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Re: PCOS & Metformin worry (long post, sorry)
From: Lakefever2 (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 16 Dec 2002 11:09:04 -0800 (PST)
Tia, I completely understand how you are feeling. I've
been thin all my life until Summer 2001. I am sorry
for everyone else that has heard this a million times.
ha ha. I, to this day, still cna't figure out why I
was so thin all my life until that summer/now. I am
NOT overweight but I need to lose that stomach weight
(I look pregnant.). This is a HUGE life change for me.
I'm having the most difficult time dealing with
changes in my body. I've always been the type to eat
ANYTHING I've wanted and never gained a pound. Now I'm
so paniced and stressed out and worried about anything
I put into my mouth, that my weight will just add up.
I'm on Glucophage XR now at 1000 mg. and this has
helped. I don't feel like I'm losing the weight but I
at least feel like I have some control over what I eat
and how I feel. I'm not by far at all up to par with
anyone else on this list. I don't compeltely cut out
carbs and eat all good foods I should be having. I'm
27 and am on the run all the time that I never have
time to cook or make all the right choices in what I
eat. BUt the one thing I have learned is that while
taking this medication for IR, I can't eat what I
want. I have to really limit how many carbs and sugar
I eat a day or I'm horribly sick. I've just started
teh birth control this month and I'm horribly sick. I
can't keep anything down.
What I'm getting at is that you need to try taking
your medication. Although the symptoms are yucky, it
will help you. You will probably feel better. Not
everyone gets sick while taking it. Everyone is
different. If I were you, I'd at least try it again.
I hope it works out for you!
smiles,
lakefever2
--- Tia <anonymous@obgyn.net> wrote:
> After suffering with centralised weight gain, mild
> hirsutism and
> occasional ovary-sited pain for five or six years, I
> was diagnosed with
> PCOS last December. My new doctor was the first to
> pay attention to my
> lack of periods - I've had probably five periods in
> the last three
> years, and when I went to my previous doctor worried
> about not having
> had a period for eight months, she told me in a
> quite matter-of-fact
> tone, "I don't know what you're complaining about -
> some girls would be
> quite happy not to have periods!" I avoided going to
> the doctor again
> for three years, until moving to a new part of
> London.
>
> After my diagnosis, in January, I saw a
> gynaecologist, a PCOS specialist
> consultant, and in February, on my second visit, I
> was prescribed with
> Metformin on a gradually increasing dosage. When my
> consultant
> prescribed the Metformin, she mentioned that one of
> the major side
> effects is nausea, and since I was ten days away
> from moving house, she
> advised me to wait until I'd settled into the new
> place before beginning
> the course.
>
> Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Since then
> there has been one
> excuse after another - always another reason not to
> start the regime.
> People coming to stay, weekends away, important
> meetings. There was
> never a convenient time to feel nauseous, and this
> has meant that now, a
> year after my initial diagnosis, I haven't yet begun
> the course.
>
> I'm scared.
>
> I don't know if this is related to the diagnosis, or
> the illness, or
> other life stresses, but soon after my initial
> diagnosis, I suffered my
> first panic attack, and since then, though I've only
> had one other, I've
> been almost constantly anxious about having another
> one. I worry about
> being ill and not being able to cope, or not being
> able to handle my
> busy work commitments, and the idea of inflicting
> nausea on myself by
> taking this medication makes me reticent to even
> begin.
>
> I was all ready to start the medication in May. I
> talked myself into
> it, and sat on the edge of the bed with my partner
> to read the packet
> insert, and discovered in stern letters that ALCOHOL
> MUST BE AVOIDED.
> Now, I don't drink much at all - part of the
> anxiety/worry thing means
> that I am not comfortable with being out of control,
> or feeling ill the
> next day. I drink probably a couple of pints or
> glasses of wine a
> month, maximum. But somehow, the idea of having to
> avoid alcohol
> altogether felt so limiting that I was loathe to
> begin the Metformin.
> Maybe I was looking for excuses.
>
> On a Tuesday in June, I made another attempt. I
> actually took the half
> tablet I was supposed to begin with, and I felt
> horrible. The idea of
> feeling like that for another month at least, if not
> the rest of my
> life, was not very tempting. My partner (who is
> incredibly supportive)
> was going away at the end of that week, and I didn't
> want to be alone
> and unwell, so I didn't take it again.
>
> In August, I had a conversation with a work
> colleague about the illness.
> It transpires that she has also had PCOS for ten
> years, but decided to
> stop taking the medication a year ago. The
> side-effect of this,
> however, was that she has put on a lot of weight and
> has substantial,
> noticeable facial hair growth. This panicked me,
> because it seems to
> indicate that once you start taking Metformin,
> that's it, forever. You
> have to keep taking it because if you decide to
> stop, all the weight and
> hair come rushing to overtake you. Forever feels
> like a long time.
> Taking something, depending on a drug forever feels
> like an enormous
> commitment.
>
> Since then, I haven't tried again. The way I see it
> is that I'm feeling
> a lot better now - the weight is still there, though
> I'm going to the
> gym regularly, and trying to eat sensibly. I have
> constant battles with
> dark facial (chin and neck) hair (my tweezers are my
> best friends,
> practically) and the anxiety has pretty much
> completely subsided. It
> doesn't feel like complete control, but it feels
> like I'm comfortable at
> the moment - treading water. I know I should take
> the Meformin, but I'm
> scared to upset the delicate equilibrium I've
> constructed for myself in
> my lifestyle.
>
> I'm 28, and I'm also taking the pill - Microval
> (p.o.p). I don't want
> to get pregnant now, but I'd like to have the
> opportunity to do so
> eventually. I don't want a gun to my head about
> reproduction or my
> health. I want to be well and I want to be able to
> cope with my path to
> wellness. I don't like taking drugs in general -
> even for headaches -
> and I don't like depending on artificial substances
> to get through life
> - and in my mind, this includes Metformin.
>
> Will it make me feel completely horrible? How long
> for? Should I just
> bite the bullet and do it and feel lousy? When will
> I start to see
> results? Will I need to take it forever? Are there
> any alternatives? I'm
> embarrassed to go back to my gyno now and say I was
> too scared to start
> the course she prescribed for me.
>
> It just feels like an awful lot to cope with, and
> while I'm feeling
> (mostly) fine and looking (mostly) OK, the
> temptation is to just ignore
> it. I just want to be able to cope without making
> an enormous life
> changes, or feeling dreadful. Is this silly? Is
> this normal? I don't
> know what to do, and I'd really appreciate any
> advice anyone has.
>
> Thanks
>
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