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Metformin members

5K views 56 replies 25 participants last post by  Suzie 
#1 ·
Thought i might start a new thread for people on metformin to come and discuss issues and generally chat..
we have the pcos chit chat.. but this board seems to have lots of newbies with questions about metformin..
So thought this might be a good place for people to refer to...

i'd like to know ..from any people out there how much weight loss they've hand from the metformin.. and also if it's made them sensitive/allergic to anything since they started taking it..??

 
#2 ·
Hiya

I take 2x500mg twice a day.  I sometimes suffer from metformin  ^shake^ but only if I don't eat a good enough meal before I take it.

I haven't lost any weight whilst I have been on metformin and have only had one AF, last week I had a show every other day though !!!!

hope this helps
Tracy
xx
 
#3 ·
i take 3 tablets a day traceylou.. ive always wondered why the drs give different doses to different people...??
 
#4 ·
Hi, i have been on metformin for a year 500mg twice aday. I didn't really lose much weight! I had drilling in Feb this year and was told by my consultant to stop taking it. I actually had the op done elsewhere to avoid the waiting list and the consultant at that hospital told me to carry on with it. I had it increased to 850mg twice a day. It does make me feel better, hard to describe how. I recently came back from holiday when i didn't take it, it makes me feel strange if i have a drink!! So have started taking it again and have lost 6lbs in the last week, it has really curbed my appetite, and i have been sticking to a low GI way of eating-mainly no bread. Hope this helps.
 
#5 ·
oneday.. i have had many mixed messages over the metformin.. my pharmacist doesnt think i shopuld be on it.. not that its his business anyway..
my tx dr who does my scans says i should use it, my fertility nurse says i should stop it and my other tx dr doesnt seem to think it will make a difference..!!
 
#6 ·
Ju,

good thread. I have been taking met for about 5 weeks now and just wondered how long the side effects go on for? I get really bad nausea all the time at the moment which is really trying!! Also dont seem to have lost any weight which is disappointing. Does it take a while for that to kick in?

Looking forward to getting to know you.

sal
 
#7 ·
Hi

I am also on Metformin (3x 500mg a day) - started last October and have lost 2 stone (though been at the same weight for the 2 months now - no loss, no gain).  But consultant seemed please as he put me on his list for a lap & dye test which I am now dreading  :'(  Have my pre-admission tests tomorrow then the actual deed on 8 August - I am in two minds about knowing the result!  I am a bit of a pessimist (always think the worst) and if its bad news I don't know if I want to know right away - we are going to Mexico on 23 August for a holiday and I just know the news (if bad) will take the shine off the holiday - my husband says it could be good news and it would make the holiday even better.

Does anyone know if you get the results straight away?

Back to the Metformin, do get a few side effects but that is probably down to me not eating correctly.  I can be fine for a few days then have a bad day, but happy to go through this if it means a baby at the end of it.  As for my AF I was on a 35 days cycle and I am now on a 27 day cycle, but I think I am luckier than others as I was already getting AF regularly.

Karenm
 
#8 ·
karen.. i dont know about your results all places are different.. when i came round after my first lap and dye i told them i wasnt going anywehere till they told me what was going on.. then i had a bit oif a fit (not my fault it was the pain.. so they gave me some morphine .. and then i had to stay in over night because i'd had laser work done for my endometriosis dyuring the op and the pain was really bad...) so luckily the dr came and spoke to me. if in doubt.. tell them you want to know whats hapened.. usually someone knows.

i had the diathermy last year and it did improve my egg quality (along with the metformin).. has anyone else been told that met improves egg quality? i am considering buying the zw vital dha as lipgloss recomended it to me as being a great thing for improving egg quality.

i have also never really had a problem with absent af.. usually they're just really heavy, but since taking met they have gotten lighter.

sal.. i dont know about the weight loss thing.. the dr told me that usually you have to accompany it with exercise and change in diet.. which i never bothered with until now..some people have the side effects for a while.. i found using thiose sea bands helped my nausea..(i got them from boots.. you know the wrist bands to stop you being travel sick).. it might be worth a try.

will pick up with you all later

ju
 
#9 ·
This is definitely a thread of interest to me! Thanks for starting it sicknote.

I started taking metformin last week, the day after they diagnosed PCOS. I'm currently taking 850mg once a day but will be going to 850mg twice a day after anoter week. I'm being broken into it gently to avoid side effects apparently, but from what I've ready this is actually a mid-level dose and when I go up to twice a day, so 1700mg a day it's going to be pretty high. I was beginning to get gloaty and think I'd got away with no side effects until the met  ^shake^ kicked in yesterday and I've been taking it with food every time. I'm just hoping the side effects wear off before long, or I'm going to be spendng half my life in the bathroom!

I'm cutting out chocolate and am going to endeavour to excercise more. One of my colleagues and I have been flirting with the idea of playing badminton in our lunch hour for a while (we work on a uni campus so have facilities close by) so I'm going to try and get a few sessions booked. I'm currently just over 3 stone overweight. I lost 10lbs in the spring with the 'no chocolate and more excercise' plan so we'll see if the Met helps me to shift some more. Fingers crossed!

Gina.
 
#10 ·
gina.. i only get met  ^shake^ when i take the tablets and have eaten bad food (ie greasy chips/kebabs/hamburgers/sausgaes/ etc) ALL THE THINGS THAT THE GI DIET TELL YOU NOT TO EAT.. INCLUDING CHOCOLATE. Ihave managed to give a lot of it up.. and it has helped no end, although we stopped for a kebab on thursday night (long story.. i hadnt eaten all day and no where else was open.. dh had finished football training at 11pm and we were starving. and  althopugh i knew it was wrong i ate it anyway) that night i had such bad tummy problems..the met apparently has a product in it that latches onto the fatty things in the food and expells them so that your body cant digest them.. this is why some people loose weight.. but also why people have the met bum.
swounds dreadful being tied to a diet of  nuts grains and pulses.. i am trying but am not very good at all of this healthy food malarkey..
i want to loose about 18lbs (added a bit of weight with the pregnancy) and am hoping that any loss will help.

have decided to take some advice from lipgloss and am going to start taking the zita west dha as well to improve my egg quality.. hopefully it wont be long before dh pulls his swimmers into line and we can get on and make us a miracle....
 
#11 ·
Hello everyone,

I started Metformin in December 2005 - had two AF's since.  I never usually have anything.  Upped dosage 1/2 a tablet every two weeks until i was up to three a day.  I did feel a bit sick when I upped the dose but that soon went away.  I did not loose any weight, but I did not gain any.

Did PG test last week and BFP.  Cannot believe it after all the other treatment I had, did not believe Metformin would work on its own.  I have now stopped taking it, but I am starting to feel hungry more, so I think it did suppress my appetite.

Snickers
 
#12 ·
Congrats on the bfp snickers....

snickers did your clinic tell you to stop taking them? mine said i could take them if i wanted. when i had my bfp i also felt hungrier.. i think its just to do with the demands being made on your body, as my dr said your body is trying to make two tiny cells into a person!!
glad its worked for you..
 
#13 ·
hi ladies

great idea sicknote!!

i take 4x500 a day and find the only time i get metformin bum is when i dont eat something substantial when i take them. i usually have a piece of toast or something rather than just a biscuit. I also spread them out throughout the day. I lost nearly 3 stone on them when i first started taking them but since then my weight has been stable and up until a couple of months ago my af have been 5 weeks apart which for me is amazing.
Will be back later to catch up with posts as off to work now :(

love to all
suzie aka olive xx
 
#14 ·
Hi again ladies,

Sicknote, you probably have a good point there. On Sunday we had beef and guiness pie for lunch (with boiled veggies, fresh from the garden, so not too unhealthy) and I was pretty rough. Yesterday I ate wonderfully healthily, and no met ^shake^ , although I did have horrible trapped wind for a lot of the day. I dared to get on the scales this morning, and I've put back on 3 lbs from the weight I lost in the spring. My goal is to lose 2 stone now. I have a punnet of nectarines sitting by me at my desk at work in case of snacking urges, and I'm playing badminton at lunch time. The new me starts here! (Gulp!)

Snickers, that's fantastic news about the BFP! You must be over the moon. And it gives the rest of us hope too. :) Do you mind me asking why you stopped taking the metformin? I've been doing a lot of researching online since I started on it last week and have learned that it can help to reduce miscarriage rates in women with PCOS if taken during the first trimester. Try doing a goole search for 'metformin' and 'miscarriage' and loads come up.

Better get back to work! Sending best wishes out to you all.

Gina.
 
#15 ·
Hi everyone,
I've been taking met for about 4 months now. 3x500mgs. For about the first 4 weeks i felt rather sick and wasn't interested in food much, due to that i have lost about half a stone ;D only 3 more to go! Now the side effects have worn off i am finding it hard to be good. Occasionally i have met ^shake^ but can't really put a pattern to it. No joy on the periods though, still haven't had one for 18 months! Suppose it's still early days. xx
 
#16 ·
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say that I was taking 3x500 metformin 2 years ago (PCOS) and lost 1 1/2 stone in about 8 weeks. Consultant then prescribed clomid and I fell pg at first attempt - we still can't really beleive it, even now our baby is nearly 1. I don't recall any side effects at all.

However, I have recently been prescribed metformin again but have stopped taking it due to it making me feel absoutely dreadful 24/7. No met-bum just horrendous nausea all day with nasty headaches. But in saying that I still feel bad now a few weeks after stopping so maybe it's something else.

Good luck everyone

Shelley xxxx
 
#17 ·
Afternoon everyone

Snagglepat - I spoke to my clinic and they said it was best for me to come off Metformin.  But I have also read that it is meant to help against miscarriages. 

Snickers
 
G
#18 ·
Hi Girls

I have been on 3x500mg since 10th september 2004.  I have lost close to 3 stone and in December 04 I had me first AF in over 2 years.  I now get them every34/36 days.  I have noticed that the gorilla hair has slowed down.  The  ^snarl^ moods have also slowed right down, although I do still get the odd down day.

As for the met  ^shake^ I also get that if I eat a lot of the wrong foods.  But I have found that I don't go insane if I treat myself once in a while. I have to make sure that I have had enough to eat b 4 i take them, but then i think all of the women that take it have to do that.

snickers  ^congrats^ on the  ^BFP^ i hope the next 8 months go well for you.

Love Chazz
 
#19 ·
Hi Girls ^wave^

I have been on Metformin for nearly 2 years now, 3 x 500mg a day, when I first started with them I did get all the usual sickness & Met ^shake^ but now I am fine most of the time, it just catches me unaware sometimes ;D

When I first started on it my AF's were practically non existent, maybe 1 or 2 a year if I was lucky, once on the Met they did show up more often, ranging from anywhere from 35ish days to 45/50 days, but just lately they have disappeared again :-\ they got progressively lighter & then in Jan this year just stopped :(  Has anyone else had this? I spoke to my dr to see if maybe I needed a slightly higher dose but she said I am on the normal dose for pcos & wouldn't increase it ::)

I did manage to lose about 2 1/2 stone when I was first taking it, but seem to have been this weight now for quite a while & can't shift any more.  I also think it has suppressed my appetite, as I don't seem as hungry as I was & some days I just don't fancy food at all & nothing really appeals to me (except picking at all the wrong things ^pig^ )

^goodluck^^fairydust^ to you all
Love
Andrea
  x
 
#20 ·
here is a clomid question for you all. i was put on clomid as well as metformin when we began our iui, looking back on it i never had any problems as i had a regular monthly cycle and they told me the het was to improve my egg quality.
has anyone else had clomid and metformin together? does anyone know why i had it? i thought it did sort of the same thing with regrads to ovulation anyway
 
#21 ·
Hi Ju

I had Clomid and Metformin together for 4 months. Most PCOS sufferers are offered the combination together at some stage.

With IUI, I think they like to offer you Clomid (irrespective of whether you have irregular cycles or PCOS) in order to increase your chances of producing at least one, hopefully two, ripe follicles. Some people are given injectibles, but I think the Clomid is cheaper and easier to administer?

The Clomid works to stimulate your Pituitary gland into pumping out more FSH than usual, in order to stimulate the ovaries to release an egg(s). It is only a temporary fix, hence the reason it has to be taken on certain days in a cycle. Once that cycle is over, all effect is lost. However, Clomid does almost guarantee that you will ovulate, and will help you achieve more of a 'text book' cycle. It just doesn't work on the underlying cause of the problem.

The Metformin, as you say, helps with egg quality, but also helps to correct underlying hormonal problems (such as insulin sensitivity etc). With PCOS sufferers, it can restore ovulation and regular cycles, but is not as succesful as Clomid at doing this. Clomid directly controls the hormones with manage ovulation (FSH and LH) - Metformin affects other hormones, and then it is hoped that these will have a 'knock on' effect.

Metformin should also help stabilise blood sugar levels in many PCOS sufferers, something Clomid can't do.

In short, Clomid and Metformin together have better succuss rates, as you are kind of tackling problems from all angles - you are 'manufacturing' ovulation and also helping to correct underlying hormonal problems.

I still can't believe that 4 months of Clomid and Met did nothing, but I got a BFP with Met alone! I think my hubbies swimmers were really 'poorly' whilst I was on Clomid though!

Hope this helps and hasn't confused you more!

Kate x
 
#22 ·
hello,
 
snickers  congrats!!!!!

i started on 3 tabs aday yesterday, feel so sick :-X i wish i could be and then just get on with it....i havnt had af in 2 years but then a week BEFORE i started to take them, i had a likkle one about 4 days and spotty, but i guess it counts! only thing iscarefull TMI to follow.....even though got pcos should i still get discharge like snott??? if ov??? sorry ladies :eek:   im worried that im not having enough bms! ;D  went to ann summers at the weekend for ideas...fat lot of good that was, my parents ended up coming with us,,and i had to run back saying i needed to get somthings from superdrug so you lot should go to the car,,,looking very red faced!!!  :-[ so i got there (with dp) and couldnt find anything ...good?... so i got a book of what i thought were tips?? and some massage oil ;D i got home eventually after hiding the bag in a dorothey perkings bag....ant the bloodt massage oil had leaked, it was sticky (not what you want to smother yourselves in unless you like being stuck together) and the book i thought were tips  actuallt turned out to be positions which i might add were the same thing over and over again with a little variation like...place a leg on the ceiling!!!  what a disaster! can anyone give me any ideas?  so appart from feeling like ****..even if i did ov with metformin i would not get pg.         with love :p sarah...
 
#23 ·
thanks for the info kate.. interesting stuff... we had discussed our future for tx.. after deciding i could no longer do the injectables and egg collection etc,  i said to dh if your swimmers return and i get my pcos under control then we culd try naturally.. dh suggested clomid because the dr mentioned before that if we wanted to try naturally when dhs sperm came back he would give us clomid..(i hated the stuff when i was on it.. the injections only affected my head.. but the clomid affected my body.. hot sweats etc).
so now i am considering as part of our future plan contacting our dr about the choices of using clomid once dhs swimmers return (which we are hoping will be before the next century!)just as an alternative to being forced into having treatment with injectables in the future.

sarah.. i always use an summers online.. they deliver it staright to your door in discrete packaging and they offer more on their website than in the shops.
i think it depends what you are into.. i know a pcos girl who has done lots of experimenting in the bedroom with various things..(shes not shy..and i'm sure when she reads this she'll contact you to give you a few tips...its not me for all of you who are thinking it!!)

 
#25 ·
p.s. i went to boots yesterday and noticed they are now doing a sensual aromatherapy range that are supposed to be aphrodisiacs so maybe you could shop there and slip some bits in your basket with your shampoo and sun cream!They also do a great massage oil range in their normal smelly stuff section if you want massage oils. (and there is word out that durex have bought out a new toy type thing that you can buy off the shelf in the condom area)..theyre not exspensive as you throw them away when youve finished..might be worth a look whilst youre in there)


but what has this got to do with metformin??? nothing...sorry girls for straying off the track
 
#26 ·
Hi girls i am new to metformin, ben prescribed it today

Stating off 500mg for a week then 2 x 500mg for a week then 850mg  twice a day.  Ben on Clomid this is our 3rd cyle and am waiting to ov.  Consultant said today (CD11) i dont have a dominant follicle but it could be because i generally ov on CD17/18, so we'll see.

He also prescribed me Xenical to help me loose some weight.  I lost 3 ston for our wedding last year and with a combination of the PCOS i have put it all back on.

So hopefully the met & xenical should help me shed loads.

Hoping to get to know you all.

samx
 
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