[orangecatlovr]

I had the glyburide post below. My endo said today that glyburide is only for diabetics and isn't to treat pcos. I've tried metformin and it was too harsh on my stomach. My endo has said that my only other course of action is birth control pills. BUT since I'm trying to get pregnant, she has said there's nothing else I can do.

Is this true? I've put in a call to my GP for a referral to another endo so I can get a second opinion. Other than metformin and birth control pills, are there any other treatments for pcos?

[TeresaWV]

There definately are more treatments than metformin and birthcontrol. Especially for someone that is trying to concieve. Personally for me the metformin had no positive affect on my PCOS. Are you seeing a Reproductive endo or just a regular endo? I recommend talking to your DR and getting reffered to a reproductive endo. I tried clomid first with metformin with no success but it does work for some. With my current pregnancy I used letrazole and a diabetic med called avandia along with an IUI. I am currently 23 weeks pregnant. Good luck and hopefully you can find someone that can help you.

[Persephone1881]

When you were on Metformin, was it the extended release or not? Some women find the extended release to be easier on their system. If you haven't already, it might be worth trying at least for a little while. There are other medications that you can take for insulin resistance (I assume that's why you were on the Met to begin with..) such as Glucophage (the brand name of Met) and Fortamet. I agree that you should get a 2nd opinion.

[AngieD]

Originally Posted by Persephone1881

When you were on Metformin, was it the extended release or not? Some women find the extended release to be easier on their system. If you haven't already, it might be worth trying at least for a little while. There are other medications that you can take for insulin resistance (I assume that's why you were on the Met to begin with..) such as Glucophage (the brand name of Met) and Fortamet. I agree that you should get a 2nd opinion.

I agree - the Extended Release made all of the difference for me, and just had to also give it some time.

My personal word of advice - don't give up on the Metformin, even if it isn't helping the PCOS. If you move on to other treatments (I had ovarian drilling, for example, which works for some but didn't for me) and get pregnant, Metformin has shown in many studies to reduce the likelihood of miscarriage and gestational diabetes. Metformin hasn't helped my PCOS, but I'm still on it just for these effects.

[simplyforgiven]

A good way to treat PCOS is with diet. Cutting out simply carbohydrates and only eating fruits and starchy vegetables with meals will help to cut down on the severity of PCOS symptoms. It will even regulate your ovulation cycle if you strictly follow a low carb diet for several months. There is a book out there called "The insulin resistance diet".

[ashley84]

Simplyforgiven took the words right out of my mouth. my RE told me to do the South Beach diet. It might work for you. I never did it long enough to get the real benifits from it. But I worked L&D for 3 years and saw tons of girls that did it for a couple months and had a healthy baby.

And take the metformin in intervels... One for a week then two and so on till you get to your dosage. Also I realized if I cut out fatty foods from my diet I felt 100% better.

[AnnRN]

The extended release (Fortamet) was much easier to tolerate for me as well. Fortamet didn't get me pregnant, but it definitely helped to regulate my cycles. It took a while (like, a year) to actually see any difference at all.

Good luck

[nic-paul]

PCOS & TTC: I was also on Ext Rel Metformin 2000mg + clomid + IUI to get pg. 1st cycle, clomid 100mg produced a follicle but not big enough. 2nd cycle clomid 150mg (max my RE will go) got us there. had IUI & 9 months later LO was born!!! If no results with clomid 150mg, RE said we would move to injectables but did not specify which ones. So, TTC with PCOS offers many different options.

PCOS without TTC: BCP pills or Provera are your best bet (so you get a period -- if amenorrhea is an issue). The only reason I started w/ ER Met was b/c I was TTC. Before I TTC, I just took BCP -- & only so I'd get a period. Does that make sense???

Since my LO was born, I lost all the baby weight (back to 110lbs -- keep in mind, I'm only 4'10") & than I lost an additional 5% of my weight (well almost 5% -- I'm about 106lbs now). Since my weight dipped below 110lbs, I've started getting a regular period. So there's something to say for weightloss. We'll start trying for baby #2 this summer. We'll see if this weightloss makes a difference in TTC.