New to board... Metformin?

[illinoishopeful]

Hi everybody!

I'm looking for a place where I can bounce ideas off of others and find/give support. My husband and I have been TTCing for just over a year now and my doctor has recently told me that I am not ovulating. There is no diagnosed reason as to why I wouldn't be ovulating after tests and examinations have been run for PCOS, endometriosis, thyroid conditions, fibroids, and so on.

Just over four weeks ago he has put me on 1000 mg/day of Metformin and wants me to stay on it for two more months before he prescribes Clomid as well. Is anyone else on Metformin? And what has your experience been? Thank you!

[lifeguard]

I've been on metformin for fertility as well. I did it for almost a year before conceiving ds & it's been at least that long again this time. I did feel that the metformin did help normalize my body a little bit but I still needed the clomid to conceive. The side effects are awful for me though & I'm finding it harder & harder to stay consistent with taking it 'cause it makes me feel housebound (I get wicked stomach issues with it).

It is pretty standard treatment for pcos - but you're saying that they don't think it's pcos?

[cristeen]

I did met for a while, but the side effects were way too much for me. Eventually i had to come to the conclusion that the minor results i was getting werent worth the effects. I had far better results with diet, herbs and acupuncture - they got me my DS.

[Maurine]

I worked my way up to 1500mg Metformin, and have no side effects now. But for a while there I was pretty nauseous. If I skip a dose I can also get nauseous. But I hope it will be worth it!

It can be hard to diagnose PCOS, even with tests. For instance, I am thin and not insulin resistant, but I am not ovulating. However, Metformin has been shown to be helpful even with women who aren't insulin resistant, so that's why I am on it. Have you checked out the forums over at soul cysters? They ALL have PCOS and can be really helpful.

[NishaG]

Ask for Actos instead of Met. Doesn't have the side effects. I would also look into Femara instead of Clomid.

[Shanny2032]

I have one of those hard to diagnose PCOS cases that PP mentioned and when I asked my doctor about met she said "that is serious stuff, we'll try this first" she put me on a steroid called dexamethosone. It is CHEAP and has very little side effects. I was on it for less than a month when I got pregnant. I did lots of other things like herbs, accupuncture, vitamins etc but what was different the month I conceived was the dex. I had been on clomid for several months and this month it was increased to 100 mg. I didn't love my doctor but this one thing made all the difference in the world. I wish more people were given this as an option.