PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
This is my first post....and I hope I am doing it right. :-)
I started glucophage xr 500mg, about a week and a half ago. No real side effects until last night when I had to run to the bathroom. Is it normal to not have a side effect for so long?
Also, unlike many, my cycles were pretty normal at about 28 days (give or take). However, since starting gluc, my cycle was due and I am now 6 days late. It is not likely I am prego since I was on bcp at the time (now stopped).
Is it possible that the gluc interferred and made my otherwise normal cycle.....not happen?
Anyone else have any thing like this? Or am I abnormal? Wouldn't be the first time. LOL
Thanks for the forum.....I am learning tons and its nice to have others going thru the same thing (ie - weight, IR, infertility).
With smiles,
Wifty
ttc since 11/99
DX Ir - 9/02
doing the IR diet
As I'm sure you've been told by your gynae that you also need to follow a low carb diet (I am unfamiliar with the IR diet? Can you explain?) and get regular exercise as well as taking your gluc. Not too uncommon to have a couple days pass before side effects happen, just be sure that they will continue to be this way until your body adjusts to the meds, usually a couple of weeks. As for AF or TOM as we on this site like to call it I'm not surprised that it's late. Metformin regulates your blood glucose levels thereby altering your LH hormone. Women with PCOS tend to have elevated LH, preventing ovulation. I suspect this is why your doc put you on Glucophage? (just a guess, I'm assuming). It will take a couple of cycles to regulate your endocrine system and normalize your cycles.
Thanks for the info! I figured that it must be doing something to my cycle.....it was just odd cuz I had normal cycles.
I am IR and unsure if PCOS. The doc did the blood tests and I came up a big postive.
I do exercise regularly....though its hard sometimes. And the Insulin Resistant Diet is a book recommended by my doc. It is not really a low carb diet.....at least not as low as some of the diets.....but more of an eating plan. In it, you can't have more then 30 grams of carbs per 2 hours cuz thats the time it takes the body to decide what to do with them. You also have to balance the carbs with protein because this helps your body process it correctly.
Everyone I have talked to has lost weight on it and it doesn't have the down side of being really hard to keep doing for the long run. It also keeps your body from spiking insulin.....which is great. :-)
I do not know if I have been ovulating though we have been trying since 11/99 with a couple of miscarriages. I tend to have O symptoms....but I don't temp or anything.
Its just great to get a Dx and get to work on getting things normal!!! Yeah!! :-)
Btw, what is TOM short for? my brain is just not figuring it out! LOL
IR = Diabetic Type 2 diet. Same thing only Wifty's plan is more guideline based. A DT2 diet plan, which is most recommended, is tailored to the specific person. No 2 people are alike which is why I am a firm believer in avoiding advertised diet plans. Its best to see a DT2 Registered Dietician to get a tailored plan to suit you and your lifestyle.
Here is what I told someone else about the met and cycles:
Quote:
A normal cycle is between 26 days and 36 days. More or less is cause for concern. Metformin needs time to work. It will change your system to a "better" one for your body. Previously, you may have had them too early for YOUR body system or maybe too light or too heavy or didnt last as long as it should. Met will change it so its a better system that works for you. Each person is different.
I am now clockwork on met. I o every cd18 to cd20 days and menstrate between cd29 and cd31.
Some often complain that its throwing their cycle off but its not really. Its just changing it. So you cant go by your previous-met schedule.
As for the gluc: Yes, its normal to delay in side effects. Side effects are due to the adjustment its causing on the system. Side effects usually dont start until 1000mg but not always. If they get out of hand, switch to GlucXR. Much better.
Wifty, did you just quit taking BCP's? You mentioned you had now stopped them. If so, that could be it. Mine stopped for a while after I quit taking them. I also got pregnant very soon after!
Yes Jennifer, I did.....just this past cycle. I was only on them for two cycles though and have been on and off them before without any changes.....but the body likes to keep us on our toes. :-) That could very well be it! :-)
Congrats on getting prego! That is the goal.....I am just taking the scenic route. LOL
Can I ask about what weight you were when you got prego? Was it a problem at all?
Thanks for all the input.....you gals are great! :-) but you knew that. :-)
Well my pregnancy was 10 years ago! Thanks for the congrats anyway! I weighed 200 when I got pregnant. Also gained 72 pounds, so that wasn't healthy at all! I didn't have many PCOS symptoms at the time of conception. I had stray hairs and stray pimples for a couple of years, and while pregnant I noticed dark patches under arms and in groin. They might have come along sooner and I was oblivious, but pregnancy was when I noticed more problems coming along. I got pregnant within 6 months of the pill...I am thinking at 4 months, but not sure. It was no problem at all! My (now ex) husband and I had a hard time then, and relations weren't too often due to all of his drunk friends being at our house every night, so we didn't uh....try alot!
I was also on the pill for about 3 solid years before that.
I am ttc #2 and I am going through fertility treatment as we speak, I am currently on 100mg of Clomid to help mature my follicles and spur on o. My biggest problem is my elevated LH levels, they are too high and it's preventing ovulation. I have had to switch low carb diets (now on Atkins) and am taking Actos 30mg a day--Actos is another PCOS med, we tried Gluc but my system didn't react very well. Next cycle doc wants to try IUI since my LH is too high. I'm hoping the diet change and increase in meds will helps us out. Were you on BCPs to correct a cyst problem on your ovaries? Are you being monitored? Sorry I'm asking so many questions but it's nice to have someone else going through this personal purgatory we call infertility. As for having regular menses, you can definitely have a period (or Time Of the Month=TOM) and not ovulate. It seems I have been doing that most of my life and not knowing about it! I was also under the assumption that you couldnt have a period if you didn't ovulate. I think that's something they tell us in health class in grade 8 and it sticks in the back of your mind.
Gluc ? and cycles
I'm not surprised that it's late. Metformin regulates your blood glucose levels thereby altering your LH hormone. Women with PCOS tend to have elevated LH, preventing ovulation. I suspect this is why your doc put you on Glucophage? (just a guess, I'm assuming). It will take a couple of cycles to regulate your endocrine system and normalize your cycles.
