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Avatar universal

PCOS and Prolactinoma

     hi ,
im very confused after my last visit with my endo , he is insisting on me taking metformin to make my cycles regular , but also says i dont have a insulin related pcos after my question about risk of diabets and asking for a GTT  . ( i also have prolactianemia because of the micro adonema on pitituary so i assume mine might be  related to this one )  . i remember having few hormonal tests done back then when i first diagnosed but cant recall if i had insulin tests , but i had alot of random glucose tests , ( around 4.9)  and normal free androgen index .  i use cabergoline for prolactinoma , and it also helps me get more regular cycles when i use it properly ,
   why im extremely confused is if i dont have anything insulin related why do i have to use metformin which i dislike the side effects especialy the fatigue . also why my cycles respond to it ( becomes 28 days when i use both medicine regularly ) if i m not insulin resistant .
  im 29 years old , not over weight and dont have severe symtoms of pcos , only thing i have so far is irregular periods (without both meds ) and some excess hair on chin
    thanks alot for the response will be much appretiated since all this confusion kind of frustrating .
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Avatar universal
i am 32 years old i am married since 2 half years i have my period problem since last 3 years . i am diabetes since 7 years i was taking medcein metformin and now they put in insulin pump now my my sugar is control . since i am married i am trying  to get pregant i hade very hard time then sombody told me to go new hope ferlity center to do ivf  
then they told did the blood work they told i have pcos then start to do tretment they gave ti get down the preiod first and they gave me clomid to take and they did retrivel i had 5 eggs and they took 3 eggs was good 2 was not good and they did transfaer on jan 11 2009 the test came negative and now i am doing again 2 time i hade my period on april 4 2009 and the blood work come good now doctor is telling i am not ovlating yet and they put me in pill estrogn and i have to go to see him on sat 9 may 2009 to see i am ovlating i am worried they want to transfer 1 embroy i donot know what will happen . me and my husband trying to have family  ...........................  
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Avatar universal
  I was thinking %100 of the pcos sufferers were insulin resistant before my last visit to my endocrinologist , but when i ve asked about how can i prevent my insulin resistance becoming a diabets he told me that from my data i dont have insulin related pcos , ( i dont remember which tests were done back then when they first diagnosed me but after the research i ve done on the net i think insulin test should be included in them )
      i have also made a deeper search on the net after that and come across with the info that not all PCOS patients were insulin resistant , but majority were , only small % were related to other causes .  and then it made sense when he said i didnt have it but then why would i need metformin for perfect cycles . im tempted to go get insulin checked  to make sure , but probably will have to be off metformin before as it lowering insulin and wont give right results .
        thing i really wonder is if metformin s testosterone lowering properties are working independently from insulin issues if so that may make some sense on regulating the menses . it also makes me wonder if i have normal insulin will it drop it too much ( maybe the reason i feel horrible on metformin , even with the lowest dose )
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Avatar universal
Hey there. Maybe I'm wrong but if you have PCOS you most likely have an insulin problem. From all I've read about in the last 3 years since I was diagnosed with it, the insulin may be the essential factor that actually triggers all the other symptoms and abnormalities that PCOS causes. Didn't you have an insulin test? This will tell you if your insulin level is higher than normal = this is a great risk for diabetes. I also have PCOS, and my weight is perfectly ok- but, my insulin levels are very high. I don't have diabetes yet but I am on Metformin also. Since insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar, this can lead to diabetes -- the pancreas is forced to produce too much insulin and your cells start blocking it = insulin resistance.
These hormones - insulin and the sex hormones - work together, this is why Metformin works for PCOS, not only to help with the diabetes risk but to regulate your cycles! And you said it works, so it is even more obvious that the underlying cause is insulin. It's unlikely that you have PCOS without an insulin problem, I've never encountered this in my readings, so it is best to stay on the medicine if the doctor said so. I don't have any serious side effects with metformin and besides I know it is essential to prevent or at least delay diabetes. What happens is that, in time, the pancreas becomes drained so to say, because we produce more insulin that it would actually be needed. At one point there won't be enough left and the cells will block all their receptors to insulin -- therefore the glucose will remain in our blood and this is how diabetes happens.
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