Metformin Support Group

cyn_love
cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
edited June 2023 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been taking metformin on and off for years (PCOS and prediabetes). I am going to give it a real try this time. I think the longest I've taken it as prescribed was around 3 months. I'm going to build myself up to 2000 mg AGAIN and stick with it through the end of the year. No excuses. I'll deal with the GI issues for the full 6 months if I have to. Anyone else recently started metformin that wants to suffer together? :D

This was my original prescribed prescription... don't increase your dose without talking to a doctor.
Here's my plan:
  • 500 mg with dinner x 7 days
  • 500 mg with dinner AND 500 mg with breakfast x 7 days
  • 1000 mg with dinner AND 500 mg with breakfast x 7 days
  • 1000 mg with dinner AND 1000 mg with breakfast x 6 months
  • re-evaluate at the end of the year

17 months ago my A1C was 5.9. I should be having labs this week that will be my baseline for this experiment (science teacher ;) ).
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Replies

  • PeachHibiscus
    PeachHibiscus Posts: 163 Member
    I'll be glad to join you. I was diagnosed T2D at the end of March and take 500 mg of metformin 2X a day. I take one with breakfast and one with dinner. Those first two weeks I had zero appetite and random nausea. It's been better since. I'll be going for another A1C test in a few weeks and at that point my doctor will decide if the dosage needs to be adjusted.

    You're smart to make changes now. My A1C was prediabetic a year ago and I didn't do anything about it. Not shocking that it was 7.0 this March.

    I wish you the best!
  • bethaboo2409
    bethaboo2409 Posts: 9 Member
    I’m waiting to find out my A1C numbers, tested yesterday. I’m hoping it’s normal! I’ve lost 100 pounds and I’ve been eating right for a long time!
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @PeachHibiscus Well good for you for actually taking your medication! I have struggled so badly with staying on it. I have my phone set to remind me now. Hopefully it's doing what it should be!

    @bethaboo2409 Fingers crossed for you! Was it ever elevated? You corrected with just diet? Impressive! Congrats on your loss!
  • Creamtea42
    Creamtea42 Posts: 285 Member
    Hi all …. Similar situation developing here ….Been diagnosed T2 In May - UK measurement was HbA1c was 82 - presumably that equates to 8.2 A1C (?). I have been given 4 months, with advice to lose as much weight as I can and bloods to be re reviewed in 4 months and may need to start Metformin then…..22 lbs down so far since March. Was prediabetic in June 2021, so annoyed with self for not acting before now… no history of T2 in family, but history of health issues & sedentary lifestyle. I am hoping to try to see if I can reverse this ; not sure if possible ….
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @Creamtea42 I bet you can reverse it! Congrats on your loss! We've got this!!!!
  • Creamtea42
    Creamtea42 Posts: 285 Member
    edited June 2023
    Thanks @cyn_love … I’m not sure if I opted not to take Metformin was the right course of action though, because following researching it, Metformin may help with the tiredness & fatigue symptoms I have / am experiencing. Pros & cons for intervention! We’ll see what next HbAIc shows….
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @Creamtea42 I keep learning more about the benefits of it. They seem to outweigh the cons.... I'm not sure how I've made it all this time without knowing all this.
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    UGH. Thank you for starting this! I was on metformin several years ago for PCOS (hooray insulin resistance!) and prediabetes. I just got on it again this week and I forgot how much I despise it. I have no memory of it tasting as disgusting as it does now, but my husband swears I used to complain about it twice a day every day :D I took the plunge and asked to be put back on it because I want to have another baby at some point. In conjunction with better nutrition and exercise habits, I know it works for me. My obgyn describes it as the "insulin soaker-upper." I jumped right in to 500mg with breakfast and dinner. I didn't even think about working up to twice a day. So far I've felt okay. I'm pretty sure I'm on the extended release version because the regular made me so sick years ago. I haven't had my bloodwork done since a couple weeks after I had my son (May 2020 :#) so it's hard telling where I'm at with things. Glad to have found some people who understand!
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @kristenchapman525 I’m just happy that we can find each other on here! And happy to hear you’re not having issues with it. You say it works for you…. What kind of benefits did you see from it? I don’t think I’ve ever been on it regularly enough to reap the benefits.

    P.S. I agree about the taste. If I can’t swallow it immediately it is DISGUSTING.



    Day 2 update: apparently I’m out of 500 mg pills, so I’m having to split the 1000s in half. I had a hard time with it and nearly skipped straight to 1000 mg at a time. Haha. Luckily managed to snap it in half. 500 mg x1 day completed. no side effects yet!!
  • Dellagirl5316
    Dellagirl5316 Posts: 24 Member
    I’ve been on metformin for 10 years I take 2 500 mg a day in the morning it did take a while for my body to adjust and I now take an iron pill with them and it seems to help
    I have diabetes and pcos
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    @cyn_love Horribly disgusting! I hold it between my teeth until I get my drink to my mouth. As I said, it's been several years since I was on it, but I have insulin resistance which makes it nearly impossible to lose weight, which then impacts fertility (thanks, PCOS!). I found that when I stuck to my nutrition/movement plans, I lost weight consistently rather than lose one, gain five as I typically did. It helped with my blood sugar, of course. I ended up getting pregnant within 6 months of starting to take it. Hooray for no side effects! Do you take the extended release? That's the only way I can avoid the nausea, other than taking it with food. I made the mistake of taking it on an empty stomach last time I was on it and regretted that decision for days! You should be able to find a pill cutter in the pharmacy section of most stores. That may make your life easier for the next couple weeks!

    @Dellagirl5316 any idea why the iron pill helps? I haven't heard of that but I'm open to anything! Is it still working to manage your symptoms after being on it for so many years?

  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @kristenchapman525 Yes, I'm on extended release. I think I've mastered the pill splitting now. Last night was much easier! I also have insulin resistance and infertility issues. I actually went through the whole IVF process with my ex-husband - we had dual factor infertility. It'd be crazy after all that if metformin finally was the solution in this new life I have. Having consistent loss would be wonderful. I fluctuate so much and it's so frustrating to gain 4 lbs after 1 bad meal - then spend the week re-losing it.
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    @cyn_love I know EXACTLY how you feel about that fluctuation...people always thought I was exaggerating when I said I could gain 5 pounds overnight and take 2 weeks to lose it, but nope :| I hope that metformin has some awesome benefits for you too! Every body is different, but sticking to a low carb plan for several months and taking metformin, I lost about 20-25 pounds and was able to get pregnant without any medical intervention. My ob did call me a unicorn though, so maybe that isn't common. He did tell me when I got my IUD out that with PCOS, losing 5% of our bodyweight can basically cause a "system reset" and get ovulation working correctly again.
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @kristenchapman525 5%.... so like 15 pounds. That's not much! Wow. Now I'm a little nervous about getting pregnant. Lmao.
    When I did my egg retrieval the hormones and my giant ovaries made me gain like 20 pounds in 2 months. Most of it was bloat that fell right off, but they FREAKED OUT about putting me under anesthesia because I had gained weight since being approved. So I had to do it awake - Most painful thing I've ever had to do! I tried explaining to them that it was bloat - not actual weight gained - and even they didn't believe me!
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    @cyn_love You may not have the same experience with the 5% :D That sounds HORRIBLE. Of course they didn't believe you. Doctors always assume they know our bodies better than we do even though we live in them 24/7. I quit going to the doctor for YEARS because it was always about my weight. If I went in for a cold, I was lectured about my weight... So many don't understand that with these endocrine issues, we can and DO gain so much so fast. It's a shame that more doctors aren't knowledgeable. I guess it's considered a speciality? I feel like all doctors should at least understand that each patient is different, each body is different, and under all the fat, we are ACTUAL PEOPLE who deserve respect and care. Even when I was pregnant with my son, I was just a fat pregnant person to them instead of a pregnant person who also happened to be fat. Every appointment (and I had a lot of them with the early onset gestational diabetes), they'd literally celebrate weight loss and lecture me for any gain. They didn't believe my food log when I gained, but apparently it was accurate when I lost weight? Idk. I'm scared of getting pregnant again too because of that kind of stuff lol. I didn't get to be excited or enjoy my first pregnancy at all because I was always so stressed about the doctors. One of them even gave me a pamphlet to a weight loss clinic :|
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    edited June 2023
    @kristenchapman525 That scene from Step Brothers is playing out in my mind right now. "Did we just become best friends??" "Yep!!" Lmao.

    Exactlyyyyyy. Finally this year I decided I needed to prioritize several health issues that I've ignored for years - because every doctor has said it will be cured by losing weight. Even people closest to me say I always repeat the same pattern - lose about 30 lbs and then regain it. I know that. But unless I am ACTIVELY trying to lose weight, I am gaining. I didn't realize how much of it was caused by PCOS honestly. I thought it was normal, because I've heard how hard it is for cysters to lose weight. I CAN lose weight when I am trying. It just comes back...
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    @cyn_love :D Love that movie!

    Maintaining is SO hard because we have to be in "reduction mode" 24/7. There is no real maintenance phase where we can reintroduce old habits/foods and do fine. Our bodies are actively working against us. I lost 50 pounds about 10 years ago. Stopped trying so hard and ended up gaining 100 over the next few years. Oddly I've easily maintained my 300-315 weight without trying :| People who have never experienced this particular struggle don't have the capacity to understand that it's not as simple as just eat healthy and exercise. It's not like 5-10 pounds they gain and lose easily every few years. My mom (who has been thin her whole life and basically one half of my body size since I was in high school) literally told me today "I lose 5 pounds easily every time I cut out sugar" as if that is the answer to all of my problems lol. She means well, I know, but don't they all?
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @kristenchapman525 I'm going to be honest.... I've never purposefully restricted carbs. I have been advised before to keep them under 100. I just looked through my past log... I'm averaging 225-250 carbs/day. I'm going to be more mindful of them at least. That's a start. My standard suggestion had it at 200/day. I'm going to lower it to 150/day and try to stay close to that.
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @sollyn23l2 You're right. I don't expect to lose 100 lbs and be able to fuel my body with fast food like the old days without consequence. But I do think that PCOS creates more of a fast track to regain than someone without PCOS.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,778 Member
    cyn_love wrote: »
    @sollyn23l2 You're right. I don't expect to lose 100 lbs and be able to fuel my body with fast food like the old days without consequence. But I do think that PCOS creates more of a fast track to regain than someone without PCOS.

    Absolutely, it can definitely make it more of a challenge.
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    @sollyn23l2 I didn't mean go back to the old ways. I just meant be less strict and structured. Many people can do that successfully. With PCOS, if I even blink twice at a cookie, I gain a pound. Do you have PCOS? Insulin resistance? Diabetes?

    @cyn_love that's a start! Do what feels best for you. You can always make adjustments, up or down, as you go. I have found that reducing carbs helps me a lot. Definitely something I try to be mindful of. I typically try to stay under 150 or so. That's about what they had me doing when I had gestational diabetes.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,778 Member
    kristenchapman525 wrote: »
    @sollyn23l2 I didn't mean go back to the old ways. I just meant be less strict and structured. Many people can do that successfully. With PCOS, if I even blink twice at a cookie, I gain a pound. Do you have PCOS? Insulin resistance? Diabetes?

    @cyn_love that's a start! Do what feels best for you. You can always make adjustments, up or down, as you go. I have found that reducing carbs helps me a lot. Definitely something I try to be mindful of. I typically try to stay under 150 or so. That's about what they had me doing when I had gestational diabetes.

    That's what I'm saying. Being "less strict and structured" results in going back to old ways. It's human nature. You have to maintain the structure if you want to maintain the loss. Difficult, for sure.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,778 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    kristenchapman525 wrote: »
    @sollyn23l2 I didn't mean go back to the old ways. I just meant be less strict and structured. Many people can do that successfully. With PCOS, if I even blink twice at a cookie, I gain a pound. Do you have PCOS? Insulin resistance? Diabetes?

    @cyn_love that's a start! Do what feels best for you. You can always make adjustments, up or down, as you go. I have found that reducing carbs helps me a lot. Definitely something I try to be mindful of. I typically try to stay under 150 or so. That's about what they had me doing when I had gestational diabetes.

    That's what I'm saying. Being "less strict and structured" results in going back to old ways. It's human nature. You have to maintain the structure if you want to maintain the loss. Difficult, for sure.

    And I have conplete ovarian failure and no thyroid (I had it radiated) so yeah, we all have our issues.
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @sollyn23l2 We definitely do. It's well known that PCOS effects weight in several ways (cravings, insulin resistance, etc.) I'm sure your conditions effect you as well, but I'm not as familiar with it.
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    Lots of people can be LESS "strict and structured" and still maintain their weight loss. I don't understand why you're arguing that point? Do you really believe that the average person maintaining without PCOS has the same difficulty as someone maintaining with PCOS? You're comparing apples to oranges. Maintaining is difficult for everyone. It is ESPECIALLY difficult with PCOS because our bodies are ACTIVELY fighting against us. The average person's body isn't doing that. If you just want to acknowledge that maintaining is hard in general, sure, yes, it very much is. But this is a metformin group where many people with PCOS will come to discuss that and I would prefer if we were allowed to have our opinions of our own experiences without them being downplayed.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,778 Member
    kristenchapman525 wrote: »
    Lots of people can be LESS "strict and structured" and still maintain their weight loss. I don't understand why you're arguing that point? Do you really believe that the average person maintaining without PCOS has the same difficulty as someone maintaining with PCOS? You're comparing apples to oranges. Maintaining is difficult for everyone. It is ESPECIALLY difficult with PCOS because our bodies are ACTIVELY fighting against us. The average person's body isn't doing that. If you just want to acknowledge that maintaining is hard in general, sure, yes, it very much is. But this is a metformin group where many people with PCOS will come to discuss that and I would prefer if we were allowed to have our opinions of our own experiences without them being downplayed.

    Nobody's downplaying it. You do you. I was agreeing with you that yes, it's difficult. This is an open forum, not a private one. Like I said, yes, it's difficult, there's no denying that.
  • LadyTaylorMetamorphasis
    LadyTaylorMetamorphasis Posts: 2 Member
    I'll do it with ya!

    I've fallen off with taking mine (prediabetes) and need accountability to take mine!

    Im currently just one 1 pill (I forget the dosage) with the last meal of the day
  • cyn_love
    cyn_love Posts: 94 Member
    @nanareirayasu Woohoo! Welcome! that's all I'm doing right now too.

    Day 3 update: Still no symptoms!!!!!!! I have a long 14 hour drive tomorrow. I just know I'm gong to be stopping every opportunity to ruin some nice gas station attendant's day. 500 mg PM x2 days completed!
  • Kristen525c
    Kristen525c Posts: 387 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Nobody's downplaying it. You do you. I was agreeing with you that yes, it's difficult. This is an open forum, not a private one. Like I said, yes, it's difficult, there's no denying that.

    You basically said "nah it's just like that for everyone." That's downplaying it, friend. Maybe we have a different understanding of "agreement." But cool beans, you do you, peace be with you and also with you, etc. In the future, please consider how your statement may impact your audience before clicking that "post reply" button since, ya know, this is meant to be a SUPPORT group.

    TLDR - read the room before responding ;)

    In all sincerity, I hope that metformin does not have any major side effects on you and that your journey, whatever your intent, is pleasant and the least amount of difficult necessary.

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