spotting instead of period?

4getmenotbride

so,.

i am a PCOSer. I am currently taking metformin. i am currently on 1000mg daily, but will be upping my dose to 1500mg daily today. before i started taking metformin i had no period what so ever. Now, i am bleeding the same time every month like clockwork (past few months). However, the bleeding is more like spotting. its actually heavier than spotting but lighter than i would consider a period. (a panty liner is plenty). while i am very happy and hopeful about my progress...i would like to know if any of you have similar experiences or know what might be my issue..or maybe even if you think it will fix itself? any advice appreciated. Thanks!

4getmenotbride

i have been taking the metformin since January. i did have a 1 month period where i was discouraged and stopped taking it, but i am back on again. The doc says my testosterone is high and told me the best thing to do besides the met is diet & exercise.

LindseyM2012

Fellow PCOSer here. Metformin has different effects on different women. I think it all depends on what your particular PCOS profile looks like. I've read that for some, Metformin is enough to regulate cycles. However, I think that is more the exception than the rule. I started taking Metformin and slowly upped the dose over a couple weeks. Started with 500mg for one week and no change in anything. The second I upped it to 1000mg I got my period. That was likely due to a change in hormones, not because I ovulated two weeks before (because I just don't ovulate).

So it sounds like the Metformin may be having some effect on your hormones that is causing the spotting. It does take your body a couple weeks to adjust to the Metformin, so you may be in an adjustment period. Are you an insulin resistant form of PCOS? Diet and exercise is great for most PCOSers, but prolonged spotting can be a sign that something is changing. Has your doc addressed the spotting specifically?

BunnyBerry

My best recommendation is to chart (must include temping) to see if you're actually ovulating. Because if you are actually still anovulatory, then regular spotting while taking Metformin is not a step you need on your journey...it would be time to see an RE for testing and treatment.

4getmenotbride

i started charting a week or so ago. hopefully i am ovulating...though i am reluctant to get my hopes up for that. If i am still annovulatory what could the spotting in place of a period mean?

4getmenotbride

let me clarify...it is not prolonged spotting. it is actually what the length of my period would be. and it has been starting 28 days apart.