On or off Metformin when pregnant???

Siv · 10-23-2007, 01:08 PM

Was just wondering who has stayed on and who stooped met. once they got there BFP. Doc tells me i should stoop when i get my BFP but i am scared of MC. Also wondering if any of you are insulin intolerant???

sheepiegirl · 10-23-2007, 01:35 PM

My doctor has told me to stay on Met until I'm between 12-14 weeks (I think he'll make the call when I get to that point). And, as far as I know, I am not insulin resistant.

Siv · 10-23-2007, 01:59 PM

Thank you Sheepiegirl and congrats on the BFP!!!

svaldez · 10-23-2007, 02:00 PM

I am not pregnant...yet...but going through IVF and my RE said when I do get pregnant I will stay on Met through the first trimester.

Sharon

Siv · 10-23-2007, 02:04 PM

Good to know. I think i will ask my doc next time i see him!! Maybe he will let me stay on!!!

La Blanca · 10-23-2007, 02:15 PM

My RE gave me the choice, but not before informing me of the following: There have been no studies to show that the fetus is harmed by staying on Met, but there have also been no studies to show that it isn't harmed by it. There HAVE been studies that show women with PCOS are at a 40-60% higher risk of m/c, and additional studies have shown that women with PCOS who stay on Met through the first trimester bring their risk down to that of the non-PCOS population. With that information, I decided to stay on it. So, my RE kept me on it until I finished the first trimester (12 weeks).

HTH and GL to you!

Siv · 10-23-2007, 02:20 PM

Ok just another reason to fight for the met i guess!!!

Danger Kitty · 10-23-2007, 02:24 PM

I have PCOS with insulin resistance, hyperthyroid, a family history of type II diabetes. I am on 1500 /day of Met, in addition to synthroid and baby aspirin.

My IVF RE wanted me to stay on Met through my first tri. I talked to him about staying on it til the end, but he deferred to my high risk obgyn. He did note that the US is lagging a bit, and that it is more common to use it to term in other countries.

My hi risk obgyn has repeatedly said that he wants me on it til the end - and I think he is ecstatic every appointment when he says this and I don't make any indication that I want off of it any earlier. In his experience (as a high risk specialist), it not only reduces the chance of miscarriage in the first tri, but also reduces the chance of gestational diabetes later on - or, if the GD is inevitable, it mitigates the seriousness of it. I am scheduled to have my GD testing earlier than normal.

hth,

dk

Siv · 10-23-2007, 02:29 PM

I live in Norway and here they are super paranoid about drugs and pregnancy. When i had my last appointment with my doc and he gave me the meds. He gave me this little spiel about how they RECOMEND stopping met as soon as you know you are pregnant but that research shows it may reduce your chance of mc!!! So i hope he will be ok with me staying on!!

sheepiegirl · 10-23-2007, 03:46 PM

Thanks for your congrats, Siv!

I've read that many doctors are prescribing it for the first trimester only because it shows to reduce the risk of miscarriage and also that they are pretty sure that it doesn't do harm to the fetus then. I think I read though, that they are less sure about its effects in the other 2 trimesters, which is why a lot of doctors take their patients off it. I don't know how accurate that info is.

It seems to me, at least from what I've researched and read/heard about it, it seems like there is more benefit to remaining on Met at least during the first trimester than not.

La Blanca · 10-23-2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheepiegirl

...I've read that many doctors are prescribing it for the first trimester only because it shows to reduce the risk of miscarriage and also that they are pretty sure that it doesn't do harm to the fetus then. I think I read though, that they are less sure about its effects in the other 2 trimesters, which is why a lot of doctors take their patients off it. I don't know how accurate that info is.

It seems to me, at least from what I've researched and read/heard about it, it seems like there is more benefit to remaining on Met at least during the first trimester than not.

Agreed. I think the 1st trimester is considered fairly safe because the placenta hasn't yet formed and taken over (that happens toward the end of the 1st trimester). Of course, the fetus is still exposed to whatever we ingest, but, from what I understand, not as much as when the placenta is in charge. (I think it's more of a direct route to the baby.)

I want to add also that Met isn't a total guarantee against m/c (check my signature for proof), but it at least gives us a better shot at getting out of the first trimester than we would have had without it. (I always forget to put in that caveat when I sing Met's anti-m/c praises...)

Siv · 10-23-2007, 05:01 PM

I would really like to stay on but i have a feeling my doc wount hear me on that one. Just cause it's not standard around here!! I am really scared of a mc though and i will do whatever i can to prevent it!!!

La Blanca: How long was your chemical pregnancy???

La Blanca · 10-23-2007, 05:04 PM

What do you mean by "how long?"

Siv · 10-23-2007, 05:08 PM

Did you get a BFP first and then get af. Guess i'm not sure how chemical pregnancys work???

La Blanca · 10-23-2007, 05:20 PM

Oh, okay--A chemical pregnancy (or "early m/c") is when the egg fertilizes, tries to implant (and does so just enough to get the pregnancy hormone HCG flowing in your body), but is unsuccessful at fully implanting and, essentially, lets go. They are incredibly common (some researchers believe that up to 50% of all fertilizations end in early m/c), but most women don't know it when they've had one; they just think that AF is a few days late and a little heavier than normal. Those of us who are TTC tend to know better because we are always testing so early. With mine, I got a +HPT at about 12DPO, but my beta was really low (only 18), so the doctor suspected a chemical pregnancy. When they tested two days later, it had dropped to 6 (and my P4 was super low at 4.4), so we knew for sure then. It was two days after that (16DPO) that AF began. True to everything I'd read about chemical pregnancies, it was much, much heavier than normal (and much more painful). I wound up bleeding for about a week and then spotting for an additional week after that.

ETA: Has your ticker said "+HPT" ever since you started this thread? How did I miss that?! Or did you just change it? Regardless, congratulations!!!