Should I stop?

GroovyLisa · 06-02-2003, 07:36 PM

Hey Ladies!

I have been taking Met 1700mg for the past 2 months and I am not low carbing. I tried it and it made me very sick (passed out, shakes, etc.) I am starting weight watchers and I am currently not trying to conceive at this point in my life. So do you think that I should still continue taking the Met? I am on Orthotricyclen to regulate my cycles. If it really isnt giving me much of a benefit right now, then I see no reason to keep taking it and paying for it. I am in debt from my surgery from November when I had a big ovarian cyst removed and my left ovary and fallopian tube and so I dont really have the money for Met anyways. What do ya'll think? Thanks for your replies! God bless!

In Christ's Love,

Lisa

sweeterthenmost · 06-02-2003, 11:00 PM

Lisa

A bit more info about ur specific situation might help those of us here give our (expert) opinions and advice .

Such as:

What are ur blood levels? (ie: FSH, testosterone, blood sugar, insulin levels...etc.)

Do u suffer from any of the obvious symptoms of PCOS (ie: irregular menstrual cycles, hirsutism, overweight, hair loss, skin tags,....etc.)

When were u diagnosed?

How were u diagnosed?

How long on Met? How long on this dosage of met?

Do u think u will want to begin ttc at any point in ur life?

Most importantly, have u discussed going off met with ur doc, and what does he/she say??

Take care

christyz · 06-02-2003, 11:23 PM

First of all, the shakes and passing out are probably a blood sugar episode. Are you eating enough protien and eating in small amounts? That helps to quell those kind of problems. We have some diabetics on thsi forum who can probably give you lots of great information on that.

Second, conception is not met's only purpose. Met regulates your hormones which enable us to control our periods, weight, mood, acne etc. That does increase your fertility, but it affects a lot more of your life than just conception.

Going off met is dependant I guess on what your goals are. If you want to get your body regulated so you can one day have kids and in the meantime have some semblance of a 'normal' endocrine system, than met is a good choice,. But you should be aware that being on the pill will sabotage that to some degree...it will synthetically surge your hormones to menstrate but not ovulate, over-riding your body's own hormones. And studies show it makes insulin resistance worse.

Good luck with your decision!

GroovyLisa · 06-02-2003, 11:46 PM

Well:

I have no idea what my levels are. To my knowlege I was only tested to be insulin resistent in Feburary, and my doc didnt tell me the number, just that I indeed was IR.

Of the obvious symptoms I suffer from obesity, abnormal hair growth, irregular cycles, skin tags, and on and off high blood pressure.

I was diagnosed with pcos in November when I began getting severe left side abdominal and pelvic pain which I found out was from a 6-pound football sized ovarian cyst that had cut off the blood flow to my left fallopian tube and ovary, leaving them as nothing but dead tissue and causing me the severe pain.

I am taking 1700 mg a day (850 2x a day) of Met and I have pretty much been taking it for the full 2 months because due to a miscommunication with my doctor, I didnt work my way up like most of you. I havent lost a single pound since then, and have seen or felt no improvements otherwise either. I have been on birthcontrol to regulate my cycles since I recovered enough from my surgery (Nov.).

I definetly want to ttc in my lifetime. My doc said with pcos and now only having one ovary it will be next to impossible, but I know I serve a God of Wonders. Anyhow, I am getting married in 2 years, so not untill then.

I havent discussed it with my doctor yet, as I have no health insurrance and I am still in over $3000 debt from the surgery and I cant really afford to see him untill I abosolutely have to.

I would greatly appreciate any advice you ladies can give me. God bless!

In Christ's Love,

Lisa

sweeterthenmost · 06-03-2003, 12:04 AM

Lisa

Just for the simple fact that u are IR would cause me to recommend u stay on met. The reason being is that ur IR is a major reason for all the other symptoms u have described. Also IR is a pre-cursor to diabetes. You are still young (I think I read that u are 20...hope I am right lol) so if u manage to get ur IR under control at this point, u have a very realistic chance of getting all the other symptoms under control, being able to conceive at some point in the future, and MOST IMPORTANTLY avoid developing diabetes T2...As I posted here a few days back, a woman with PCOS has a 7.5% to 31% chance of developing diabetes...the longer her IR and PCOS go untreated the likelier it is that she will develope diabetes.

You may not feel that met is doing u good right now, but the ONLY way to determine this is to monitor ur blood levels (the ones I listed earlier). I am surprised that ur doc is not doing that, although being on met for only 2 months is a very short period of time, so he may be waiting for a bit more time to pass before he does more blood tests. Sometimes it can take many months to see (or feel) a difference.

Met is a wonderful drug and can do amazing things, but a lot of women don't understand that u need to do some lifestyle changing in addition to taking met. Such as low-carbing, exercising, stress-managment etc. I would also suggest u get ur doc to disclose ur lab values, then do lots of reading and researching about al this stuff. Knowledge is power.

Remember u did not become PCOS over night, so u won't get things back to normal over night either.

Best of luck Lisa

Kate721 · 06-05-2003, 05:30 PM

Metformin is promary use is as an anti-diabetic medication.
Metformin does not cause low blood sugar episodes.
It actually helps to unlock the closed cellular receptors that create the problem of insulin resistence, which insulin resistence causes low blood sugar episodes.
Insulin reisitence is the problem that eventually causes Diabetes2 and sets up housekeeping for other attending comorbid illnesses.
Except in the case of D1 which then is an autoimmune disorder.
The development of D2 happens when the over worked Pancreas one day begins to get worn out.
Prior to the break down point the pre diabetic stage would include problems with low blood sugar because the Pancreas revs up and over produces insulin to try and manage the blood sugar that is not getting by the cellular blocks.
Essentially, the body is then suffering from too much insulin and can go into insulin shock just like an insulin dependant diabetic might go into insulin shock with too much insulin medication in their blood.
What metformin does for both the diabetic and the hypoglycemic is to increase Insulin sensitivity of the cells there by changing insulin resistence to being receptive to the natural amount of insulin created by the functional pancreas.
(hence, non insulin dependant diabetes handled with anti diabetic meds)
Better receptivity to insulin results in more stable blood sugars because the body is not in panic mode over producing insulin trying to get the brain fed when the brain is simply not receiving the benefit of it's only real body food....glucose.....
The problem you have posted>>>> I am not low carbing. I tried it and it made me very sick (passed out, shakes, etc.) I am starting weight watchers<<<<
Needs to be addressed by your endocrinologist.
Getting started on weight watchers might just be a really good health preserving idea.
Weight watchers is a great plan with people who have blood sugar problems of either the hyperglycemic variety(diabetes)and/or the hypoglycemic variety.
If you have already passed out with the connection to food or medication you probably need to have a huge discussion with your medical care professionals immediately.
If you are passing out due to blood sugar you are in physically dangerous territory and your first priority is figuring our if your episodes are truly blood sugar related.
People die from low blood sugar.
That is a simple fact.
People also become brain damaged from low blood sugar depending on how long the levels stay low.
The reason being, glucose is the sustaining food for the brain.
Without the needed amounts of available glucose the brain literally starves and begins to die.
It takes some very specific testing to actually locate a low blood sugar problem. It might not be detected by the over night fasting blood levels.
A timed Glucose Tolerance testing is one of the ways they will begin to troubleshood a problem of the shakes and passing out.
If indeed you do have a real hypoglycemic problem it might be a bit much to handle with only dietary controls.
You may actually need the help of a medication to make your body cells more sensitive to the insulin your pancreas is creating.
Whether that medicine is Metformin( the current first choice)
or something else will depend on the decisions you make with your doctor.
As for expense. the regular metformin is now available as a generic medication.
I hear the cost is much lower than the XR which only comes in brand name.
Additionally, if metformin is prescribed for a life threatening condition then it's possible thatyou can get medication help. Such programs are available or you can contact the drug manufacturer directly and see with whom they might have a cost reduced(and in some cases FREE!) medicine agreement
Hope you find your answers soon.
Kate