There are so many different drugs, treatments and advise out there its hard to know who to trust and what information you find is real. First being diagnosed with PCOS you want to find all the answers to your questions and you want to know what is going to work the best, the fastest and be the most efficient when it comes to taking care of your body and its issues. In the next couple of blog posts I am going to be answering questions and posting information on treatments as well as questions and concerns that you may have . So please let me know what questions you have and I will be more then happy to research and come up with answers.
Starting today off with Metformin. I have never used this drug because it only treated a few of the problems and the side affects were not worth it for me. Here is what I found out about it.
What is Metformin and what does it do?
- Pharmaceutical drug that has been developed for elevated blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
This was the original purpose of it. Now they are also prescribing it to women with PCOS. The FDA has not approved it for PCOS as of this time.
- It decreases the amount of sugar produced by the liver
- Increases the amount of sugar absorbed by muscle cells and decreases the bodies resistance to insulin.
- By doing all of the above things it can help regulate menstrual cycles, start ovulation and lower the risk of miscarriage.
- Long term use can lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease related to high insulin levels.
It may lower the risk of miscarriage or gestational diabetes in woman with pcos, again this has not been confirmed by any studies.
- By lowering the insulin levels studies have shown that Metformin has helped to rid the body of testosterone.
For somebody who is dealing with PCOS and is new to it this sounds like the perfect drug to get things going the right way. I thought at first that it might be a good thing for me to take. But once I started doing more research there were two things that stuck out for me. One it was not proven by any studies to help the other issues that come with PCOS. The depression, anxiety and many others.For me I wanted to find a system that helped in every aspect of the battle. Plus there were the side affects that came along with Metformin. Here are just a few of those side affects. You can read more about them and others at the webpages listed at the bottom of the page.
Side affects of Metformin:
-Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal gas
- A metallic taste
The ones that scared me off of it are:
- Possible liver failure
- Possible malabsorbtion, leading to anemia
That was it for me. I never gave a second thought to this drug after reading about that. I was scared to death that it would lead me to other issues that I really did not want to deal with.
The choice to use Metformin should be a decision that is between you and your doctor. Make sure to ask questions and get all the information that you can before deciding on what you are going to do.
You can find more information at:
http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/Metformin-and-PCOS.php
http://women.webmd.com/metformin-glucophage-for-polycystic-ovary-syndrome
http://www.endocrineonline.org/pdf%20box/pcos%2Bmet.pdf
There are many other places to look but these where the three that I found most helpful while doing my research.
I am here for any questions,comments, or concerns that you may have. If you have more information on Metformin and how it works please leave a comment on it so that other woman can read it as well.
Thank you,
Tabitha
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