ PCOS when starting to TTC
Feb04-Jan05: Clomid, 8 attempts, ovulated on 100mg, no pregnancies
Feb05: Started met, ov'd one month, but not the next on own
Apr05: Met (500 3xd) + Femara, ovulated
Jul05: 1st pregnancy, m/c at 6 wks
Sep05-Dec05: Met + Femara, + HCG inj/IUI, no preg
Jan05: Met only, ovulated, got pg w/ my cute & very ornery son, Joseph
Joe was born 9/06 - I nursed him for 13 mos, got pd on my own 12/07, but then they went away again.
Jan08-Sep08: On and off Femara mos, + IUI, no pg
Oct08-Dec08: Follistim+IUI, no pg
I'm at a bit of a crossroads now, and my doc is pushing IVF, but I don't think we will go that route, for multiple reasons. After having Joe, he was very resistant to using Met again, given my thinness (I was only 96 lbs after nursing Joe) and was worried my body might develop a dependency on met. So, I've gone a full year without it. I turned 35 in January, and I think this may be my last chance. The data says to me that I've TTC'd for a total of 2 yrs (1 before Joe and after Joe) without met, and no successes. The 1 yr I was on met, I had two pregnancies (one miscarried, but I still consider that a step in the right direction). So, I'm thinking Met may be the answer, or at least worth a try.
Anything you girls have to add would be greatly appreciated!
I was on metformin alone, for about 10 weeks before getting pregnant. Never had a regular cycle tho while on it, so not sure if I just got lucky and just happened to ovulate. The weight loss is an issue for me too. I am currently about 7lbs below my baseline weight, since having DS almost a year ago. Stopped nursing him a long time ago as couldn't keep up with his demands!
I wish you the very best of luck, and hope to see you get a BFP soon. I am hoping to have a chat with one of the endocrinologists in work about metformin, PCOS is one of his areas of special interest, so I will let you know his views on the weight loss end of things. I know that he does use it as his first line of treatment, but is concerned re the lack of research into the longterm effects of this treatment on thin cysters ... so it will be interesting to see what his view are.
First, thanks to both of you for replying! I'd be curious to hear what your doctor thinks, Kellyanna!
Yes, the Follistim was working with respect to ovulation - although, I was always on the cusp of producing too many follicles too. Basically, all meds (clomid, femara, & follistim) get me to ovulate - just no pregnancies, other than while I was on the met. At my last appt, my doc basically said that if the Follistim didn't work in Round 2, he would recommend moving directly to IVF. I think partly because of my age (just turned 35 in Jan), and because I had an elevated Day 3 FSH level (10.3) a few months ago. However, my body hasn't always behaved like I have an elevated FSH level, since I seem to bring up many follicles on a very low dose of Follistim. In any case, I probably could convince the doc to do another round of follistim if I really wanted to, but I'm wondering if without Met, it's not worth it. And, if I go on met again, maybe just start back with Femara since it's much cheaper and less invasive, and quite frankly, I got pregnant on that (the time I miscarried), and then again, the month off Femara (I had a cyst, and so I couldn't take Femara that month, but ovulated on my own, and got pregnant w/ my son).
Another strange factor for me, is both times I got pregnant (m/c and my son), I did so when I ovulated on my own (no HCG shot). With Follistim, I have to use the HCG, b/c otherwise the doc is worried too many follicles could ovulate. So, another reason why I'm shying away from the follistim.
Another possible factor is DH's part in all of this - he always gets questionable marks for morphology, so we don't know if that plays a role or not (he has good count, so that in theory should overcome the morphology issues).
So, that sums up what I know.....just thinking Met might be at least worth a try again....since I was on that when I did actually get pregnant, and haven't gotten pregnant ever without it!
How long on Met for pregnancy? 
