Metformin And Advandia

stormy1974 · 01-29-2006, 10:17 PM

My Doc just added 2mgs of Advandia to the 2000mgs of Met XR that I already take...

2mgs, seems like such a small amount...

Anyone on both of these??? If so have you seen a difference with the Advandia??? What doses are you on??

Baiscally she gave it to me because pre-metformin I had AF like 1 a year, with MET I have 60-75 day cycles, I guess she is hoping the Advandia will give me the push to have normal cycles??? Has anyone had this??

Stormy~

*Ellie* · 01-31-2006, 04:56 AM

Hi Stormy.

When I was on metformin alone I was taking 1500mg and it wasn't doing anything for me. I couldn't increase my dose because it made me so sick. So I quit taking metformin and my doc put me on 4mg of Avandia, which I LOVE! My cycles shortened down to about 45 days (from about 180 days previously). When I went to see my RE he insisted that I take metformin again, but I wasn't about to give up my Avandia or take more than 1500mg of metformin, so we compromised and I am on my current dose of 4mg of Avandia and 1000mg of metformin. It does seem like a small dose, but just 4mg on it's own worked wonders for me.

Good luck!

stormy1974 · 02-03-2006, 01:29 AM

Thanks for your response, I was really beginning to think I was the only one on here with this combo of meds, I guess I will give it a few months and see if it does anything. I have noticed with the Advandia I have blood sugar crashes...I has happened like 3 times in the last week. Did you have this problem??

Stormy~

*Ellie* · 02-03-2006, 02:43 AM

Hm, no, I've never had that problem. Maybe together the doses of Avandia and Metformin are too high for you. Avandia proved to be really powerful for me, so I didn't need a very high dose of met. Perhaps you could ask your doc about lowering your metformin a bit? Sorry you're having to deal with that. I hope your doc is able to suggest something that will help. Good luck!

goldensara · 02-03-2006, 03:12 AM

Hi Stormy,
I was on Met 2550 mg (max dose) for 4 years with no periods unless I was given provera to induce...I now have been on 2550 mg of Met & 4mg of Avandia with NOTHING for 1 year no AF, more weight gain...I have an appt next week. I want to get off avandia because all side effects point to weight gain...retaining of water etc..If you are IR I don't know if avandia is your best bet because with IR you gain weight real easy. Of course, this has just been my experience. Good luck to you I hope it works!
Take care,
HOlly

satxcaser · 02-03-2006, 12:39 PM

I went to my old PCP after reading about Metformin and asked if I could try it but he refused to give me a prescription and gave me Avandia 4mg instead. I had been dieting and walking when I went to see him and had lost about 60lbs up until that point. But after I started the Avandia I gained 32 lbs in 2 1/2 months so I stopped it. I was gettting AF's with the Avandia but the weight gain wasn't worth it to me. So I went to see a new Endo I found that specialized in PCOS and metabolic disorders and she put me on Metformin.. This was in 2004. She said that Avandia was not her drug of choice for women with PCOS because of the high after market reports of weight gain and edema that they didn't find when they originally did the study on the drug. After starting the Met I lost most of the weight I gained from the Avandia in the first few months of being on Met. I've only been able to see her twice though since then because her waiting list to be seen is 6 months to a 1 year so I usually go see my Gyn who is a partner in her husband's practice.

I think it's good to start small and work your way up and watch and see how your body reacts only because I did fall into a negative category.

***Good luck***

stormy1974 · 02-03-2006, 07:38 PM

My doc did mention the edema was a poss side effect, but she said it's only common in pt's with heart related problems, I don't need to gain anymore weight...I am already looking into bypass surgery because of my weight and PCOS, Thank you for the insite though, I will keep an eye on my weight and water retention...Hopefully I can go off all my meds soon!!

Stormy~