Pcos Treatment - Non-obese Women

[SandV]

This is great information. I am glad that I had a chance to read it.
Although I am still overweight, I know the weight loss has helped. The article really helped make sense of things for me.

[lelneal]

I live in San Jose and have been seeing an endocrinologist for the last three months. DX was thin-set PCOS (acne, pearls, Free Testosterone - 98). Starting Clomid this month (prior cycles were 50 - 60 days after coming off BCP).

Endocrinologist told me that I would read about Met on-line for PCOS but that she was specifically not putting me on it because she believes it doesn't help thin PCOS patients.

Have other thin-PCOS girls had BFP w/o Met and just Clomid? Should I see another doctor? I am thinking of requesting the glucose test as I am the heaviest I have been but am still considered to have a good BMI (5'5" 135 lbs).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

As a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and a thin woman with PCOS, I have to completely disagree with that. There are many, many research studies that have been done showing that thin women with PCOS respond just as well, if not better to metformin. Many of them can be found on this site. I would suggest printing out some of these articles and taking them to your doctor. If she is still unwilling to put you on Metformin, I would change doctors. Clomid may help you get pregnant, but it won't do anything for the insulin resistance or the elevated testoterone levels. The glucose tests will probably not be very helpful for you since your weight is normal. However, the fact that your testosterone is so high is a result of insulin resistance at a cellular level. There's no way to directly test for that. Like I said, clomid may help you get pregnant, but it will not reduce your risk of miscarriage or complication later in pregnancy, nor will it decrease your risk for health problems due to PCOS. Further more, thin women with PCOS are often resistant to clomid and metformin is used to help with that.
Hope that helps.

[anselmi]

Hey there puggymama, I am 5"4' 145 and have IR. I had a glucose test done in 2007 and it showed I had IR. So my dr told me to diet well, low GI diet, and he would retest me in a month or so. So I did it and when I retested my glucose levles were on the low end of a normal person! When I told my RE about this, he said there is no reason to put me on met. I would at least TTC without met first. I heard it can have some not so great side effects. My thought is one step at a time, the less meds in your body the better. Good luck!!!!

[Legally_Michelle]

PuggyMama- I agree with PP. I'm 5'9" and 140 lbs. I have been on Met for 6 months and it has been an amazing change. I'm not sure whether I would O on my own at this point because I have been ttc with Clomid and soy, but I have generally felt way better.

Btw, I live in San Ramon!


Question for everyone: So, we're all thin, but have you ever been overweight? At one point I was 170, which was literally 25.1 BMI for me (the lowest BMI number that is considered overweight). I was in college at the time and was not taking good care of myself. I lost 15 lbs. when I started exercise and then another 15 after starting Metformin. Now, I'm perfectly happy with my weight and tone. Even when I was at my heaviest I had very, very thin arms and legs. All my weight centered in my stomach area and boobs (I have large boobs anyway, 34DD).
Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I mean, I still have thin PCOS right?

[KristaEW]

Hi guys I learned alot by reading this but I really want to know if metfromin is making my boobs bigger? I feel like I am losing weight as my boobs get bigger and I DON"T GET IT!!!! AHHHH!!!

[Bubs]

Question for everyone: So, we're all thin, but have you ever been overweight?

Hey,

I've been thinking about this same thing. I was very overweight as a kid. Tested for every allergy under the sun, but not IR. I maintained pretty "normal" weight until 3 years ago, and now at 40 had a surge of symptoms with/or because of the weight gain. I'm wondering if the PCOS was just "dormant" for awhile, or at least not as active. It's always been there, with subtle symptoms I only now see as PCOS related.

[frustratedwife]

Interesting... Thank you so much for sharing!

[tammy25]

thank you everyone for sharing

[Athletic Cyster]

Has anyone else heard of Extended Met not working as well for thin cysters? I was put on Met ER 6 months ago and love the way my body reacted to it. I lost the weight I'd gained over the few months before, had more energy, was more alert, etc. However, I'm still not ovulating. I wonder if there is something to thin cysters using regular Met. Anyone have any additional information on this?

[Mandy13]

I have come accoss this article in my many "google" searches for 'thin' pcos!

One point I would make is that the anti-estrogen properties of Clomid are only a problem in thin cysters IF you have low estrogen to begin with.

In my case, I am thin and my only hormone imbalance is slightly high testosterone.

I'm on Metformin which has regulated my periods...but I'm ovulating too late on Metformin alone...so I'm on Clomid to help me ovulate sooner.

Fingers crossed that I respond to the clomid!

All the best everyone : )



Speaking of Metformin...I've lost 6kg since taking the medication. I was not trying to lose weight and my BMI is now in the underweight section!

[Mandy13]

Interesting.

But, I've read other studies that say if Metformin doesn't work, then Clomid AND Metformin is the way to go for thin cysters.

I'm on first months of clomid (100mg) and I'm also on Metformin 1000mg - so we will see if it works!

I agree that Metformin should be the first line treatment but clomid should be added if ovulation doesn't occur.

All the best everyone

[positive]

Hiya ladies

I am 5ft4 and weigh 105lbs, was diagnosed with PCOS begining of this year. I have one tube left due to an ectopic and have also had endometriosis where i was treated with a laparoscopy surgery. I went on the 3 cycles of clomid and unfortunately the results were inconsistant, the last cycle showed that i had developed to many follicles (hyperstilmulation?) and was therefore injected with HCG to reduce the chance of cysts. I Received a call from the nurse at the fertility clinic and she told me i will be starting a new treatment...IVM. Meeting with doc next week to discuss further. Fingers crossed!! Been trying to put on weight and have reduced my gym sessions...apparently going to the gym is not so good for ppl like us? so i was told??

[sjbrauck]

interesting

[shabby01]

Thanks so much for this information - it was really useful!

[Araceli76]

This is such an amazing article. I'm starting my 4th cycle of clomid and now I'm wondering if I should just call my doctor and demand some metformin. I always wondered if I wasn't overweight, how did taking clomid really work...