Insulin Resistance, and Why Met Helps

KYBluegrass · 06-25-2003, 03:08 PM

Many of you have been PMing me about IR, and why does met help, and should I be taking it.

Diagnosable Insulin Resistance occurs with PCOS in about 40% of the diagnosed PCOS cases. In essence, someone who is insulin resistant is on the total opposite end of the spectrum than someone who is diabetic. In a diabetic, they either do not produce enough insulin on their own or none at all. For someone who is IR, they produce WAAAAYYY too much. The effect of all this extra insulin floating around in your system is much like taking too many antibiotics...over time, your body builds up a resistance to all this extra insulin, and ignores it.
What happens, in layman's terms, is this. You eat a meal, and your insulin is released to carry the glucose to your cells. Your cells have become resistant to your insulin, so it has no where to deliver the glucose. After a period of time, your brain senses that your sugar level is still too high, and orders more insulin to be released to bring it down. Thus begins a nasty cycle. For someone who is insulin resistant, it becomes gradually worse as time passes, and it gets very easy to gain, but very hard to lose weight.
It's a catch 22 situation...as your weight increases, so does your insulin resistance. Luckily, the converse is also true. As you lose weight, your insulin resistance also decreases.
This is where metformin can be helpful. What metformin does is to resensitze your cells to your own insulin, so that you can use your insulin more efficiently. The drug itself is NOT a weight loss drug. All it will do is "level the playing field" so that if you follow a healthy diet and exercise, you can lose weight like normal people.
Now, the side benefits. Insulin is a master hormone. When one of your hormones gets out of whack, the other hormone levels in your body move up or down to compensate. This changing of the levels can cause all kinds of problems in a woman's body...hair loss/growth, reproductive problems, skin problems, and a general feeling of fatigue and even water retention. For many women, whether they are overweight or not, met helps to get these hormones back into balance by working on your insulin. Often times, taking Birth control pills or other medications that work on your hormones can sometimes throw a monkey wrench into the works...they may mask or "undo"the work that the met is doing. For others, their docs recommend it, and they do not seem to have problems. This is where communication with your doctor is vital.
Don't assume that because you are not losing a lot of weight that the met isn't working. For some of us, it takes more time to get the hormone levels where they should be. Be patient with yourself...sometimes, it may take a dosage adjustment to find what's right for you.

For those who are not dxd IR, doctors are also using met to help cysters who are having trouble ovulating or other reproductive problems. There are many cases right here on this forum that met has helped bring on AF, regulate cycles, and even helped some to conceive, even after trying clomid. The underlying key to all this is the hormones....they must be tested, and re-checked to be sure the met is helping, and the levels are moving in the right direction.

Your way of eating is important to your success with met. Even if you are not actively trying to lose weight, your results with met will be enhanced by eating a lower to moderate carb diet and exercise. Think about it....met is a Type II diabetes drug. Obviously, for a diabetic, they would make things harder for themselves if they did not watch their diet in order to feel their best. Since this really is a diabetic medication, the drug will work its best when your body is not flooded with carbs. Don't make the medication work harder than it has to, and we cannot expect to sit back and let the drug do all the work. Now, I do not mean to make taking met sound like roses and wine. For some, they simply cannot tolerate the drug, and for some, they do not experience the results that others do. As far as allowing the drug time to see results, trust me...it will take more than a couple weeks to really see what's going on.
Hope this answers some questions about met...we are all here to lend support to each other and share information. The best thing you can do to get your health back is to read everything you can get your hands on. Read the research articles on this site...learn all you can... there is new research coming out all the time, and as some of us know, we can end up teaching our docs sometimes!
Best of health to you....Tracey

Here's a link for somemore information: Everyone feel free to add links that you find!www.pslgroup.com/dg/21642a/htm

isitmytimeyet · 06-25-2003, 03:21 PM

Good info. I tried to pull up the link but couldn't. Let me ask you this, is this a lifetime drug for those of us that are IR? I have a history of diabetes in my family-my father takes the same medicine-will this keep diabetes away?

Selina G. Reyes · 06-25-2003, 03:36 PM

Kybluegrass:

I read your post with much interest. I really don't know if you remember my posts or replys but I have not been following a L/C diet and I am on met. I have not had menses on my own for 9 yrs.
My last one was in April (provera assisted) The thing is that I have been cramping for the last three weeks that is about the time I started 1000mg. but still no period. Could it be that if I followed a L/C diet I would get it? Or maybe it's just time for me to call the doc and tell him to refill my provera? He says I need to get my period. I just want to wait it out to see if maybe met. can do the trick. Last night I felt my breasts kind of full, like when I was regular and was going to get my period. Should I just give it time?? I just ordered the IR book, our local book store did not have it. I should get it today or tommorow. I did Adkins and lost but quit I think I just got bored. My current weight is 200. I know that if I L/C it will help, I am just waiting for the book.

My husband seems to think maybe my breasts are full cause I am gaining my weight back. I am not pg because my husband had surgery in April and we just started to get you know "with it".
Anyway, I gave up on that a long time ago. Everytime
I go potty I hope and pray that I will get it.

Selina

christyz · 06-25-2003, 03:41 PM

This a terrific article..definetly worthy of a Sticky I think.

Ladies, try this link for the article in Tracey's writeup on Non-IR/thin cysters and Met:
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/21642a.htm

This is a good time to remind you ladies that if you have topics that you would like to see a more in-depth article on, send me a PM.

Thanks so much for contributing this, Tracey! Excellent stuff!

christyz · 06-25-2003, 06:25 PM

Selina: I am really proud of you for waiting out the met...it's a tough wait, I know! It was 3 months before I had AF, and i was on a higher dose if I recall your dosage right.

If it were me, I would give it a full 6 months, but I can't make that decision for you, because you're the one with the nasty PMS.

It's possible too that your dose is so low that you won't cycle...500mg is pretty ineffective in some ladies. You could also bring on a cycle with the provera, continue taking the met and let that met keep building in your system. Then after you cycle with the Provera you could see if AF shows up a month or so after that. With a cycle in the middle, it might be a more bearable wait.

Low carbing would definetly help (insulin is a hormone as KY reminded us), as it l/c lowers your hormones faster.

Hang in there, Honey, you deserve a medal for your patience!

Hugs,

KYBluegrass · 06-25-2003, 11:26 PM

Of course I remember your posts! There have been many cysters who have said that they really saw a difference once they started eating more of a moderate to lower carb diet, even if they don't take met. For we who have PCOS, we have this weird aversion to carbs...we love them, but they don't love us back. Using a lower carb diet (doesn't necessarily have to be Atkins), in conjunction with the met may help get things back in order for you. Keep in mind this may not work right away for everyone, but just doing all you can to avoid a lot of sugars and highly refined and high carb foods can help. The carbs cause your insulin to spike (the old familiar "candy bar crash"), and it is when your sugar level hits bottom that you're hungry again. If you eat more protein in your diet instead of carbs, it will have the effect of keeping your sugar levels more stable, and avoid those low sugar binges. Exercise helps lower insulin resistance, as well as eating more low carb, and in turn, this helps the met do all it can do for you.

Isitmytime: for me, met will be a lifetime drug. I am not a pill popper, but the benefits of health I have received from it far outweigh the inconvenience of having to take a pill. Losing the weight will help me to keep my IR under control, but IR never goes away completely...it will always be there a little even when I am thin...it will just be more under control, and I will not have to obsess over everything I eat. Also, by treating the disorder now, I have lessened the chance that my condition will develop into full blown diabetes later in life.

missmelanie23 · 06-26-2003, 10:32 PM

I keep reading that low to moderate carb diet are best for PCOS ladies... I can deal with moderate but not low. But for me since i've been taking Metformin... the problem is sugar.... any types of sweets I have a hard time with. Gimme gimme gimme... I have cravings and they just won't go away and when i cave in, its bad... and i mean really bad. So far I have managed to lose 45lbs and I really don't know how I have done it because i can, (i swear i can cause i've done it 2 days ago) eat a tub of ice cream or even a full bag of oreo cookies.

I guess what I am looking for are tricks to kick the cravings for carbs and sweets. And please don't tell me to eat something else because that just doesn't work..

Help!

christyz · 06-27-2003, 11:01 AM

I don't think seriously low carbing is good either...i'm on a moderate carb diet of approx 50-75 carb grams per day myself.

Have you tried the product called Zone bars? I haven't tried them, but a few ladies on the diet forum have tried them and say thery are to die for. They sell them Wal-Mart and they are like a chocolate bar, but they have less carb and are balanced with protien so you don't have to feel like you just blew it.

Hope it helps!

KYBluegrass · 06-27-2003, 12:17 PM

I think you just answered your own question!

For me too, going low carb was a little too extreme for me. I would be really good for a while, but then suddenly, I would binge, I mean really binge and totally blow it.
For me, the IR diet has worked well. I don't feel deprived at all, and it's a plan I can live with for the rest of my life. Kicking the carbs habit is like kicking any other habit...our bodies just naturally crave carbs because of what's going on in our bodies, so that is against us already. Putting more protein foods in our bodies helps to slow down the insulin response, and manages the blood sugar levels so that they don't hit bottom...so you don't get the "hungries" for more carbs. One of the basic rules of the IR diet is that you never eat carbs alone...you always have some protein with it, to control your sugar levels.
Choosing a plan you can live with is a very personal choice...some can do Atkins, and have great success on it. But everyone's body is different...you just have to read about some other plans, and see what works best for you....go over to the diet forum, and there you will find tons of ideas! And BTW, congrats on your weight loss!!!!

edabney99 · 06-29-2003, 01:06 AM

Hi everyone,
I am new to the board and I take met 500/2xday. I have only been taking it for a month. I had AF after taking it for two weeks, in all it had been 50 days since my last cycle (from reading a few of the posts that's not that long between cycles). I am recently dx and not used to not having cycles. For the past year I have only had 9 cycles but i remember having one monthly. What got me was hot flashes and my cycle started to change, they were much lighter and then they started to not come regularly. The Met has caused some stomach problems but overall I have no major side effects. My question is how can I tell if I should be taking a higher dose. I've noticed that many of the cysters take at least 1500 not 1000 and my doctor (Ob/Gyn) only wants to keep me on it for 4 months. I want to call an endocrinologist for help because I can't take these hot flashes and sweating ( many of the people at work talk about me because of my sweating and hot flashes, since I am younger than them). I have included estroven to help with hot flashes, has anyone else used it. I guess I am worried that I am not doing the right things and it seems that although my doctor did finally dx me with PCOS, I haven't been getting any information or advice from her. I found out all of my information about PCOS from the internet and this message board. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I may not be married but I want to ovulate and have children some day. But mainly right now I want to end hot flashes and lose weight. I am currently 205 pounds (gained five pounds this month alone) and although I am tall ( 5' 11 1/2) I still need to lose. I must also say that I crave carbs, for that past few months (before I was dx and to be honest a few days after) I would start my day off with vinegar and salt potato chips (the big bag). Since I have to eat food with the met, I can officially say that I am eating a better breakfast.
Okay this is long but I guess since I have learned so much from this site, I feel like I can receive great advice from everyone.
Thanks for any suggestions

Erika (30)/ aunt to 2 nieces and 1 nephew

christyz · 06-30-2003, 11:52 PM

I would encourage you to check out the "Sticky" post at the top of the metformin page and read the article titled "IS MET WORKING FOR ME"?

It talks about dosing and results, and essentially, the ony real way to tell is by labwork. When your bloodwork comes back, it will indicate if your hormone are within normal levels.

If you have any questions with the article...be sure to post and I'll clarify.

Take Care!

JD8 · 07-08-2003, 01:42 AM

Hi. I'm taking glucophage (1500). I'm having problems with diarrhea.... and not just a little. ;-) Has anyone else experienced this? I called my Doc's office and they said that I may be eating too many carbs. The plan they have me on allows up to 50 carbs a day. I know I'm not going over. Any ideas?

By the way, I'm new to the group and glad to be here.

Jenny

christyz · 07-08-2003, 01:39 PM

Diarrhea is a common side effect...especially at first. I still have it occassionally (once every 2nd or 3rd wek or so) on Met and it's been close to 2 years. Low carbing is definetly a big help to this aspect, but 50g certainly isn't unreasonable. I don't like to see ladies carbs dip much lower than due to a variety of consequences.

How long you have been on the drug is a huge factor in those pesky side effects. It does get better as time goes on...it isn't as urgent, as consistent or as explosive! lol Hang in there!

06-25-2003, 03:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
KYBluegrass IR Diet Maven Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Tennessee Posts: 1,578 Points: 2,066.55 Bank: 3,121,660.14 Total Points: 3,123,726.69 Donate	Insulin Resistance, and Why Met Helps Many of you have been PMing me about IR, and why does met help, and should I be taking it. Diagnosable Insulin Resistance occurs with PCOS in about 40% of the diagnosed PCOS cases. In essence, someone who is insulin resistant is on the total opposite end of the spectrum than someone who is diabetic. In a diabetic, they either do not produce enough insulin on their own or none at all. For someone who is IR, they produce WAAAAYYY too much. The effect of all this extra insulin floating around in your system is much like taking too many antibiotics...over time, your body builds up a resistance to all this extra insulin, and ignores it. What happens, in layman's terms, is this. You eat a meal, and your insulin is released to carry the glucose to your cells. Your cells have become resistant to your insulin, so it has no where to deliver the glucose. After a period of time, your brain senses that your sugar level is still too high, and orders more insulin to be released to bring it down. Thus begins a nasty cycle. For someone who is insulin resistant, it becomes gradually worse as time passes, and it gets very easy to gain, but very hard to lose weight. It's a catch 22 situation...as your weight increases, so does your insulin resistance. Luckily, the converse is also true. As you lose weight, your insulin resistance also decreases. This is where metformin can be helpful. What metformin does is to resensitze your cells to your own insulin, so that you can use your insulin more efficiently. The drug itself is NOT a weight loss drug. All it will do is "level the playing field" so that if you follow a healthy diet and exercise, you can lose weight like normal people. Now, the side benefits. Insulin is a master hormone. When one of your hormones gets out of whack, the other hormone levels in your body move up or down to compensate. This changing of the levels can cause all kinds of problems in a woman's body...hair loss/growth, reproductive problems, skin problems, and a general feeling of fatigue and even water retention. For many women, whether they are overweight or not, met helps to get these hormones back into balance by working on your insulin. Often times, taking Birth control pills or other medications that work on your hormones can sometimes throw a monkey wrench into the works...they may mask or "undo"the work that the met is doing. For others, their docs recommend it, and they do not seem to have problems. This is where communication with your doctor is vital. Don't assume that because you are not losing a lot of weight that the met isn't working. For some of us, it takes more time to get the hormone levels where they should be. Be patient with yourself...sometimes, it may take a dosage adjustment to find what's right for you. For those who are not dxd IR, doctors are also using met to help cysters who are having trouble ovulating or other reproductive problems. There are many cases right here on this forum that met has helped bring on AF, regulate cycles, and even helped some to conceive, even after trying clomid. The underlying key to all this is the hormones....they must be tested, and re-checked to be sure the met is helping, and the levels are moving in the right direction. Your way of eating is important to your success with met. Even if you are not actively trying to lose weight, your results with met will be enhanced by eating a lower to moderate carb diet and exercise. Think about it....met is a Type II diabetes drug. Obviously, for a diabetic, they would make things harder for themselves if they did not watch their diet in order to feel their best. Since this really is a diabetic medication, the drug will work its best when your body is not flooded with carbs. Don't make the medication work harder than it has to, and we cannot expect to sit back and let the drug do all the work. Now, I do not mean to make taking met sound like roses and wine. For some, they simply cannot tolerate the drug, and for some, they do not experience the results that others do. As far as allowing the drug time to see results, trust me...it will take more than a couple weeks to really see what's going on. Hope this answers some questions about met...we are all here to lend support to each other and share information. The best thing you can do to get your health back is to read everything you can get your hands on. Read the research articles on this site...learn all you can... there is new research coming out all the time, and as some of us know, we can end up teaching our docs sometimes! Best of health to you....Tracey Here's a link for somemore information: Everyone feel free to add links that you find!www.pslgroup.com/dg/21642a/htm __________________ Tracey To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Mommy to Ephraim, Born 9-24-06 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Moderator, Mommy Board

06-25-2003, 03:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
isitmytimeyet I'M A MOMMY!!!! Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: atlanta ga Posts: 1,096 My Mood: Points: 2,420.63 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 2,420.63 Donate	Good info. I tried to pull up the link but couldn't. Let me ask you this, is this a lifetime drug for those of us that are IR? I have a history of diabetes in my family-my father takes the same medicine-will this keep diabetes away? __________________ Yvette (40) dh David(43) married 11/01* ttc #1* 10 years + glucophage xr 2000mg/day, prenatal vitamins, Progesterone Supps. gonal-f, profasi &IUI 1st cycle Feb'03 gonal-f, profasi no IUI 2nd cycle March '03PG 5 angels in Heaven: 8/93 11/94 11/97 10/02 4/03 D&C-Laparoscopy-Hysteroscopy 5/03 OCT/03 Gonal-f /Profasi/Gluc.XR/BDPG ++8DPO! 1st BETA 11DPO~21 P4>40 2nd BETA 14DPO~129 P4>40 3rd BETA 21DPO~2694 P4>40 1st U/S~12-8-03 1 Beautiful Heartbeat 6W1D 2nd U/S~12-17-03 Heard HB!! 180BPM 7W2D 3rd U/S~12-23-03 HB 162BPM 8W2D Cervical Cerclage~1-27-04 Cerclage Removed~7-15-04 37w 4d!! ~~~EDD 8/1/04~~~ SELENA CAMILLE~~~JULY 30, 2004 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-25-2003, 03:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Selina G. Reyes SeliWeli Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Laredo, Texas Posts: 171 Points: 4,256.89 Bank: 344.61 Total Points: 4,601.49 Donate	Kybluegrass: I read your post with much interest. I really don't know if you remember my posts or replys but I have not been following a L/C diet and I am on met. I have not had menses on my own for 9 yrs. My last one was in April (provera assisted) The thing is that I have been cramping for the last three weeks that is about the time I started 1000mg. but still no period. Could it be that if I followed a L/C diet I would get it? Or maybe it's just time for me to call the doc and tell him to refill my provera? He says I need to get my period. I just want to wait it out to see if maybe met. can do the trick. Last night I felt my breasts kind of full, like when I was regular and was going to get my period. Should I just give it time?? I just ordered the IR book, our local book store did not have it. I should get it today or tommorow. I did Adkins and lost but quit I think I just got bored. My current weight is 200. I know that if I L/C it will help, I am just waiting for the book. My husband seems to think maybe my breasts are full cause I am gaining my weight back. I am not pg because my husband had surgery in April and we just started to get you know "with it". Anyway, I gave up on that a long time ago. Everytime I go potty I hope and pray that I will get it. Selina __________________ Your Cyster in South Texas ~~Selina~~ Support the Leukemia Society - Donate Blood and become a Bone Marrow Donor.

06-25-2003, 03:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
christyz Running & Biking Fool! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SK, CANADA Posts: 9,523 Points: 19,588.01 Bank: 3,348,243.84 Total Points: 3,367,831.85 Donate	Awesome, stuff, Tracey! This a terrific article..definetly worthy of a Sticky I think. Ladies, try this link for the article in Tracey's writeup on Non-IR/thin cysters and Met: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/21642a.htm This is a good time to remind you ladies that if you have topics that you would like to see a more in-depth article on, send me a PM. Thanks so much for contributing this, Tracey! Excellent stuff! __________________ 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! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Before & Aug 2007 '08: Duathlon and another half?

06-25-2003, 06:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
christyz Running & Biking Fool! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SK, CANADA Posts: 9,523 Points: 19,588.01 Bank: 3,348,243.84 Total Points: 3,367,831.85 Donate	Selina: I am really proud of you for waiting out the met...it's a tough wait, I know! It was 3 months before I had AF, and i was on a higher dose if I recall your dosage right. If it were me, I would give it a full 6 months, but I can't make that decision for you, because you're the one with the nasty PMS. It's possible too that your dose is so low that you won't cycle...500mg is pretty ineffective in some ladies. You could also bring on a cycle with the provera, continue taking the met and let that met keep building in your system. Then after you cycle with the Provera you could see if AF shows up a month or so after that. With a cycle in the middle, it might be a more bearable wait. Low carbing would definetly help (insulin is a hormone as KY reminded us), as it l/c lowers your hormones faster. Hang in there, Honey, you deserve a medal for your patience! Hugs, __________________ 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! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Before & Aug 2007 '08: Duathlon and another half?

06-25-2003, 11:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
KYBluegrass IR Diet Maven Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Tennessee Posts: 1,578 Points: 2,066.55 Bank: 3,121,660.14 Total Points: 3,123,726.69 Donate	Selina Of course I remember your posts! There have been many cysters who have said that they really saw a difference once they started eating more of a moderate to lower carb diet, even if they don't take met. For we who have PCOS, we have this weird aversion to carbs...we love them, but they don't love us back. Using a lower carb diet (doesn't necessarily have to be Atkins), in conjunction with the met may help get things back in order for you. Keep in mind this may not work right away for everyone, but just doing all you can to avoid a lot of sugars and highly refined and high carb foods can help. The carbs cause your insulin to spike (the old familiar "candy bar crash"), and it is when your sugar level hits bottom that you're hungry again. If you eat more protein in your diet instead of carbs, it will have the effect of keeping your sugar levels more stable, and avoid those low sugar binges. Exercise helps lower insulin resistance, as well as eating more low carb, and in turn, this helps the met do all it can do for you. Isitmytime: for me, met will be a lifetime drug. I am not a pill popper, but the benefits of health I have received from it far outweigh the inconvenience of having to take a pill. Losing the weight will help me to keep my IR under control, but IR never goes away completely...it will always be there a little even when I am thin...it will just be more under control, and I will not have to obsess over everything I eat. Also, by treating the disorder now, I have lessened the chance that my condition will develop into full blown diabetes later in life. __________________ Tracey To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Mommy to Ephraim, Born 9-24-06 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Moderator, Mommy Board

06-26-2003, 10:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
missmelanie23 Ottawa Rainbow Cyster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ottawa, ON Canada Posts: 222 My Mood: Points: 11,582.57 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 11,582.57 Donate	? I keep reading that low to moderate carb diet are best for PCOS ladies... I can deal with moderate but not low. But for me since i've been taking Metformin... the problem is sugar.... any types of sweets I have a hard time with. Gimme gimme gimme... I have cravings and they just won't go away and when i cave in, its bad... and i mean really bad. So far I have managed to lose 45lbs and I really don't know how I have done it because i can, (i swear i can cause i've done it 2 days ago) eat a tub of ice cream or even a full bag of oreo cookies. I guess what I am looking for are tricks to kick the cravings for carbs and sweets. And please don't tell me to eat something else because that just doesn't work.. Help! __________________ *Mélanie* St-Colomban, Quebec - Canada Age 29, Diagnosed at age 14; [font="Trebuchet MS"]Medication: 100mg Aldactone 1500mg Metformin 8mg Conversyl 25mg Chlorthalidone 225mg Effexor (300mg was way too much - side effects were... not tolerable) NEWLY ADDED April 11th 08 Epival - as a mood stabilizer.

06-27-2003, 11:01 AM	#8 (permalink)
christyz Running & Biking Fool! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SK, CANADA Posts: 9,523 Points: 19,588.01 Bank: 3,348,243.84 Total Points: 3,367,831.85 Donate	I don't think seriously low carbing is good either...i'm on a moderate carb diet of approx 50-75 carb grams per day myself. Have you tried the product called Zone bars? I haven't tried them, but a few ladies on the diet forum have tried them and say thery are to die for. They sell them Wal-Mart and they are like a chocolate bar, but they have less carb and are balanced with protien so you don't have to feel like you just blew it. 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! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Before & Aug 2007 '08: Duathlon and another half?

06-27-2003, 12:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
KYBluegrass IR Diet Maven Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle Tennessee Posts: 1,578 Points: 2,066.55 Bank: 3,121,660.14 Total Points: 3,123,726.69 Donate	Melanie.... I think you just answered your own question! For me too, going low carb was a little too extreme for me. I would be really good for a while, but then suddenly, I would binge, I mean really binge and totally blow it. For me, the IR diet has worked well. I don't feel deprived at all, and it's a plan I can live with for the rest of my life. Kicking the carbs habit is like kicking any other habit...our bodies just naturally crave carbs because of what's going on in our bodies, so that is against us already. Putting more protein foods in our bodies helps to slow down the insulin response, and manages the blood sugar levels so that they don't hit bottom...so you don't get the "hungries" for more carbs. One of the basic rules of the IR diet is that you never eat carbs alone...you always have some protein with it, to control your sugar levels. Choosing a plan you can live with is a very personal choice...some can do Atkins, and have great success on it. But everyone's body is different...you just have to read about some other plans, and see what works best for you....go over to the diet forum, and there you will find tons of ideas! And BTW, congrats on your weight loss!!!! __________________ Tracey To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Mommy to Ephraim, Born 9-24-06 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. -Moderator, Mommy Board

06-29-2003, 01:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
edabney99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Talladega, Alabama Posts: 154 Points: 304.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 304.00 Donate	Hi everyone, I am new to the board and I take met 500/2xday. I have only been taking it for a month. I had AF after taking it for two weeks, in all it had been 50 days since my last cycle (from reading a few of the posts that's not that long between cycles). I am recently dx and not used to not having cycles. For the past year I have only had 9 cycles but i remember having one monthly. What got me was hot flashes and my cycle started to change, they were much lighter and then they started to not come regularly. The Met has caused some stomach problems but overall I have no major side effects. My question is how can I tell if I should be taking a higher dose. I've noticed that many of the cysters take at least 1500 not 1000 and my doctor (Ob/Gyn) only wants to keep me on it for 4 months. I want to call an endocrinologist for help because I can't take these hot flashes and sweating ( many of the people at work talk about me because of my sweating and hot flashes, since I am younger than them). I have included estroven to help with hot flashes, has anyone else used it. I guess I am worried that I am not doing the right things and it seems that although my doctor did finally dx me with PCOS, I haven't been getting any information or advice from her. I found out all of my information about PCOS from the internet and this message board. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I may not be married but I want to ovulate and have children some day. But mainly right now I want to end hot flashes and lose weight. I am currently 205 pounds (gained five pounds this month alone) and although I am tall ( 5' 11 1/2) I still need to lose. I must also say that I crave carbs, for that past few months (before I was dx and to be honest a few days after) I would start my day off with vinegar and salt potato chips (the big bag). Since I have to eat food with the met, I can officially say that I am eating a better breakfast. Okay this is long but I guess since I have learned so much from this site, I feel like I can receive great advice from everyone. Thanks for any suggestions Erika (30)/ aunt to 2 nieces and 1 nephew

06-30-2003, 11:52 PM	#11 (permalink)
christyz Running & Biking Fool! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SK, CANADA Posts: 9,523 Points: 19,588.01 Bank: 3,348,243.84 Total Points: 3,367,831.85 Donate	I would encourage you to check out the "Sticky" post at the top of the metformin page and read the article titled "IS MET WORKING FOR ME"? It talks about dosing and results, and essentially, the ony real way to tell is by labwork. When your bloodwork comes back, it will indicate if your hormone are within normal levels. If you have any questions with the article...be sure to post and I'll clarify. Take Care! __________________ 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! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Before & Aug 2007 '08: Duathlon and another half?

07-08-2003, 01:42 AM	#12 (permalink)
JD8 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 50 Points: 607.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 607.00 Donate	Hi. I'm taking glucophage (1500). I'm having problems with diarrhea.... and not just a little. ;-) Has anyone else experienced this? I called my Doc's office and they said that I may be eating too many carbs. The plan they have me on allows up to 50 carbs a day. I know I'm not going over. Any ideas? By the way, I'm new to the group and glad to be here. Jenny

07-08-2003, 01:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
christyz Running & Biking Fool! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SK, CANADA Posts: 9,523 Points: 19,588.01 Bank: 3,348,243.84 Total Points: 3,367,831.85 Donate	Diarrhea is a common side effect...especially at first. I still have it occassionally (once every 2nd or 3rd wek or so) on Met and it's been close to 2 years. Low carbing is definetly a big help to this aspect, but 50g certainly isn't unreasonable. I don't like to see ladies carbs dip much lower than due to a variety of consequences. How long you have been on the drug is a huge factor in those pesky side effects. It does get better as time goes on...it isn't as urgent, as consistent or as explosive! lol Hang in there! __________________ 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! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Before & Aug 2007 '08: Duathlon and another half?

07-10-2003, 01:36 PM	#14 (permalink)
Chula Bi-lingual Cyster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas City, Ks Posts: 1,733 Points: 1,514.62 Bank: 4,646,550.91 Total Points: 4,648,065.54 Donate