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[Gilla999]

I've been prescribed Metformin for insulin resistance and have been taking it since October. Since early December I have been feeling "off". My sleep (3am insomnia) started to play up - just a bit at first - and I just generally felt very tired all the time. Last week it got much worse and I was sure my hormones were the culprit, as I never have these experiences outside of hormonal stuff. I had a blood test on Monday (day 21 of cycle) and was pretty shocked to see my E level has dropped to 350, which for me is very, very low. Even pre Peri I was higher than the top of the range. When I last had a blood test in September it was 1,846 at day 21 (which is clearly too high but I felt fine and well). From 1,846 to 350 in the space of 3.5 months is a huge climb down - no wonder I have feel feeling so rough!

I had previously been on 1.66 sprays Lenzetto and had been doing fine on that until December. I tried upping to 2.5 sprays last week but it hasn't helped so as from today I've now upped to 3, as the 3am insomnia is in full force.

I am just wondering what could account for such a sharp drop and wondered if anyone else had experienced anything like that? I know that Metformin is prescribed for PCOS and read some guidance says in women with PCOS it can lower estrogen as part of it's lowering effect on Testosterone. But it seems to say in non PCOS subjects it didn't reduce it. I wondered if anyone here either takes Metformin or has experienced a sharp drop in their own natural hormones at any point?

[Taz2]

I can't help with the actual question but have you put Metformin into the search box which will bring up any relevant posts?

Taz x

[Gilla999]

Thanks for the reply Taz, yes nothing really relevant came up. Guess it must just be me taking it! X

[Sooty]

Hi,
I take 2 metformin twice daily and despite being on 2 x 100mg patches and 3 pumps of gel my oestrogen levels have never been above 290. My diabetes is well controlled but I do wonder if it is impacting on my menopausal symptoms

[sheila99]

I haven't found anything specifically about hrt but have a look at this
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24267731/
'Metformin decreases circulating androgen and estrogen levels in nondiabetic women with breast cancer '

[VictoryV]

Hi Gilla, sorry to hear you’ve not been feeling good.
I’m on a women’s body building chat with about 150 members. Metformin is discussed frequently as it used to be very popular for lean up cycles. Women are often saying it’s reduces their E & T levels and many do bloods weekly.

[Gilla999]

Victoria you are a life saver! Thanks for confirming what I had suspected. I feel like such an idiot for taking it. I did read some reports before starting it that mentioned PCOS but nothing that clearly and specifically says it reduces estrogen in non PCOS people so I just assumed it would be ok. So annoyed at myself! I've gone cold turkey from it from today and will speak to my doctor about an alternative for insulin resistance. Thank you xx