Re: All those taking Metformin .........
From: TJ (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 28 Nov 2001 21:13:28 -0600 (CST)
Hi Melanie,
No, she didn't do any of those ovulating tests; I kind of wanted to
argue with her about the fact that I didn't think it necessarily meant I
was ovulating if I got my period.. but after waiting 2 hours in the
waiting room and another 15 minutes in the examining room I was nearly
out of my mind....
I just get so discouraged because she along with my gastro doc have both
recently poo-pooed the whole Met idea and told me that exercise is my
best bet. They are probably right but gosh, you hit it right on the
nose about being down about the weight issue.. at least give me a shot
at success, ya know?! For me to just implement exercise (I'm already
trying to eat better) to lose all this weight would mean I should quit
my job and stay home working out all day. Which is not QUITE an
option... lol..
Thanks so much, you've made me feel better. I was so worried about
these gastro issues because lately they've been pretty intense and I
haven't even taken the Met yet. And I've been feeling so guilty for
wanting a pill instead of working extra hard to get results. I mean,
yes I'm working hard but you know what I mean.. I am taking an
antispasmodic before meals and Nexium once a day so hopefully all these
pills will play nice together and for once I'll finally feel kind of
good!
So thanks Melanie for making me freak out a bit less (which is quite an
accomplishment, lemme tell ya!) and giving me hope. I've got my fingers
crossed that this will work!
Tracy
At Wed, 28 Nov 2001, Melanie wrote:
>
>Hi Tracy
>Has your doc done regualr day 21 and 28 bolld test to confirm that you
>are ovulating/ Its just that my cycle seemed relitively regualar and my
>doc decided to do some blood tests o check i was ovulating only to find
>that all 5 months that i had blood tests for i did not ovulate once even
>though my cycle seemed regular, hence me now being on met, plus he feels
>that as i was so down about weight that it would help me menatally as
>well as physically. And it has, i suffer from IBS symptoms, so he
>perscribed an antacid twics a day and to be honest the gastro problems
>are a mall price to pay for the weight loss and feeling of finally being
>in controll of my boday and destiny. I ahve found that mt tummy and
>bikini forest seems to be thinning slightly as well. It can also help
>imporve fertility, so you have a strong pro met case.
>
>Good luck and take care
>
>Mel
>
>At Tue, 27 Nov 2001, TJ wrote:
>>
>>Hi Jodi,
>>
>>Your numbers are an exact match to mine, exept I got an extra 34 lb on
>>ya! Did you experience weight loss with Met? See, I guess since my case
>>is "mild" my Endo didn't want to give me the Met. I get my period every
>>35-42 days, no visible facial hair but hair on my tum and on my boob,
>>and I have an insane bikini "line" (hahhaha.. that just cracks me up..
>>more like bikini "forest"). The oily skin I could definitely do
>>without, but I'll live with it for now. I DO however have colitis that
>>is kind of flaring up these days. She didn't really want to give it to
>>me because of the possible gastro effects; she thought the possibility
>>of bad gastro results with the Met at this point would probably outweigh
>>the benefit of the Met. She said most women take Met with the goal of
>>regulating their periods and inducing ovulation and that since I'm
>>"getting my period basically every month I AM ovulating." She doesn't
>>think I'm going to lose much weight, if any, with it. I already know
>>it's not really going to do anything for the hair/skin issues. Since I
>>hope to try to get pregnant in the next year, Spiro is out. So, we
>>talked about it and she felt that exercise and a healthy diet would give
>>me much more benefit than these pills, but I told her I really wanted to
>>at least try it so she gave me a bunch of samples. And now I can't even
>>start to try them until after 12/11 because I have an Endoscopy that
>>day.. grrrr.. So anyway..... I guess I'm just looking to hear some
>>good news from someone who may be sort of similar to me so I will know
>>that the probable and unbearable diarrhea will be worth it...
>>
>>Thanks so much,
>>Tracy
>>
>>At Tue, 27 Nov 2001, jodi wrote:
>>>
>>>Samuel Thatcher says, with regard to fasting insulin levels, that
>>>"usually levels over 20 are associated with insulin resistance and
>>>levels under 10 are normal. We use 14 uU/ml as a cut off point of
>>>normal." He also says that a fasting glucose to insulin ration that is
>>>less than 4.5 is suggestive of insulin resistance. I guess maybe
>>>"associated with" and "suggestive" are the key words... he doesn't say
>>>for SURE you can tell... :-)
>>>
>>>I personally only had a fasting sugar/insulin ration drawn... never did
>>>the tolerance test. My insulin was 19, my glucose was 82... my doctor
>>>gave me met without any further testing. At that time, I was 160 and
>>>5'4, so not enormously overweight...
>>>
>>>They have found met to work in women with PCOS who didn't test as IR...
>>>and they have found met to work in women who are thin... I think it
>>>might depend as much on how with it your doctor is. I've seen some
>>>pretty out of it doctors in my time... i.e., the gynocologist who told
>>>me I couldn't possibly have PCOS because I wasn't severely obsese... ha
>>>ha ha...
>>>
>>>- jodi
>>>
>>>At Tue, 27 Nov 2001, Sonnet wrote:
>>>>
>>>>A fasting glucose test won't tell you whether or not you are IR, though.
>>>>It will only tell you whether or not you're diabetic. (I had this
>>>>trouble with my doctors in Australia, btw - every time I mentioned the
>>>>IR thing to them they would promptly check my blood sugar, see that it
>>>>was fine or slightly low, and dismiss me entirely!)
>>>>
>>>>I think though that you may have something with the overweight
>>>>connection. Even though we know Met is good for treating PCOS whether
>>>>or not you show up as IR or ar overweight or slender, I think us big
>>>>girls get the prescriptions for it more often. Maybe they look at us
>>>>and assume that there MUST be something metabolic going on in there, or
>>>>our case is worse, or something? DOctors are frustrating!!
>>>>
>>>>At Tue, 27 Nov 2001, UK wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>Just a quick question ....
>>>>>
>>>>>Did you have a fasting glucose test before being prescribed Metformin to
>>>>>check if you are Insulin Resistant ?
>>>>>
>>>>>Some doctors are saying that Met only works if you are IR, yet they
>>>>>prescribed it for me without testing if I was IR.
>>>>>
>>>>>Also, do you think that weight makes a difference as to whether Met is
>>>>>prescribed ?
>>>>>I wonder if the more overweight you are, the more likely they are to let
>>>>>you try Met.
>>>>>
>>>>>Would be interested to hear peoples opinions.
>>>>>
>>>>>Thanks
>>>>>Gem
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Sonnet Fitzgerald, PCOS Association, Online Community Liaison. Email: sonnet@pcosupport.org
>>>>
![[ PCOS Discussion Forums ]](../../images/pcos_at_obgyn.gif)