glucophage and pregnancy

So, it happened that I got pregnant while on glucophage even though my doctor told me not to. I want to keep the baby, so I don’t know if I should stop immediately concerning I am in the 2nd month ( just found out, always had irregular periods). I have my appointment next week, so I don’t know what to do until then.

You probably know that you shouldn’t be taking it during pregnancy, however it is important to keep your blood sugar levels normal, and I suppose the doc will give you some insulin injection once you see him, so I can’t figure out if you should stop with the drug immediately. You know what, maybe you should call the clinic and ask for the advice before you see your doctor. I think that would be the best thing to do. Good luck!

I was prescribed Glyciphage(metforming) and was having PCOD. Fortunately i concieved and now 8weeks pregnent.

when i consulted doctor for the first time he asked me to stop taking glyciphage but due to some reason i need to see another doctor in other city and she asked me to countinue with this medicine..

so now i m confused.. can anyone help me out ??? shall i counitnue with glyciphage during my pregnancy or not??

I wouldnt worry. I was recently prescribed glucophage for PCOS with a history of recurring misscarriage. I have been told that when I get pregnant I will stay on the medication until the end of the 1st trimester. Some studies show a 40% decrease in miscarriage when using glucophage, & no birth defect have been shown

Hope this helps!

i know that this is after the fact, but maybe this will help someone else in our position. if you are on glucophage when you get pregnant you are supposed to take it for the 1st 12 weeks of pregnancy. glucophage lowers your risk of miscarriage ECSPECIALLY if your periods are irregular and you don't think you can concieve. i have been here. i have irregular periods and was taking glucophage for diabetes and pcos, because my periods became regular and i got pregnant. i went to my primary doctor (1st mistake) and he took me off of glucophage and put me on insulin shots. he is a primary doctor, he should't have changed anything, anyways i started spotting a couple of days later. i had made an appointment with a baby doctor and told them i was diabetic. they should have seen me that week, but they made my appointment for 4 weeks later because any earlier they really wouldn't be able to tell how far along i was (2nd mistake). i called to let them know i was spotting and they said it was normal. by the time i went to a second baby doctor it was too late, they said i should have been seen the week i called ecspecially since i was diabetic, and when i called and told the 1st doctor that i was spotting they should have seen me and gave me prometrium to try to stop the bleeding. she also told me that i should have never gone off the glucophage because it lowers risk of miscarriage. so get a second opinion and get it quick. go to a specialist. make 2 appointments with 2 different doctors and see what they have to say about it. if they make you wait for an appointment i wouldn't even waste my time, you need to be seen asap. i really hope this helps someone down the road! peace everyone!

This is a long post but I hope it helps. I have PCOS and have been on glucophage for about 8 years. I take the highest dosage available now and am now pregnant with number 4. I had tried for years to get pg before being on it. I was told with my first two pg's to stay on it for the first trimester, as it will help prevent miscarriage, then to stop, which is what I did. With my third their had been a few more studies and my midwife recommended to go off but said it was up to me if I wanted to stay on since the info is kind of up in the air about it's effects on the baby. I ran out about the end of my first tri. so I just went ahead and went off. All 3 of my babies were perfect. But I did have extreme weight gain my first pregnancy and a lot of weight gain with my other two. I had to watch my diet and activity level very closely. THen you have to face the months and years of trying to lose all that weight again each time. Which isn't good for your heart or your psychy. Then afterwards when I went back on I had to increase my dosage each time, since my body had changed. I'm now at the point where I can't increase it and it was feeling like I need to again, right before I got pg. (irregular periods, increased weight issues, cyst pain, fatigue etc. which had gone away on the meds) So with this pg I'm planning to stay on the meds. I might reduce the dosage, but since I can't find anything about any negative effects, I want to keep my body in the most level, well-working, healthy condition possible and that seems to be when it's on the meds. I haven't been in to the DR. yet (2mos)so we'll see what they think. I would say get some different opinions and do your research then make up your own mind. I think it depends whether your on gluco. for diabetes or pcos and what kind of effect the med. has on you. My body is screwy and I am much healthier on the meds and a low-carb diet. So that's what I'm doing.

Hi Lynne9576 and Guest.... it was good to read your storys.... I have PCOS and am on glucophage.... i have had 2 Miscarraiges this year... the first at 5 weeks and the 2nd at 10weeks... When i found out i was PG on the first one I was taking xenical and glucophage and I stopped them and a couple days later i miscarried, went to my PCOS Doc and was told to come off the xenical as that might have cause the MC, so when i got PG on the next one i stopped taking the glucophage after been told by the chemist and checking with my GP....I stopped at 5weeks.... I had an early scan privately at 6 weeks and saw my babys heartbeat and when i went for my first hospital scan at 10 weeks the babys heart had stopped earlier that day.... I was so upset that it was happening again... since the MC I have been researching taking my med while pregnant and everything is saying i should have stayed on it.... I went to see my PCOS doc and they wanted me to restart taking it and are happy for me to take it while pg but they want my doc at the maternity hospital to approve it too, so I made an appointment to see him and his secretary told me that she thinks I will be on it for the 1st 3 months.... have to wait until nov to see him unless i get PG before and I can ring him to ask.....

Lynne9756 .... how long in each pregnancy have you taken it for???

hi,an trying since 6 months but no + result,my doc advice me to take glyciphage 500 mg 3 times a day ,does it works to someone?was there any side effect after conceiving as i heard taking medicine is harmful for fetus..plz... rply

hi iv been on metformin 5 years for pcos, i found out i was pregnant after only being on it 1 month so i called the doc who told me to stop there and then, with in 28 hours started to miscarrie 6 months later still on metformin found out i was preg again same thing doc told me to stop so i did same again with in 2/3 days misscarried again 2 years later found out i was preg again and decided il stey on met and see what happens sure enough i had a healthy boy i did reduce the metformin from 1500 mg a day to 500mg towards 25th week but not before. iv just found out im about 4 weeks preg with my second child and il be doing the same and stay on the metformin can those who find this helps let me know good luck every one xx

hey guyes.. You are giving me some hope.. I have been on Povera and Clomid for 2 mo and I have not ovulted. My Dr has now put me on Provera, Clomid and meformin too.. My Dr told me that if this didn't work then there was nothing elce that he can do.. Thank you guyes for the hope..

I am currently 7 weeks pregnant and have PCOS. I have been taking Metformin for 7 months prior to conceiving. They started me on 500 mg a day and now I am up to 850 mg every 12 hours. I am happy to say we conceived while I was on Metformin and Fomara. My Dr is wonderful and has advised me to stay on the Metformin until week 10 and then he is going to re access. Personally, this drug has done wonders for my weight, skin, and hair. I can only imagine it is helping to sustain my pregnancy. And he also has me on prometrium due to low progestrone levels. I wish the best to all of you, and I am definitely going to stay on Metformin.

This is a great post. Thank everyone who has contributed. After 4 miscarriages last year, I decided that 'leaving it to luck' just wasn't going to happen. I saw a reproductive specialist this week and from my blood work, she started me on glucophage. I had my first baby, naturally, at 40, so I thought it would be easy to have another...I was wrong. So, I have high hopes now that I've read your posts. Thanks again.

Audey, I'm not sure what doctor type you are seeing, but your OBGYN probably knows little to nil about PCOS much less how to treat it. If they say they do, they are probably not telling a whole truth.

You should be seeing a RE (reproductive endocrinologist) or if it turns out you are or wind up not being pregnant, I'd say see just a regular endocrinologist to start with. They can do an entire bloodwork on you and tell you more about PCOS, possibly put you on metformin and see how your blood work progresses. I went into one and did this and just being on Metformin for 3 months, to compare the numbers on my progesterone levels- which were literally 1.1 on the first test to 7.5 3 months later is a huge difference. Also, my testosterone levels lowered considerably and I also lost 11 pounds from my first visit.

I found out today I am pregnant. Early early pregnant, but it did happen. I suspected it because we had unprotected sex right around ovulation, so I had my progesterone checked and a pg blood test at the same time.

Please pray this sticks and stays. We had a miscarriage (not on metformin then) back in Aug 2007, so I am hoping God will afford us this chance again to term.

Best of luck to you all.

This has been one of the most helpful sites I've come across regarding PCOS. My twin and I are 37 and she has also recently been diagnosed with PCOS....I was diagnosed years earlier during fertility treatments, with no luck of pregnancy. I was prescribed Glucophage, but after all the painful side affects from fertility treatments I became burned-out with the painful tummy upsets of the Glucophage. My twin and I are going to tag-team the Glucophage treatements togther and see what luck we have.

~ Good Luck to everyone and thanks for posting all of your experiences...even the sad ones. So sorry it took miscarrages to discover to stay on the meds .

Guest wrote:

Audey, I'm not sure what doctor type you are seeing, but your OBGYN probably knows little to nil about PCOS much less how to treat it. If they say they do, they are probably not telling a whole truth. You should be seeing a RE (reproductive endocrinologist) or if it turns out you are or wind up not being pregnant, I'd say see just a regular endocrinologist to start with. They can do an entire bloodwork on you and tell you more about PCOS, possibly put you on metformin and see how your blood work progresses. I went into one and did this and just being on Metformin for 3 months, to compare the numbers on my progesterone levels- which were literally 1.1 on the first test to 7.5 3 months later is a huge difference. Also, my testosterone levels lowered considerably and I also lost 11 pounds from my first visit. I found out today I am pregnant. Early early pregnant, but it did happen. I suspected it because we had unprotected sex right around ovulation, so I had my progesterone checked and a pg blood test at the same time. Please pray this sticks and stays. We had a miscarriage (not on metformin then) back in Aug 2007, so I am hoping God will afford us this chance again to term. Best of luck to you all.

I am new on this forum. I too have Pcos like all of you and am on Glucophage 800mg XL. I could not tolerate the generic Metaformin. My endocrinologist is the leading researcher on PCO and Metaformin. I got pregnant after being on glucophage for 4 months. I am 11 weeks pregnant. My dilema is same as all of you..should I continue with the medicine which is what my endocrinilogist wants or should I stop as I belive that all the medicenes have some kind of negative side effects.