Metformin question

  • Are any of you on metformin, PCOS, and have NOT been diagnosed as type 2? I keep hearing about using metformin for a treatment for PCOS but the endo has not even suggested it for me.

    Just on spiro 50 mg/day and yaz. My blood sugar levels are fine (85) but I have the worst time trying to lose weight, even doing the IR diet.....Makes me think I have IR but the lab tests say no!
  • I'm not type 2. And IR bit is in "remission" if there is such a thing. I was able to get off the Met, and recently was given it back to try for hunger but I haven't actually started it. I was also given a lower calorie benchmark because like you, I was "losing it on paper" in the food log but not in real life.

    Hang in there!

    A.
  • Yep, I've got PCOS, I'm not diabetic, nor do I even have diagnosed insulin resistance based on lab results. My GYN put me on Met (now at 2000/day) because it's shown to be helpful, protective, and preventative for women with PCOS.

    There's another thread somewhere in here recently called something like "What's the point of me taking Metformin?" that addresses the science behind it more extensively, if you haven't seen it yet.

    Met did help me lose about 20 lbs (215 down to 195-ish) when I first started taking it, and keep it off for a couple of years, but I haven't lost any significant amount of weight since that. I'm continuing to take it since I've decided it can't hurt, and I never had any side effects, and it's really cheap. I also want to get pregnant someday and some docs recommend that women with PCOS stay on Metformin through the first trimester to prevent miscarriage.
  • Honestly, I don't know if I have PCOS or not, but I am a type 2 Diabetic and have been on Metformin for over a year. I only take 1000 mg of it a day (two 500 mg pills). I haven't noticed any side effects from the drug but it did not always keep my blood sugars low, so now I have other things I have to take with it. As for weight loss, it never gave me a decreased appetite or made the pounds fall off without me curbing what I ate, but that's just me. The things I did notice that Metformin does for me is steady my weight and stopped it from climbing higher. Also the little hairs I would get on my cheek or under my chin it slowed them from growing. I hear that a lot of people take the drug to help them with their PCOS. Perhaps you could ask your doctor about it and see if it could help you. Best wishes.
  • Wow ok thanks everyone. I kind of fell off the face of the earth this week. I am going to have to talk to the doctor. Even my pharmacist friend is wondering why I am not on met. I just know its not an FDA approved method for PCOS but you know what? At my wits end with this!! Fingers crossed he will give it to me
  • Quote: Wow ok thanks everyone. I kind of fell off the face of the earth this week. I am going to have to talk to the doctor. Even my pharmacist friend is wondering why I am not on met. I just know its not an FDA approved method for PCOS but you know what? At my wits end with this!! Fingers crossed he will give it to me
    Hm. I don't know about its FDA approval for PCOS, but I would wager to guess it's become a fairly standard treatment. Get a second opinion if your doctor says no.
  • I've got PCOS and take 1000mg of Met daily (500 mg 2x a day) no Type II though. I've always been told it can decrease your chances of Type II later in life, by a couple of doctors. I'm hoping it does, thankfully I'm not having any side effects and hoping it helps with the weight loss So far not really, but I did just up my Met a couple of days ago so we will see.