New to Metformin

ali_squidz · 10-04-2007, 03:25 PM

Hey girls, I am a "text book case" of pcos. I am 5 ft 5 inches tall
and 156 lbs. I am on depo provera low dose subcutaneous 104mg. My
doctor just prescribed me metformin to try to help me lose weight.
Does anyone have any guidance? She said start low and increase. How do I know it's working? How do I know I am at the level I should be? How soon do you guys usually see changes?
thanks so much
Alicia

Eva37 · 10-04-2007, 03:55 PM

welcome to sc

my endo told me to start at 500 a day for a week, then up it to 500 twice a day. I try to avoid greasy/fatty/sugar foods as much as poss. And ALWAYS eat with the met.
eva

flt5 · 10-04-2007, 04:20 PM

I have been put on metformin starting on 750mg a day for 2 weeks then up to 1500mg. I am being careful to have the met with food. I am noticing that not everything I eat agrees with met.

Eva - do you think met works better with a low GI or low fat diet? (exercise with both/either). How did you get to your target weight?

ali_squidz · 10-04-2007, 04:31 PM

Excellent Eva. I will follow that guideline! Thanks so much. I will keep you all posted.

ali_squidz · 10-05-2007, 01:29 PM

Ok girls, the more I am learning about this, the more I am concerned about my doctor. They did no tests before putting me on this. I did some searching online and found this.

http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders...istance-2.html

Insulin tolerance test (ITT). Not widely used but is one method for determining insulin sensitivity (or resistance), especially in obese individuals and those with PCOS. This test involves an IV-infusion of insulin, with subsequent measurements of glucose and insulin levels.

what do I do?? Should I call the doc back and ask for testing first? Risk the health of my liver and wing it? Im actually pretty scared about all this. The doc really just wrote me the prescription and said here ya go. WTF??

Eva37 · 10-05-2007, 01:56 PM

i didnt have any ir testing before getting my met. My endo went by my blood tests result. Would be great to know how you get on with it.

eva

ali_squidz · 10-05-2007, 02:06 PM

Ok she didnt do any blood tests.... thats what Im saying. Yesterday was the first time I saw this doc.

DewDrop · 10-05-2007, 08:39 PM

I was just recently diagnosed with PCOS, in July 2007. I am 27. I have never had an absent period before until just recently.
I just started Metformin this Tuesday. 500 mg for the first month and then increase to 1000 mg. After the doctor wrote me the prescription, she told me that Metformin will not help with weight loss. She suggested I try some sort of weight loss pill, diet and exercise!

lexibelle · 10-05-2007, 08:55 PM

Ali, don't worry about the lack of tests right off the bat. There are many doctors who will prescribe the Met based on family history and symptoms alone. The only thing you want to make sure happens is in a month or so go back for blood work so they can check your liver (I think) enzymes. That's the big thing that doctors need to watch out for and should continue to monitor throughout the time you're on the Met.

As far as how to take it - it varies and you need to adjust it according to how you're reacting to the medication. When my doctor put me on the Met he started me at 500mg/day. After a week, as long as I didn't have any bad s/e's, I was to bump up to 500mg twice a day. The following week I was to bump up one more time to 1500mg.

Once I reached that level and had been on it for a week, the doctor drew blood and bumped me up to 850mg twice daily.

Make sure that you're always taking it with food - it can go a long way to reduce or eliminate any side effects. Also maintaining a low/good carb and low-fat diet will also go a long way to helping your body adjust. I'd also suggest starting out with your first dose with dinner. That way if you DO run into any of the side effects you can sleep through most of them.

I've been on it for over a month now and have seen really wonderful results (first AF in 9 months and an O). If you take it right and make sure your doctor monitors you in the weeks and months to come, it can do wonderful things for you.

DewDrop: Doctors say that, but in all honesty it CAN help women with PCOS and IR lose weight if you're following a low/good carb diet (think GI or South Beach) and you exercise (with lots of weights, those are the key!). You can also add Cinnamon and Chromium to your daily pill regiment to help increase the weight loss effects. I've personally had GREAT results with Chromium and would suggest going a more natural route before going out and buying diet pills. Those can do some pretty nasty things to your body and the weight loss achieved with them often doesn't last.

DewDrop · 10-05-2007, 09:07 PM

Thankyou, Lexibell... I'll check those natural things out at the store tomorrow!!! What does GI stand for?
South Beach Diet, is that low carb and low cal?

ali_squidz · 10-05-2007, 09:22 PM

I made an appt for november 16th with another doc. I think I will hold off until then on the met.
I will keep you gals posted. I appreciate all the info and support.

lexibelle · 10-06-2007, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DewDrop

Thankyou, Lexibell... I'll check those natural things out at the store tomorrow!!! What does GI stand for?
South Beach Diet, is that low carb and low cal?

GI is Glycemic Index, which seems to be a really good way for women with PCOS to eat.

South Beach is a combination of both, to be honest. The main focus is eliminating processed and refined sugars and grains from your diet, eating lots of healthy veggies, protein, some fruits and making sure that all grains you DO ingest are brown (whole).

I'd suggest reading the books for both and trying to base your diet around them. From everything I've read (both medically and about other womens' experiences) the low Glycemic (which is really low carb/sugar) is one of the best dietary treatments for PCOS because of the insulin resistance.

Hope that helped