Metformin is a bad word to me also. I saw that someone had some luck with Glaucophage slow release tabs so I asked my GP about those and have started taking them. So far so good, not anywhere near as bad as metformin which made me miserable.
I do think that whether you are able to lose weight will depend on the diet you choose as well as your PCOS, as in what exactly is going on there.
I find it SO strange that in the UK - I'm from the US - the GPs and Gynaes all seem to want to prescribe Metformin and that's it. I can't even say if I've been tested for insulin resistance, think the doctors just here PCOS and voila, Metformin.
My Gynae in the States did blood work, figured out which hormones were high or low and then gave me meds to correct those. She explained that my hormones being all over the place were keeping me from losing weight, that if I tried, they treated my body as if it were pregnant and started storing the fat. After a month or so on the drugs, I was able to lose weight 'normally', didn't really need to watch what I ate although I didn't eat a lot of junk food either. I started feeling more energetic and did some walking, bought a treadmill which I used almost daily and the weight started to drop off. Slowly yes but I felt healthy.
(When I moved over here I stopped taking the meds because I was TTC. Didn't work and the weight crept back on which of course made it harder to TTC!)
Anyway, it's been very frustrating to me since I feel like I'm not getting appropriate help compared to my earlier experience. I have chosen Lipotrim because, after trying WW and other diets, I feel like I need to do something that drastic to get the weight off and hopefully help my PCOS symptoms, as well as prevent even scarier health issues.