I was just diagnosed with PCOS/Insulin Resistance. What now?.

Metformin can have different reactions for everyone, but the common one is nausea. Is this what your friend meant when she said it made her feel ill? If so, don't be discouraged, it'll only last a few days and once your body gets used to it the symptoms go away. Some people don't feel it at all... it just depends. Another option is to eat it with food, it alleviates the nausea. I was a diabetes educator and saw this many times when a patient would say it made them feel nauseous and they just stopped. If it's still not working for you after a couple of weeks please, please talk to your doctor. They can find something else for you that will work, although metformin is a very good drug at decreasing insulin resistance and decreasing liver glucose output into the bloodstream. I understand that metformin also is prescribed with PCOS patients as well because it works in other ways... I saw a lady once that was on metformin, had PCOS, but was not insulin resistant. I'm not sure in the mechanism with that, but have seen it. As always, consult your doctor when making a health change, especially if you show signs of being insulin resistant.... or better yet, see a nutritionist... they would know more about it and how to manage.

It made me sick, but that did go away. I tapered on it, and I definitely eat with it (except what I take right before going to bed). I was just barely overweight and losing on my own, and my graph looks crazy after the Metformin started. It definitely took off about 10 lbs over the first couple of months before that stopping!

It made me lose my appetite a lot at very first, too. Like the first week. That can be good... or bad! Meh, it was temporary. I also have bad GERD, so my stomach is quite sensitive. Pepto Bismal helps when I take the Met without eating.

Metformin helps with other hormones than just insulin for us PCOS women. So it can help with other symptoms as well. I also take Prometrium progesterone for PCOS and endometriosis.

I do what I can to get my blood sugar down on my own, too. I'm medium-carb (about 150-175g), allowing low glycemic load carbs more freely, and a small treat or two a day of 'bad' carbs I have a terrible sweet tooth, so there ya go! There are some yummy sweets I make that aren't bad anyway, like fruit bran muffins with butter on top for flavor. Yum! The bran or oatmeal is what really helps, and many fruits are great to eat (fiber). I do recommend getting familiar with glycemic loads as they help a ton. Beans and lentils are wonderful for BG issues, and tasty in Tuscan stews, etc

I like to eat my quick carb treats before I run a short while with my dog, and that clears out the glucose nicely. About 20 minutes of easy yet brisk exercise indoors also works. If I eat a plate of pasta or anything heavy-carb, I always exercise right after!

I check my blood sugar 4 times a day, more if I eat poorly, so that helps me know exactly how things stand. My numbers are very good. My doctor is pleased! I'm diabetic without the Metformin, though. Not badly diabetic, but still. I was pre-diabetic for about a year before my levels went higher without changing anything (mainly due to the 'dawn effect' overnight), so do take it as a red flag. I wish I'd done the Metformin sooner! And those quick extra 10 lbs helped a lot I was only on a 0.5 lb/week schedule, lol. I hit goal weight much sooner.

Aw, man! Well, those carb goals are awesome for blood sugar issues, so great job! If my BG gets harder to control, I'll be dropping much lower myself, much as I'd hate to have to do it, lol.

Lol, I'm actually a pharmacist and have multiple friends and family members with PCOS, it sucks, like a lot!

Metformin is generally really tough to get started with but taper it every few weeks. For the love of all that is holy do not take it on an empty stomach. You can also lessen the adverse reactions through proper diet, if you eat a bunch of candy the drug has more work to do therefore the ADRs (adverse reactions) will be worse. Please see a diabetic educator, they are truly worth their weight in gold. As well establish eating times and stick to them, breakfast at 8, lunch at 1, dinner at 6, for example. Find what works best for your schedule.

I explain it like this to patients: A few weeks/month of upset stomach and learning to curb poor food behaviours is nothing compared to pricking your finger and injecting insulin 8 times a day. Make no mistake, if you fail to control it now then full out type II diabetes will happen.

If you have any questions about your dosages or drugs please fell free to message me privately.

The Pepto Bismal works for diarrhea, too. Even quicker is Immodium, but Pepto is better to take often, as far as I know.

It does go away, but I ended up tapering up by a quarter pill each week, no joke. I gave up on trying faster than that, lol. The slow tapering helped soooo much. And I still take it in more than one dose in a day. It's supposed to work better if you take it with meals (and I take a dose late for overnight).

Hey! This is a cool thread, very informative. I'm on the verge of a PCOS diagnosis. I'm like an ultrasound away from an official diagnosis, but I can't afford to go in right now. My doctor is treating it like PCOS anyway, with Metformin and birth control. My first week on the birth control and Metformin was hell, and I've heard both cause nausea so I'm not sure which ended up being the killer. Now that some of the side effects have subsided, I'm finding it much easier to make transitions.

You know, the big thing I found in my reading of 'the PCOS Diet Plan' that made a lot of sense to me was taking the carb count down just a little bit (to 45% instead of 50%) and then being very thoughtful about carb distribution. The book explains it nicely, better than I ever could. So the idea is I eat a total of about 180-190 carbs a day (I'm on a 1600 calorie count plan), then distribute 45-60 carbs per meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and then 15ish carbs each for a midmorning and midafternoon snack. I honestly think the best parts about this plan are the ease of meal-planning and helping me to eat the right things to curb my hunger during the day, but I believe the carb distribution is more about giving your poor pancreas a rest.

Have any of you found any great books or blogs on this stuff you've found helpful? I'm an information sponge. Books and blogs are helping me to feel like I can take control back in my life. I'm 23 now as we move forward with the diagnosis, but I'm pretty sure I've had it since I went through puberty (always had irregular menstrual cycle). I haven't had my period in years! Saw a doctor a few years ago and she just told me it was "hormonal imbalance due to being overweight" in this very authoritative way that made me feel like it was all my fault. It was a very negative experience for me! Now I'm here... looking for like-diagnosed folks and support.