Hey, everybody. Welcome to my channel. I'm Dr. Perkins, a board certified OB-GYN. And today, we're talking about how to lose weight with PCOS and metformin. Now, let's talk about, what is metformin, why is it prescribed, how to effectively use metformin on your weight loss journey. Important lifestyle changes that may help you in your weight loss journey, and important lifestyle changes that may help you lose weight. So, let's start by talking about metformin. Metformin is a medication that is prescribed and usually it is given to people with type 2 diabetes. Now, it is also used for those with polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS. For those with PCOS, metformin helps to regulate your insulin sensitivity. For those with PCOS, metformin is known to help to reduce or improve insulin resistance. Whenever we regulate how insulin is used by the body, we're able to improve weight loss. We're able to improve our glucose levels. And therefore we become much more hormonally stable. Metformin is therefore prescribed to those with PCOS for several reasons. Number one is to reduce the risk of insulin resistance. This again means that it will help your body use its internal insulin much more effectively than before. Metformin is also known to help to reduce androgen levels. Androgens are male hormones that in those with PCOS tend to be higher than those without. Androgens can cause you to have excessive hair growth, have problems with acne. You can have hair thinning due to androgens, as well as other changes. And so, taking metformin will help to reduce all of those symptoms that are linked with androgens. If you have insulin resistance, it can be a true challenge to lose weight. Taking metformin helps with that. It helps to support your weight loss journey. And many actually will see the benefits after a short period of starting metformin. A systemic review and meta analysis published in the journal Obstetrics Gynecology in 2014 examined the effects of metformin on weight loss in women with PCOS. This study showed that on average, woman who received metformin lost approximately three and a half to five pounds more weight than those who did not receive metformin. So, now we know that metformin really truly works. Now, how do you take it? Know that metformin is given in increments of 500 milligrams. And usually providers will start on the lower end. Meaning we'll give you only 500 milligrams and you'll start that once daily. And eventually as you become accustomed to taking the medication will increase that dosage until we get to a point of which we see the effects of the medication without much side effects from the medication. It is important that you take metformin with your meals. This is important because metformin can cause quite a bit of digestive issues, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhea, as well as vomiting. And so, to reduce those symptoms, it's important that you take it with a meal. That's in the morning and at night. Regardless of your dosage. It is also important that you take metformin on schedule. Most medications have to get to a level of what is called therapeutic effect. This means that the amount of active ingredients in your blood, we would rather be pretty consistent and steady over time. If you're taking a medication every 24 hours, for instance, we want you to take that medicine at the first hour of the day, every single day. We really want you to take that medication at the 12th hour or the end of that 12 hour period. If we delay taking that medication, it means that the therapeutic level drops. That means the amount of active ingredient in your body drops below what is needed to be therapeutic. With that, it is very challenging for your body to maintain the effects of what it's doing if your levels drop really low. And so, to maintain normal levels, it's important that you take that medicine at the same increment every single day. And metformin is no different. Lastly, it's very important that you hydrate very well when using metformin. If not, then your kidneys may have a difficult time processing things the way it normally should. Now, while metformin can really jumpstart your weight loss journey, it is best for you to use this in addition to lifestyle changes. Those changes include eating well balanced meals, exercising regularly. It means decreasing your stress load and sleeping more than you probably normally do, as well as hydrating and applying so many other hormonally effective strategies. While it is important to monitor your diet and track your progress in this journey to losing weight. It is also important that we seek help and support when we need that. And this may come in the form of talking with a dietitian for instance. Believe it or not, research has shown that whenever we are supported by others that help us to be accountable on our journey, we tend to be more successful. And dietitians registered dietitians may help with that. They help to break down the foods that you're eating. They help to guide you with the foods that you should eat, as well as helping you to understand foods in and out so that you know how to make that decision regarding what to eat and what not to eat without necessarily being on a strict diet plan. If you are concerned about your journey and you need a little bit of an assistance, I do have a seven day challenge helping you to jumpstart your journey to losing weight while taking metformin and with PCOS. In addition to that, I have a free gift. I like to think of this as a bonus right on top, wherein you can examine your lifestyle a little bit closer to see what else can you do to help become more hormonally stable. If you're interested in this, click the link in the description below, and I'll send that to you free. And you can take that quiz today. Thank you so much for listening and thank you so much for being here, a part of our platform and a part of our transformative journey. I'm Dr. Perkins, and it's a pleasure to share these strategies with you today.