Hi All,
I'm new to IF (well, at least officially -- I've suspected for quite some time), and new to these boards. Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere....

I'll be starting Metformin later this week. I've read and been told about its various side effects.

My question -- if I start South Beach at the same time is it a good or bad idea? Might it make the side effects (bathroom issues in particular) worse? I think both South Beach (initial Phase I during the 2 week strict part) and Metformin are both trying to deal with insulin resistance.

Is anyone out there doing BOTH the South Beach diet and Metformin? Any suggestions? Any pitfalls? Should I get through Phase I before starting the Metformin?

Cheers,
-Tia

this may be TMI but diareaha (sp) when I first started metformin it did it to me pretty bad, but now i've lowerd my carbs and sugar and take metformin and its not so bad, but with metformin and carbs I'd have to run to the RR! But good luck with that!
Melissa :hismilie:

Tia

I dont know much about metaformin. But phase 1 of south beach can cause consitpation. So one might dismiss the other. On SB were suppose to take fibercon. You may not want to do that till you see how the metaformin reacts.

Good Luck.

hi, I am in my second week on Metformin. I was doing 250 last week and up to 500 this week. I have not had the diarhea yet but if i eat anything with processed sugar( cake, chips, cookies, you know all that yummy stuff) or high in carbs like a baked pototo i feel absolutely horrid and have stomach cramps and feel like i am going to have diarhea. I am trying to do low carbing- under 100 and some days even under 50. I feel much better the days i do low carbing. Have not tried the south beach as i find i lose weight really easy doing Atkins type approach while with any other diet i feel like i am pounding my head agains t the wall!!

Dx PCOD July 05
ttc#2 2yrs
1 IUI July BFN :cry:

Thanks all for the info. I think I'm going to give the combination a go.... I've done WW in the past, and it seems that other than NOT eating fruit (which I find a bit odd) SB fits in well with WW approach.

The odd thing in this case is that it's my DH who wanted to do SB (he did it last year briefly with great success), and he's slow to start this time around. It's always "we're going to start on Monday" or "we'll start tomorrow...." I finally gave up and started without him!

Perhaps it's my clock ticking.... so I have more motivation this time?

Or maybe I'm just psyched to have something else (weight rather than IF) to focus on?

Cheers,
--Tia

Tia

With SB its only the first 2 weeks there is no fruit. In phase 2 fruit is slowly added back.

I like SB but do find it can be very restrivtive. So I am doing a combo of SB and my own. Just cutting calories and trying to make the best choices I can. Easier said than done.lol

Thanks Denise -- I know what you mean! I know you can add the fruit back in after Phase I, it just seems a bit odd in the meantime. I'm about a week into SB, so far so good. Only feel a little restricted (although not helpful when DH picks an unhelpful restaurant for lunch, and then wolfs down the whole bread basket, with a wink saying, now you won't be tempted!)

I took my first met last night (500mg XR -- eventually working upto 1500mg XR). Also so far so good.

Keep you fingers crossed for me! I'll take slow and steady weight gain, even some plateaus (sp?) if I can skip or minimize some of the icky met side effects. :-)

-Tia

I have been doing a combination of SB/Atkins (SB recipes stage 1/Atkins foods if that makes sense ) for about 4 weeks now with 2000 mg of Met XR and am down about 17 pounds so far. I have taken met for almost 6 years. As far as the side effects go, hang in there, it doesn't last long. The XR is much easier with the side effects. I found that drinking a LOT of water helps tremendously as I got a metallic taste in my mouth. You'll start to feel a lot better on the met, I know I did and this month I got AF without any drugs other than met, so something is working. I hope you have success on the met, and good luck!

I take Metformin and I have to watch my carbs because I am pre-diabetic. The Metformin was prescribed for my PCOS before my blood sugar got high. Oddly I hadnt had sugar in some time, since I was trying to lose weight. I learned though to watch the number of carbs during a meal and to make better choices. I wont give up fruit and good things in order to go no-carb, but I am more aware of the carbs I do eat now.

I bought this pocket size calorie and carb counter book to keep around. It made me aware of what I was eating and that helpd a great deal.

If you have PCOS and are insulin resistant, I think its a good idea to watch what carbs you do eat. I actually felt better and had more energy when I cut back on them.

Thanks for the info. I agree whole heartedly. I've been doing SB (which indirectly means I watch what I eat) and so far so good. I'm slowly building up on Met in parallel, and so far no terrible side effects. I think in large part it's because although I'm eating carbs, it's not many, and (mostly) the good ones. Thanks All! -Tia