?'s for Met users

caitybugs · 08-16-2004, 10:46 AM

Hi!
I am starting my fourth week of Met and I have some questions for the 'veterns' out there! I am taking 3 500mg per day...worked up to this dosage gradually.

-- Is there any way to stop the nausea! I flucutate from not being able to stand the sight of food, to raveneously hungry. And thru it all, my stomach is rebelling big time! Are there any tricks to make this better? Does your body ever get used to it?

-- Has anyone noticed any changes in tastes? I used to be an avid Diet Coke fan, now I get sick at the thought of it. In fact, all soda makes the nausea worse. Not a bad thing, necessarily..just curious if anyone else has experienced. All my sweet taste buds seem to be on overdrive, all sweet things, real and artificial are tasting nasty to me.

-- Has anyone noticed changes in mood on Met? I have been deep in the bowels of a blue funk and I cannot seem to fight my way out. I am occassionaly moody, but this feels like a whole new ballgame!

-- Once you are diagnosed with PCOS/IR, are you on Met forever? Mine was prescibed by a Repro endo, we are TTC #2. Can this be controlled with diet? Should I talk to my reg dr also?

Any and all insight would be greatly appreciated! I really don't want to stop taking, if it is going to help (or if there is even a small chance that it will!) but I don't want to be sick forever either!

Thanks for listening! (reading!)

Kim

esmith · 08-16-2004, 05:04 PM

Hi Kim,

I'm not a veteran, as I'm only on my 3rd week of metformin, and I am on the same dosage as you are and worked up gradually like you. Now my doctor put me on the Glucophage XR and told me to take one 500 mg tab with each meal and I can't even tell that I'm on a med, with the exception of after taking the pills, about 2 hours later, I'm pretty hungry, and I have to have a light snack with it. I'm ttc # 2, and he told me not to try to get pregnant for 3 months b/c it will take awhile for the med to balance my hormones out etc. I'm also trying to lose a little weight, eat low sugar, and exercise more. I hope you find help, I know for sure the XR is supposed to help the nausea, but maybe you are already on that.
Good luck,
Emily

RamblinRose · 08-16-2004, 06:21 PM

I have only been on met for not even quite 3 weeks, but I had constant nausea for the first week that I was on Met....I started the IR diet though and I think that is what helped it stop. I haven't had any nausea since then, and I am feeling a lot better. I haven't been on it that long, about a week but it has made a huge difference for me! I suggest looking into it, it's a very easy and liveable plan. I think that it helps the s/e's of met because it helps keep the glucose and insulin levels balanced out! good luck!

roxieliz · 08-16-2004, 07:45 PM

I'm not quite a veteran, but after a month and a half, I can honestly say that it does get better! In the beginning all that helped my nausea was spearmint gum. And I was living on gatorade even though it has tons of sugar because I was so terribly dehydrated. Now, since that first week I've lost 10 pounds, have calmed down a bit and am not quite as snippy with everyone, and so far as I know my doctor intends to keep me on met forever, but I think it's a case by case basis. If your body straightens itself out and stays that way I don't see why you couldn't come off of the medication. As far as the soda goes, I'm in the same boat. I used to drink Coke all the time, and now I can barely handle three swallows without gagging from sugar overload. Most likelly because of our new senstization to insulin and sugar. It's getting better the longer I'm on Met, so hang in there!

caitybugs · 08-17-2004, 09:54 AM

Thanks for the info! I made sure yesterday to stay very well hydrated and I was pretty much ok for the whole day! Yeah! I am taking Motrin, I have a killer headache from caffeine withdrawl, and I take two Tums with each Met dose...at least I am getting extra calcium

I am already following South Beach Diet, RamblinRose, do you know how different that might be from the IR diet? I may hit the library this weekend and pick up the book, just to see. I think they may be similar. Not really counting carbs, just lowering them and eating whole grains, rather than processed...and of course, no sugar!

Thanks again cysters!!

Kim

RamblinRose · 08-18-2004, 02:41 PM

Well, my experience w/the South Beach Diet was not good! But, I did not read the book, I went to a program that my Dr was doing and I think that she pretty much picked and chose what she wanted to use from the book and maybe added her own, or mixed it w/atkins or something. Anyhow, I was on it for 2 weeks, and I was EXTREMELY ill, I think it made my sugar drop way too low, because it is usually in the low end of "normal" anyhow. And when I finally decided that I couldn't do it anymore I had a soda and I immediately felt better. So, that is what I think happened. I know people that swear by the diet and love it, but for me, I will never try it again, it was awful, I have NEVER felt worse in my life, I thought that I might die! But again, like I said, It was a "program" that my doc was doing and she could have screwed it up pretty bad. I no longer go to her because I have found out from other things that she was a quack! I have a new doc now and I love him, but he doesn't "condone" the SBD either. I haven't talked w/him about being on the IR diet yet, but I am sure he will say that it's fine. The only difference that I really can honestly say that I know between the IR Diet and the SBD is that the SBD is much lower in carbs than the IR diet. I think the IR diet is great! Very liveable. Sorry if that doesn't help much....I suggest you read the book if you do want to try it. Good luck!