| wishing, waiting, hoping
Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Here, there, and everywhere
Posts: 2,807
My Mood:  Points: 31,421.79 Bank: 5,602,868.88 Total Points: 5,634,290.67 |  PCOS/Metformin/Clomid info for any and all
Here's some info I found about PCOS, Metformin, and Clomid. I hope this helps. Good luck!!!!
PCOS stands for PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome. Women with this condition often have multiple small functional (follicular cysts or egg sacs) cysts and irregular periods. We have known for a long time that women with PCOS have a normal amount of eggs in their ovaries, but have a hormone imbalance that often prevents complete maturation and release (ovulation) of the egg on a monthly basis. As a medical profession, we have come to realize over the last several years that insulin resistance is an important aspect of this condition, as well as low estrogen production and a higher than normal testosterone levels.
Symptoms commonly associated with PCOS include irregular cycles, infertility, three times greater miscarriage rate than the general population, excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain, skin problems and even thinning hair. A woman with PCOS experiences infrequent cycles (oligomenorrhea) or infrequent bleeding. Remember that a normal menstrual cycle is a result of cyclic fluctuation of the estrogen and progesterone hormone levels. During a normal menstrual cycle a dozen or so immature eggs are recruited. Of those initially recruited, normally only the strongest survives and ovulates. Part of this survival process involves a conversion in the hormone concentration around the egg, from an androgen (male like) environment to an estrogen (female like) environment. Indeed, a woman's estrogen level rises from the beginning of a new cycle to the midpoint in the month (ovulation). Once the egg is released the cells in the ovary change from producing mostly estrogen to mostly progesterone. The progesterone production lasts for 14 days unless pregnancy occurs. Once the progesterone levels drop, the blood flow of the period begins. In a woman with PCOS, rather than one egg surviving and the rest dying off early, most of the eggs make it half way forming small follicular cysts, maintaining an androgen environment (male like environment,excess hair growth) and none make it to maturation. As a result, the estrogen levels are lower, the androgen levels higher and progesterone levels are low. Because of the imbalance in hormones, the lining of the uterus (endometrium), grows until it gets thick enough that some of it breaks off and bleeds until more grows to heal over. Depending upon how fast the lining of the uterus is growing it can break off and bleed every couple of weeks, every couple of months or sometimes, doesn't bleed at all.
The irregular bleeding tells us that the ovary is probably not fully maturing and releasing a mature egg any given month. Since there is no mature egg to fertilize (or rarely is) the patient experiences great difficulty getting as well as staying pregnant.
In the past the fertility drug Clomid (clomaphine citrate) was used to induce ovulation. More recently studies have shown that insulin sensitizing agents such as Metformin provide a equal or better pregnancy rates compared to Clomid while also reducing the elevated miscarriage rate in PCOS patients. Two studies were presented last year at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. The first compared ovulation rates of PCOS patients using Metformin verses those using Clomid. The ovulation rate of the Metformin patients was 82% while the Clomid group was 70%. The pregnancy rate was 69% in the Metformin group and 36% in the Clomid group. Another study at the same meeting demonstrated a miscarriage rate of approximately 9% in patients who were taking Metformin compared to a 63% rate in patients not taking Metformin. It was concluded that while Metformin helps women suffering from PCOS to become pregnant by balancing the hormones, neutralizing the insuline resistance, helping to absorb cysts that have formed on the ovaries, and "jump starting" the ovaries to ovulate, it's also now known to significantly reduce the chances of miscarriage from over 60% to around 9%, as well as prevent and treat gestational diabetes.
Excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain (especially in the stomach area), and thinning hair are a result of increased androgen levels. Remember a lot of partially developed eggs produce primarily androgen (male hormones) as opposed to a fully mature egg that produces primarily estrogen (actually its the cells surrounding the egg that produce the hormones, not the egg itself).
It is now apparent that as many as one in three Americans have insulin resistance syndrome, which is a primary symptom of PCOS. Insulin resistance syndrome has also been referred to as Syndrome X or metabolic syndrome. Left untreated, it is a precurser to gestational diabetes and type II diabetes. It can be easily managed by taking Metformin everyday, getting a light work out, and changing eating habits and diet.
__________________
ME (31) DH (34)
*DS- Tanner Michael- born 4/24/98 - age 11 yrs
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
*DD- Sabrina Lynne - born 9/6/06 - age 3 yrs
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
8 total losses: 7 first trimester losses & 1 second trimester loss (24w2d)
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Somehow managed to find myself in the 2ww!!! lol
Testing on the 22nd if af hasn't shown on her own.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
|
