Metformin
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Ashley52312
Posts: 1
ok so i am a new member here, i had known for a while that i had PCOS, i mean everything wrong just screamed it,for gods sake im only 18 -_- , the excessive hair above my lip and sides of my face, shave one day and its back the next, hairy thighs, acne expecially on the top of my back, the 2 misscarriages both 5 months along, the constant infertility and wack *kitten* messed up cycles, eating healthy and in portions, extreme insanity workout and not losing any weight 
, etc. I had tried making sooooo many appointments but everytime literally 2 days before my appointment my period would start and i would have to cancel the appointment, it was so annoying, well finally last friday i was able to get into an appointment, she confirmed that i have PCOS she decided to put me on birth control for a while, a brand called Beyaz, havent started that yet but am currently since yesterday on the 500mg 2 times daily metformin she prescribed me to help with weight loss and a few of my other issues, i take it with food and have not had any of the horrible side effects people talk about, i had stopped working out about 2 months ago as it wasent doing anything for me i wasent losing any weight and it was pure cardio and muscle workouts, i know insanity works because my fiance does it and it worked on him, i am 18 and am 250lbs, 1/3 of that is boobs, butt and muscle, the rest is in my stomach and thighs and upper arms. I'm just wondering how many people have lost weight with metformin, same dosage and extreme exersise and healthy eating.
, etc. I had tried making sooooo many appointments but everytime literally 2 days before my appointment my period would start and i would have to cancel the appointment, it was so annoying, well finally last friday i was able to get into an appointment, she confirmed that i have PCOS she decided to put me on birth control for a while, a brand called Beyaz, havent started that yet but am currently since yesterday on the 500mg 2 times daily metformin she prescribed me to help with weight loss and a few of my other issues, i take it with food and have not had any of the horrible side effects people talk about, i had stopped working out about 2 months ago as it wasent doing anything for me i wasent losing any weight and it was pure cardio and muscle workouts, i know insanity works because my fiance does it and it worked on him, i am 18 and am 250lbs, 1/3 of that is boobs, butt and muscle, the rest is in my stomach and thighs and upper arms. I'm just wondering how many people have lost weight with metformin, same dosage and extreme exersise and healthy eating. 0
Replies
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I was diagnosed with PCOS about 12 years ago, and have always had a hard time struggling with my weight. I started on Metformin in December of 2013, and so far, I have lost about 15 pounds. I'm sure part of it has to do with my diet and exercise, but I credit most of it to the Metformin. I am on the same dosage you are. I really didn't notice a difference in the first month or two, but since then, I have felt better, I'm losing weight around my waist where I needed to most, and I generally have more energy. The one thing I'm hoping the most is that this medication will help me lose more weight and some of my other symptoms will subside, like the excessive hair growth, and the male pattern balding. My only issue is that I cannot take hormonal birth control, which is great in combination with the Metformin to regulate your cycles, and stop the unwanted side effects of PCOS. I hope for you, the combination of BC and Metformin will do the trick! I know how hard it can be to live with PCOS, and how frustrating it can be.0
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Did you get your fasting insulin tested? If not, you're flying blind. Metformin works by increasing the insulin sensitivity of your liver, which in turn lowers your fasting insulin. If you didn't get it tested, though, you have no idea if Metformin will even be of any use to you, nor how much will be needed.
That said, without the 2000mg/day dose that I'm on now, I'd have to literally starve myself to be able to lose weight. I'm not exaggerating. Prior to getting the right Metformin dose, the one time I lost any weight was when I was doing high-intensity workouts 5x a week and for about a week or two, I was only eating about 800 calories a day, total. I crashed and burned pretty quickly, of course (I need 2000 calories just as sedentary, let alone to support the workouts I was doing).
Also, hormonal birth control is not a treatment for PCOS, it just covers up the symptoms, at best, and at worst, make the underlying hormonal imbalance even worse, because most work by increasing estrogen, something we desperately don't need. Keep in mind, too, that a lot of hormonal birth controls (including the one you're on) have a significant increased risk of developing dangerous blood clots, and estrogen-based birth controls increase our risk of developing endometrial cancer. You might want to consider switching to a progesterone-based birth control or non-hormonal birth control (such as Provera or an IUD), and find other ways to control your symptoms.
One of the best ways I've found to control my symptoms is through dietary changes. What we eat is as important as how much. Just "eating healthy" often isn't enough. I'm a broken record when it comes to this and it takes a while to explain, so I'll just link you to one of the past threads that has my recommendations - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1248584-something-i-never-understood-about-pcos . In a nutshell, though - eat a whole-foods based diet, limit grains and soy, eliminate refined sugar and limit starch, and get ample fat.0 -
Wow, Dragonwolf, the post you linked to and wrote is one of the most informative and comprehensive pieces I have every seen on this matter. I am in limbo myself, trying to change my habits to sustain better patterns holistically before I get to a naturopath, Having been given incomplete information and literally the most basic of testing and told to wait everything out and see despite knowing that I have very legitimate health complaints, I feel stymied by western modern medicine. In my case I was given a diagnosis of PCOS ten years ago based on symptoms and one test and recently suspected hypothyroid. My TSH came back as 3.14 which puts me in a really bad spot. I need treatment according to many but unfortunately not my insurance company.
So I started a course of my own, including lots of grass fed meat/some full fat dairy and coconut oil. Still have a hard time with sugar, have gotten a lot of soy out of my diet. I'm still finding the right veggies and cooking the goitrogenic types. I will be saving this for future use, honestly you've got so much of the research I've been looking at all squared away there and so many other things to consider. A million thanks.0 -
Heyyyy,
I'm new (just started this week) and I've had PCOS (unofficially for 10 years) officially/diagnosed for 2 years. Only 6 months ago I was prescribed Metformin by my PCP.
My experience with Metformin hasn't been bad. The first month it took my body time to get used to it, and I experienced extreme dry mouth (curable by gum chewing) and extreme nausea (curable by taking it with a full breakfast). Other than that, it's been fine for me. I really did make a lot of diet changes prior to being on Metformin, though and I had lost probably 30 lbs without it. So it is possible to lose weight without it. But that said, it has been much easier to continue losing weight with it.
It's so frustrating when you always diet/limit carbs for the scale never to budge, and this has been my problem. I eat less than any of my friends and will either gain or stay the same somehow. Thank god my doctor realized it was due to my insulin-resistance. This is the reason for Metformin in my case.0
