Читать книгу The Ultimate PCOS Handbook - Theresa Cheung - Страница 44

Weight loss is one of the simplest, yet most effective, ways to manage insulin abnormalities, menstrual irregularities, and other PCOS symptoms. For weight-loss strategies, see Chapter 11.

Insulin-lowering drugs are another option. This class of drugs includes the diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage). Metformin has been receiving a lot of media attention and has been brilliantly effective for some women with PCOS.

In preliminary studies,⁷ metformin helped restore normal menstrual cycles in approximately 50 per cent of women with PCOS. Blood androgen (male hormone) levels sometimes also decrease, but there may not be much improvement in excess hair growth or acne. And metformin doesn’t provide contraception. In fact, it might stimulate ovulation – great if you do want to conceive, not so great if you don’t!

Metformin may also help with weight loss, though it’s not a weight-loss drug. Some studies⁸ have shown that women with PCOS on a low-calorie diet lose more weight when metformin is added. But to keep the weight off you need to stick to a healthy eating and exercise plan; otherwise it creeps back on.

There’s also been speculation that metformin might reduce the risk of early pregnancy loss and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (diabetes during pregnancy) in women with PCOS. But experts don’t yet recommend its use in these situations until larger studies have been undertaken.

Metformin is available in three forms:

1 Generic Metformin Hcl

2 Glucophage (brand name)

3 Glucophage XR (brand name).

Glucophage is available in 500-mg, 850-mg or 1,000-mg tablets. The usual dose is 850–1,000mg twice daily. Your doctor will probably help you to build up to the appropriate dose gradually.

Side-effects can include diarrhoea and more frequent bowel movements – and some women feel this is why they’ve lost weight while they’ve been using it, and the reason why it’s all gone back on again once they’ve got used to the medication. But every case is individual and you’d work with your doctor to find the best dose for you.

The long-term safety and effectiveness of metformin and other experimental drugs for PCOS is still unknown.

‘My doctor agreed to start me on 500mg of Metformin twice daily, and we built up to 850mg, then 1,000mg. At this level I noticed a metallic taste in my mouth…I went back to the 850mg dose. I have started to lose weight and have had two periods in the last 3¹/₂ months,

Janey, 32