They want to put me on glucophage anyway

[MyJourney]

I told my doctor about my diet and she said that I am not getting the full benefit of low carbing because I am insulin resistant and wants to put me on glucophage.

I am nervous about taking all types of meds and I am scared that this can cause hypoglycemia.

She said it wont and not to worry, but when reading about the drug it said its good to carry glucose tablets around and if I feel dizzy I should have something sugary.

That is just what I am trying to avoid having to do and have worked so hard to control with low carbing.

I dont like the idea of meds, but she said it will help my weight loss and will make me more sensitive to insulin... much more than what diet can do for me.

I eat around 20g of carbs a day even though I am not on induction, can I continue to do that on glucophage? How else will this effect me?

One of the side effects I also read was hunger... why is this?

I am just very confused about wanting to take the drug, and it seems the more I read the more bad stuff I hear, so I wanted to ask people who I know are taking it and the types of reactions they get.

Thanks,

MJ

[ysabella]

Well, I used to take 1500 mg, and then after I was low-carbing for a while, my periods were regular, and I wanted to know if it was the drug or the diet. So I went off the met for a while, and my periods continued normal! But, my complexion went all horrible, including getting those terrible boil-like things (sebaceous cysts) around my inner thighs.

I just saw my endo and wanted to go back on, and he noticed a few signs of PCOS, like the velvety dark skin patches (on my neck). So, I think at my size, diet isn't enough (even though I'm doing a really good job of controlling my blood sugar) and I need the medication too. So I'm just starting back on it, at 2000 mg this time. We'll see if the increased dosage helps.

By the way, the very first time I ever took it, it did cause some weight loss. Sometimes that happens. But as I got used to it, that stopped. I also have a hypothyroid, so it's really really tricky for me to lose weight. My sister also has PCOS and she just started met, and has lost weight.

Regarding the advice to carry glucose pills, that is because most users of metformin are diabetics. Metformin cannot make you hypoglycemic. It is a very safe drug that has been used to treat diabetes for decades. I am starting to think that it affects more than just insulin, since how else can I explain my skin problem when I was still controlling my insulin/blood sugar? In fact, my endo said that some androgens do decrease on metformin (that is, things like the testosterone in your system, which in those of us with PCOS, can cause balding, extra facial hair, etc.). And that might be the key - if I had extra testosterone, perhaps I was generating more sweat or more skin oil.

Yes, you can continue to eat very low-carb.

The side effect you actually do need to consider is that it will make you gassy and possibly naseous at first, like for the first week or maybe two. And, it might make you really lose your appetite.

It says hunger can be a side effect? I'm not sure why that is.

If I think of anything else, I'll come post it. :)

[Emly]

Gaseous or nauseated for a week or two? I was on Met for 3 mos and it took 2 1/2 mos of those 3 to get feeling normal. And it was more than gaseous or nausea. More like nonstop 24 hour nauseau, diarreah most every day and occasional vomitting. I felt HORRIBLE for those 2 months. And that was with taking a low dosage and building up to a full dose.

When I quit taking it I had finally gotten past the being sick (so it does go away eventually) but my cycles were soooooo messed up. I was having bleeding every couple of weeks. And not normal bleeding but flooding. I would be in the middle of my cycle and then out of no where would get severe cramping and be passing huge clots. I'm talking a super plus tampon every 15 min. Or I could just sit and wipe clots for 10 min. This would typically last an hour or two then back to normal bleeding. Sorry to gross you out. It was very scary to me. So I stopped taking the Met.

I don't tell you this to scare you out of taking it. I know it's helped tons of people and not everyone has the side effects or the same severity. I may have just needed to give my body and hormones more time to adjust to it. I know our hormones are really screwed up and my body may have just been going thru and adustment period and if I had given it more time it may have helped me too. But I was tired of being sick and never knowing when I was going to bleed (and how much) and scared so I stopped.

For some diet and exercise doesn't seem to be enough, but for me (and least for now) it seems to be helping enough that I don't want to try the met again. If I stick to the low carb my zits go away, my cylces are more normal than they've ever been, my cramps (after a few months) go away COMPLETELY - which is an unimaginable miracle to me. The weight comes off VERY slowly. I only lose about 1/2 a week. But I see enough othere benefits to keep me going.

Anyway, good luck in your decision. Like I said earlier, I don't mean to scare you - it's helped a lot of people. But for me it just didn't seem right.

[CindySue48]

Metformin is a med that increases your insulin sensitivity, it does NOT cause release of insulin, so the likelyhood of it causing low blood sugar is very low.

That being said, I personally would rather try something other than a pill. I think that's part of our society's problem. Our if somethings wrong, take a pill mentality.

Now, this is NOT medical advice, just personal opinion, so you need to at least talk to your doc more about this. If, after talking to your doc you come to an agreement, either to take or not take the Metformin, fine.....if not, maybe you should ask for a second opinion or find another doc.

Just my 2 cents!

[Squid]

I agree with the previous poster, I'd rather not take a med. Unfortunately, exercise and low carb diet didn't do much for me. I have to do all three to get any kind of results. I am now down to 159 from a high of about 185 (maybe higher). I disagree that natural approaches (diet and exercise) work for everyone. Sometimes a med IS necessary.

I have gone as low as 20 gms of carbs on metformin, but I know a lot of people can't tolerate the two together. I never felt faint or dizzy or had any signs of low blood sugar. Just the opposite - I'd have that all the time before I did the trio of metformin, exercise and LC. Unfortunately, my skin has not cleared up at all. It may even be worse. But I'm going to give that another few months before deciding it's the metformin - or the change in hormones that's brought about.

I'll also say that the first two times I tried metformin it messed with my cycle horribly. I bled every two weeks and very heavily. But this time it seems to be getting better gradually.

Squid