Mmmmm...sleep good

Warm and cozy bed, originally uploaded by Kodamakitty.

To begin bringing down my blood sugar levels, my doctor prescribed metformin, also known as Glucophage. Apparently, one of the most common causes of PCOS is high levels of insulin reducing the amount of estrogen and progesterone in the system and prohibiting ovulation. Also, half of the women diagnosed with PCOS are overweight. One of the benefits of metformin is that women who take it often lose weight, which has been my experience so far (mostly water weight, but at least its moving!)

I started my first dose almost two weeks ago and had sufficiently recovered enough to up my dose a few days early so I could adjust over the weekend. Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea and upset stomach, which is really not something I want to have to deal with when I have appointments every half hour on the half hour.

The funny thing about lists of side effects is that is very easy to become a hypochondriac and identify with every symptom. On the other hand, I don't want to discount a reaction if it means something is seriously wrong. I know I'm on a serious medication, so I am trying to be observant. For now, none of my symptoms have lasted longer than a few days or been uncomfortable to the point of being unbearable, so I am pushing onward.

My first week, I had some stomach rumblings and I was in the bathroom pretty soon after taking the pill, but nothing terribly awful. There was a day that week (roughly two or three days later) I stayed home to work on e-mail and slept almost the entire day. Clearly, I will need to plan for a day like that each time I up the dosage (ultimately, I'm supposed to take four doses a day).

I moved up to two doses last week Friday and wound up straining something in my right shoulder blade area. I was working on getting through a lot of e-mail and didn't move from my desk for a long time. It felt like a nerve pinch and I'm still a bit tender, though now it's moved to the front of my rib cage. And of course, since it's now two to three days since I began the increased dose, I'm feeling pretty sleepy (or at least sleepy enough that whenever I lay down, I fall asleep).

To make matters worse, there was quite a bit of snow around here yesterday, so my sinuses are also draining, which makes me sleepy as well.

Why the concern about sleep and shoulder strain? I have to make sure I'm not exhibiting Lactic Acidosis, a very rare reaction that occurs in about 1 out of 33,000 people taking metformin.

Symptoms include:
• feeling very weak, tired, or uncomfortable
• unusual muscle pain
• trouble breathing
• unusual or unexpected stomach discomfort
• feeling cold
• feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• suddenly developing a slow or irregular heartbeat
source: Diabetes Monitor.com

It will be interesting to see what happens when I increase to three pills two weeks from now. I want to be able to stick with this medication, especially since it seems to be working, but I promise that if this pain persists, I'll contact my doctor.