I had my appointment with the Reproductive Endocrinologist yesterday. My mom went with me, because she’s been through this all before, and Paul can’t take a lot of time off work right now (and he wouldn’t have been much help anyways). The RE was great; she was very nice and listened to my questions. Her big thing was that I need to lose weight, at least 10%, but she was sure to say how she knew it was difficult because of the insulin resistance. She asked if I was interested in metformin despite the side effects (diarrhea, loss of appetite, indigestion), and I said yes. So she prescribed that, which I started this morning. I am to start with one pill in the morning for 5 days, then add a second pill in the evenings for another 5-7 days, then a 3rd pill if I can tolerate it. I’ll let you know how it goes. She also wants me to get bloodwork done in about 6 weeks to check my liver and kidney function, because a serious side effect is lactic acidosis.
Step 2 is that she referred me to a nutritionist who specializes in diabetes, PCOS, and insulin resistance. I need to find out tonight if my insurance will cover it, but I think I’ll go at least once to see what she has to say, even if I have to pay for it myself. I’m sure she’ll tell me to cut out refined carbs, and eat a lot more whole grains, fruits, and veggies. I love refined carbs. I mean, if my husband hadn’t come along when he had, I might have MARRIED refined carbs. I’m eating chocolate covered pretzels as I write this. It will be sad, so very sad.
Another suggestion she had was gastric bypass surgery. She encouraged me to do some research on it and think about it. My first instinct is no. I mean, I’ve thought about it before. I’m sure anyone who’s even slightly overweight has thought about it. But I know that it’s no easier (probably even harder) than “traditional” weight loss, and there are the risks, plus I’d be so afraid that I’d lose all the weight only to gain it all back again in a couple years. Also, she told me that it’s about a 6 month process before the surgery (counseling, dieting, etc), and then they recommend people wait at least a year, preferably two, before trying to conceive. That would mean I would be 30 before we could even TTC, which is heartbreaking to me, to not even have a chance until then.
So my plan is to take the metformin unless it kills me, and try desperately to eat better and exercise some more. Wish me luck.
