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I've been diagnosed with PCOS and am on Metformin, and it hasn't caused me to lose weight. I do feel a lot better, and it has helped tremendously with the killer cravings that I'd thought were just me being crazy in regards to food.

I think the reason you may need to be off of birth control is because there's a relationship with testosterone, so I bet your doctor wants to test that.

I had a doctor flat out tell me that Meformin is not prescribed for PCOS. I'm no longer seeing that doctor.

It hasn't made me lose weight, but it could help with your situation. I'm not eating nearly as few calories or working out as much as you.

Hi Lovespink, I'm sorry about your weight loss problems. Do you journal your efforts? If you do, please look back and see if you are consistently doing this every day, or do you have bad days here and there? I don't take Met any more (made me sick) but I do take Chromium Synergy by Designs for Health. It seems to be helping.

Your doctor doesn't seem to be very helpful. Maybe you could see a dietitian? Mine is extremely helpful, and very knowledgeable of PCOS and how to tackle it.

Good luck!

Hey everyone. I was diagnosed with PCOS/Insulin Resistance back in August 2006 and started Metformin that same month. I lost 20-25 lbs on it within 6 months and also got pregnant with my son who is now 9 months old. It worked for me! Hope this gives u ladies having a hard time some inspiration and hope!!!!

I've been on it for about a month and am at 1,000mg a day, about to go up to my max dosage of 1,500mg a day. I've had no major side effects, and indigestion/diarrhea no more often than when I wasn't on the drug. When I'm really good with diet I lose about 2-3 lbs. a week, but when I let it slide (like this last week, when I was on vacation, and ate out nearly every meal and had some drinks every few nights...) I haven't seemed to gain any weight. Then again I've only been on it for such a short amount of time...but it IS promising.

Even though you "HATE" Atkins, if you are IR you've gotta do something similar. Something more like South Beach is a bit more reasonable. Mainly just low-glycemic index foods. Carbs and Metformin, to varying degrees for different people, do NOT mix. I can tolerate it better than most it sounds like, but if I don't balance carbs with sufficient protein I just feel general malaise all day long.

You don't have to eat meat on South Beach or Atkins. Just make sure you're getting enough lean protein with tofu and legumes/beans and nuts. If you don't like meat based on the taste (and not for ethical reasons as many vegetarians do), you might want to try finding recipes that disguise the taste and texture of chicken, turkey and fish so you can add them in. It will give you a lot more variety, and variety is what's important!

when i first started taking metformin, i lost about 25lbs. but i gained it all back,so now im back to where i started.

Lovespink--

Is it possible you're doing too much? I did the same thing the first time I lost a large amount of weight--I lost 40 pounds by eating fewer than 1000 calories a day (I was thrilled when I could get down to 700 or 800!) and working out for two hours a day. When I stopped losing I worked harder--starting lifting weights, running harder, but nothing. Your body adjusts to its current condition. Because you're taking in so few calories your body thinks it's being starved and is doing everything possible to conserve calories.

Honestly I'd suggest taking a break for a while. Keep working out, but take it really easy. Eat more, but keep eating the right things.

I had weight loss with Metformin, but only because it forced me to eat low-carb, high-protein.

I know this sounds ridiculous that your body could "think" that it's being starved and conserve calories like this, but please, ask a physician. Or a nutritionist. I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing.

You may be overtraining and placing your body in starvation/reserve mode. Read this article:

http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercise.html

Another reason is that he may want you to do an ultrasound to see if you have any cysts in your ovaries. BCP usually prevents cysts.

The chromium synergy is basically chelated chromium and some other supplements that assist with insulin resistance. Don't combine it with Met though. It's more of an alternative than a supplement.

How much weight do you have to lose? Are you posting somewhere like Fitday?

Also, what do your 1000 calories comprise of? If you are eating refined carbs or foods with added sugar/cornsyrup/hidden sweeteners, that could also impair your weight loss. When you give your body less, make sure you give it what it needs.

I took Metformin a few years ago. It didn't affect my weight at all. However, it did fix my menstrual cycle - Went from having a period once every 3 months back to every 28 days. So I knew it was doing something.

I just started the Insulite system. It's helping with my appetite, though I haven't lost much (1 lb in 3 weeks).