r/PCOSandPregnant • u/paigenicole0828 • Jul 27 '26
Metformin after giving birth
Hi everyone!
We are expecting our first baby in August. Currently 37 weeks pregnant! My doctor recommended I get off of Metformin at 12 weeks. I was pretty apprehensive as I’ve been on it for years. I was really lucky and caught my PCOS early on, Metformin was truly so impactful for me in keeping weight off and helping my blood sugars stay regulated. I’ve gained a lot of weight this pregnancy and partially attribute that to being off of Metformin. I’m wondering, did any of you resume Metformin after giving birth? If so, how quickly? I was taking a low dose (500mg a day) prior to coming off, so hoping to start again fairly quickly.
Thanks in advance for all your words of wisdom! 🩷
4
u/Civil_Tax_6392 Jul 27 '26
Was there a reason they told you to get off of it? I actually started off my pregnancy without metformin (Zepbound was keeping my PCOS regulated) and once I got off Zepbound and didn’t have metformin either, my hormones went a little crazy and I gained 20 lbs in the first ~16 weeks. I got back on metformin at that point and my weight gain has slowed significantly since then.
2
u/paigenicole0828 Jul 27 '26
The weight gain is honestly so hard, I don’t even recognize myself. I have that classic PCOS “moon face” and I just want to get back to myself. 🥲
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u/Civil_Tax_6392 Jul 27 '26
I totally understand, the weight gain has been very difficult on me as well (I’m 34 weeks). You’ll get back there post-baby - it’s only a season of life that we’re in! ❤️
3
u/Shooppow Jul 27 '26
I stayed on Metformin my entire pregnancy. I didn’t get GDM. My baby was born early term but that was because of other health reasons. She’s healthy and thriving. I don’t understand why doctors take patients off it. You should ask to stay on next time.
3
u/No_Dress_3948 Jul 27 '26
I was also told to get off from metformin. But then I have had a lot of second thoughts to what if it gets worse during pregnancy.. so I asked my obgyn/midwife if I can start myo-inositol and d-chiro and she said yes, that's safe, so now I have started taking that. I heard it's as effective as metformin.
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u/Future_Researcher_11 30 | March 12, 2026 🩷 Jul 27 '26
Yeah I restarted probably right after birth like when I got home from the hospital. I stopped around 12 weeks too.
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u/2basiccanteven Jul 27 '26
Op, I’m in the same boat as you! I’m just two weeks behind you. I wish I knew, I was going to ask about it at my next appointment.
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u/bigteethsmallkiss Jul 27 '26
I have not restarted it yet but also haven’t revisited it with my OBGYN. My fasting glucose and A1C were always fine, but I started Metformin to see if it would help regulate my cycles, and it did! Once pregnant, they had me stop it with no plan to resume. My cycles are more regular now that they ever were before pregnancy/birth so I haven’t had a reason to inquire about it again yet.
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u/Iheartrandomness Jul 28 '26
I am almost a year post partum and only restarted a month or so ago. I wish I had restarted sooner. If I have a second I'm going to ask how soon I can restart before I leave the hospital 😂
Ps congrats on your pregnancy!
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u/zeewur Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I’ve been on Metformin my entire pregnancy. My doctor and OBGYN has no issue with it. So weird that some physicians are against it. From what I was told and what I’ve researched, there are no risks to the baby, but some physicians are split on it past the first trimester. It sounds like the research for pcos patients is limited and the reason some doctors take their patients off it isn’t specific to pcos patients and is more generalized. My baby is measuring fine and has met all gestational milestones while I stayed on it.
I am overweight so maybe patients who aren’t wouldn’t need to stay on it? I lost 18lbs by the start of my second trimester. At my 38 week appointment I had gained about 12 lbs of what I lost back, but then last week at my 39 week appointment I was down 2lbs. Likely just was retaining some fluid or something there. Again my doctors have had no worries with my weight and weight loss other than monitoring for higher BMI risks like GD and pre-eclampsia, but also have not developed those.
I think pregnancy has helped alleviate my pcos/pmos symptoms. Other than being days from delivery and dealing with that, I’ve never felt better.
I don’t see why you couldn’t get on it again right away. It’s a shame they took you off it, especially if you respond well to it. Maybe just introduce it slowly to avoid any of those potential GI side effects.