Metformin and Weight loss

[Nickib90]

I had no intention of posting today but after such a great visit to my GP, I thought why not. I have always been pretty clean with my eating. I tend to stick to low carb, high protein and good fats….92% of the time. That and the fact I cut back significantly on alcohol and I maintain a steady enough routine of working out….. all meant I was losing my mind as to why my weight was going up. So when I got diagnosed I thought, thank god someone has found the answer to why I have been struggling. I can’t describe how irritating it is to watch friends and family eat and drink as they please on a regular basis and be half the size.

In fact, my GP began looking into PCOS when I had told her I cut my alcohol down by an embarrassing amount and my weight was going up. Sooooo you can imagine the frustration and pain I have gone through with this.

Well back in April my Gynecologist put me on Metformin. I was very strict at taking it for the first few weeks, even thought I had lost /2kg……but then I went on an 8-day all-inclusive holiday and on top of that my prescription had run out. Safe to say, not an ideal situation but self-inflicted so I wasn’t going to moan about it not working.

I popped along to my GP today just for a catch up on what has been happening and what my next actions were, and she joked if we should even check my weight since I had been away and had not been on it for over a week…. but I thought you know what? I am better off knowing where I am, and I can just start from there. SHOCKED, it is the only word to describe how I felt. I had lost almost 3 kg since starting in April. Might not seem like a whole lot to some people….. but bear in mind this is over 9 weeks, and I had added weight whilst away. So not only have I lost the weight I put on……. I have lost an addition 3kg.

Now this might not seem like something to shout about. But I am going to shout because it is hope. Hope that these tablets will help me, hope that I am and have been eating healthy but needed some support on my hormones, hope that I may not need to go for surgery if I can manage it this way. Hope is such an important thing. Between have my hallelujah moment and a very positive result on the scales……I feel hopefully. All we can ever do with a chronic illness is manage it day to day. My first few months were rough, I was miserable and a nightmare to be around (just ask my boyfriend). But over the last few weeks I am starting to feel like I can get on top of this and stop letting it take over.

Check out my blog here: onepolycysticovaryatatime.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/metformin-and-weight-loss/

[abby1007]

You posted this a while ago but you've just given me so much hope. I rang my doctors today and they've said all my results (bloods and ultrasound) suggest I have PCOS. It was a bit of a relief. Over the past 12 months I've gained a stone but I've been eating better than ever and exercising several times a week. When I initially went to my doctor they said that basically if you gain weight and you're over weight it's only down to 2 things, diet and exercise. It made me feel so down as I'd already been tested for my thyroid too. I need to book in to see my doctor but I'm really hoping they're going to be as supportive and understanding as yours. I eat a healthy diet over 90% of the time, having the odd treat here and there on weekends and exercising 4 days a week. I just kept gaining weight and it's really gotten me in a downward spiral. I've really got my fingers crossed. I'm only young and thankfully the main effects for me are purely the visible ones but I'm hoping I can manage it now so it doesn't affect me further in coming years.

[Nickib90 in reply to abby1007]

Hi Abby, thanks for reaching out and sharing your story. I absolutely know how it feels to be doing all the normal right things but seeing the scales go up and up! I had never heard of PCOS and so never knew to ask and always felt it was my fault. One thing which I have found interesting is that the type of excerise I was doing was actually not helping me at all. I was doing intense private training which was only adding to my overproduction of testosterone and since reducing the intensity of my training and going on metformin, I have started to see my weight drop. All I can say is don’t lose hope, fight to get the tests and scans you need