Friday 9 July 2010

Metformin!

I've been suffering from crippling headaches, fatigue and the shakes for the past week. I didn't realize how bad it was until I tried sending a text on my phone. I couldn't type it out because my fingers were trembling so badly. I halved my Met dosage, but, still no change, so I had to stop taking it altogether.

My body is still adjusting. The shakes have stopped, but the headaches and fatigues haven't. I've had to start eating some sweets just to get my blood sugar back up.

I should have listened to my body. I should NOT have started taking the Met. The consultant didn't test to see if I was IR, he just assumed I was. Not entirely his fault. I'd read how many women ov while on met so I myself was giddy for it. But I really didn't need it. My blood sugar was already under control (eating oats everyday will do that to you).  And whatever insulin resistance I may have had prior was under control and my hormones were balanced and I ovulated just 9 days after I started taking the Met, so I don't believe the Met caused me to ovulate.

I was already living a healthy lifestyle, eating low GI meals, loosing weight and exercising regularly. My cumulative weight loss in a whole month of taking met is equal to what I used to loose in just one week before I started taking Met!

I saw my GP on Tuesday. The first thing he said was to cut the dosage. I told him I already did that a week ago. Then he said I should stop taking it. I told him I did that a few days ago. So he ordered a blood test, just to see if there's any other cause for the low blood sugar. Should get the results in about 10 days.

4 comments:

  1. I'm happy I came across your blog! I have PCOS as well. I took Metformin, actually attempted several times but stopped due to the awful side effects. I take herbal supplements now (cinnamon, vitex, and red raspberry leaf). Metformin does help one ovulate it just takes time to regulate your blood sugars. You are right though, you were probably severely hypoglycemic and the doctor really just assumed that you were IR! All women with PCOS are not IR! I'll be back to read more of your posts!

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  2. Thank you Ihssan, and welcome to my blog, :)

    Yup, I think I was too excessive in trying to reduce my blood sugar. It just occurred to me that my hypoglycaemia coincided roughly with when I started incorporating vinegar into my diet. I believe dietary modification and regular exercise is more effective than Metformin!

    Do you mind if I ask when you were dx and what led to your dx-s? I was dx in Feb this year after ttc for 3 years.

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  3. I was DX at 14. I was having irregular periods and acanthosis (which is not nearly as bad as it was when I was younger) alhamdulillah. I am 24 now, so I have had this for quite sometime. I don't suffer from the extra hair growth. My issues are primarily central weight gain, irregular menses. I actually have a video I did for one of my nursing research classes about PCOS. iA I will upload it soon. :)

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  4. Alhamdulillah, you're coping well,:) I've found that the low GI diet and eliminating carbs and sugar really helps with the extra weight and balancing out the hormones.

    I would love to see the video, and read more about your experience with pcos, :)

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