PCOS/Insulin Resistance SupportSupport for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.
So I went back to the endocrinologist today and my blood tests confirmed PCOS, high testosterone levels, etc.(can't believe I started with all these problems 10 years ago and never seen an endocrinologist before now)
He prescribed me 2000mg Metformin XR. He said start with 1000mg and build up after a couple days. He said since I never get a period(a lot of women with PCOS will get it like every 3 months or whatever), that it's best to use a large enough dose.
He said he's optimistic it will help me. I should get my period, it should help acne, maybe weight, control insulin resistance, and he said over the course of a year it should lessen the hair.(and stop any new growth) I forgot to ask whether it helps the skin discoloration, but I'm just happy I'm on the right track here. He said hair takes the longest to change. I say it's worth a shot.
I know a lot of people complain about diarrhea and other GI problems, but from what I've read it seems it corresponds with eating greasy foods or foods high on the Glycemic Index. So, naturally just cut down on that stuff! I'm going to cut down drastically on processed and refined carbs. When I do go for a carb, I'll go whole wheat. Going to try to focus on veggies, fruits, fish, chicken...
I'm hoping just doing that I can get my BMI back away from 40, and if it goes well I won't bother doing any crazy weight loss surgery if I can control my weight with metformin, exercise, and proper nutrition. I don't know though, it seems every time I lose I gain it all back and usually plus more.
I'm focusing on thinking about why I'm wanting to eat when I suddenly become "hungry". Am I hungry? Am I upset? What have I eaten today, is it rational to be hungry now?
I'm hoping I can lose weight, but I'm not expecting miracles. My biggest fear is that when I start getting up towards 30 years old, I'll be like 300 lbs and have terrible joints and tons of health problems.
After going to the weight loss seminar the other day, I was like, whatever I choose to do I can not become heavier than I am now. It's killing me, it's such a terrible feeling being ill from multiple things mostly from weight related problems.
I'll keep this forum updated and let you guys know if metformin is helping!
Congrats to you on your new outlook. It really makes a difference to be informed of what's going on in ones' body, and to get the tools needed to get things under control.
Good luck!
I feel a world of a difference already. My emotions are more level. Has anyone else noticed this? I dealt with severe anxiety(and depression) for a long time, lots of counseling and I have to say I think the metformin makes me feel more level mentally than I've ever been. My discharge is already light pink like it's trying to do the AF thing.
My appetite is pretty much gone, but I have noticed that if I don't eat for like 4+hrs I start shaking a little bit. So now when I do eat I focus on what is going to give me the best energy and least amount of possible side effects from the medications and as a result of that kind of thinking I'm eating better. I'll be happy if I never crave again tbh. If you don't crave something you don't remember to miss it.
I weighed in today, and I don't know if it's just water weight, or less hunger so I'm eating less, but I've dropped 5 lbs since thursday when I started the pills.(and I weighed in after eating today, so I'm probably less than that)
It will be interesting to see. I really think this is what my body desperately needed all along.
I have noticed I'm a lot warmer. Has anyone else noticed a certain warmness about themselves? It's strange. Sort of like a fever but I think my body is just trying its' best to level out so I feel warm all over.
I've also noticed I get full faster. I just have the sense okay I'm done now I don't need anything more.
Very strange coming from a girl who was CONSTANTLY CONSTANTLY hungry. I could eat 3-4 plates at a chinese buffet and be hungry in 1/2-1 hr later.
I'm really amazed.
I guess it's true it may not work for everyone, but I'm thrilled it's working for me.
Oh I also noticed my dreams are more intense. I'm having dreams about binging on foods, but I wake up and I'm not really hungry. I guess my brain is going through the mental part of battling weight loss.
I'm just glad my body is telling me "no we don't need to eat that" because it makes it SOOO much easier to not overeat; and it's making it so I'm not hungry at irregular times and right after eating!
I'll keep updated as much as possible. I wasn't going to weigh in but I noticed my belly seems smaller and my thighs. So I got curious and stepped on the scale.
As far as being warm, heat intolerance is a common symptom of an endocrine imbalance. I used to wear sweatshirts in 100+ degree heat.
The metformin is probably balancing out your insulin levels which is helping with the cravings. I used to be on metformin. Couldn't tolerate it. (Had nothing to do with greasy foods...I was eating very clean.) I just threw up all day long. So, I lost about 40 lbs while on the met. Now I'm on natural supplements and they've been life changing. Good luck with the met, I'm happy you're finding success with it. For me I don't lose a single pound when doing nothing for the insulin resistance and I know I'm not the only one. Glad doctors are finally recognizing this. I have had several doctors ignore me when I tell them I'm eating right and exercising and not losing.
So it's been a week. It seems like my mood has changed with the medication. Sometimes I feel really great but if I don't eat balanced out enough, or not enough, or too much, or basically off from what is totally balanced I get really agitated. Most of the time I feel really calm and the anxious feeling is gone. I also feel really warm on the medication almost like I have a fever. It's not all the time it, it's part of the time.
I'm not sure but it does seem like some of the days I am losing more scalp hair. Though, my thought is a lot of women with PCOS have thick hair...everywhere! So it's trying to normal out like a normal persons. I just hope I don't end up going bald or something. I'm only 23. =(
Then again with my luck, I'll lose very little weight, keep the acne, keep the other medical problems, and lose all my hair too. (I lose my hope that this medication will help)
Well anyways in a week I've lost 9 lbs. I figure that can't all be water weight.
Also, yesterday was the first day I was stressed and I "sort-of" binged. I mean sort of because I still ate a normal amount of calories but I ate something I really didn't want to anymore("white"/refined noodles) because of stress so therefore in my mind it's consider a binge because it was stress induced, not hunger induced. I was really surprised my weight didn't go up today.
I really want to get back into the 230s. I was lower 230s/upper 220s when I started birth control again in September so I would like to get back there. Then the floors the limit.
I just can't wait to be used to the medication. Sometimes I think I need one of those cold caps to keep cool. -_-
I never had a problem with body warmness before, in fact I was almost always very cold. And I prefer it that way but if I lose weight and am healthier I guess I will learn to be warmer.
Update!
So I went through the majority of October with my appetite almost normal again. I still can't eat as much. I was losing a lot of hair it seemed, now it has slowed down some. I attribute this too I had REALLY thick hair...(everywhere!) now it's becoming more normal...It's not like I look bald.
I noticed even with poor eating in October I still lost 2-3 lbs. Which is huge for someone who has trouble budging the scale.
The past week or so I've begun to exercise again and cut out refined carbs(mostly bready stuff).
My weight is dropping quickly.(when I step on the scale 3+ times it ranges down a lot more but I'll read the highest reading because I can't believe my eyes mostly. lol) I'm quite pleased and it's amazing how much better the treadmill makes me feel.
I just wanted this update here to let people know that metformin definitely stops weight gain and from what I can tell it tries to get your body like a normal females without IR and PCOS. Average amount of hair on head, gradually bringing down weight...etc.
Also I've been reading a lot more weight loss stuff. I'm on sparkpeople-dot-com and it's great for tracking exercise and calories. The one thing I read that helps when I eat(especially eating out) is watch for the automatic bodies stop sign that we usually miss. You'll be eating and suddenly you'll put the fork down, maybe drink a little, and you have the quick moment of I could stop now...but usually it's ignored and eating continues. This is the bodies sort of automatic "okay I've had enough here's your sign of it"...Now, I always pay attention for it! Then I stop and either take it home with me or let someone else at the table finish it. I also am forcing myself to choose salads! Hold the cheese, dressing on the side...At least if you're overeating salads while out it's a good roughage flush. =)
I usually HATE salads, but I was really surprised that it's not so bad after all. I guess it's because when I would make a salad it was bare minimum stuff on it and iceberg lettuce isn't too appealing!
I'm one of those obese people who always ALWAYS drink water, and I think it drives me NUTSSSSSS that other people can just stop drinking soda and lose 15 lbs or more. I also hate when people tell me to switch to water! That's all I do!!! I guess that's lady pcos though....I still drink only water, sometimes I'll mix in the bottle those little artificial flavored sugar packets. I try not to do it too often, you get a taste for sweet things and might binge, and long term effects of that kind of artificial stuff make me nervous.
I still feel like I'm going through refined carbohydrate withdrawal, I keep having nightmares about binging on stuff.
Oh I also drink black coffee(not a lot just enough to get my butt in gear-like a literal cup) to kind of wake me up in the morning and get me on the treadmill. I've read how coffee can be bad with women with pcos and all these other problems, then I've read it stops some cancers and blah blah, all I know is that it's helping me do what I need to do and my weight isn't on a standstill when I drink it.
Whenever I'm losing weight I'm always FREEZING, and I have incredible amount of urine coming through me. I don't know why I get so cold but these are my two signs that it is working for me.(whatever I'm eating/exercising/medicating)
Oh also multivitamin is also very important to me, I try to really stay on top of it everyday.
I think my mood is still better than off the metformin but with exercise my mind is so clear, and I think this can lead me on a good mental road as well as physical. I'm hopeful.
Wish me luck..
Now to update my stats on the side!
Last edited by Firesoulx; 11-02-2011 at 03:22 PM.
Reason: adding more specific stuff
Well done on the weight loss! I started on Metformin two weeks ago and as yet it seems to have done absolutely nothing. No side effects, no weight loss. I believe it takes about a month to be fully 'operational' in the body so I'll see how it goes over the next two weeks.
I hope the wonders it's working for you kick in for me.
I wanted to update my thread so people reading can kind of see a progression. I've been sorta bouncing around 5 lbs above/to 236. I was kind of depressed November up until the end of December. I didn't workout and I didn't eat too carefully so my weight just kind of stayed around 236 but never below. Metformin is great because it really does stop weight gain! I probably wasn't eating too much above 2000 calories at any point though, so it's not like I was binging my face off. lol. Just ate whatever when I was hungry, stopped when full.
Finally a breakthrough today with much more careful eating started after the new year. This has been a long long plateau. I've been focusing hard on avoiding high carb foods and trying to stay as low carb as possible and high fat. I definitely can tell my body hit a state of ketosis which surprisingly is a really good feeling. I feel like my body is running on a cleaner "fuel". Furthermore, ketosis leaves me TOTALLY unhungry. I do not crave a thing and I can make good food decisions for my body. I love it because my boyfriend will eat something and be hungry within 2 hrs and complain and I'll be totally fine. I only eat because I know I should eat very small things every couple hours and make sure theres designated meals.
I've also been using a forum I'm new to, Low Carb Friends, and it's great for recipes and ideas.(google it!) I really suggest it to PCOS/Insulin Resistant individuals. Theres a recipe for a low carb pizza and the crust is created mostly from cream cheese and I'm excited to try that, so next time I'm craving it I'm going to make it!
The only downside/struggle I'm having is my insomnia and screwed up sleep schedule. It's rough being up all night. Even with sleep medications sometimes I'm just stuck awake. I really don't want to be eating late at night because I'm used to falling asleep at 6 am.
Overall I think the metformin is definitely helping. I wen't back to the endocrinologist in december and he was really surprised at that time that I actually lost weight. I guess he sees a lot of women who don't lose weight on it. I tried telling him that it's just a tool for weight loss. It just allows me to lose weight easier and help me not gain back 5 lbs if I eat poorly 2 days. Another change I noticed is with my facial hair. Some of them were really "wire-y"/very thick and they've still been growing back but they are finer.
I'm hoping with metformin for a year or so will make it even finer and either stop growing or stop being colored dark.
I think my acne is definitely better.
I'm just so crazy happy I've finally broke through my plateau!
Firesoulx - Could you please tell me how you're doing on the met? I have an appointment with an endocrinologist in a couple of days, so I might get put on it.
I'm still doing well on the metformin. Unwanted hair is growing back thinner and slower....takes over 6 months to see a big improvement in that. I feel like it really controls my hunger and keeps me from having big mood swings. I have no negative side effects from it. I just think I poop out bad food faster than normal.
I've been jogging a lot lately and decided to go ahead and become a runner so things are going pretty well for me. Metformin is only a tool, it definitely helps but you got to make the effort too. =)
Endocrinologist Follow Up!
