Reservations about taking Metformin...is it really worth it?
I was diagnosed with PCOS at 16 and tried metformin, but I went from no meds for PCOS to 2000 mg and did not change my eating habits and found the malaise to be horrible. I'm 22 to now and am at the end of my rope with weight loss, I want to be healthy but diet and exercise alone just are not doing the complete trick on the scale or for my waist size. I have intense, constant cravings for carbohydrates, am constantly hungry, and often feel fatigued. I have a fasting glucose level of only 92 though, consistently. I'm really scared to take it because of the horrible side effects I had a few years ago, is it really worth it? Does it really help with weight loss and cravings?
If you are willing to change your eating habits, you might not get the side effects again.
When I was on Met, I had to stay away from the obvious high fat & high sugar foods that were unhealthy for me on a regular basis anyway. What got to me was cutting out lettuce (which at the time was the only way I got other veges in, eg carrots and other salad ingredients) and dairy.
What helped most with weight loss for me was the diet and exercise associated I did while on Met. The lack of appetite with met (when taken regulary) gave me a clean slate as far as diet went and because I was eating better, i had the energy to exercise regulary. Met alone is unlikely to help you lose weight if you aren't eating healthy foods, careful of your portions/calorie intake and exercising regulary.
I have considered going back on Met myself, when I was on it I was living in shared acommodation at uni and didn't have much choice about food for my main meals so I could address that now but I love my dairy too much and I'm not sure about my calcium intake if I had to give that up. Talk to your doctor about it, take it slow (increase your dosage by 250 or 500 every 1-2 weeks), and keep a dairy so you can pinpoint the foods that are triggering the side effects.
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I've been on met for a year and a half. The side effects sucked at first....and sometimes still do if I'm not careful. But I love that I don't have those insane carb cravings. They never stopped, now I never have them. Just be careful and do what you need to do to ease the effects. I haven't lost weight yet on it but it works for most. Good luck!
The Met ER did a number on me only if I ate certain foods. But after about the first week, it didn't bother me as much. I was on the fence about taking it myself but because of our strong desire for a baby, I decided to go ahead. I think it did help to regulate my cycles (although that took a couple of months).
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i am 20 years old now and on metformin for a month.. i take 1000mg a day... and i thought that i share with you my story .. now after a month i got AF what is a really good sign... but i have had diarrea the whole time... i have no appetite.. and in the mornings i have trouble even smelling food... i usually take my first pill with one cracker or something so i donīt get sick.. and than eat my first meal arround lunch.. i have carvings for fruit mostly. and just thinking about anything thats fatty makes my stomack turn arround...
so i will c i donīt know for sure if its worse it either... i mean right now i am doing pretty well ..
but metformin didnīt chance any of the other syntoms.. so i am still loosing hair like crazy and i got bad facial hair...
hope i could help.. i do better on metformin than on the birthcontrolpill... since that actually messes with my mind and i have scary thoughts.. and stuff like that so i am happy with metformin....
i thought i throw that out there and hope that i could help
I think Metformin is totally worth it for me, but I can't say that for others. It all just depends on how your body reacts with the medication. My RE told me that it would only help me to lose a few pounds, but I have lost 29 without really changing my diet. As far as excercise, I have been walking 2 miles a day on my lunch break. I know that's something... but I don't think its enough to have lost 29 pounds in 4 months. I give a lot of credit to the Metformin since I have noticed a decreased appetite.
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Married: May 10, 2008
TTC since June 2008
Diagnosed: March 24, 2009
Prescribed: Metformin 1000mg March 24, 2009; Increased to 1500mg June 22, 2009
I think Metformin is totally worth it! I am 24 and have suffered from all sorts of stomach problems before Met and when I started Met I had no problems! I was taking the ER formula and I take non-generic so maybe you could try that? Met has helped my acne, blood sugar, cycle, hair loss.... it really is amazing if you can tolerate it! Only 30% of people have bad side-effects and I think around 10% stop from those side-effects. It does help with weight loss and carb cravings. Good Luck!
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Metformin is absolutely worth it to me. I can lose weight like a "normal" person, my skin beautiful, my hair is either completely gone or really minimized... I feel healthy and great. I've been taking it for about 3 years. My only complaint is that it makes my periods more painful LOL.
__________________ 2,000mgs Metformin XR, 50mgs Spiro, multivitamins, and a healthy diet of kimchi and rice.
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I too am still on the fence on whether I want to get on meds. I don't know if it's worth it and I don't do too well with side effects.
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-Diagnosed with PCOS on May 29, 2009 -Diagnosed as possibly pre-diabetic on July 31, 2009
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I Just started Metformin about 3 weeks ago and i already had my first period on it. The side affects at first were bad but it is not that bad now. I have lost 7lb since i started to take it so its working great for me i wish you all Luck and for those TTC May God bless you all with a little angel... Good Luck
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From what I have read and told by my dr., it is better to take it slow and slowly build up to 2000. I started at 500 a month ago, then two to three weeks later 1000, then now up to 1500 yesterday. I'm PCOD and insulin resistant, I am not TTC, but I am trying to lose weight because of other health issues. So far no weight loss, but avoided exercise for two weeks due to the heat.
I do notice extreme tiredness for one week or two weeks after increasing my dose. I have noticed that 1500 the first day was worse than the other two strengths the first day. But I am sure it will fade since my symptoms were almost nonexistent except for being tired.
Someone above mentioned craving fruit -- OMG, me too! I am also not hungry much at all.
(Please excuse spelling errors, spell check needs to be downloaded, and I am leary of downloading free programs. )
Reservations about taking Metformin...is it really worth it? 
