Why I take Metformin for PCOS

If you're like me and you have PCOS, there is a good chance that your doctor prescribed Metformin to help manage your PCOS. Most women I speak to have no idea why the doctor prescribed the medicine in the first place and carry on taking it because all they know is that it may help with weight loss and to mitigate the symptoms.

My journey that made me finally give in and take Metformin is a scary and interesting one. If you have been reading my earlier posts you might remember that I mentioned in 2010 I had gone to see a doctor who wrote a prescription for Metformin but never explained why I should take it, so I decided I did not want to. That was fine because I had decided to lose weight instead, which led me to a fad diet in 2011 known as the HCG diet. (More on this in another post).

I am going to fast forward a little bit in time from 2011 to I think it was around 2015. I had started working for a big company in Kenya with a chain of pharmacies. They were new at the time but are a big chain now. I no longer work for them because the hours were long and stressful, which led to a lot of health issues.

Around 2015 I started gaining weight fast due to stress,it was a steady climb to being overweight. I was not eating well because work was so demanding at the time. I was also newly married and planning my time without having my loving mother cook for me was not easy. I know I sound spoiled, but every child feels this way about their mother, she would make sure that I was eating a healthy diet.

However, I was now working 48 to 52 hours a week, shift work. I was not eating the way I should or planning my time well.

To this day one of the coffee shops in Kenya has a breakfast offer where you can get a coffee and a free pastry for Ksh 350/-. This was a place I would frequent just before I started work. High Carbohydrate, sugar filled foods were my choices so that I would get a surge of energy only to come crashing back down again within an hour.

I was tired ALL the time because with shift work I was not getting enough sleep and I was eating junk or drinking sugar laden caffeine drinks to get me by.

The weight started to creep up. This might be overshare but one day I woke up thinking I was pregnant. I had all the symptoms of pregnancy, but I knew I wasn't pregnant because I was on the pill and all the tests showed up negative. So why did I have nausea, painful breasts, lethargy, mood swings and all those symptoms associated to being pregnant? All I knew was that something wasn't right, so I stopped taking the Pill. With the stress, weight gain and terrible eating habits, my symptoms got worse. The pill that had once balanced my hormones was no longer in my system and my demanding job was taking its toll on me. I gained weight FAST.

Everyone I would meet would point out that I gained weight because I let myself go after I got married. I had some people even say that I should be careful or my husband would leave me for someone thinner. Now, let us get something straight once and for all. My worth is not defined by how "fat" or "thin" I am. If a man feels like he needs to leave because you are overweight, then you do not need a superficial, small minded individual to be your partner. KNOW YOUR SELF WORTH!

Anyways moving on.....

Because I was always tired and lethargic, I would check my blood glucose levels and blood pressure daily at work because I thought that must be why I felt so terrible.

One fateful day, my blood glucose levels at work were extremely high at 16 mmol/L.

(normal levels are 4.4–7.8 mmol/l)

I dropped EVERYTHING, my husband rushed home from work and we went to get my levels checked at a nearby medical centre, namely Medanta Africare. We saw a Doctor (I can not remember his name but I will look it up because this doctor was the most incompetent doctor I have EVER come across and I feel people should know). He ordered for HbA1c, fasting glucose levels and Urinalysis tests.

ALL TESTS CAME OUT NORMAL AND WITHIN RANGE.

The next day on examining my report the doctor said there was nothing wrong with me. I proceeded to ask about Insulin Resistance and side effects of the pill that I had been taking in case those might be contributing factors to why I had such a high reading?

Here's why this doctor was so incompetent:

1. On asking about Insulin Resistance and whether he could get that tested for me, he laughed and said there is no such thing as being Insulin Resistant.

2. He had to do a google search about Yasmin and promptly said he did not know it and that side effects are rare as indicated in the one page he was reading online. (Every Pill has an array of side effects). Scratch that, every medicine, herbal supplement and even some foods can give you side effects.

3. He ordered for a Glucose Tolerance Test but not an Insulin Resistance Test, against my wishes.

4. He did not feel like I was at pre-diabetic.

5. He proceeded to tell me about how his wife has a beauty center and a clinic where they do cosmetic treatments and that I should tell my friends and family.

6. He further promoted himself as the doctor that can do certain beauty treatments like Botox.

7. He kept looking out of the window and answering a personal phone call to find out where his driver was because it was time for him to clock out soon.

It seems that I always have a doctor that does not seem to care. The fact that my blood glucose level had been that high when I tested should've prompted some curiosity to delve in further for investigation, don't you think? I felt defeated. I walked out of yet another doctor's office thinking to myself that I had to find a good doctor who cared. I was disappointed and scared. I had to take control of my body again and I had to do it fast.

Once I managed to get some time off, I scheduled an appointment with a Gynaecologist that had come recommended to me by family members.

I sat down and told him my history and the story of the two negligent doctors I had seen. He was angry and irritated that two VERY important tests were overlooked in my case:

1. Fasting Insulin levels.

2. Prolactin levels.

He ordered a full panel of tests to be done, but was so irritated that these two particular tests were overlooked in my case as it was evident that I had PCOS and we needed to know the cause.

The results came back indicating that my Prolactin levels were normal but my Insulin level was through the roof! It was official, I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistant PCOS. The doctor could now eliminate the other causes of PCOS and treat me accordingly.

The relief. I FINALLY found a doctor who knew what to check for and what was wrong. He counselled me on eating a low carbohydrate diet and that he had to prescribe Metformin to help manage my PCOS, because if I didn't take it I will become prediabetic. Did I mention he also did a scan to see if I had cysts on the ovaries? Well, he did. I left that office with a prescription for Metformin, a smile on my face and my mind at ease. I now knew what was wrong. I was not healthy and I had to start doing something about it. Once I started taking Metformin my body did start to feel better but I knew it wasn't going to reverse the damage I had done.

Most women with PCOS are prescribed Metformin without certain tests done because it has now become protocol to prescribe it in cases where PCOS has been diagnosed. My next post will explain what Metformin is and why it is important if you have Insulin Resistance and for PCOS in general. For now, I just needed to share my story that led me to having to take it. There was no two ways about it. I had to and I did until my first trimester of pregnancy after which my doctor asked me to stop taking it, but that is a story for another day!

I hope this has struck a chord with you as we all experience symptoms and we have know idea what is going on. It can be scary. However, the funny thing about this story is that the blood glucose monitor at work on the day I had such a high reading was faulty and needed a new battery, so for some reason it gave me and other patients a high reading. (My colleague had brought this to light when I got back to work after seeing the doctor.) So you see, that day was fateful. Everything Happens for a Reason. The reason why that blood glucose monitor failed on THAT particular day, meant that someone or something somewhere was trying to tell me to look after myself.

So the Moral of the Story is: Take control of your life. Find a doctor you are comfortable with. If something is wrong, find out why.

Look after your body, it's the only one you've got!