Metformin woes- Please Advise

[maddy1]

To stop or not to stop????

can anyone who has been on Metformin share their experiences? I have been on it for a year, at 1500 mg daily. I moved from my RE to regular OB and she said I would need to stop taking it at 12 weeks.

I have read soooo many conflicting opinions online. Some mommas say that stopping it didn't impact their pregnancy while others swear that stopping it was what caused their losses this obviously freaks me out.

Confused

 

[lindsayms05]

I stayed on Metformin for the entire duration of my pregnancy. I was working with an RE to start and I asked him if it would be okay since I obviously had issues with my insulin. I was hoping it would help me not develop gestational diabetes. He said it was fine to take the whole time and my OB was okay with it and refilled it for me when I needed it. I would talk to your OB about your concerns and see if he/she will let you stay on it.

 

[Destiny08]

I became pregnant in a cycle where I forgot after O a few times to take my metformin. (i really didnt expect to get pregnant) and decided I would start again when AF started...which ofc didnt happen. I asked my GP if I should start taking it again, and she said not to worry about it.

My pregnancy ended at 9 weeks.

I don't know if it was caused by the lack of metformin, but I will definitely be sticking with it at least until 12 weeks next time.

Good luck making the decision - but if in doubt, I would carry on with it. There are some people swearing coming off it caused their losses, but I havent heard of anyone complaining staying on it caused issues.

 

[Lucasmum]

I take 2000mg a day as well as insulin its perfectly safe in pregnancy

 

[MariaF]

I stayed on Metformin throughout my first pregnancy. RE told me it can lower risks of GD. I always had high sugars in my urine but bloods were always fine!
I was off Merformin as soon as I gave birth and I was no longer on Metformin in my second pregnancy and the story was exactly the same about sugars!

 

[ChickenMommy]

I started taking it around 10 weeks. I have PCOS so Im insulin resistant. Failed my early "glucose test" which was really just me monitoring my sugars for 2 weeks because I refused the 1 hour test. My midwife put me on it, no questions asked. I'll be on it the entire pregnancy and hopefully after. Insulin resistance can play a HUGE role in low milk supply so the instant i found out I was pregnant I wanted to start taking it to increase my chances of making milk with this baby. Ultimately its going to be up to you, and your dr (if theyll continue to give Rx for it) but its perfectly safe, and probably preferred that you stay on it for the health benefits.

 

[MrS. MaBrEy]

If you're planning to nurse your baby I would highly, highly recommend staying on the metformin. It could mean the difference in being able to nurse or not. I'm planning to ask for metformin this time around for the duration of pregnancy in hope of controlling my insulin better and being able to lactate properly next time.

 

[Destiny08]

I'm actually really interested to hear about the low milk supply...I was only diagnosed with PCOS a year ago, and had a pregnancy before. But I struggled endlessly with breastfeeding. I had such a slow supply that expressing for an hour would get me about 10ml of milk. My daughter would feed for an hour, and then sleep for an hour before waking up to be fed again. It was an absolute nightmare.

I'm now wondering if my issues were a side effect of the then undiagnosed PCOS/Insulin resistance. (My daughter is 4.5)

thanks for the info! I will have to keep that in mind in my next pregnancy!

 

[ChickenMommy]

I'm actually really interested to hear about the low milk supply...I was only diagnosed with PCOS a year ago, and had a pregnancy before. But I struggled endlessly with breastfeeding. I had such a slow supply that expressing for an hour would get me about 10ml of milk. My daughter would feed for an hour, and then sleep for an hour before waking up to be fed again. It was an absolute nightmare.

I'm now wondering if my issues were a side effect of the then undiagnosed PCOS/Insulin resistance. (My daughter is 4.5)

thanks for the info! I will have to keep that in mind in my next pregnancy!

Theres an amazing group on FB for low supply moms. Its called "IGT and Low Milk Supply Support Group" theres a TON of information and tests that can be ran to narrow down your particular reason for low supply. I believe 1/3 of PCOS moms will have a micro/no supply, 1/3 will have a normal supply and 1/3 will have an oversupply. Insulin resistance plays a HUGE part in low production. I made nothing with my first, and 5-10ml every 2-3 hours with my second. Insulin resistance during puberty can also be damaging to developing breast tissue leading to IGT (insufficient glandular tissue) in which case theres just not enough milk making material in the breast. Controlling your insulin can be a huge help, as well as correcting any other underlying conditions (thyroid, low vitamin D, low prolactin). Theres a TON of things can can play a part in low milk supply and its not as uncommon as some people would like to believe. I believe the numbers often used are "only 2% of women cant produce enough milk"...which sounds low, until you realize that the WORLD population of redheads is around 2%, assuming that half of those redheads are female, that leaves 1% of a female redheaded population. Theres no one denying that redheads exist, how many redheaded females do you personally know? I can count at least 5 that I know...which would leave at least 10 women I know who cant produce enough milk for one reason or another.

 

[auntsas]

Interesting informative thread! I had a terrible time with having enough milk with my son. I almost always had to supplement with formula. I blamed it on being pump dependant due to his cleft lip but now wounded if their wasn't something else going on! I would like to be more successful this time around!

 

[CrowBaby]

I'm on it. My GP told me to stay on it unless my OBGYN took me off. It helped me get pregnant so I'm hoping it'll help me stay pregnant. Before I started TTC, my old OBGYN told me he kept his patients on it through the first trimester with so much success. I've only heard good and I don't think I'll push it by researching any bads LOL