Hello everyone, I need some advice.
I have been overweight 90% of my life and have tried everything to lose it. I've tried meal plans, shakes, exercise plans, personal trainers, pills and potions, voodoo magic, everything.
I have thyroid trouble (hypothyroidism), PCOS, as well as other health issues that make loosing weight very hard. I'm not using that as an excuse, I know poor food choices and little exercise in the past is a big contributor. But for the past two years I have been working my bum off at the gym and with a nutria ist, and have little success to show, I feel. I started at 153kg, and have almost hit 20kg lost, but I feel discouraged to not see a bigger result.
The thing is we are trying for a baby, but I have other medical issues that require us to turn to fertility specialists, and they won't consider treatment until I lose a lot more weight. They won't give me a number yet, but I'm guessing I'm looking at under the 100kg mark. At the rate I'm going it'll be another 2-3 years and I just don't think I can stand the heartache of not falling pregnant for that much longer. Plus I'll be older and the chances of it happening get smaller and smaller as I age.
My specialist mentioned looking into weightloss surgery like the band or sleeve. I am scared at the idea of surgery and the risks, but then I think what if this is what I need to make my dream of falling pregnant come true?! My mental health is starting to take a beating from this.
Have there been other ladies in this position? What have you done, or what would you do in my shoes? I'm just after any tips or encouragements because I feel like my dreams of a baby are falling away from me.
3 Replies
Go speak to a weightloss surgeon. Unfortunately it's expensive and you'll need to have health insurance that covers it. It's not a quick fix, you will need to follow an extreme diet before they even will do the surgery because they need to shrink your liver in order to do the surgery safely. It's not a quick fix. You will need to work out why you are over eating, if you eat for comfort/stress/entertainment and haven't dealt with that pre-surgery you will still over eat or find ways to get the calories in. People have failed because they realised they could drink calories or still ate the wrong foods.
I don't want to be negative or a downer, because I know people who have had huge success, but I also know people who destroyed it. I'm just trying to paint a realistic picture. I looked into the surgery myself, once I did the prow work I realised I didn't need the surgery, weight was dropping on it's own because I'd dealt with the underlying issues.
Your not alone Iam 12 mths out from a gastric sleeve 40kgs lighter and 6mths pregnant. This is by no means an easy solution do not let anyone tell you your being a cop out having surgery. I have a beautiful lil man and struggled to fall with him. We did 5 rounds of ivf to only fall naturally before our 6th attempt. I then ballooned from 100kgs to 130kgs. I have been a fit active person in the past and all attempts to lose even 5kgs had me a blubbering mess as it did not work. And I ate healthy but to much. Surgery was my last resort before trying again. Now be aware IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO FALL PREGNANT FoR 2YEARS AFTER SURGERY. This I can not say louder as I had my agender it has been a tough ride this past 6 mths. Im 39 with a now 3yo im buggered everyday. Tryn to conceive is not suitable after surgery as your body needs time to adjust to the change in nutrient intake and the possible lack of vitamin and nutrient conversion from your now tiny stomach. There is a huge risk of malnutrition for you and bub. Im am doing everything possible to ensure we are both well but long time affects are unknown. So im having extra blood tests eating constantly and have even taken to some snacking on crap to keep a bit of weight on as bub seemed to be smaller than my last. Now the worst part is after a sleeve you cant drink fluids 30mins prior to food and an hour after. Water has been hard for me to consume since surgery before i could do 3 liters a day now im lucky to force in 1. Side effects I hate to say is constipation dehydration and to top it off I got hemorrhoids now. And there not fun at all. It is a challenge but its been so worth it for me. Im 40 not long after bub is due and my clock was ticking loud i did this for me and my family.
Its your choice but definitely get informed. Its not as easy as the naysayers think. Goodluck.
I had gastric sleeve surgery prior to undergoing IVF. I suffered major complications and was off work for 8 months! I'm sitting here nearly 3 yrs later Nursing my beautiful 3wk baby boy from my first attempt at IVF, I'm 34. The complications meant it took longer then I envisioned. Would I do it all again? Yes!