PCOS and high blood sugars

[Ready4number2]

I have PCOS and my bloodwork came back today. My insulin was 17. I hope that she will put me on some meds to help my cycles regulate. What meds have you tried and did it work??

 

[dodgercpkl]

I was at 21 for insulin levels when I started Metformin. I dropped to 17 by month 4 after starting it. Tbh I'm not sure what I'm at now although I'm pretty sure it's continued to drop.

 

[Ready4number2]

How much do they have you on? I'm nervous about the side effects.

 

[dodgercpkl]

I'm on 2000mg/day. I typically notice side effects only when I eat something that's high in processed sugars or simple carbs. My doc had me gradually get up to the full dose starting with one pill per day and every 2 weeks adding another pill.

 

[littlepeps]

Hi I have PCOS and all the usual symptoms .. I have been to see a FS but all I was told was to lose weight !!!!!!! Now Im not a Dr and I can see that for myself !!!! .. I was told to go to slimming world .. which I did ... I was then told by the class leader that she wasnt medically trained to deal with ladies with PCOS as there can be problems with insulin resistance !!!!!!! .. so I lost half a stone and it didnt go any further :S .........

SO .. I took matters into my own hands and have done LOADS of research ... and the conclusion I have came to is VITAMIN D .... in short Vit D is used by the body for more than just teeth and bones .. it is need to absorb magnesium copper zinc and other essential vits and minerals ... most importantly there is receptors in your pituitary gland for Vit D and if your pituitary gland is running at full power then your hormone levels should be corrected.

My af came between 35-50 days .. within 1 month of starting high levels of Vit D .. I had a 28 day cycle .. and I ovulated with loads of cm ...TMI>> I had a good red flow .. no brown sludge or clots and it lasted 5 days .. total text book af

Also I have lost half a stone as my body seems to be getting my blood sugars under control and not turning it to fat !!! I have also cleared up a skin condition and my gums have stopped bleeding ... so if there is a physical improvement I can see the think of the improvements I cant !!!

The icing on the cake would be to get my BFP .. but this may take 3 months as the egg needs 90 day to matured and be released .. so hopefully my new supplements are working away to improve my future eggs !!!

 

[Ready4number2]

Dodgercpkl, she is starting me out on one and the goal is to get to three so I'm thinking she wants me on 1500 a day... I have a hard time with big pills. I remember they were pretty big when my hubby took them for diabetes.

 

[dodgercpkl]

Mine aren't huge, but then the silly fish oil pills are bloody freaking HUGE! lol It does indeed sound like you are going to be working up to 1500mg. That's a pretty standard dose I believe.

 

[Ready4number2]

Littlepeps,
First of all, I HATE it when I go to a doctor and that is the first thing they say... I want to say "hello idiot I have 2 health conditions that keep me from losing weight". I totally get your frustration on that.

I haven't read anything about vitamin D so I will look that up but I have read that metformin messes with B 12 consumption. Does taking a prenatal everyday help this at all?

I really hope that it straightens out my cycles. I had a lap 4 weeks ago for endo and she still isn't here and the pain is unreal trying to start.

Good luck to you both and thanks for the feedback!

 

[Ready4number2]

Yes, I have tried to take those fish oil pills. I couldn't! They are pretty big... Haha

 

[dodgercpkl]

Actually I've been reading up on that too because I also have MTHFR mutation which ALSO suppresses folic acid, b12 and b6 processes. It would *seem* like the way around that is to take the active forms of those - that skips the process that metformin suppresses from what I am gathering. The active form of b12 would be methylcobalamine. I'd bet anything that your prenatal has cyanocobalamin in it and that's something I now would avoid.

Since finding out about my MTHFR and researching it on my own, I've made the switch to all active forms of my vitamins because frankly the synthetics (like folic acid!) scare me. Cyanocobalamine (the 'normal' form of B12 that's used in prenatals and multi-vitamins) is made out of cyanide byproducts! Crazy huh? If you want to hear more, just look up synthetic vs natural vitamins. There are tons of videos about it from doctors who are researching the effects!

I wish I could tell you the effect that D3 had on me, but I can't. I upped my dosage at the same time that I started metformin, so I have no conclusive info on it. However in that vein, another thing to look into is going gluten free. I'm reading all kinds of things that show that there are links between PCOS and gluten intolerance. If you do it though, you need to go whole hog because even one time eating gluten can affect you negatively for months afterwards! I found this page particularly interesting especially in the comment section: https://thesavvyceliac.com/2009/11/02/is-pcos-a-symptom-of-a-gluten-sensitivity-or-celiac-disease/

 

[Ready4number2]

Yes, that is crazy. Why would they use dangerous stuff in something that is suppose to be good for you?? Weird! I have tried gluten free and I failed miserably. I have found out a lot of things by researching on my own. We can't always think the doctors know everything because they don't.

 

[dodgercpkl]

Oh yeah I definitely know that.... I had a Doc that tried to tell me that I had a migraine issue and prescribe something that would have had horrible side effects because she didn't bother to ask the right questions (I had whiplash and didn't know it). Ever since then I've been very very very careful to do my own research before I take anything. I feel very fortunate that I had a bad feeling about it and checked before I filled it or took it.

 

[Ready4number2]

Good call! I had a gyn get very upset with me because I refuse to take Yaz birth control. I have heard very bad things about it and I think that's my right to refuse her meds. It might help other people but it is not right for me. She was a beast. We have to listen to our bodies for sure!

 

[amjon]

Has anyone had fasting insulin lower than 10 and been told they are still insulin resistant? I went to the endo today and he told me mine was 7 and normal was under 5, but I've read elsewhere 10 is normally the standard. I still have normal cycles and seem to ovulate, so it hasn't really impacted my ovaries, but it's now suspected as the cause of my stillborn and MC.

 

[dodgercpkl]

Yeah this doc that prescribed this migraine medicine was like that too. She got very affronted by me asking what the side affects were. I don't blame you ONE bit for not going on Yaz. Especially with all the "Sue Yaz" ads that are on tv these days. Ugh.

Oh and you are right, the gluten free bit is really hard, but I've found some fantastic recipes so I'm doing ok so far. I do have to admit that I already feel better, so for me it's been worth the struggle.

 

[dodgercpkl]

Has anyone had fasting insulin lower than 10 and be told they are still insulin resistant? I went to the endo today and he told me mine was 7 and normal was under 5, but I've read elsewhere 10 is normally the standard. I still have normal cycles and seem to ovulate, so it hasn't really impacted my ovaries, but it's now suspected as the cause of my stillborn and MC.

I don't think mine is down that far yet, but I'm pretty sure that my Endo also told me that it's below 6 or 7. She is more conservative then the labs are, and tbh I appreciate that. It's frustrating sometimes to see that labs consider us normal and yet we are still working on it, but there is usually research out there pointing to the fact that the labs ranges are too loose, too high, too low.