I went to the doctor yesterday for my 12 week check up.....and they told me that I had to quit taking my metformin. I have been taking metformin for TWO YEARS!!!!!! How can I just stop? I go back and forth on the low carb......but now they are telling me to do strict low carb for my pregnancy to keep from gaining to much weight and to prevent gestational diabetes. Now, I don't have a problem low carbing, except right now I want anything and everything that starts with a "Mc". But how low should I go. I certainly don't want to go too low, as in "induction" low, but they told me that "maintenence" was too high. And I lose weight too easily on "OWL".All they told me is I have to do what feels right to me. I never really counted my carbs before....just ate what made me feel right. If I was sticking to the plan, then I felt great, if not, I felt awful. But now I can't tell......I am pregnant for goodness sake, I feel sluggish and tired and sick all of the time anyways. How can I tell if it is too much or not.

I only know how to lose weight with low carb, or gain really fast if I don't.

I never had this problem with my other two......but my youngest is almost five, so it has been a while anyways.

Does anyone have any suggestions or websites I can look at on how to maintain a healthy pregnancy gaining the "right" weight, and not losing. I don't know

You sound a little worried - don't worry! You can do it with diet! If you can get some exercise, so much the better, but it can be hard to do what with being so tired (as I'll bet you are, in your first trimester).

Although Inuit women did it for ages, you're right not to want to go too low on carbs. 20 grams is probably too low - Atkins says not to do Induction if you're pregnant. 50 I think is safe. Even if you go to 100 you're still lower than the average American diet, you know? Just try to keep it reasonable and eat what feels right, and look for lower-impact carbs like berries, veggies, yogurt. I've actually been more tolerant of certain carbs while pregnant so I've relaxed about them a bit. It's kind of varied - I have had a real 'fat tooth' for a lot of the pregnancy as well (bacon! chicken wings! fatty beef!).
If you read some of the old threads here and read things by tigersue, she has low-carbed through several pregnancies very successfully, although I think in some pregnancies she found it easier to stick to than in others.

One bit of helpful info I do have: if down the road you end up needing medications to control gestational diabetes, the other ones actually work better than metformin does. That's according to my own OB practice - I went off metformin (for PCOS) voluntarily before I even saw them, because I wasn't sure it was safe; they said they think it's okay to stay on it (but since I'd gone off they said let's just keep you off). I didn't get GD, and I hope you don't either.

I know what you mean about the Mc. In my case, it's more the siren song of the Nachos Bellgrande.

Thank yo so much....that has actually made me feel a little bit better. Tell me is this sounds okay: this is what I ate yesterday.......

Breakfast:

Protein shake - 18 carbs
V8 juice - 8 ounces
1 cheese stick
water water water and little bit more water


Lunch:
Beef with Brocolli (I did not eat one single bite of the rice they brought with)
Mixed vegetables - cabbage, zucchini, broccoli
Unsweetend tea
half of a fortune cookie


Snack:
Strawberries and rasberries
more water

Dinner:
Bowl of black beans - with some garlic and tabasco (yummy)
cup of sugar free chocolate milk


Is this bad? Is this good? I wasn't hungry all day.........my mood was pretty decent. I didn't have any dips or lows. Felt very good all day long.

Looks like you need a bit more protein with what you have there, unless you are just listing your carbs. I found that if I could keep my carb intake between 75-110 a day I did okay and I had gestational diabetes. Go with how you feel that is a very good guideline. Don't cut the protein or the fats.

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. I have been working in the high risk pregnancy field for too long to mention. Here is a link a website where I work. www.kofinasperinatal.org There is alot of interesting information on there is a place where you can ask questions. The dietary end of the pregnancy is not my area of expertiece but I do know that gestational diabetes is very easily handled with the right diet. Also, when we have babies that are just gaining too much wt. in utero, despite a normal gtt on mom, we put the patients on Atkin type diets. But, to go too low in carbs when you are pregnant without these other factors is not really that good for your baby. If I were you and really concerned both about the baby and your body, I would ask my doc for a referrel for a dietician. Most insurances' cover it as long as the doc writes a script for it. Also, don't worry about being taken off the Metformin. I assume you are seeing a high risk specialist. If there is any indication that the pregnancy is not doing well without it he can put you back on it. Also you may feel better physically when you are off it. Good luck and mostly relax and enjoy your pregnancy.

I actually am not seeing a high risk obgyn. I see a regular doctor. I have had two normal pregnancies before this. I was diagnosed with PCOS after I had both of them. I never developed GD with either one of them. But because my insulin is in the state that is has been in (which way better now then when I started), they are taking extra precaution that I don't develop GD. My A1c stays a bit higher then the endo would like (5.0-5.5), but everything else is pretty normal. I am overweight, and prime candidate for gestestional diabetes, but never having it leaves me at a regular obgyn.
I really do need some help getting the right amount of carbs, because I have been counting and counting and keeping track of all intake, I average about 100 carbs a day, and I have lost weight in the past week.....like 6 pounds. I want to eat more carbs, but they make me feel gross.
I am pretty worried.....starting my 14th week tomorrow, and in the second trimester, and worried about weight loss......who would ever have thought that I would worry about weight loss.......