when is it time to come off metformin?

bec415 · 05-24-2006, 11:25 PM

i understand that there are symptoms that would tell you, you've got IR, such as dark ring around neck, high glucose levles. but theres nothing that really specifically tell you, so how do you know when you no longer need to be on metformin?

rebecca

Mimi L · 05-25-2006, 05:14 AM

I'm not really sure. I think some people might stay on it permanently. Some though may get to the point where they can control it through diet and exercise. Anyway, I'm bumping you up, maybe someone else has a better answer for you.

christyz · 05-25-2006, 03:39 PM

Depends on the person.

Because my hormones are really tough to move, my symptoms started in my teens when I was 120 pounds and my family history has all kinds of Type 2 diabetes, I will likely be on it until menopause.

My Dr tests my hormones every 6 months to make sure they are still normal and I have been able to cut my dose by 1/3 since I hit my goal weight and am committed to eat well and exercise, but keeping hormone levels steady is a personal thing that requires trial and error.

It takes time and patience to determine what course of treatment will work long term.

Hope it helps!

bec415 · 05-25-2006, 07:19 PM

this is what i don't understand though, when i'm on bcp's my hormones are "normal" but i still have bad acne. so i've been told that the acne is because i'm still IR - which is where the metformin is supposed to help. but this has been decided based on my symptoms of IR, once i loose weight i may not need to be on met any more, but how do i know when my insuline issues are normal and i can come off of met. can it actually be tested? are there any lab results or anything that can be looked at to determine that?

rebecca

hedyvrie · 05-26-2006, 02:11 AM

I flat out asked my RE and he said I would be on it for life excpet during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of my pregnancies. He said IR only gets worse with age, regardless if you have PCOS or not.

bec415 · 05-26-2006, 03:38 AM

so during that period of time you've got to come off it (when pregnant) were supposed to expect to get all the symptoms back?

i thought met was to help us if wer'e unable to get rid of the symptoms by loosing weight on our own. what if i loose 50 pounds (which is my goal) and while i'm at a healthy weight, my body doesn't have IR issues, how would i know that i don't need to be on met?

Mimi L · 05-26-2006, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bec415

so during that period of time you've got to come off it (when pregnant) were supposed to expect to get all the symptoms back?

i thought met was to help us if wer'e unable to get rid of the symptoms by loosing weight on our own. what if i loose 50 pounds (which is my goal) and while i'm at a healthy weight, my body doesn't have IR issues, how would i know that i don't need to be on met?

I think it would probably be a trial and error type thing. You know cut down on the dosage, wait and see what happens, do some lab work to see where your hormone levels are, and then adjust as necessary. I'm not sure about the symptoms during pregnancy as I wasn't on met during mine. Hormone levels are always different during pregnancy anyway and even though I wasn't on met at the time my PCOS symptoms improved during my pregnancy. Maybe some of the other ladies know more about that.