pcos/ir/metformin need some advice - frustrated

this will be kind of long but anyone with pcos or anyone on metformin that can give me some insight would be greatly appreciated.
i was started on metormin last summer for pcos/insulin resistance. prior to that, i had been struggling to lose weight even while doing the right things and realized something must be wrong. so they put me on 1000 mg of metformin. i had already fallen off the wagon due to discouragement before getting help, so it took me a while to really work on my diet.
sometime in the fall i tried a low carb diet and had a small amount of success with it but it was hard to maintain and as soon as i started eating carbs again, i gained most of the (small) loss back.
i slacked off during the holidays and pretty much maintained but about 5 weeks ago i started using mfp, exercising (jm 30 day shred) and slowly focusing on my diet. my eating had improved but was not great for the first 2 weeks but after that i really kicked it up and started focusing on WHAT i was eating and not just the calories. i'm not following a low carb diet, but i'm definitely eating less carbs than i was 5 weeks ago and i'm eating a lot more healthy things (ex: yogurt, tuna, stir fry, etc) and trying to track everything that goes in my mouth.
i am seeing NO change. i feel better from the exercise (i took "before" pics when i started 30ds and see no difference after 5 weeks). my weight won't budge. i finally showed a 1lb weight loss last week and gained it right back (which i'm sure it was probably just water weight anyway).
i'm feeling exactly how i felt before i started metformin. like i'm doing all the right things and it's not working. with the exception of eating very low carb (which my doc told me i didn't have to necessarily do, just regular dieting should be fine), now that i'm finally taking my weight loss seriously, it's not working. i almost feel like screwing around all those months and not trying harder when i first started the meds screwed me over.
is it possible that my dosage needs to increase? is low carb the only thing that will work? i know everyone's experiences with pcos are different but i was under the impression that the metformin would help regulate my blood sugar to more of a "normal" person's and a normal healthy diet should work.
i made an appt with my gyno tomorrow but i'm just looking for a little insight from some people with experience.

Replies

  • I've got pcos and insulin resistance and have been on metformin a few times (actually about to restart it). While on the met, I saw the greatest weight change with low glycemic index foods and upping protein. I wasn't eating low carb per se, but I was eating fairly low gi. Also, if I ate a high gi food (white rice, white sugar, white flour etc) I would always have some protein with it to balance my blood sugar levels (which also helped with cravings). 1000mg of met also seems kind of low to me. I thought 1500mg up to 2650 (2650 if you were trying to conceive) was what was generally prescribed. As of a few months ago (when I was last on met) I took 500mg in the morning and 1000mg at night. HTH!