effectiveness of glucophage and low carb coupled with PCOS
 

Hi everyone.. I just came across this forum and hope to not repeat a question that has already been answered.

I have been ATKINs low-carbing for 6 months and have lost 60 pounds. I don't know if I have ever been in KETOSIS as my KETOSIS STICK has never been purple. My weakness is that I tend to have a couple of drinks on the weekends and it throws me off. I haven't been exercising and this past month of October have actually tapered off (only lost 5 pounds).

I can attribute my weight loss to decrease in appetite and simply eating less. Not to mentoin, NO CARBS - I've cut out fruit, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.

My question is this: after years of speculation I have just been diagnosed with PCOS. As soon as I have one more consultation with my endocrinologist I will be put on GLUCOPHAGE. Will I expereince any additional weight loss or have I tapered off? Should I stay on ATKINs or go back to my pre-ATKINs ways? Do the two go hand-in-hand? And what about the pill?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

Joyce

Generally, when you start taking Metformin (Glucophage), you have an appetite decrease while you adjust to the medication. If you take regular Glucophage, you may notice GI upset (about 90% of the people do) which may also help you to lose weight... considering nothing stays inside you long enough to soak in :) Another option, though, since the GI upset could be explosive, is to take Glucophage XR. The GI upset is much better, since it's extended release. Considering that the Glucophage will help you use the insulin you do produce better, it might help you to lose more weight, and eat a few more carbs/day. See how it goes, and good luck! I've been off the LC wagon and the Glucophage wagon for about 1 year, and am getting back on both January 1st.

Thanks Karen. I'm still wondering if weight loss to GLUCOPHAGE is the same as LC. That is, will there be any additional weight loss especially since it seems like I have pretty much peaked.
Thx and good luck in 2003!
Joyce

Hi joycita, and welcome! I am pretty new to this forum as well but thought I'd give my input, as I also have PCOS, am low-carbing and taking Glucophage, as well as the pill. I just started CAD (Carbohydrate Addicts Diet) 4 1/2 weeks ago and so far I've lost about 13 pounds (it's constantly changing within about 2 pounds). The Glucophage does help most women to lose weight but not drastically. For the first few days you probably will not feel very well and will be making many trips to the bathroom, but keep with it and your body will adjust.

The combination seems to be working well for me so far and hopefully it does for you too. This is a great place to come for advice and support.

Good luck!

mbutterfly

Thanks mbutterfly. I feel like my weight loss to date has been because of lack of appetite because of LC and don't know if the GLUCOPHAGE or THE PILL will add to it. I still haven't been able to figure out if GLUCOPHAGE alone will help in weight loss. Anyway if they GLUCOPHAGE can help me go to the bathroom that would be great because with LC I am not regularly going. Does anyone else out there experience this?
Joyce

Yes, I do experience irregular BM's, even with the Glucophage, and was told to eat more fiber and fat. Since I am on CAD, I am able to put a lot of fiber in my reward meal to help "keep things moving".

As far as knowing whether or not Glucophage alone will help lose weight, I think it depends on the person. It does help even out your insulin levels, and I've recently learned that insulin partly controls your hunger.

Hope that helps!

Missy

Just wanted to throw my two cents in on this. I have been on glucophage for 2 weeks and have lost 12 lbs. I haven't had any side effects other than mild diarrhea for the first few days. I had good success low carbing a couple of years ago but I seemed to stall out after 50 lbs. After that I didn't lose no matter what I did. Anyway I was diagnosed with PCOS and put on gluc 1500mls. a day and wham the weight loss finally resumed. I still eat low carb just like I had been doing. My endo said the gluc would help with weight loss because when your insulin is high it causes your body to store vs. burn fat.

Good Luck!

Kaycee.

Wow, kaycee, that's GREAT!!! Congratulations!

thx kaycee.. i just dropped off my prescription and will be stating it today. i also feel like i've tapered off with LC and wonder how the glucophage will impact me. i'll keep everyone posted.
does anyone LC, take glucophage and the pill?

joyce

Hi Joyce. Me again.

Yes, I am LC'ing, taking glucophage and the pill.

Missy.. How long have you been on that cocktail? I see from your stats that you've lost 10 pounds. are you still losing?

I've been on Glucophage for about a year now and just recently started the pill up again because I was having another never-ending TOM. WARNING: My dr. told me that when you lose weight all of the estrogen that's stored in your fat cells is released, sometimes causing bleeding.

As far as if I'm still losing, I've kind of been at a standstill now for about 2 weeks. This past weekend I kind of blew it by having a girl's night out and drinking. Also, I am currently having problems with constipation. Sooo...hopefully by tomorrow I'll see an improvement.

To be honest, I was shocked at how quickly the weight came off at first due to the fact that I'm on the pill. I think that if you stick to it, and don't cheat like I did, you'll have much success. I know that I'm going to try harder at keeping on track. Just a little setback like that can really mess with the weight loss.

Good luck!

My weekly outings with the girls also throws me off. I'm going to experiment and not drink for the next 2 weeks and see what happens!
Good luck to you too!
Joyce

I got this link from a fellow low-carber from this site:

http://www.atkinsfriends.com/carbcounter/bev.shtml

She also said that Michelob Ultra only has like 2.6g in it.

I tried it last week and it seemed a bit watery to me. I'll have to make it my drink of choice for a while.. the same way I've gotten used to diet-sodas.. You can drink hard liquor with diet sodas though.. I drink BACARDI LIMON with diet-sprite!! YUMMY or with diet cranberry juice!
Joyce