Metformin for PCOS

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Mrsbusk
Mrsbusk Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey there,
Just started on it today...and I was wondering for those who are on it...what symptoms did you have and what helped you get through the first time you started it? My dr started me on a small dose..but..after about 3 hours everything I ate went right through me...and my tummy has stayed upset... I was joking with my husband now I understand why drs say it can help you loose weight....it keeps you from eating big meals bc there's a punishment for over eating.haha! Anyways I'd appreciate advice I've posted on here b4 about PCOS. And it's led me great advice. :-)
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Replies

  • manda1978
    manda1978 Posts: 525 Member
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    I have PCOS but haven't needed metformin. Alot of my friends have and they also got upset tummies and foudn they just weren't as hungry hence lost good amounts of weight on it.
  • Mrsbusk
    Mrsbusk Posts: 20 Member
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    Well...as I've gotten older it has gotten worse found out when i was 14..so that's why they have prescribed it... Also my husband and I would like to get pregnant after I loose weight. So it's supposed to be more beneficial for me..but we'll see.lol
  • Blossom59
    Blossom59 Posts: 81 Member
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    I take it for Diabetes 2....It will give you dihearea ... Especially if you eat sugar. I also think it stinks....sometimes I have had a hard time to get past smell!
  • lucyford22
    lucyford22 Posts: 198 Member
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    I was on it for a little while. Made me throw up literally everything and anything I ate. It was horrible. I worked at an animal hospital and any little smell would make me start vomiting uncontrollably. Not a good time.
  • CandyDiehardBAMF
    CandyDiehardBAMF Posts: 41 Member
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    I just started it again for PCOS. My mom is diabetic and takes it, told me take it with food so I don't get sick. Only had to run to the bathroom once and it was when I didn't heed her advice. So far so good on me but it is different for different people.
  • rubberbiscuit
    rubberbiscuit Posts: 128
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    I take it for type 2 diabetes. It bothered my stomach for a couple of weeks when I first started to take it, but now it doesn't bother me. I take it twice a day and have been on it since June. Once I got over the tummy troubles, I found it a pretty easy medication to take with no noticable side effects.
  • emboss03
    emboss03 Posts: 36 Member
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    I'm on it for T2 Diabetes and PCOS.... When I first started taking it, I had the same thing... after a couple of days it goes away! It's just your body adjusting to the med. If it doesn't go away in a week, then talk to your doc.
  • ZipperJJ
    ZipperJJ Posts: 209 Member
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    I had awful awful nausea until I switched to Metformin ER (extended release). Now I make sure my tummy is quite full when I take it (after a meal or after a hearty snack) and I do ok.

    I have a friend who takes it - not the ER - and she says it makes her ill if she eats too many carbs. I don't have that problem...I eat low carb, but when I do have carbs I do not get ill from Metformin ER.
  • newCourtney
    newCourtney Posts: 168 Member
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    I took it a few years ago for PCOS, and I stopped taking it because it gave me horrible gas...both in frequency and smell. While not as bad as an upset stomach, I was teaching at the time, so you can imagine passing metformin-smelling gas in front of teenagers. Yeah....so I switched to a newer formulation of it (I can't remember the name), and I didn't have any side effects from it. good luck!
  • eazieske
    eazieske Posts: 212 Member
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    So it goes away!! Good I have the same problem I kinda stopped taking it because of that should I still take it?
  • emcdonie
    emcdonie Posts: 190 Member
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    It does that to most people. It did to me when I was on it as a diabetic. You usually have to step up your dose. Take it with food, it helps a little. For MOST people the problem goes away in a couple days to a couple weeks. If you are still intolerant of it after that time, Met is not for you.

    You can take immodium to help you get over the inital issue. I did. And anytime I messed up a dose I had to do that to keep it all at bay. The docs cleared me taking Met and Immodium together. It will help a lot.
  • emcdonie
    emcdonie Posts: 190 Member
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    Also, take it evenly and DO NOT skip doses or stop it unless you want the problem to continue. I was so bad about forgetting and was punished accordingly. I am no longer on it, as I am no longer diabetic. But it can help a lot when you need it.

    My docs always agreed that other than initial water weight loss, Met does not cause you to lose. However, it can be an equalizer making it easier for you to lose if you try. Basically it helps to correct your hormonal imbalances a little caused by the insulin resistance, which helps your metabolism to function better.
  • blackbirdblue
    blackbirdblue Posts: 5 Member
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    I was on metformin for PCOS for just over a year and had similar symptoms what really helped me was cutting sugars/eating low carb when I did that i had normal BMs but anytime I indulged in a lot sugar I was right back on the pot. I ended up stopping the metformin after I had lost about 25lbs and felt like I had my diet under control.
    .
  • emboss03
    emboss03 Posts: 36 Member
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    Yep, it goes away... like previous posters have said, just make sure to take it with a little food (I usually wait until I'm 20 mins into my meals so it digests with my food). Works wonders!
  • HDimple
    HDimple Posts: 70
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    I take gluciphage for my low blood sugar count
    I m on day 30 1pill per day
    my doctor told me no sugar no junk no fried
    but I m still eating all those stuff
    this pill makes me sleepy SOMETIMES
    and yes if you eat huge meals it flushes out quickly
    it even gives u gas problem
  • Mrsbusk
    Mrsbusk Posts: 20 Member
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    I ate right before I took it..but...I think it was the fact I ate too many carbs... My husband was trying to be sweet and give me one last hoorah and got me McDonald's n Dairy Queen for dessert..lol.. Yep that's not happening again..
    Honestly...I think it'll help.and give that push to eat healthy. Lol. Thanks for all the advice!!
  • emcdonie
    emcdonie Posts: 190 Member
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    op, something else I can share my docs said. If you should get preggers, don't suddenly stop taking it. Talk to your docs, of course, but metformin greatly LOWERS miscarriage risk in PCOS ladies. Stopping it if you get pregnant isn't usually advised from my understand at least during the first trimester. Just something else that came into my mind that I thought you might want to know.
  • goody2shews
    goody2shews Posts: 129 Member
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    I have been on Metformin 2x a day for over five years. At first it does give you an upset stomach. With me it is just a bad taste in my mouth and nausea if I've been off of it for awhile.

    There have been a couple of times after I had a surgery I had to go down to just one a day because of the upset stomach issue. Most every single time it was because following the surgery I had other medicine that was interacting with the metformin. At the time I needed the pain medicine more so we cut back on the metformin.

    Now I'm back on twice aday. When I don't have it I have a never ending hunger. With it I actually can feel my belly become full and stop.

    I hope it works for you. My sisters used it during their fertility treatments to get pregnant but now control their PCOS with a ton of exercise and basicly a diabetic diet.
  • goody2shews
    goody2shews Posts: 129 Member
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    Oh, and yes....always take it with food.
  • JustANumber85
    JustANumber85 Posts: 644 Member
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    extended release is SO much better than standard and less side effects with it.

    yes do take it with dinner or your biggest meal.

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