Questions about metformin...only for diabetic or nondiabetic???

lindaperuviana · 02-13-2008, 10:16 AM

Hi and thanks for reading me...Im happy to be here, heard much good things about this site...especially because we all share the same "thing"

Well...Im Linda from Peru but living in Finland, 23 years old, trying to conceive for almost a year but with no luck yet.

I hope I can meet new friends in here...Id like to help if its needed...and also Id like to get some encourage as this PCOS is quite new for me...

Well...Id like to hear some stories of women with PCOS that have been able to get pregnant..and usually after how much time...?

I was looking at some posts...and I dont know what this means... IR...sorry..im not so familiared with terms and expressions here

and about that metformin medication, I have always read on the internet, and hear ppl that it is only prescribed for insulin resistance??? or diabetic ppl??? is it true? or its always prescribed to all women who have PCOS???

What does metformin do exactly? and clomid???

I havent been prescribed with any medication yet...So Id like to know, please...

Thank you once again!

Linda

brenzg · 02-13-2008, 11:18 AM

Hi Linda,

well i am not an expert on the metformin issue, but i was put on it about 3 years after being diagnosed with PCOS, as my sugars were beginning to become elevated. I was labelled insulin resistant at age 16, and now at age 28 i would be considered a type 2 diabetic. I still take metformin, though in my first pregnancy i took nothing until the end, then was on insulin. I am now pregnant for the second time, taking metformin. Long story short...I have a bad case of PCOS and am very overweight. You don't appear to be overweight (which not all of us are) and it is still possible to get pregnant. good luck to you with TTC (trying to conceive).

IR refers to a condition called insulin resistance. Its when your body doesn't use the insulin it produces to properly extract and use energy from sugars in your diet (starches, carbs...all kinds good and bad) this can wreak havoc with your reproductive system, and all over the body as i'm learning.

Metformin works against Insulin resistance by making the insulin your body has, work better and metabolize sugars better. It helps to lower blood sugars in diabetics, but non-diabetics (who have PCOS) also take it to help reverse the affects of insulin resistance on the body...mainly to cause ovulation for those Trying to conceive.

Hope that answers some of your questions. As for the lingo and short forms, i think if you search there is a page with a bunch of abbreviations some where around here.

lindaperuviana · 02-13-2008, 11:26 AM

Thank you very much for your story and information!!!

brenzg · 02-13-2008, 11:29 AM

Sorry i forgot to mention,

that as you can see on the boards, there are a lot of women with PCOS that are having quite a hard time becoming pregnant. Baby dust to all of them!
I'm not sure why i was so lucky, but it took me less than 6 months of actively trying to conceive to get pregnant the first time around. I did not have to take any fertility drugs (though i was told i would probably have to when i was first diagnosed) and about 10 months TTC for this pregnancy, again, no fertility drugs. I don't think there are as many cysters who could say their situation was as easy as mine.

Clomid is a fertility drug, i'm not too familliar with that, though there are lots of cysters who can tell you their experience with clomid and share their knowledge.

KatCarney · 02-13-2008, 11:34 AM

Check out this article, too:
Insulin Resistance, and Why Met Helps

Kiko's_Bride · 02-13-2008, 01:22 PM

Bienvenidos a soulcysters!

Insulin is the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels. (It doesn't play a role in extraction of sugar from food -- it simply makes sure that there isn't too much glucose in the blood stream). When there is too much glucose in the blood, insulin helps store that energy, either temporarily in the liver, or for long-term storage as fat. It is used to treat people with insulin resistance and for Type II diabetics (Type I diabetics either produce no insulin or insufficient amounts to control blood glucose levels, and therefore have to use injected insulin to regulate blood sugar levels). The difference

Not all women with PCOS have insulin resistance, just as they're not all overweight or share the same ovulatory symptoms. However, insulin seems to be a key player in the regulation of other hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, androgens, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Leutinizing hormone, etc. Some women with PCOS who aren't necessarily IR do get prescribed metformin becuase it improves insulin function, which can influence the efficacy of other hormones.

It took me nearly 2 years to get pregnant with my son...but only 8 months of metformin. This pregnancy, I wasn't taking anything -- no met, no fertility treatments. I was still nursing and lost about 20lbs and had regular cycles for 8 months prior to getting pregnant. I'm also not IR, had symptoms of sporadic ovulation, and I've been at most 40lbs overweight. I'm definitely not your typical woman with PCOS. At my diagnosis, I had the classic string of pearls ovaries, sporadic ovulation, and an elevated LH:FSH ratio (Leutinizing hormone to follicle stimulating hormone ratio).

Clomid is an estrogen agonist -- which means that it convinces your body that you aren't producing enough estrogen and makes it produce more. Wome with PCOS often spend months trying to ovulate, but the hormone levels don't surge high enough to get an egg to release. That means there are all kinds of underdeveloped follicles on ovaries, or cysts. When clomid is used, it increases the production of estrogen so that there is enough to convince your ovaries to release an egg. I never took clomid, but I was preparing for my first medicated cycle when I found out I was pregnant with my now two year old.

I would suggest, if you can find it in finland, that you get a copy of Toni Wechsler's book Taking Charge of your Fertility. It is an excellent resource and explains not only how to chart your basal body temperature (to confirm ovulation), but also how the female hormones work throughout the menstrual cycle and how to optimize either conception (or for women with regular and predictable cycles, pregnancy aviodance).

Good luck -- I hope you find the answers you're looking for and find treatments that work to alleviate your symptoms!

JosieFB · 02-13-2008, 02:09 PM

Met is "approved" as a diabetic drug. I've heard that Euro docs are less likely to prescribe it for IR or PCOS since that is an off label use. I think there are some Europeans on the board who take Met.