PCOS, Hypothyroidism & Losing Weight

bellaa_x0

A little background to start - I started my fitness journey almost 4 years ago and am down 30lbs from my starting (and also highest) weight. I am 27 years old, 5'10" and 194.5lbs to date. I would like to lose about 20 more pounds. I currently lift heavy, with two HIIT sessions plus an Orange Theory class mixed in. I track my macros using My Macros+ (160p/140c/50f on lifting/cardio days and 160p/110c/45f on off days).

I was recently diagnosed with PCOS (but NOT insulin resistant) and my doctor started me on Metformin. I already take Synthroid for my thyroid - it will be a year in January since I started it. I'm curious what success others have had with weightloss once starting Metformin since my doctor says it should help my "metabolism issues."

I have done some searches on the boards and elsewhere on the Internet; however, I would still appreciate more recent input

Expatmommy79

I took metaformin. Not the long acting one. I lost weight - more as a side effect. I got really bad tummy aches from eating carbs after the pill and was nauseous for a lot of the day. Had diarrhea etc. after a few weeks I was put on the long acting one and it didn't have any weight loss effect as the side effects were much reduced.

Why the metaformin if you are not IR?

Also I'm not sure it increases your metabolism per se.

I stopped the metaformin within a few months and just took the BCP. I no longer have symptoms of pcos.

bellaa_x0

Expatmommy79 wrote: »

I took metaformin. Not the long acting one. I lost weight - more as a side effect. I got really bad tummy aches from eating carbs after the pill and was nauseous for a lot of the day. Had diarrhea etc. after a few weeks I was put on the long acting one and it didn't have any weight loss effect as the side effects were much reduced.

Why the metaformin if you are not IR?

Also I'm not sure it increases your metabolism per se.

I stopped the metaformin within a few months and just took the BCP. I no longer have symptoms of pcos.

So far I haven't experienced any of the side effects - thankfully. I'm not trying to conceive, but I don't want to take birth control as I have had bad experiences with it in the past... I think this is part of the reason my doctor prescribed the Metformin.

beccaboo2001

The side effects do go away - usually within about a month. Seems like a long time, but I think once it evens out it's fine. I, personally, have been on it about a year and haven't seen much difference with weight loss - albeit I haven't really been trying too hard. I haven't gained any - just maintained. I take it for PCOS, IR, and take levothyroxine for thyroid.

pineygirl

I have both PCOS and hypothyroidism. I'm also not insulin resistant. Before I was diagnosed with either I found it very difficult to lose weight. I was never actually overweight...just had 5 to 10lbs of vanity weight that I kept gaining and losing. But once I got to my 30's it because really hard to lose...even eating less than 1200 calories per day.

The PCOS most likely caused 2 miscarriages. Then I got pregnant with my son (16 months old) thanks to Clomid. And had another miscarriage after him 3 months ago (twins this time)...without Clomid.

I just finally lost the baby weight from my DS. I'm back to 114lbs. I just want to lose another 5lbs more. It was much easier this time since I'm on Synthroid.

I use a Fitbit Charge HR to calculate my TDEE, but it over estimates my calorie burn due to my low metabolism from the PCOS and hypothyroidism. So I just leave 100 to 400 calories. I'm losing at about 1 lb per week...

I've tried metformin and it didn't work out well. Besides the GI side effects it had one really annoying and potentially dangerous one. My blood sugar kept dropping. I'd wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing and I'd be shaking and dizzy. Then if I went more than 2 hours without eating during the day the same thing would happen. My blood sugar once dropped to 36. I just couldn't take it. I already had issues with hypoglycemia and the metformin clearly didn't help.

bellaa_x0

pineygirl wrote: »

I have both PCOS and hypothyroidism. I'm also not insulin resistant. Before I was diagnosed with either I found it very difficult to lose weight. I was never actually overweight...just had 5 to 10lbs of vanity weight that I kept gaining and losing. But once I got to my 30's it because really hard to lose...even eating less than 1200 calories per day.

the difficulty of losing weight no matter how much effort I put in is what kills me... ugh. I had been taking the generic of Synthroid up until this week and was also taking it incorrectly thanks to my last endo so I'm hoping the change to the brand name and now taking it correctly (taken upon waking and no eating for 1 hour, no coffee during the same hour, none of my other meds at the same time, etc.) will change things..

pineygirl

I take mine at 4am...go back to sleep for an hour or so...then wake up and have coffee and breakfast. Makes it so much easier than waiting and hour for coffee when I wake up at like 5am. Nope...nope...nope.

bellaa_x0

pineygirl wrote: »

I take mine at 4am...go back to sleep for an hour or so...then wake up and have coffee and breakfast. Makes it so much easier than waiting and hour for coffee when I wake up at like 5am. Nope...nope...nope.

that's actually a really good idea! thanks