Interesting article, Kat!!

KYBluegrass · 07-10-2003, 10:41 PM

This would certainly explain the reluctance by many docs in the UK in prescribing met to their PCOS patients...
I guess I'm a little biased, but I truly believe that met can work a miracle, but the interesting thing the article touched on is that some docs may be prescribing this, telling their patients that they will lose weight on it. Met is not a weight loss drug...the weight loss is a pleasant side benefit of getting your insulin working properly,and following a healthy eating plan and exercising. I have found, after talking with many cysters here, that your results on met depend to an extent on how much you are willing to do for yourself. Too many docs just give the pills, and do not make any recommendations for diet and exercise. The patients expect to sit back and wait for the weight to fall off, then are disappointed when it doesn't.

Cysters, take your dx seriously...take your health seriously. What you do now for yourself will help to possibly avoid more serious health problems down the road. Read all you can on the subject..educate yourself! Thanks Kat for posting that article! It will be interesting to see the results of that study.

christyz · 07-10-2003, 11:43 PM

Hi Tracey/Kat:

I was glad the article addressed the fact that there are so few large studies on Met, but it was rather assumptive to assertain that the safety is uncertain until *their* study results are actually in. We all know there are still lots of blanks that need to be filled regarding Met treatment for PCOS but there are many smaller studies that conclude it's perfectly safe and effective.

I also liked how they mentioned Met's role is for "...patients who have been appropriately investigated by a reproductive physician". Met requires strict observation, and it was wise to include that.

I was concerned at the mention that Met "... is also often projected as a drug that will help women to lose weight but there is no clear evidence that it helps lose weight". They need to read some studies other than their own then....

(1. H YkiJarvinen, K Nikkila, S Makimattila. Metformin prevents weight gain by reducing dietary intake during insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Drugs, 1999, Vol 58, Suppl. 1, pp 53-54.

2. L Harborne, N Sattar, H Lyall, J Norman & R Fleming. Metformin and weight loss in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Univ. Dept Obstet Gynaecol, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK.)

I agree that weight loss is not Met's primary purpose, but to deny it as a secondary health benefit is ridiculous. And they didn't begin to touch on the studies regarding ovulation and menstruation and met.

I found the comment interesting: "Many women will lose weight while taking metformin because they've also been given advice on diet and exercise at the same time." I worked out and cut my fat intake severely before Met to no avail. When I started Met, it was the only factor that changed, yet I lost 19% of my body weight. I am one person, but I know from these boards I'm not alone on this fact. Some of us worked our butt's off. But when we were on Met, we finally saw the fruits of our labour like every other health-concious woman.

I too will be very interested in the results of this study. I am always happy to see funding for Met studies, as we all will benefit from them.

Maddy · 07-11-2003, 06:04 AM

Okay I just caught up! and read the article

(taking a deeeeeeeeeep breath)

I am trying so hard not to rant again about stuff I have already ranted about! lol! But puhhhhlllleeeeease!

Okay, there are three points in that article that sum up the mindset of the majority of our GPs here:

Firstly, look around the rest of the world and take a look at some of their research and success rates with Metformin

Secondly the first sentence "PCOS prevalence is increasing in the Western World, partly in tandem with increasing BMI and rates of insulin resistance"
this sentence is then used as an excuse that by being overweight you are causing your PCOS. I have had that one. Which was made even more frustrating by the fact that I was actually a UK size 10 when I first visited a GP with this problem but because of a lack of diagnosis/treatment I was a 16 by the time I saw my 3rd who told me it was caused by my being overweight.

Then
"there are other treatments for annovulatory infertility that have gone through the mill and the evidence is strong"
excuse me
Why do I have to be ttc to be even considered for treatment? PCOS is not simply about wanting a baby, it is about wanting to be healthy!!!!!

and Christy I agree with you! And I'm sure that every woman who goes to her GP for help with her weight has already tried the "diet and exercise" thing! Are they saying that we are complaining about being overweight but we need to be told to try diet and exercise! ugh!

I'm sorry, but we really need to wake up over here. It is still seen as a "women's problem" that only needs treatment if we want to get pregnant and can't.

okay editing now I feel better after that rant! Just to say I think one of the biggest problems to getting any treatment here is that the medical profession look at PCOS as being a fertility problem and a gynaecological problem. They do not correlate it to insulin resistance. This is why the only treatment they offer is either fertility treatment or BCPs. they make the diagnosis based on cysts on the ovaries and the treatment of those cysts/lack of periods. They do not look for insulin resistance or treat this. (okay someone may have found a better GP than me and tell me different) Which makes me think I might have better luck if I go to my GP and tell him I think I have insulin resistance (with no mention of PCOS) as a problem which is not "gynaecological" maybe I will get more help!

Claire_t27 · 07-11-2003, 07:04 AM

Hi,

Sorry to sound dim but can somebody please tell me where to find this article?

Thanks

Maddy · 07-11-2003, 07:16 AM

Hello there

It's in the Research Articles 4 PCOS forum!

KYBluegrass · 07-11-2003, 01:33 PM

Maddy, I can certainly empathize with your frustrations. Honestly, the hardest part of the struggle to get my health back was not the weight loss part....I knew what I had to do, and how to do it, and I was doing it, but it wasn't working. The hardest part of the struggle for me was just getting help in the first place. For over 20 years, I went from doc to doc, telling them of my frustrations, and their only answer was "just lose weight". WELL, DUH, HOW COME I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT??????

It's hard to convince a doc when you're close to 300 pounds that you're barely eating 800 calories a day and not losing, but gaining. They all look at you like, "yeah, sure." Like Christy, I believe that met doesn't lose the weight for you....it just levels the playing field so that we too can see the results of our work that we deserve. Studies have said that Insulin Resistance itself does not CAUSE the weight gain...it is a contributing factor, along with all the messed up hormones. Well, I stand here as proof positive that met can and does help...and I am convinced that I never could have done this without medical help from my doc and met.

SheriKCMO · 07-12-2003, 02:43 AM

Just a reminder, the FDA in this country has still not "approved" metformin as a treatment for PCOS or insulin resistance patients whose fasting insulin level is below 20 (!!!!). Doctors are taking a chance with it, and I am grateful for it every day. I am of the belief that metformin or a similar treatment would help most PCOS patients at some point in their lives, especially those whose weight is such a burden to their health. At some point in the future, I hope that the worldwide medical community respects the importance of mild to moderate insulin resistance and works to prevent further problems.