Actos????

[sbslove]

Anyone taken actos instead of met for PCOS? My dr. put me on it 2 wks ago because i was having diarrea everyday from the met. it seems to be working, thank goodness and i don't feel starved to death all the time now too. thats a huge relief. anyone know anything about actos?

[MelissaVega]

I have taken actos for PCOS since 2002. I haven't had any problems with it except that my insurance took it off the formulary in the past year. Thus, the out-of-pocket cost jumped up. It's pretty expensive. My doctor switched me to met today because it's cheaper. I've never taken met, so I'm not sure how I'll do on it. I've lost almost 60 lbs on actos since 2002.[/list]

[cowgirlup2k]

Actos was a lifesaver for me. When i was on met. i was in the bathroom all the time, had no energy, bad migraines, was hungry all the time. Now I don't only get migraines once in awhile, not hungry all the time, stay out of the bathroom and have a lot more energy.

[fergus80]

Oh wow. I am so glad the board is back. I just checked, hoping that it would be back up. And it is! *happy dance*

Well, I was on Metformin since November or so, and it was not working at all. I didn't have any problems on it, but it just wasn't doing any good, at even the highest dose.

So my Endo just put me on Actos. But he said this could cause water retention and weight GAIN. Is that right?

I would think that if it helps regulate your bloodsugar and makes you not as hungery as previous posters said, that you would lose wieght. Or is that only if you TRY to lose weight and not just eat like you normally do and take the medication?

I'm starting personal trainer sessions today at the Gym, and restarting another healitier diet. But I'm just curious, what are the side effects of Actos, and does it work better than met?

Is is just for IR? Or to regulate your cycles? Can it also help with acne/excess hair growth? He said it was supposed to, but I want your guys 'second opinion'. ;)

Thanks!

[gsb0126]

I took Actos for three months and gained 8 pounds on it. Hubby took it for diabetes and also gained weight. Happily back on Met!

[fergus80]

Well I haven't lost any weight, and I haven't really gained any weight with it either.

BUT... I have to say that I am loving it. I didn't have much stomach trouble with Met, but I had a little. This has NONE. I only have to take it once a day, (before bed for me). My bloodsugar has really stabilized, I don't get that shaky feeling anymore before or after meals. I'm also not as hungry. My acne is slowly starting to clear up! And I'm get a 28/30 day period scheudle! And my hair growth seems to be a little slower.

I know it might not help with my weight right now... but if it does all that, I'll gladly take it.

Did this work for anyone else?

[pjs3902]

fergus- actos can cause water retention and it can cause weight gain. however actos, like metformin, and i believe... Avandia?!? (don't quote me on that one. i know there's a 3rd one, i can't think of what it is for sure) all list as cautions for female med takers that it may cause increase chance of pregnancy. (when you get the Rx filled you should get a list with all the side effects you'll most likely never go through) no it's not just for IR. it can help cycles, acne, excess hair...

i would have to give your endo thumbs up..

[Sweeteyez72]

I have been a member since last year but don't think I have posted that much. I lost the website link here and just found it again. :)

I have been on met since 2004, my endo np also added Actos 45mg this past November. I had some good luck on the met at first but then my periods stopped. Also my fasting glucose was still a bit high. Since I have been on the Actos, I have gotten my period in Feb, March and April...3 months in a row which is a miracle for me. I usually get my period twice a year. I am not trying to get pregnant but just trying to regulate my period, hormone levels and lose weight.

Sadly, I have gained 13 lbs since November. I am not sure if its totally due to the Actos though. I also got back on Lexapro which also can cause weight gain. However, so far I am happy with the Actos and met combo. The endo said that soon my fasting glucose should be lower and that my hormones should start to become normal. Yeah!!

[fergus80]

Well, just an update.

The actos seems to still be working. I'll know in another week if it still is. But at least 2 months in a row I've had my period. My acne is still there, but VERY light, and much smaller than before. The hair growth seems to be lessening (but this could be because of the laser treatments too).

I have been working out like crazy, and eatting really well, but the scale is BARELY budging. I mean, with what I have been doing, I should have lost at least 5 to 10 pounds in this time, and I have lost like 1 to 2 if that. I have added in the cinnimon now though, and my stomach does LOOK like it's getting a little flatter. Maybe the weightloss will kick in once my bloodsugar and IR and hormones really start to level out for awhile. I hope so. But at least I 'feel' better. Since I started the actos I haven't gotten that crazy bloodsugar /light headed feeling before or after eating that I usually had. So, that makes me know that something is working. :)

[fergus80]

Okay. I'm frustrated.

The actos is working, at least for giving me my cycle (it's not 28 days, around 30 to 31, but heck, I'll take it. 3 months in a row now!) But the acne is there, the hair is still there (a little lighter, but from doing laser, not the actos). And I am NOT losing weight. At all. And I should be. I've lost maybe a pound in the last month, and with how well I am eating and how much I am exercising I should have lost at least 5 if not much more!

No, I haven't been following a low GI diet, but I have been at about 1200 to 1500 cals a day, plus exercise. Trying to keep the carbs down, and the protein up. I've also been taking about 2000 to 3000 mg of cinniminon a day as well.

So what can I do? I'm going to see my endo again around the middle of the month. Would Yaz help with the hair growth (and thinning hair on my head), and acne? (Not to mention, I would like to start dating again, and I know that actos can actually increase the chances of getting pregnant, which I will want LATER, but not right now.) Or will it make it even harder to lose weight?

And what about Spiro? I've asked about it before, but he didn't want to prescribe it unless he had to, hoping the Actos would regulate my hormones enough to stop the hair and acne. But it doesn't seem to be working enough.

The actos is working to regulate my periods, and i do FEEL better, I haven't had those shaky feelings before/after eating since I started taking it. But I think that's all it's doing. *sigh* And the cinniminon doesn't seem to be helping much either. *double sigh*

Any suggestions?

[nahcim]

I have been on Actos for 2.5 months now and have gained 10 lbs. I went from a size 10 to a 14. I cannot take Met as I had a bad reaction to it. Are these two drugs my only option?
Also my Doctor switched me from Flutamide(?) to spironolactone and I have noticed my hiar and skin are not doing as well as it had on Flutamide. He took me off because I was experiancing very weird vivid dreams anyone else have/had this symptom?
Thanks Michan
Actos, spironolactone, Hair Nail Vitamin, Vit E

[seekingOm]

I gained weight (20 lbs total and counting) on both Actos and Advandia, in addition to migraines worsening, nausea, and fatigue. I was told not to worry about the weight, it's just fluid and to take Lasix (which doesn't help much). Worse, both drugs are hideously expensive on my current insurance.

But what really added insult to injury was my RE insisting the reason my body had these reactions was that I seemed to be "depressed and a very unhappy person, so nothing was going to work." I reminded him that I am a darn optimistic person despite my situation and if I were still healthy and well I would NOT be sitting in his office (DUH!!) and that he is seeing me at the end of a five-year struggle with obvious hormonal imbalance which include early miscarriage and two cystectomies, the last of which left me with chronic burning pain from nerve damage. Frustrated, heck yes. Depressed, no!

We ended up with me agreeing to start on low doses of Metformin and a better doctor-patient relationship. But he still refused to do any kind of hormone or blood sugar testing, saying my PCOS was "so obvious it isn't necessary". That I don't agree with that is a fight for another day. :wink:

However, we all are different and I sincerely hope Actos works wonders for you. My cycle always has been regular, except after surgeries, so it didn't affect that.