I'm mad as hell....

... and I'm not going to take it anymore!
Literally.

Metformin.
It and I are done. No more. I can't take it anymore. Figuratively and literally.

After my nurse told me to lay off for a week and then restart, I thought, "Alright, maybe this go around will be better."

So, I started taking the pills, again.
I got through the first week alright, again.
I upped the dosage, again.
I did ok until it was near time to up the dosage, again.
Five-ish days into taking two pills, my digestive everything exploded, AGAIN.

I am not pleased....... again.

The Purge

For those of you with weak stomachs, you may not want to read any further.
The following describes graphic pain and wastes of grossness.
Instead I give you this:




Still here?
Alright, for those of you that have a masochistic side, here we go!

Last night started out alright. I had supper, which was two burritos and some fruit and metformin (as it needs to be taken with food).
Then went to study.
When finished, I took the rest of my meds, has some rice, beans and chicken and went to stay at a friend's place, since my bathroom is currently on the fritz.

Around 3 a.m., I awoke with a sharp stabbing pain in my stomach again.
Great, I thought, more pain.
This, however, wouldn't be a reoccurrence of the other night; this would be different. This would be hours long.

In a violent rhapsody of wails, pleading and tears, everything that I had eaten that day was expelled in any and every way possible. For two and a half hours...

At one point, I was puking so hard, I nearly crapped my pants.
Seriously.

I finally got my doctor's nurse on the phone, and after a few back and forths, she suggested I stop for a week, then take one for a week and see how it goes from there...

I'm not exactly pleased with this...

Medication and me

Or, the mysterious case of the sick Rose...


According to Wikipedia, and bolded for importance: Metformin is the most popular anti-diabetic drug in the United States and one of the most prescribed drugs in the country overall, with nearly 35 million prescriptions filled in 2006 for generic metformin alone. It is also used in
the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome.
When prescribed appropriately, metformin causes few adverse effects-the most
common is gastrointestinal upset-
The most common adverse effect of metformin is gastrointestinal upset, including diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting and increased flatulence; metformin is more commonly associated with gastrointestinal side effects than most other anti-diabetic drugs.
Gastrointestinal upset can cause severe discomfort for patients; it is most common when metformin is first administered, or when the dose is increased. The discomfort can often be avoided by beginning at a low dose (1 to 1.7 grams per day) and increasing the dose gradually. Gastrointestinal upset after prolonged, steady use is less common.

Lies!

I expected and received the common side effects, making me incredibly attractive to be around. :P

However, I didn't expect the severe gastro-whosy-whats-it.

I had been getting long periods of nausea, and had already called my doctor about this; whom hasn't returned my call.. >:(

Sunday, I went to work feeling a bit nauseous, as had become the usual every few days or so. Didn't pay it too much mind throughout the day.
It stuck with me after I got off work and made pasta for supper and the nausea seemed to calm down a bit.
Until, a little after 9 p.m., the nausea was accompanied by pain.
Thinking that it would soon pass, I sat back and tried to relax as much as possible. The pain began to come in waves; so I took deep breaths, as this always works to make me feel better.

Yet, every second that ticked by, the pain got worse and worse.
I tried to focus on the MMO I was playing, to distract myself.
Yet, the pain kept coming on. It got to where I couldn't speak.

I hadn't felt this kind of pain in years and was terrified. I was thinking that my old pains were back! I had to get to the ER.
My ability to even stand was gone.

I was crawling around, gathering up my medications (which is something you should bring with you when visiting a doctor of any sort) and realized: if I can't walk... there's no way I'm going to be able to drive!

To stave off ambulance fees, I called a friend to act as driver.
Yet, instead of taking me to the ER, he took me back to his and forced me to lay down and take my meds.

When the pain had lessened and I was a bit more coherent, he reminded me that since stomach pains are such a nebulous symptom, chances are that the nurse/doctor would just give me some medication to sleep it off.
And that's what I did.

I have yet to find out what it is that's making the medicine mess with me.

I've heard two accounts of others taking the medicine: no problems with one and just nausea with the other.

If pain like that is anything like having birth/contractions, you can take that to someone else! I'll have none of that!

Is this how it's going to be?

It's the pills really....
When my endo doctor told me that I would finally be able to lose weight.... and that all I would have to do is take my meds and follow his advice, I thought, "piece of cake."

Well.... it's a piece of painful cake. Painful, nauseous, exhausted cake.
My new medication listed side effects such as stomach upset, nausea and gas.

How attractive. :/

However, I took this in stride; expecting the first week to be a bit worrisome and for it to stave off as the weeks go by.
This medication is extremely strong, so the doctor prescribed that I take one daily for a week, two daily for a week and finally three daily after that.

The first week went by with no problems. In fact, the meds make me sleepy and coupled with the other meds that also make me sleepy, I wasn't having trouble getting to sleep..... well, more like I would fall into a sort of catatonic state which leads to sleep, but the end result is sleep and that's what matters.

The gas started up at the end of the first week/beginning of the second week. However, I didn't have any meeting this week, so it was quite easy to slip off to the ladies room/outside for less embarrassment.

Two days before I was to begin taking three daily, I woke up completely nauseous. I assumed I was hungry, as I can get sick from going too long without eating. Yet, the act of getting out of bed was a trial. I almost called in sick. For the rest of the day, I was batting back and forth between stomach being pissy and keeping myself close to the ladies room incase my breakfast of lukewarm Cream of Wheat was rejected.
What meals I choked down that day were gooey and soft: Cream of Wheat..... I don't even remember anything else....
I went to sleep hoping that my stomach would be kind the following day.
The next day, I was on the cusp of nausea, yet was able to eat more solid food. I was pretty worried at this point, so I called my endo nurse, who said she would get in contact with the doctor (as he was out that day) and let me know what I was to do....

This was Tuesday. I haven't heard anything back from them.

I was going to study for my Praxis yesterday, since the test is Friday and all, but was too nauseaous to want to leave the couch/bed.

I haven't started taking three daily because I'm afraid I won't be able to eat at all.
This wasn't the way I expected to lose weight. O.o;;


P.S. The pills above are not my current pills. If I remember correctly, they're just a high amount of naproxen that I used to take. This is a photograph from my photography portfolio that was supposed to incite emotions and give a glimpse into states of mind.
The state of mind I was in while taking this photograph was that I thought I took too many pills. Hah, I could laugh at that amount compared to now.

Three times the charm

So, here's my doctor update from my appointment Tuesday afternoon:
My PCOS has caused me to have hardcore insulin resistance. I have three times the amount of insulin hanging out in my bloodstream than there should be.

My insulin sensitivity nearly doesn't exist. except when I get so hungry that I start to shake. Then I'm so sensitive, that there's no more insulin left and I must feed!
This insulin overload is the reason I ballooned from a size 4 to a size 14 in no time. And now struggle to lose one pound.

I'm on a scary rollercoaster who's next stop is diabetes.

My endo doctor prescribed some diabetes medication which will keep the insulin in check and I'll be able to lose weight!

However, I don't want to go back to being a size 4; it was boring. No boobs, no hips, really. XD
I'd much rather a size 10 or 12; I enjoy having curves.
Not only will I be slimmer, I'll be healthy too.

A big downside to this medication is the size. They're like horse pills! I hate taking pills!

What was odd was the printed material on the side of the bottle. It stated that I should wear an ID bracelet while taking this medication.

I was terrified!
The doctor said nothing about that!

I called the pharmacist, who said that only full-fledged diabetics have to wear the ID tag in case they go into a diabetic coma and can't tell people what they are taking.

Another good thing: My symptoms aren't strong enough to warrant a Lupus test.
While I might have it, it's not at a scary stage.