Re: All those taking Metformin .........
From: jodi (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 29 Nov 2001 10:24:44 -0600 (CST)
Hi Tracy
I did have some weight loss with the met - 20 pounds or so - but I was
modified carbing and walking/running a lot then, too. Without the Met,
I have never been able to lose weight... so the met didn't make me lose
weight on its own but it definitely allowed normal weight loss measures
to work for a change!
No idea if it's helped with the periods/ovulation because I am/have been
on BCPs as well... actually for birth control rather than symptom
control... but the BCPs have been so intolerable for me that I am not
on them right now, just wishing I could have periods on my own so I
could use fertility awareness methods as birth control... i am also on
spiro which has caused me to ovulate in the past, I am hoping that will
kick things along. (Only been back on it for a week... already seeing
skin imporvements! hoping to not start having side effects, which is why
i stopped in the past [on a lower dose now...])
Anyway. It is posible to have regular periods without ovulated, as
others have said. If your doc won't check on this, have you tried
taking temps and charting to see if you're actually ovulating?
- jodi
t 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
>>>
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