scarletlatitude Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hi. :) I take metformin for my PCOS. Obviously PCOS has a lot in common with diabetes. High blood sugar can aggravate PCOS, so I am taking metformin to try to calm everything down. My eating is pretty healthy. I do sometimes (more often than I should) have sweet foods. It is a problem that I am always struggling with. But 95% of the time, I am eating a healthy, mostly vegetarian, low fat, low sodium, trying to be low carb diet. Here's my issue. I've been on the metformin for about 6 months now. I am finding that it makes me hungrier than normal. For example, tonight for dinner I ate pasta (complex carb overload) and then took the metformin. It's been like 2 hours and I am hungry again. This shouldn't happen, given the amount of complex carbs that I consumed. I should not be hungry like that pasta meal was just a snack. I know how metformin works. I know that this might not necessarily be a problem. I do check my weight often, and I haven't gained much at all. But still, this kind of worries me. Am I taking too much medication? Should I talk to my doctor about this, or just wait to see if it evens out? Meh... any advice would be appreciated. I've never taken drugs like these so I don't know what to expect. Link to post Share on other sites
Absol Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Well I haven't taken drugs like that before... but I always lean on the side of caution, and that would be my advice. If you have easy access to doctors, I would suggest seeing one, cuz you never know. Better safe than sorry ^_^ Link to post Share on other sites
Ficulnean Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Yeah . . . I waited for some things to even out. Don't. Talk to a doctor. Link to post Share on other sites
Schrecken Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My mom has been on metformin for years (type 2 diabetic; I never knew it was also used to treat PCOS) and I've never heard her complain about increased hunger. But then again, I'm not sure how high of a dose she is on, and she takes lots of other meds which could make her less hungry and might counteract that effect. If you are in the US you could also report that side effect to the FDA - if enough people experience it they might include a warning regarding the side effects. That won't help you but it might help others. But yeah, you should ask your dr. about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Robin L Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 AVEN is not in the position of giving out medical advice. Consult a doctor when in doubt. Link to post Share on other sites
MoraDollie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Bring up your concerns with your doctor. Sometimes your body takes time to adjust to hormones. Right now i'm on levo for my hypothyroidism and I've noticed an increase in appetite with myself. Link to post Share on other sites
Kitty Incognito Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Make sure you have some lean protein with your meals to keep your sugar steady. Just pasta makes me hungry too! But if you're really concerned, I second Kumo's advice to check with your doctor. Link to post Share on other sites
scarletlatitude Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 AVEN is not in the position of giving out medical advice. Consult a doctor when in doubt. No worries, Robin. :) I am on so many medications that I have to see some sort of doctor quite regularly. I'm just checking to see if anyone else has experienced similar symptoms. Thanks all for the tips. Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy Alien Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I'm in exactly the same boat. I'm actually still gaining though. I'm thinking of calling the office to see if I can get in sooner to discuss this. It's been more then 6 months now and I'm dieting (less than 1500 calories a day) and exercising about 4 times a week for 20-45 minutes as intensely as I can. This isn't normal and I'm panicking as I'm slowly inflating. I'm at my wit's end, to be honest. The worst part is that I'm constantly hungry and crave sweets more than usual. I'm also experiencing bad side effects but I can tell it's working on my symptoms other than weight gain so i don't want to stop the Metformin... UGH Link to post Share on other sites
almost alice Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I have to echo the talk to your doctor, but oddly enough I've taken metformin (I should technically still be on it) and it did the opposite in me. I had no appetite to the point that even thinking about eating would make me ill. I have heard of that side effect more than I have heard of increased hunger. Link to post Share on other sites
Skycaptain Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I have taken Metformin but am now off it. I was diagnosed T2 Diabetic but following weight loss I am now in remission. Firstly I agree with RobinL's statement, if in doubt see a doctor. What follows is not medical advise, but experience. White pasta and white rice are digested very quickly, producing a sugar spike. Wholegrain pasta and brown rice are digested much more slowly, and don't produce so much of a spike, which reduces your body's craving for more. Due to diet changes and the Metformin I shed 20Kg in 9 months. As an aside Metformin is shown to inhibit B-Vitamin adsorption, so having levels checked and ensuring you take foods rich in B vitamins or a dietary supplement may be prudent Link to post Share on other sites
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