Metformin and weight loss?

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  • Just curious to know if anyone has had success with weight loss and Metformin?

    I'm currently takiing 1000 mg 2x/day. I don't know if it's helping my weight loss, but I don't think it's hurting it at all... especially now that I'm limiting sugars.
  • My doctor told me it might help a little with weight loss, and I think it did/does, but the effect isn't dramatic.

    When my husband first started taking it, it made him nauseous for the first week or so (which isn't a fun way to reduce appetite, but an effective one).

    Neither of us can say what we would or wouldn't have lost without it.

    A while back (but at least a year or two after starting metformin), I had to go a few days without the metformin, and WOW I was a LOT more hungry. I think because metformin tends to level out your blood sugar, you don't get as hungry because the blood sugar drops and insulin spikes are muted as well.

    Just my guess though. As a tool, I think it's helping but I don't think it would do much if anything, if I weren't also being careful with my diet, but hey, every little bit helps.

    Most of my changes have been extremely tiny. So small, that I hardly feel like I've made any, because I made them so slowly. It meant slow weight loss, but I love that I never felt like I was "on a diet" or depriving myself in any way.

    I'm now at a stage where I may have to make more dramatic changes, and I'm finding that more intimidating, but it's all one step in front of the other..
  • I was diagnosed with PCOS in 1998 and have been on metformin intermittently ever since. Quite honestly, I have stopped taking it on numerous occassions because it has absolutely no effect on me - weightloss or otherwise. I'm back on it for the umptheenth time, and still cannot tell a difference.
  • Hi, I was on metformin last year, for about 3 months and I did lose a bit of weight, but I was intentionally trying to lose weight. Basically it is meant to help because of the way it regulates the sugars in your blood. It also can make it difficult for you to tolerate fatty/greasy foods. So if you cut them down you lose a bit of weight.

    Hope that helps.
  • No loss. Just stopped weight creep up for me. Did get my cycles more regular.

    Now that my IR is in better shape, it's making me ill to take so I don't bother.

    YMMV

    GL!
    A.
  • When I take metformin I fee sick to my stomach when I start to eat more junky foods. For example on Friday my boyfriend ordered pizza and I could only eat like 2 pieces and then on Saturday my mom wanted to get eat pasta and I could only eat like 1/3 of my food because I was feeling like I was going to get sick. So in a way it keeps me from wanting to try to eat junk food lol
  • I agree with the others.......I cut down on sweets and carbs due to the met making me feel sick if I eat those foods..........I lost 11 lbs the first month and 5 the second month.

    good luck!
  • My husband lost 20 lbs (and has kept it off) when he started on Metformin, and he did that by keeping his carbs below 140g per day. Right now he doesnt count his carbs, so he has stopped losing weight but not gaining either. The key to losing weight on metformin is to limit carbs.
  • I have lost weight when taking metformin AND watching my food intake and exercising.

    Just taking metformin will not cause weight loss for most people, but it will facilitate weightloss if you are eating properly and exercising.

    Even with the metformin, however, I've found I have to be fairly consistent in my efforts to see the needle move.
  • I lost about 35lbs when I was on Metformin along with exercise and no pre-fab foods, lol. I was switched to the generic at a higher dose recently and have seen my weight increase again which makes me sad. We'll see what happens at my check up in a couple weeks.
  • You don't need metformin to lower carbs and lose weight IMO- just lowering carbs alone works.

    That being said metformin did NOTHING for me except make me violently ill. I already have good blood sugars on my low carb diet alone so I decided to stop taking it. I've tried THREE different times to go on it and it just made me so ill I refuse to try it anymore.
  • My doctor said that if you're losing weight on it, then chances are you probably need it (for insulin resistance, etc), and vice versa.
  • Quote: My doctor said that if you're losing weight on it, then chances are you probably need it (for insulin resistance, etc), and vice versa.
    That's probably why it never made me lose more than a pound... Makes sense.
  • I went to the Dr. for my annual check up and when I told him I wasn't taking Metformin b/c I felt that my diet was sufficient to control my blood sugar and I was only taking it for the possible weight loss, he gave me phentermine. His thought is that if I lose weight I may break the weight loss/ hormone imbalance issue that is a problem with PCOS. So far 10 pounds off in two weeks which is a miracle, but I eat nothing and think this "cheat" will not sustain permanent weight loss, but I'm going to work very hard. BTW, I only had problems with Metformin and the dreaded belly issues, when I ate carbs. It was kind of like Alli, except carb-related instead of fat.
  • hi guys
    Hi, I have just been diagnosed with pcos and type 2 diabetes (1week ago) and I seriously have no idea what to do. I don't even know what type of diet I should follow. I need to lose like about 10kg within the next 2 months as I am overweight. Please can I get some help?