Stay with it! Keep informing your doctor that Metformin is the way to go. Share with him about being insulin resistant and that you need the metformin to get your insulin in check! That is how you will lose weight.

Don't feel alone. My first doctor knew nothing and I left disappointed.

Try looking into a diabetic diet. You may see some results that way. Also, I have never been on any meds for my pcos, and was able to help regulate a few different ways. I first tried b6 daily (100mgs) and that helped me. I was trying (and will again soon) to get preg and then tried vitex and maca root (natural supplements) and that helped regulate me as well. Birth control also really helps to control some of the symptoms as it deals with the hormone levels. Good luck to you.. And I agree.. go back in a few weeks and ask for metformin. Provide your own information. I would go so far as to print it off the APA site where they talk about treatments for pcos. :)
~~> http://www.americanpregnancy.org/womenshealth/pcos.htm

My doctor referred me to a dietician after trying naturopaths and other diets. Doc suggested Metformin but I want to try it drug free first. Diet wise, Low GI is the way to go and boost up on Omega 3 every day. Try to have fish at least 3 times a week on top of that. :) It has really helped me so far.

I struggle with losing weight with PCOS. Doc and Dietician told me I have to do at LEAST an hour exercise 7 days a week with PCOS just to maintain my health.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I will try every one of them becuz I am physically and emotionally drained from trying to deal with all my problems. I started working out everyday but I dont own a scale becuz of possible disappointment. I was suppose to see a dietician but havent gone yet. I only eat baked fish, turkey and chicken, no pork or beef and that was a personal switch. I eat right, vegetables fruits and low fat everything. Hopefully since I started exercising on a regular basis all of that will come together. Again thanks everyone. PCOSAngels I will be in contact.

I don't have insurance either and I looked at how much Metformin was going to cost me with my prescription card. I could not believe the price. That is part of the reason why I decided to go with natural supplements, diet and exercise.
A diabetic mixed with the Atkins diet is what my diet basically is. There are a lot of great books out for women who are looking to change their eating habits for the better with PCOS.
Exercise is important, and daily exercise too.
The supplements that I am taking are a B complex, Magnesium and a supplement program by Insulite Labs. Price out how much Metformin would end up costing you too and see if a natural path may not be cheaper for you as well.

Hi,

Doctors can be real jerks (I am in EMS so I have to deal with them daily!). I totally feel for you, I myself have had no end of issues with under educated providers who think the be - all and end - all is to lose weight .. not connecting that the insulin resistance is stopping you from losing weight.

Here is my advice from someone who spent months researching my own PCOS Dx. I am not a doctor.

Cut out industrial carbs. Bread, pasta, white and brown rice (not wild), crackers cookies etc. You don't have to go 'low carb' as such, eats all the fruit and yeg you like, the more the better even but stop eating food that is made in a plant rather than grown in a field.

By cutting out the processed carbs you will be helping the insulin resistance which of course has a positive domino effect.

Work out just a little. Walking or swimming is the best. Not a gym rat but just a little functioning exercise helps hugely.

Up your Omaga 3's and eat fish. If you eat a lot of meat from factory farms and neglect fish your Omaga 6 - 3 ratio will be off.

Eat fat, quality fat like coconut oil or avocado. Cut out fake food like margarine which is basically a plastic and toxic for a human body. If you eat a low fat diet you are compounding the problem. Traditional treatment for insulin resistance was a high fat diet - for a reason.

Avoid soy and BPA like the plague. Soy is insidious so it does take a little work to seek it out but it's so worth it to cut it out of your diet.

Magnesium. Loads of it. OTC capsules and even in an oil or a soak like epsions salts.

Have a little patience and love yourself through this process. Read, a lot for every source you can find. The misinformation regarding health and diet is astounding!

Good luck!

Great advice Solongago! How has this diet, exercise, lifestyle been working for you? How long have you known about your PCOS? Are you taking any supplements besides Omega's and Magnesium? I have been told by doctors that PCOS can cause anemia, are you taking anything to help your iron count?
How is your energy level? Working at such a fast pace job I know that energy is very important, what do you do to help keep your energy level up?

When I decided I was really really ready to try for a baby and not going to wait any longer I started really reading, everything from medical journals to super paranoid conspiracy theory blogs. The take home is that since WW1 when the push to produce more food for less money took off our diets have become increasingly 'fake' (for want of a better word) and processed. When the standard diet switched from being high fat and vegetable based to low fat and processed carb the corresponding change in peoples health was dramatically negative.

I am simplifying a more complex situation but that's it in a nut shell. Our diet is pretty much killing us in various different ways .. even when we are doing our damnest to follow all the recommendations but yet we get sicker.

I started following the Primal Blueprint after doing a lot of research, at least 8 months of reading late last July because it seemed like it was a "diet" that would work for me. Since then I have lost 104 lbs pretty effortlessly (aside from avoiding Soy which is the most insidious ingredient known to man. It's even in gum for heavens sake!

After almost 10 years of never having a period they are back and I am ovulating again although sadly, not very regularly. My energy level is through the roof. I am sleeping better and I am way less moody. I am still anemic which strangely hasn't changed even with the increased meat intake. My A1C is way down. My cholesterol hasn't changed but my 'bad' cholesterol was low / good to begin with so I not worried about that anyway. All in all I feel an awful lot better and I wish I had tried this 15 years ago rather than doing the 1200 calorie / low fat / complex carb standard diet and wondering why I was constantly gaining weight even though I was working out like a mad thing.

I take mag, calcium, Vitamin B, D and E, cranberry and folic acid. I am trying Maca powder smoothies just now but nothing to report yet! I rarely use caffeine but really I don't need anything else to keep my energy up, I am pretty good day to day with just eating 50% fat / 30% protein and 20% carbs (from fruit, veg and dairy only) I do have to confess I do enjoy high quality dark chocolate and a bowl of ice cream from time to time too!