I was so sick of taking pills while TTCing that by February when I was told I had to take a break because of a large cyst, I was not diligent about taking my Metformin. When I was 6 weeks pregnant and just found out I was pregnant my doctor said "You are taking your Metformin right?" When I told her I'd skipped a lot of doses she ordered me to get back on it ASAP and that I was at a higher rate now to miscarry (she was not being mean, just preparing me). On this website here http://www.ivf.com/pcostreat.htmlit does say, "Women with PCOS who conceive either spontaneously or after ovulation induction have a much higher risk of miscarriage. Liddell has shown that polycystic appearing ovaries (on ultrasound) are more frequently seen in women with recurrent pregnancy loss, the presence of PCO on ultrasound did not predict the outcome in subsequent pregnancies. AND We have initially noted that women who conceive following metformin, Actos or Avandia therapy have an unacceptably high (>30%) risk of miscarriage. Dr. Glueck notes similar increased risk of miscarriage following metformin therapy." Please follow that link to read the rest of the findings but this was very similar to what my doctor said.
Webmd has a GREAT article here http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/news/20020301/diabetes-drug-helps-prevent-miscarriage about Metformin helping decrease the rate of miscarriage. The article is from 2002 but the findings are fascinating to me. This part of the article really caught my attention, "Roughly 9% of the women who took the drug miscarried (six of 65), compared with 42% of women who did not (13 of 31). Among the women in each group who had a history of miscarriage, the rate of pregnancy loss was 11% for those receiving treatment and almost 60% for those not treated."
And we all know how hard it is to GET pregnant, I'm just hoping this information may help one of you stay pregnant and avoid a higher risk of miscarriage. I tried to research online if Metformin did not help with miscarriage and I could not find articles that said that, everything pointed back to how it does help.
I'm sure it would be difficult to talk about and is unlikely someone will respond, but I'd love to hear if someone has had a successful pregnancy while using Metformin during pregnancy after having a miscarriage while not using it. I hate to even write that, it's asking a lot but I'd really like to know everyones experiences.
Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteIn December 2005 my now husband and I started ttc. We started seriously ttc in June 2006. My doctor put me on metformin and amazingly we got pregnant with our son Luke that month. My family doctor was out of town when I took the at home test, and her secretary answered the phone and advised me to go to this ob practice that delivers at the hospital my fp practices at.
They had me do a family history/medications/information application online and it took about an hour to complete it was very long. I included that I was on metformin at the time of conception. I discontinued metformin because I had read that it was harmful while pregnant (I know now that's not true).
They never brought up the subject of metformin. I had issues of them canceling appointments, and one of the nurses couldn't even take a bp properly. My last regular visit with them all they did was do a weight and bp check. They were supposed to listen to the baby's heartbeat but didn't. It was then I asked shouldn't I be on metformin? One of my friends is a nurse and has pcos herself and told me she was on it while pregnant and that I should be too. Well if your doing well off of it I don't see a reason for it is what they told me.
About a week later I had been taking a nap and I woke up with a pain in my stomach and I didn't really pay it much mind because I was told by girlfriends that slight stomach pain was normal. But then I noticed slight bleeding and called my doctor's office. They told me to come in and they did an ultrasound.
They found a blood clot and a slight tear in my placenta. They said not to have sex, and to take it easy and they'd keep a closer watch on me.
My next appointment was in 3 weeks and they didn't have me schedule another appointment. I thought that was weird. So I did what they said I took it easy.
10 days later I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach and heavy bleeding. I called the doctor's office and they had me go to the er.
I was in so much pain I went to the closest one never dreaming of what would come next.
They did an ultrasound, and gave me morphine. The baby's heartbeat was at 96.
I was trasferred to a hospital with a high risk unit 40 miles away.
And 2 hours later I had our little boy Luke.
My high risk doctor asked if I was on metformin. He told me I should be and during my next pregnancy I should be.
My obs were a horror. Not long after I looked their practice online. Yahoo reviews (I think there are 4-6 all give them negative reviews except one) and several have similar stories. One review though is mine.
Hi.. I lost 2 pregnancies last year, one at 10 weeks and one at 13 weeks. After a lot of testing, I was put on metformin for multiple reasons, and today I am almost 18 weeks pregnant, with a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby boy!! If you have questions you can email me at emilydeee at hotmail.com. I hope this info helps: )
ReplyDeleteEmily, congratulations on 18 weeks!!! I'm so sorry you had to go through 2 losses though. I wish you a healthy and happy pregnancy!! By the way, is your doctor going to wean you off of Met at all or will you use it the entire time?
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