Metformin?

[Deleted User 1039]

High insulin levels indicate some dysfunction even if your blood sugars are ok. Your body is producing more insulin than it should need to keep your blood sugar low, basically.

It can help PCOS as well, but it may be primarily because of the high insulin.

[Deleted User 1039]

Metformin is prescribed to women with PCOS even though they're not diabetic.

Yep. The doctor didn’t come out and say that but the pharmacist asked if she was diabetic or had PCOS. That’s when I realized it was treating the PCOS. She got a lot of information today.

Not necessarily. High insulin levels, even in the absence of abnormal blood sugars, can be an indication for it.

[BionicBunny]

Metformin is prescribed to women with PCOS even though they're not diabetic.

Yep. The doctor didn’t come out and say that but the pharmacist asked if she was diabetic or had PCOS. That’s when I realized it was treating the PCOS. She got a lot of information today.

Not necessarily. High insulin levels, even in the absence of abnormal blood sugars, can be an indication for it.

An indication for what?

[Deleted User 1039]

Yep. The doctor didn’t come out and say that but the pharmacist asked if she was diabetic or had PCOS. That’s when I realized it was treating the PCOS. She got a lot of information today.

Not necessarily. High insulin levels, even in the absence of abnormal blood sugars, can be an indication for it.

An indication for what?

Metformin...

[BionicBunny]

Not necessarily. High insulin levels, even in the absence of abnormal blood sugars, can be an indication for it.

An indication for what?

Metformin...

I believe the high insulin levels is a symptom of the PCOS. When she said she was giving her metformin I asked if she was diabetic and she said no her insulin levels are high and with that and other symptoms she confirmed my daughter has PCOS, which we all suspected for quite some time.
So yes you’re right the high insulin levels is why she gave her metformin but it didn’t hit me till after talking to the pharmacist that she was treating her PCOS. I only knew that Metformin treated diabetes.

[Anonymous 1]

I thought it was for diabetes also

Metformin (Metformin hydrochloride) is a type of medicine known as a biguanide. This works to lower the amount of sugar in the blood of people with diabetes. It does this by lowering the amount of sugar produced in the liver, and also increasing the sensitivity of muscle cells to insulin./quote]

Metformin in PCOS. ... Several effects have been reported as related to metformin in PCOS patients including restoring ovulation, reducing weight, reducing circulating androgen levels, reducing the risk of miscarriage and reducing the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

[Deleted User 1039]

An indication for what?

Metformin...

I believe the high insulin levels is a symptom of the PCOS. When she said she was giving her metformin I asked if she was diabetic and she said no her insulin levels are high and with that and other symptoms she confirmed my daughter has PCOS, which we all suspected for quite some time.
So yes you’re right the high insulin levels is why she gave her metformin but it didn’t hit me till after talking to the pharmacist that she was treating her PCOS. I only knew that Metformin treated diabetes.

Kind of the other way around. PCOS doesn’t cause high insulin levels, but the reverse may be true. High insulin levels may cause or exacerbate high androgen levels. So metformin is can be used to treat PCOS if the patient also has high insulin levels. It’s not FDA approved for that use, but still fairly common.

The take-home point is that it’s also important to do some lifestyle modifications to focus on preventing diabetes still, and to keep an eye on insulin and blood sugar levels. The high insulin levels is the first step toward diabetes, not just a side effect from PCOS.

[Ladyiq]

Seriously the intestinal side effects are very very bad. She may want to take a change of clothing to school just in case and maybe a note allowing her access to the restroom due to medical issues.