Pcos & Metformin - help/advise please

[Katie2021]

Hi

Ive been prescribed metformin as I’ve not had a period for the last 3 months and recently been diagnosed with pcos (we are trying for our first baby)

Just wondering if anyones been in a similar situation and how long did it take if it helped you to ovulate? Get pregnant or bring your periods back? and how much a day was you taking?

Im also taking inositol along side, and some vitamins

I know everyone’s different I just wanted to hear everyone’s experiences, im really struggling to have a clue with ovulation as the strips look like they get dark close but never positive,

if you think anything helped you please advise I eat healthy and exercise (walking and weights) 💜💜

Hey!

I was diagnosed and put on 1000mg while I waited for a gynae app. That kind of regulated me a little as each cycle got a few days shorter but it's not til I went private and he put me on 1500mg that I noticed a real difference. I immediately ovulated at a normal time and got pregnant a month after 😀😀😀 now 14 weeks pregnant after nearly 2 years trying and 2 mcs. My consultant said the right dose of metformin should regulate you quite quickly so go with your instinct and if it's not happening insist on being increased X good luck xxx

@hopingfor23 aww thank you so much for sharing that! 💜 and a massive congratulations!! Xx

so glad to hear that worked for you! You’ve filled me with hope now! 😊

We’ve been trying for over a year and had a mc in October, since then my periods went really irregular and now I’ve not had one for 3 months!

But now diagnosed with pcos they have given me metformin, but said to take 1 a day for a week, then 2 a day for a week, then I can go on the full 3 a day.

so I’ve only been on 3 a day for a week up to now, hopefully this works for me too as 3 a day is 1500mg! 🤞🏼💜 can I just ask how did you track your ovulation I find it hard to know if and when it’s happening, I have been having bits of pains but thought it may be tablets xxxx

I have PCOS and took Metformin to help me conceive.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the Metformin dose I was on with my first. I think it was 500mg to start, but was definitely upped to 1000, if not 1500. It regulated my periods from once in a blue moon to every 32 days. I never tracked ovulation. Mostly because I knew it would stress me out further, but I think I'd read something about PCOS causing the ovulation strips to not quite work. Anyway, I still didn't fall pregnant, so once I hit my target BMI I started on Clomid. Just the single month of Clomid did the trick, and the resulting DD is nearly 3.

For my second, once I knew I wanted to start TTC I immediately started on 500mg Metformin. I also had heard good things about Inositol, so was taking that (as Myo Inositol) as well. As before, I didn't bother tracking ovulation as I figured I'd need Clomid again. Instead, the Metformin had barely started to trigger my periods, let alone regulate them when I got a BFP after only 5 months TTC! That was almost 1 year ago to the day, and DS is now 4 months.

Other than inositol apparently working miracles, a low carb diet also helped me. Also minimising stress.

Wishing you the best of luck with TTC, and hope you get a BFP before too long.

I was prescribed metformin for PCOS. I was on 2 tablets twice a day (so is that 2000mg?) After 6 weeks i started getting a regular 28day cycle but blood tests showed that i wasnt ovulating. I took it for over a year whilst waiting to be referred to assisted conception unit (our referral got delayed due to the first lockdown). In the end, metformin wasnt enough for us, but once i was seen by ACU, i was prescribed letrozole and 3 cycles resulted in our DD. She is now 1yr old.

Im now back on the metformin in preparation for TTC a sibling for DD but i fully expect to need another couple of rounds of letrozole.

In the meantime, im trying to do the fast 800 as I've heard this is good for pre-diabetes, which has a similar hormone profile to PCOS.

Oh and in case you weren't aware, ovulation kits are a bit unreliable for PCOS so im going to try BBT charting next time instead.

Unfortunately metformin didn't help me get pregnant and I was on it a good 3 years but it did regulate my periods to every 28-29 days. I took 1500mg, i also lost weight on it.
Be warned - you could get a very runny bum for a good few weeks while your body is getting used to it. Luckily I was usually always at home because honestly if I wasn't I wouldn't have been able to stop it lol

Consultant encouraged me to use the cheap ovulation strips for a couple of months to see but not to pin everything on it as it can be unreliable with pcos. He basically said try to have sex 3/4 times a week. Xxx

i got prescribed metformin after my first fertility appointment after a year of trying because of PCOS. Took 30 days for my first bleed then was regular between 30-35 days every cycle.

I'm currently 35 weeks pregnant even with PCOS & male infertility natural conception despite being told it was virtually impossible and we was funded for IVF but found out the month before was meant to start x

Thank you all so much for your advice! And All you experiences I can’t thank you enough! 💜

I hope you don’t mind me mentioning, after 3/4 months with no period yesterday I started spotting on and off then today I started very light bleeding this morning and passed a blood clot now bleeding seems to be stopping again.

This is my 4th week on metformin, would you assume things are just starting to work? Or is do you think it’s something to be concerned about?

I have no idea if it’s a period or irregular bleeding because my periods are so irregular I can’t predict them xxx

Assuming you're not pregnant, I would assume things are starting to work. If you get some more bleeding before this time in August then chat to your doctor.

I was put on 500mg twice daily for pcos. My cycles had been somewhat irregular and tests had shown i wasn't ovulating. My cycles regulated to 28 day cycles within a week of starting the metformin. I used a device called ovusense to track my ovulation. Its a small device you wear at night like a tampon..I believe it is one of the only devices like this that can work for pcos. In the end we needed ivf as it turned out DH had some difficulties but the metformin definitely helped me. Wishing you the best with your journey x

@TinaMummy such a coincidence I came across ovusense today and have been reading about it! Does it confirm if you are ovulating?

we are on a waiting list to have other half tested as gyne won’t give us an appointment until he has been tested too, they’re saying around October so far just for the appointment.

im praying This metformin/ inositol might start working magic, so far I just seem to be spotting on and off… but Im curious with this ovusense product as I don’t have a clue when I’m ovulating! Xx

Hi, yes the ovusense tracks your internal body temperature throughout the night as it should dip just before you ovulate. The app gives you a chart which helps you track and predict the next cycle. Its not the cheapest thing and you have to pay a subscription charge but for me it worked and showed me clearly when I was ovulating. I personally think the cost is worth it..ultimately you have nothing to lose by trying it.

Oh and also you haven't mentioned your age so don't know if that puts time pressure on things for you but if it does then it may be worth looking into get OH tested privately. Most private clinics will offer a comprehensive set of tests for a set fee. You can get home testing kits for men too but I wouldn't rate them as my OH used one which said he was fine but the full test showed there were issues.

Sorry and last thing, (I have baby brain right now with a 6 month old!) I was told my doctor that there was no need to take metformin and inositol together as they do the same thing. I also watched YouTube videos by someone called the egg whisperer..she's a gynae based in America and offers amazing advice. One of which is to take COQ10 supplements as they have been shown to preserve egg quality. I was taking 200mg daily. Again, its not cheap but I wanted to try everything before going down the ivf route.

Did u continue to take metformin during ur pregnancy the 1500g ?? Xx

I was told to stop Metformin after 12 weeks, which I did both times.

I was told to continue the entire pregnancy except when I was due to have the glucose test which meant I stopped metformin for 2 weeks. I am pregnant again and will do the same!

I was prescribed metformin for pcos but also had clomid to ovulate, I was taking 3 tablets a day by the time i had my clomid cycle although I must admit it did take me a few months to tolerate it, it did give me an awful upset stomach and made me feel sick for a while until my body got used to it! It actually really helped me to control my weight which really helped with my pcos symptoms (I was also taking inositol daily this time on recommendation of the specialist), anyway it worked really well for me I ovulated with my first round of clomid, only one follicle but that was all I needed! This is my second pregnancy, I also had clomid with my first 8 years ago and I wasn’t taking metformin or inositol then and it was a much more gruelling process to conceive, took many more rounds, had absolutely no response at all to it for a few months so really think of you can tolerate it, it’s worth a try with metformin!

Also don’t be disheartened if you never do ovulate naturally by yourself, I never have, I’ve only ever ovulated twice with medical intervention, both times just one follicle! PCOS is awful, the daily symptoms can be so upsetting but don’t give up hope 😊