METFORMIN - Continue or Not during Pregnancy

Barbies

I used to take Metformin too for insulin resistance for about 2 months until I got pregnant. I went to India in December when I was about 3 weeks pregnant, just conceived I guess (I did not know I was pregnant until I came back) and continued Metformin though I was not taking it regularly because of the hectic time in India. I realized I was pregnant only after I came back which was around the 8th week and my gynae asked me to stop taking metformin immediately after she confirmed pregnancy.

I had the first sugar test around the 12th week and I was fine. I am due for the second test, the one between 24 and 28 weeks now. I am currently 25 weeks and 5 days long. Hope this helps.

I found this link, pay attention to the last line on the article. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/515581

Of course, discuss this with the doctor again. They know best! All the best and congratulations. Welcome to the club :cheers

 

You're welcome Barbies

Wow! It does ask for a username and password! I actually just googled the phrase "Metformin during pregnancy" and the second link that came up was the article. It doesn't ask for a username/pwd when you click on the link from google. You might want to try doing that. Let me know if that worked.

 

hi,

i too continued metformin during pregnancy..checked with doc everytime i met her..she asked to continue for if i remember upto 5 - 6 months..

 

Even my DR in US asked me to stop METFORMIN about 10 or 11 weeks.I never checked with Indian DR.So I stopped for two of my pregnencies.

 

For pcos and pre-diabetes existing prior to pregnancy, I was on metformin. They kept me on metformin till end of 1st trimester, after which i was put on an insulin type pill called glyburide. I think this is the standard treatment in usa - metformin for 1st trimester, insulin shots or pills after that.

did fine on the medicines, except that due to gestational diabetes, my son was born with low blood sugars and was in nicu for few days. now he's hale and hearty(thank god) at 21 months.

I would advise you to ask your doctor to check your blood sugar levels before stopping the metformin. If the sugars, especially the fasting blood sugar is high, you will need to replace the metformin with something else to prevent any damage to the baby. If the sugars are fine, it is ok to continue without the metformin until the 2nd trimester end when they check the GTT is performed.

Invest in a home blood sugar monitor(ask doc to write the prescription for the test strips), and monitor sugars at home to make sure they are ok. I was also sent to a program called "sweet success" in which you meet with a dietician weekly to go over your diet and sugar numbers. this ensures a safe and healthy pregnancy and baby.

 

Pooja

Was the glyburide prescribed because you tested positive for gestational diabetes? I had one test in the first trimester, right around 10 weeks I think and it turned out fine. i am now due for my second one which I plan to get done tomorrow. Do you know what are the chances that a person would test positive for it at 28 weeks and negative in the first one?

Glad to note that the little one is doing fine now

Barbies, sorry for butting into your thread and asking a question :hide: I hope you don't mind.

 

yep ... well see I had pcos and insulin resistance so was on metformin already before getting pregnant. because of the preexisting insulin resistance they knew my blood sugars would be high during pregnancy as all hormones including insulin go up in pregnancy. so I was on metformin for that. at the end of the 1st trimester, they transfer you to insulin becuase of 2 reasons - one there are not enough studies to stufy effects of metformin after 1st trimester and 2nd, metformin by itself is sometimes not enough to control blood sugars in the 2nd trimester as much as it does in the 1st (insulin levels rise higher in 2nd trimester than in 1st). so for people like me, there has to be a switch to more effective medicine.

i dont' know what will happen in your case but good luck to you!