Are these normal symptoms of metformin???

nikkij11 · 09-04-2008, 04:13 PM

I've been taking metformin (1500mg) for PCOS and have been doing so for nearly six weeks now. At first I had no symptoms at all (apart from an upset tummy sometimes), but after taking it for about 2 weeks I started to notice some white / browny discharge sometimes when I wiped (Sorry if this is too much information, but am really worried!!). This then turned into a brown, clotty discharge which I had all the time and lasted for 3 weeks. I thought at first this was maybe the start of a period, but it was never really red in colour and didn't show any signs of going away. Then last week (on the morning I was going in for an echovist procedure) it finally looked as if I had a period. No brown, only red (blood) when wiping. First sign of a period I've had in 9 months. I had the echovist and the doctor said I would maybe see some blood afterwards, but as I was bleeding anyway then I wouldn't notice! That was a week ago and I still have a 'period', although I'm now worried as it isn't showing any signs of stopping. Has anyone else experienced any of this while taking metformin????

sugarlump · 09-04-2008, 10:06 PM

i think i experienced this once on met but it has been great for me and my cycles have started on their own now. I hope this helps

TheGigglingFrog · 09-06-2008, 02:38 AM

I have had periods exactly as you described... brown clotty turning to red, but I had those before I started met... I also had times when it would go on forever it seemed. I'm on BCP right now and my last AF was really light... sorry that isn't much help with how Met could be involved... but the brown clumpy can be a normal type of period from my experience...

leggiebear · 09-06-2008, 02:58 AM

I can help!! The brown discharge is actually your body removing "Old Blood". Probably the shedding of the uterine wall, which is good and happens to most women on a monthly basis. but for those with PCOS that have not had regular cycles or no cycles at all the shedding of the wall and disposal of the dead eggs (eggs that do not become cysts) can take 1-2 weeks and is a good sign that the Metformin is working. YAY!!

Dark blood is ok- waste - stuff you body does't need.

Your period should have dark red clots. And for most women they are very painful when passing. CRAMPING. Ugh... After 2-3 mths on Met you should see a difference. Periods will be heavy or light depending on the woman and will last the normal 3-4 days.

If you are still having the discharge after that amount of time and your periods do get better you should discuss other options with your OB or RE. And I am sure they have told you that Met with a hormone treatment is recommended. Whether it is BC like Yaz or fertility like Clomid.

I hope things get better for you.

Diagnosed 1993
Fertility started 2002
Success in 2006
Baby girl in 2007

libra08 · 09-06-2008, 03:50 PM

Hey leggiebear,
That was helpful info. I am little confused with my symptoms. Maybe someone here can help.
Background: I was on BC for last 5-6 years. Whenever I used to stop BC, I wont get periods.
I started Metformin in Mid March 2008. After that I am getting my periods on my own. Though the cycle duration is varying. The cycle lengths since march are 45 days, 46 days, 37 days, 32 days. I was happy when this time the cycle time reduced to 32( thought I am on right track). But this time the period lasted 2 or 2.5 days. this made me nuts. Not sure what is it. Is it some in between bleeding or some kind of clensing or I am not used to 32 days cycle or I am pregnant?

Also I am not sure if I am ovulating or not. Tried taking temp every morning( last 40 days). My temp never increases its almost always in the range of 97.1 - 97.3

I have Dr appointment next week. should I ask/discuss anything specific.

Any ideas?

Diagnosed PCOS: 2000
- 2000 to 2008: On BC + Spiro
- Mar 2008 to now: Met + Spiro

leggiebear · 09-06-2008, 07:16 PM

My RE will tell you that if you have been on BCP for a long amount of time that it is very hard to get pregnant without a combination of Met and Clomid.

After having my one she has me on Met only to keep regular. But my hubby and I don't want to elimate the chance of getting pregnant on our own and I eally don't want to go the fertility route again.

My normal cycles were 46 days when I was on Clomid and Met. After pregnancy and only on met I'm glad to report that my cycles are 28 days but some months the cycle can tke longer.

It is possible to have spotting when on hormone medication. This might be a lightflow for up to 2 days or just light pink spotting. This is not uncmmon but it does warrant a call to your doctor. If you think you are pregnant then a early pregnancy test can help - some tests can detect te pregnancy hormone 3 days after conceiving. I used to hate running to the pregnancy test.

Let me know how it goes.

leggiebear · 09-06-2008, 07:20 PM

oh and - my temp never changed even though I was ovulating. An ovulation stick is a better option because it detects hormone but can get expensive. When I was on Comid I did the temp charts to no prevail and then tried the ovulation sticks. The best thing for me is when I was working with a fertility specialist who took ultrasound.

lyndim · 09-06-2008, 07:28 PM

i have AF just like that too, although it stays brown for most of the time. always wondered if that was normal, thanks for the info leggiebear. i've been on met for about 3 years and still wasn't having af normally, so doc put me on prometrium. went off that for a couple months and had 50+ day cycles, so she had me start back up again. now that i'm on clomid too, it gets really confusing, especially since i don't know if i'm o'ing or not. i'm on clomid cd 5-9, sex every other day cd 14-25 and prometrium cd 20-30. she said the prometrium won't hurt anything if i get pg, and i hope she's right!

leggiebear · 09-30-2008, 01:02 AM

lyndim -

hope things are going better for you. Sorry I haven't respondedin a while. I am not sure about prometrium as I was never on that. I was successful getting pregnant with glonal and ovidril. Glonal is a FSH and ovidril forces ovulaton once the eggs are size. Size of eggs are determined by ultrasound. Drs like to have 17-20mm.

When I was on Clomid I never ovulated. I always had the monthly brown discharge but never had the red. Ovidril worked perfect to force the ovulation.

Good luck

nikkij11 · 10-02-2008, 06:10 AM

Hey Leggiebear - sorry for taking so long to repy...............Thank you for the advice on my metformin symptoms! my 'period' finally ended after about 15 days, and I have gone back to 'normal', i.e. no discharge in fact no anything! I am so up and down at the minute......I was so glad to finally have got what I think was my first period in about 9 months, and then it showed no signs of going away. Then when it eventually had stopped I'm desperate for it to come back again (it's day 35 today and nothing) just to show some signs of being regular.

I tried clomid initially when I was first diagnosed with PCOS - first month 50mg and second month on 100mg (using Norethisteron to bring on a period so I could start taking the clomid) and each month my blood tests showed I had not ovulated. My 'specialist' referred me for an echovist and said I should not continue with the clomid as it wasn't working (after 2 months?!?) and I could try metformin if I wanted......
I really though things were starting to work with the metformin, getting a period in the first month of taking it, but now nothing. Anyway I've now been referred to a further specialist, but my appointment is not until Aug of next year(!) and that's just to been re-assessed to go on a further waiting list of goodness knows how long.

Sorry for ranting, I just feel like time is running out..............how long did it take for the metformin to start working for you, i.e. until you got regular periods? (and how long was your cycles?)

leggiebear · 10-05-2008, 09:25 PM

Metformin did not work to regulate my periods until after I had my Daughter. Now the medication is working great.

Drs tend to pawn you off on somene else when they don't know how to treat you. I was on Clomid for 4yrs. Just because it didn't work for you those two months doesn't mean it won't work in another month. A lot of women on this site will tell you that.

Here is what you need to do... don't wait until Next Aug that is ubserd. 2 types of Doctors can help you. One is an RE -or Reproductive Endocronologist - this dr would have had you on Metformin before you left your first appt with a dx of PCOS. The next is a OB/GYN who is familiar and has treated PCOS - try a fertility center first as they will have the most current info on treatment. Once you are pregnant you can see any OB/gyn for yearlys and prego appts.

together these two doctors will surely help you get pregnant.

Here is the catch, the RE is usually covered by insurance for routine visits bt no for fertlity - however every insurance plan is different. A fertility specialist is rarely covered by insurance.

The plan I had at the time covered all my RE visits and the fertility medication but did not cover the visits to the Fertility specialist so that came out of pocket.

re: periods. Sometimes periods can last for a long amount of time. 38-42 days is not uncommon even with medication. I know its hard to be patient but you really have to try.