[melissamarie247]

Hi Everyone,
I just started metformin yesterday. I am on 500mg two times a day. I haven't had any stomach upsets like many people said they got at first (knock on wood).. but I am really tired and then keep getting little bursts of energy.. is that just me being weird or is my body just adjusting? Also, how long did it take for the effects to really start working for you? I am so done with always feeling tired and not losing any weight no matter how hard I work out.. and not conceiving.. so, just curious about your experiences out there. I am so happy to finally be getting treated for PCOS. I saw the cysts yesterday on an ultrasound. I have my follow up in 4 weeks to see how metformin is working. If it doesnt work as well, he is going to look into additional options.

[aubers68]

I'm so shocked you are on it twice a day. I believe, typically, you start at 500mg once a day and work your way up. For me, I couldn't imagine being on 1000mg a day right a way! But then again I had it rough with Met. When I first started taking Met things were good, and my period came the 2nd week on it. The more I was on it, the worse things were getting for me. I had terrible cramping and was constantly running to the bathroom with loose stool. I always felts tired, although I couldn't find any information online saying that it was a side effect of the Met. Well, I had given up. I just couldn't deal with the symptoms and they weren't getting better for me. I think total I was on it for a whole 2 1/2 months. After doing nothing for about 4 or 5 months my DH decided to convince me to try the Met again. So I did. I started it in the middle of my cycle, about 7 days past O if I'm not mistaking. Well come to find out I was pregnant. I've heard taking the Met while pregnant (until 12/13 weeks) is good, so I have continued taking it and haven't had one side effect from it. Things have been going pretty good. Now I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant and my hormones are different, or if it's just being on it for such little time (it's only been about 3 weeks) but I will continue through it till 12 weeks. Anyhow, that's just my experience. I don't know if it helped at all but that's how it went for me. Oh, and I was on 500mg. I tried upping it to 1000 at one point and that was just absolutely HORRID for me lol. I wish you the best of luck with it! And you know, if it doesn't seem to work out you can always try the extended release. I never got to that point where I asked for it.

[melissamarie247]

That is really good to hear.. not the sickness but the results.. My DH and I have been TTC since last March when he got back from Afghanistan.. now we are in Germany (since late August).. The German doctor is excellent but the pharmacies dont do the extended release here. It is such a tiny pharmacy. There is a possibility my husband could deploy for another 9 months in March again so the doctor probably upped the dose right away so that we have best chances to get PG before.. it'll probably stink if DH gets deployed and I do it all on my own and he comes home to a newborn.. but at least we will have our family started.. If possible we want to have 2 very close. I'm really excited about your reply, though.

[-Brandy-]

Hi Melissa, I just started Met on December 16th and I am taking 500mg per day, I was diagnosed with a mild case of PCOS. The first couple of days I felt fine and kept waiting for side effects, but I had none. About 4 days into it I had an upset stomach and went to the bathroom several times with loose stools, this went on for about 2 days and then I was fine again. One thing I noticed is you will feel fine one minute, and be running to the bathroom the next. I think Met may have delayed my O this month, as I had all the tell tale signs I was getting ready to O on day 26- the same day I started met and then didn't O for another week. This is totally just my take on it, so don't put a lot of thought into it. Anyway I O'd a week ago and now I am just waiting. I hope to be letting you know it worked for me in about a week! If not then I am hoping that since my cycle is 48 days, and I started Met on the 26th day my body will have had plenty of time to adjust to the met and next cycle will be a successful one.

[*Manda*]

I've been on and off met for a few years now. This last time my body just couldn't take the regular met anymore. Even on just 1 pill a day I would wake up in the middle of the night to horrible, awful cramps. I'd go to the bathroom have diarrhea with cramps and it'd take so much out of my body that I'd get close to passing out. I talked to my doc about the extended release and I've been a lot better on that.

As far as results, I don't see any fertility wise. But it's never worked for me like that. It does really help me with weightloss though. I'm 30 pounds down over the past 4 months(that's with a vacay in september, being off it the past 3 weeks etc) and in January I'm ready to kick some weightloss tail again

Good luck and try to stick with it if you can.

[melissamarie247]

Thank you everyone! It really does help knowing what could potentially be normal or not going into this. I hope it helps fertility mostly but weight loss will be great. I have been off the pill this last year TTC and I have gone from my size 7s to 13. I have put on about 50 pounds and been getting acne on my back and have had 4 total periods in the last year. My doctor told me that one of the side effects of Metformin is an anti-androgen (male hormone) and it causes the cysts to shrink to help pregnancy. I just hope it is mostly side-effect free.. but either way it seems like it gets better for everyone so I know to stick through it.

[melissamarie247]

glad to hear about the weight help. In the last year since I have been TTC and off the pill, I have gained 50 pounds and went from size 7 to 13. My doctor told me a side effect of metformin was anti-androgen so it should reduce the testosterone in my body caused by cycts which would in turn clear up the cysts to get me PG.. so, I hope it works for infertility as well in my case.. Especially since my DH could get sent away again soon-ish. I also know what I could expect now and should stick it out since it seems overall to be giving everyone good results.

[Dez]

I'm on 2000mg a day (take it once) and never had any issues, even when I was starting out at 1000mg a day a few years back. No stomach aches, death feelings, nothing. Even when I was bumped up I didn't experience any side effects.

The only problems I have are when I take it on an extremely empty stomach and then don't eat after 2 hours. I feel kinda bleh until I do eat.

For me I think it helps regulate my hunger and maintain my weight, but I've never put on or lost weight just by taking Metformin. It's also never helped with my lack of periods before pregnancy.

[melissamarie247]

That is great to hear that not everyone gets side effects..
I just realized I double posted. The first one didn't show up for hours.

[melissamarie247]

I just realized my doctor did put me on the extended release. lol.. My doctor is a German guy and all he said was metformin. I don't speak German so it is not very easy to get over that barrier.. But my doctor is really good, so I dont question it much. He knows what he is doing and he knows enough English to get what I am saying. I noticed on the box of pills I got it wasn't just "Metformin" it says "Metforminhydrochloride" and then something in German so I googled it and the hydrochloride part means extended release. Maybe thats why no side effects.. hoping that lasts.

I did also do some more research saying that metformin could create a vitamin b12 deficiency. Does anyone take supplements?

[Lynley]

I started on 2000 mg of Met (taken once per day) after 6 months of not having a period, and I never had any side effects. It wasn't the weight loss miracle I was hoping it would be, but it definitely solved my problem of not ovulating, and I got pregnant the first time the second month of trying (3rd month on Met - took about 3-4 weeks to get my first period on Met). That pregnancy ended in a m/c, but I got pregnant again the second month after my cycle returned, and that resulted in this beautiful girl sleeping next to me. I never tried the extended release, but I've heard folks say that it helps w/ the tummy issues. A friend suggested taking the Met w/ something with protein, so for the first few days I took it with some yogurt.

I'd read the same about the vitamin B12 deficiency, so I've been taking supplements pretty much the whole time. It also helps with energy, so it could help your body level out. I'm also taking Vitamin D supplements, but I can't say either one is making much of a difference, but I figure they're not hurting anything. My midwife is okay with me staying on them.

Speaking of, I stayed on Met my entire pregnancy, and I think that's why I didn't develop gestational diabetes and I only gained 12 lbs the entire pregnancy (they didn't want me to gain more than 15 as I'm very overweight).

Good luck - I hope the Met does the trick for you! Thank you to your and your hubby for your service to our country!

[melissamarie247]

Thanks so much for your story. I am sure you write it out a lot. I have been taking a prenatal vitamin for the last year and now with met, Im not sure if a b12 suppliment would be overkill or not... I have been doing a lot of reading on how some doctors will let you stay on int while pregnant but some won't.. I am hoping mine will because it seems like the benefits would outweigh the harm at this point. There is no proof of defects but the mom stays healthier.. What more could you ask.. My mom had gestational diabetes with me and I think that would probably put me at higher risk for it. And congrats on the little girl. My husband wants a girl. We want to have two children close in age. (well, I want 3 but he wants 2.. so I think 2 will be it) Do you know if it is harder or easier to conceive on the second try once you have been diagnosed and are being monitored for PCOS?

[~* Natasha *~]

Everyone here has given you great info and advice, but I just thought I'd add in my two cents. lol

I've been on 1500 mg for a while now, I'm now on the "regular" form of it and see no s/e, I was on 1500 mg ER for a good while though and after the first week all s/e were gone. (I had the loose stool problems in the beginning, and any time I have gone off of it and then went back on, the first week is when I have my symptoms, then I "regulate.")

My doctor is (luckily) one that advocates taking Met throughout a pregnancy. She is all for it and says that (like you said) it helps Mom to be more healthy and have more regulated blood glucose, so that has to be better for the baby.

Happy New Year and I hope that between your German Dr and the Met you and your hubby have a wonderful suprise before the expected (possible) deployment! (And we will be here for all the support we can provide in the case he is deployed! )

[melissamarie247]

Thank you all so much.. Yes, if he gets deployed again before we conceive I'll be devastated... but I know it is possible. We started trying in September of 2010 but then he got deployed out of nowhere in October 2010 til March 2011.. I don't want him to get sent away again.. especially after trying for so long. I know it is great that this is a fantastic support group but I would feel almost bad if it did happen before possible deployment if I say too much on here about it other than being a success story. I know how hard it is wanting so bad to become a mommy or a mommy again and its just not happening.

[-Brandy-]

Originally Posted by -Brandy-

Hi Melissa, I just started Met on December 16th and I am taking 500mg per day, I was diagnosed with a mild case of PCOS. The first couple of days I felt fine and kept waiting for side effects, but I had none. About 4 days into it I had an upset stomach and went to the bathroom several times with loose stools, this went on for about 2 days and then I was fine again. One thing I noticed is you will feel fine one minute, and be running to the bathroom the next. I think Met may have delayed my O this month, as I had all the tell tale signs I was getting ready to O on day 26- the same day I started met and then didn't O for another week. This is totally just my take on it, so don't put a lot of thought into it. Anyway I O'd a week ago and now I am just waiting. I hope to be letting you know it worked for me in about a week! If not then I am hoping that since my cycle is 48 days, and I started Met on the 26th day my body will have had plenty of time to adjust to the met and next cycle will be a successful one.

Well, just wanted to update you and let you know that AF showed her ugly face today. This cycle was 43 days long (longest yet for me) and I o'd on CD 33. The one thing I noticed different though is my LP was only 10 days long this month, which is about 4 days shorter than normal for me. So I think the metformin is doing something, hoping it is just still regulating and my LP doesn't get too short though.

Onward to cycle #7!

[melissamarie247]

aww. sorry AF came. Good luck with cycle 7. I look forward to hearing your success story when it comes.