Has anyone had to stop taking Metformin??

[jjsh44]

I took it upon myself to stop taking Metformin. I was having terrible terrible side effects. The breaking point was when I started losing hair. I was just wondering if anyone else had to stop taking it as well? I knew it was going to be rough but things just kept getting worse and I decided to listen to my body instead of waiting to see what happens.  It seems as though alot of women do experience not so wonderful side effects but I haven't talked with anyone that has gone through what I have. Any stories are much appreciated-I started feeling like I was crazy!

[50pounds]

Yes.  It backed me up so much that 4 stool softeners daily and 1000mg of daily magnesium didn't work.  Seriously!  

[love1221]

Metformin can help your insulin level stabilize itself enough to allow you to ovulate without other medications like clomid.  I always take mine at bedtime.  So, it doesn't make me sick at all.  Other people have mentioned taking it after you eat, not with your food, or before.  But, with pcos, the metformin could help everything to stabilize enough so that you could ovulate on your own.

[HeathJo]

Hey--I had a very hard time on Metformin also. I had to titrate up very, very slowly--like two weeks at a time. Just as I felt better, I got pregnant, and they had me discontinue taking them. I never had hair loss, though, that sounds wicked BAD!

Fertility meds helped me get a BFP, so I wouldn't think discontinuing Metformin alone would prevent you from becoming so. Metformin bascially increases your body's sensitivity to insulin in order that your pituitary gland won't produce the negative more "androgynous" hormones (like testosterone) that it does b/c of PCOS. This can reblanace all yor hormones and regulate ovulation, which is why they put people on it. I,too, have PCOS but only a "mild" case. (I never tested as insulin resistant, but I became very irregular last year and gained like 40 lbs in 2-3 months.)

I would definitely call your doctor and maybe a pharmacist to see what the hair loss is about. Now, I did experience some hair loss with PCOS, though, so is it possible that could be it? If you do decide to start taking the Metformin again, I would start at a very low dose and up the does every week or two.

Good luck :-)

[tea_berries]

My OB said I have to take it in my entire pregnancy when I get Pregnant.  She said it will help stabilize the hormones too and it lessens the chance of M/C

[kaprovea]

I have a question about metformin.  If and when we get pregnant are you suppose to continue taking it??? My doctor didn't tell us much about the medication.

[bny807]

I have recently been diagnosed with pcos.. and we are having our IVF consult tomorrow..  should i use metformin too?? did yall do an insulin resistance test first before being put on it>?? I don't want to do anything to mess up our chances.. so i want to make sure and ask all the right questions tomorrow!!! I'll probably be doing lupron for three months before due to endo as well, does that supress PCOS too?? gosh i hear the side effects from that are horrible too! yikes!!! good luck to all of you! : )

[scienceteacher79]

Hey -  was on Metformin and miserable just about the entire time I was on it. I stopped taking it on my own too. I could not bear to be nausous anymore. The only thing that ever helped the nausea was taking the pill about 10 minutes after I ate a nice sized meal.

I never lost hair but I felt worse on the metformin than I did without it. It made me feel like my blood sugar would rise and drop suddenly and horribly! I would feel like C R A P!!!!!! So, I sympathize with you. I also have PCOS so I know where you are coming from. As long as you are taking other fertility drugs, you should still O. I am on a natural cycle after m/c and still waiting to O at CD 18 - kinda wishing I had been taking the metformin again because it did make me O. See i your doc can give you something else. Good luk sweetie!

[ashort]

Good luck to you!  Endometrian is a suppositorie so it's yucky and you have to wear a pantyliner but well worth it if it gets you a baby!  Good luck to you!

[jjsh44]

No, not pregnant (yet) I like to say! My husband and I are in the process of our first IVF cycle. We've hit a few obsacles but everything is working out good. We won't be doing actual ivf until Aug or Sept
I was diagnosed with a mild case of PCOS, that is the reason for the metformin. Thank you for the advice, I will definately mention endometrian to my re :)

[ashort]

Mayve you could switch to Endometrian?  I was on it 3 times a day (suppositories) and had little to no side effects.  I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you.  Are you pregnant?