Discovery Home & Health

can any one tell me how many days u take metformin for and what stength to take? also is it safe to take clomid with metformin together?

hi cathy, sure i have written to you about metf before so sorry if i repeat myself.
1) you take metf every day, throughout the cycle & even when you get a bfp until 12 weeks to reduce risk of m/c
2) diff people take diff strengths, think the common amount is 3 x 500mg, one with each meal but i've heard of more than that. plus there is a slow-release version that you just take before bed - not sure if that's in the uk tho'.
3) lots of people take both clomid & metf together, in fact metf was never designed as a 'fertility' drug, just to treat diabetes, then diabetics with fertility probs were given clomid too, but some docs realised that the diabetics conceived with just the metf so now it's poss to just have that.

my opinion, for what it's worth...clomid has a short time-span as it can over-stimulate the ovaries, diff docs have diff limits (6-9months usually) so pressure to conceive is quite high.
metf can be taken indefinitely so no pressure (except that you put on yourself!!) & it doesn't overstimulate the ovaries.

hth, kt

katyt...ty so much hun it has answered a lot of my questions, happy new year to u xx

HI
I have previously had both metformin & clomid to try to concieve.... Metformin is given as PCO's is the sister disease to diabetes therefore it can be used for a multitude of things....

Clomid can only be given for a maximum of 9 months in anyones lifetime i know this as i asked my ivf clinic to let me try it again & they said no as i had previously had it for about nine months so i went onto follicle tracking instead.

I can confirm that metformin can be given upto 12 weeks in pregnancy.

r u diabetic??

Jodaisley.. firstly ty for ur advice no i am not diabetic but have pcos and have had 2 months of clomid nothing this month as i wanted a break and next month i am going to try metformin and 100g clomid together

cathy - thought i shd add the flip side of the coin just to be balanced.
i was very very lucky with metf (aside from ov'ing within 6 weeks of starting it & catching that eggie first time!) as i didn't really suffer any side effects of significance.
being on metf felt similar to the first 12 weeks of pg - going off certain foods & onto others, gassiness & occasional diarrhoea (sp?) & bloatiness.

but i have read/heard other stories...ladies with pcos are often overweight & it's said that metf works by making them lose weight rather than sorting out insulin levels cos they can't keep any food down... the so-called famous 'met gut' strikes some people really badly.

in terms of starting it - i was recommended to take one tablet every night for 1 week; then 2, one at night & one in the morning for the 2nd week; then one at every mealtime from then on.
be prepared for feeling funny so take it easy when you start. and a drink warning, some people really suffer if they try & drink alcohol with metf - i took it so slowly to start with (wasn't going to put my life on hold until i knew i was ov'ing), but was fine to drink pretty much anything (in fact before my +hpt i was convinced i wasn't pg & drank loads!!).

hth too, kt

Katyt...ty for info ur very kind

any more advice on quantity of metformin to take?

are you not seeing a gynae?

Surely he/she should decide the correct dose?

I wouldn't take it if its not been prescribed, and if it has been prescribed you should follow doctors orders.

I have pcos and Im (sposed) to take 3 (500) tablets a day - working up from 1 a day to 3 a day over 3 weeks.

Can someone tell me where to privately buy metformin in UK? I know I can get it from the subcontinent but was hoping to get it here....