>>You may want to look more specifically for signs of insulin resistance
vs. just a diagnosis of PCOS. <<

A variation on this: An study came out looking at the efficacy of
metformin on women with PCOS who did not show overt insulin resistance
(IR). Metformin helped restore ovulation in many of these women, and
Medscape concluded,  "This study suggests that it is not important to
screen for insulin resistance if PCOS is correctly identified." Thus,
when it comes to milk supply problems in this population, I think it is
justified to suggest metformin if they have a dx of PCOS. One thing I
*don't* expect metformin to do is make lots of milk in breasts that are
very underdeveloped.

Regarding why metformin might help even without IR: there is another
article by Ward Dean MD on "neuroendocrine theory of aging." He believes
that metformin not only sensitizes insulin receptors, but that it also
helps to sensitize other peripheral receptors as well. If he is correct,
this means that metformin's beneficial effect on PCOS or milk supply
might actually be in helping another hormone's function rather than just
insulin.

~Lisa Marasco MA IBCLC


http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/471553

Nestler JE. Rationale and strategies for the use of metformin to treat
infertility in the polycystic ovary syndrome. Gynecol Endocrinol.
2004;18(Suppl 1):50.

http://www.vrp.com/art/498.asp

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html