Met, BC pills, periomenopause

ellozz · 10-23-2003, 02:36 PM

I am 46, been on met since April 2003. All my periods since met have been 28-30 days, and weight loss has been a lot easier. However, I have been struggling with sleeplessness for almost 2 years, steadily getting worse. Endo feels that periomenopause has begun, and prescribed Mircette BC for the estrogen. I totally agree with him on the fact that the estrogen level is a problem, due to a time period I was on natural hormones bi-est and progesterone, and had wonderful results with sleeping and other symptoms. (hormone tests verified very low estradiol level). My question is, how does being on BC pill work with Met? If anyone else has been in similar circumstances, or has any information, please respond.

Juliekaboolie · 10-23-2003, 07:13 PM

Well, I'm not too sure about Mircette but my experience with Yasmin was that it increased my bloodpressure quite a bit and I didn't feel well on it. I'm hoping Christy or one of the other ladies can answer your post as they know a lot more than I do about this topic. Good luck to you and I'm hoping that you'll be sleeping soundly soon.

ellozz · 10-24-2003, 06:48 PM

Thanks for your response, JulieKaboolie. I guess really this is a try and see thing, I just don't want the BC's to counteract what good I have been receiving from the Met (regular periods, easier to lose weight). I can honestly say that after 7 months of Met, that is all the results I can boast of, but I think the Met changes can be very gradual from what I have been reading. I have had the feeling while on the Met that it is helping some things, but not all the things, I believe they will eventually find more than one aspect to PCOS that will need to be treated (IMHO), or they still haven't quite zoned in on the complete cause of it, might be something else CAUSING the insulin resistance.
I have to say, periomenopause and PCOS is not fun, my PCOS seems to have been steadily worsening over the last few years. Moodiness, sleeplessness no matter what I did or didn't do has been getting worse and worse.

Juliekaboolie · 10-24-2003, 07:30 PM

Well, one of the things I have learned about the BCP is that it actually increases IR and works against the Met. In your case, with your lower than normal estrogen, I am not sure what to say. Have you had other hormones tested to see if you have imbalances elsewhere? I also am not sure how to answer due to the raging debate on HRT. I'm not sure if Mircette would count towards this and what is safe and what is not. Have you done any research on this? That would probably be the first thing I would do. I know there are a lot of good peri and menopausal books out there as well as info on the net. My mom finished with menopause two years ago and did it naturally but she also doesn't have PCOS so lucky her, I guess. I am not sure what route I will take when the time comes but I hope more is known about PCOS by then so I'll have a clearer understanding of how things work. Good luck to you!!

StarMaiden · 10-25-2003, 08:38 PM

Well, I've taken BCPS about 75% of the time for the last twenty years. And I've been on Gluc XR for two months.

On the one hand, since I don't need the Alesse for birth control right now, I'm tempted to stop taking it for a while, and see what happens with my cycles. On the other hand, since I'm not really interested in fertility, I don't really want to know what it would do to my cycles. Frankly, I happen to love not having periods and cramps, PMS, etc. I take the BCPs in part to protect against ovarian cancer, of which my Grandmother died. I am inclined to stay on them, unless I read some really convincing stuff about BCPs and diabetes.

Elloz, I'm about to turn 44. Haven't noticed anything I would attribute to peri-menopause yet, but I'm definitely in that demographic, so I'm interested in reading whatever I can find on these issues. Thanks for bringing it up. I have noticed over the past five years, however, that my PCOS symptoms have lessened slightly.

ellozz · 10-28-2003, 09:03 PM

I appreciate your replies. Has anyone out there taken Met and BCP's together for any length of time? So far at the end of week one, with Met and Mircette, weight loss hasn't decreased at all (3 lbs this week), so I am thankful for that..sleeping a tiny bit better, and more energetic. But one week is way too soon to tell, I would like to hear from anyone that has longer range experience with both.

ellozz · 11-03-2003, 05:07 PM

From Dr. Charles Glueck: Never take an estrogen-containing oral contraceptive along with metformin. the estrogen will increase insulin resistance and make the metformin ineffective

Guess that is an answer to my question!

christyz · 11-03-2003, 05:39 PM

There are two articles on Met & BCP on the FAQ thread:

BCP & insulin resistance:
http://www.diabetesforum.net/cgi-bi...?category_id=12

Low dosage BCP's have less effect on IR and Blood Glucose levels and the pill:
http://www.tinman.com/diabetes/diabsex/birthcon.htm

Hope it helps.

Candace · 11-03-2003, 06:53 PM

For about three years. I take Yasmin and started it right after it came out on the market. I also started Glucophage XR about the same time. I actually started the Glucophage XR before the Yasmin a couple of months before. I have had awesome results with the combination of both. I had to cut my dose recently of Glucophage due to low blood sugar issues at night. I am concerned however, about diabetes. Considering that the BCP makes insulin resistance worse in some cases I wonder about diabetes showing up sooner if it is going too. I have not had any weight issues combining both. I feel so much better hormonally. I don't have fluctuations that I had with the Gluocphage alone. I was having terrible PMS, cystic acne and became really impatient with my hormones trying to regulate with the Gluocophage alone. My weight is stable at 114 and I was 147 three years ago. I combine exercise, healthy eating (lower carb, no sugar) with the Glucophage XR and Yasmin and have seen tremendous results. Although, the general consensus about taking both is still out, I feel for me this has been the greatest treatment for my PCOS and getting the insulin balance under control. I do take the pill at night before bed, because I notice I get really sleepy when I take them in the a.m. I take all my Glucophage XR in the a.m. and have tons of energy this way. I think I might be one of the few cysters on the site that can attest to this regimen but it took quite sometime to get my hormones back in check. I sleep better with the pill also. I started this regimen because I continued to have cysts without the pill and on Glucophage only, and I was running to the OB every month in terrific pain. She encouraged me to take the pill, (don't they always) which I was very opposed to. I finally requested a lap to check my ovaries and she couldn't believe my ovaries. She said she had never seen such ovaries in all her practice. Anyway, I did as she requested and started the pill. My reasons were due to having the horrible PMS, lots of headaches and not feeling well most of the time. I hope if you decide this is for you, you will have tremendous results as I have. I had to give it quite some time before I really felt well. Probably a year or so. Good Luck in whatever you decide.

Candace

ellozz · 11-03-2003, 08:28 PM

To christyz for the URLs!

Candace, thanks for your reply, I really appreciate hearing the details of your experience. The met for me is helping in some fronts, but not on all. My endo says I am a moving target, meaning that my hormones are constantly changing as I approach menopause, so makes it hard to be sure which way to go sometimes. All I know is that I need some sleep

)
I noted with interest your statement that the pill makes you sleepy, so you take it at night. The Mircette seems to give me more energy during the first 8 hours, so I take it early in the day. That way it wears down and I am ready for sleep at bedtime. I am still waking at night so far, but not wide awake, I am able to drift back to sleep within a matter of minutes. Such a nice change from it taking 2 hours to go back to sleep!
I am watching my weight very closely now, to see if the pill makes changes there, so far appetite and weight are stable. I really don't want to make the insulin resistance worse, after finally getting it acknowledged and actually having treatment for it. I will probably give the Mircette a 3 months' trial, then go from there.