overweight and TTC

Hi Girls

i just wanted to know if any of you are overweight and trying to conceive or no that if you are overweight does this affect your fatility its just i have been trying for 9 months now and getting really fustrated i have been dieting since jan but only lost half a stone as i am a comfort eater i struggle to loose weight, everytime i get down or have a tiff with DH i eat. i am half a stone heavier than what i was when i fell pregnant with my angel and wasnt sure if it was my weight stopping me my consultant told me in sep last yr i should try and loose weight but because he said that it just made me eat more silly i no but its just what i do. You would think that wanting a baby so much would make you loose the weight but as i am not falling preganant it makes me feel down so i eat its such a vicious circle and i dont know what to do.

Munchy xxx

I have heard that weight can affect fertility. Either being over or under weight. But also, there are lots of people who are overweight who are able to fall pregnant. And you have before, so that's a positive, your body is obviously able to do it!
Also, it can take up to a year or more for people to fall pregnant so try not to stress! Good luck :bluedust:

Hi Munchy, I can relate to the comfort eating thing really well. I decided that I was going to lose weight and get fit before we decided to try for our next baby, I worked on it for 15 months and was nearly in my healthy weight range. Since then I have had 2 MC and have put back on 10 of the kgs I had lost, through comfort eating and I think as a punishment to myself. But on a brighter note, heaps of girls are overweight and more when they concieve and go on to carry to term. It is actually better to be 20% overweight because you are more likely to conceive. If you do want to lose weight don't go to drastic because you can release toxins into your body, which would'nt be the best time to concieve. I am trying to lose weight again and I think find myself a bit like you , it is very hard, and more so when you are'nt in a good frame of mind. There is always time after a baby comes to worry about weight. Good luck, try not to beat yourself up.:hugs:Pam.

Hi Munchy....I'm really new (as in only posted tonight) at this, but I wanted to reply to you. Apparently for some women weight is a definite factor in trying to conceive, particularly if you're apple shaped, ie carry the weight mostly around your tummy. I'm overweight as well, but have been lucky in conceiving easily (though I've only had one success out of 4 pregnancies). I was told by Gyn that weight isnt usually a factor in M/C but sometimes in conception.....hope this helps. Like you though, if they say "lose weight", I panic, worry, get deppressesd and overeat. Emotional eating sucks.

Hi Munchy... im terribly overweight..and i mean badly...i feel within 3 months with DD... and then again 6 weeks after she was born. Carried Chelsea to 39w4d.....and hoping the same for this one. It can affect fertility.. but i guess not all overweight people. My best friend has been tryin for over 6 years...and no such luck. Her GP says she needs to loose weight first... she is around 8kg heavier then me and i had no problems. Good luck TTC... and have faith.. it can and will happen :)

Hi Girls

Thanks for all you replys i would have replyed earlier but i dont have a computer at home it sounds like some of have got pregnant although you are big ladys which i have fallen pregnant before while being big its just i am even bigger now due to comfort eating i no i have put on weight in the last 2 weeks as my trousers are feeling tighter i am on a diet called slimming world it is a great diet when you stick to it i just dont stick to it when i get in the frame of mind of i dont care i am just gonna eat i do i just eat bad i no but i cant help it. i am an apple shape person ever since i had my son 4 yrs ago by c/s my tummy has never been the same i have smallish arms and legs just my big wobbly tummy that is the problem i guess i will have to crack on with the diet i just hope i fall pregnant soon as 9 months feels like forever thanks again for your replys.

Munchy xxx :)

hey munchy, i am also very overweight. I did have lots of trouble conceiving but after 2 long years, I am now blessed with a beautiful baby boy.

i was the same, and found it difficult to lose weight, even though I wanted a baby more than anything.

Hang in there and do your best. thats all you can do :)

Munchy - thats tough and I know how you feel as I am a comfort eater too. Have you considered seeing an acupuncturist? Not only do many of them have experience in fertility treatment and helping with conception, they can also help with eating problems. There are points they can do that can help with cravings (not just for eating but for smoking etc). If you do go to one, just make sure they are properly qualified.
Otherwise some of my friends have been to Sureslim clinics with good success. (I havent personally been to them though)

Danni, congrats on your baby boy hopefully that will be me in a yrs time like my DH said it will hapen one day but when i want something i want it there and then i am so impatient 9 months does feel like forever but at the same time when i think back it has gone so quick it is coming up to the yr anniversary of my angel and it only feels like yesterday i gave birth to her but fingers crossed i conceive soon.

Krysalyss

Thanks for the tip the only problem is it is all so expensive so go and see those people but when i have some extra cash i will look into i am gonna invest in some Ovulex tablets that my dad said he would buy for me if i loose half a stone so i feel a little under preasure but the tablets seem so good they are all natural and my friend took them and fell pregnant in the first month of taking them so if they dont work then i will try what you said. but loosing weight is so difficult expecially when my DH can eat anything and not put weight on dont you just hate that.

Munchy xxx

Weight is certainly a factor for some women. I'm trying to lose weight now as I'm about 15-20 kgs over what I should be and had my second m/c recently. I'm headed towards IVF and IVF rates are better in women within a healthy weight range. Even faced with the shock of having to face IVF hasn't been enough to get my weight under control. I need to pick up my exercise but I'm finding that hard with the cold weather of late. I am much impoved with my diet but have weak moments every single day.

One bit of new research I can offer you is that Trans fat (trans fatty acids) have been found to affect the fertility of women. If transfats accounts for a high percentage of your diet you are likely to have fertility problems. Cut out the take away food as they are all pretty high in it, as are most store bought biscuits, cakes and donuts. Butter also contains it therefore anything containing butter like pastry, pies, sausage rolls etc have it so they should be off the menu.

Both times I've been pregnant I was overweight but it took me a long time to get pregnant (3 years the first time and 9 months the second time) and both times they ended in pregnancy. I'm now doing my damndest to get fit and healthy so that I can get pg again and get a sticky bub. Good luck with the weight loss.

Hi Satya

thanks for the info i didnt know that i am one to like my take aways and cakes and that especially biscuits dipped in tea i have that nearly everyday how bad. i am gonna try really hard not to eat those foods my problem is thinking of ideas for dinners i cook so many days and then i get a day where i cant think of anything to cook so i get a take out but i will have to stop that as i dont want it to give me problems conceiving i just wish i could eat what i want when i want without worrying about the weight side of it cos i am alot over weight we do it in stones over hear so i could do with loosing about 5 stone which is an awful lot of weight to loose but i will do half a stone at a time. hope your weight loss goes well aswell and that you get a sticky bub i have my fingers crossed for you.

Munchy xxx

Heya munchy - yes weight is an issue - it can also be a symptom of another issue - i have PCOS and have high insulon resistance which leads me on a vicious cycle of weight gain - causing hormone changes -causing infertility- causing weight gain- i lost 10kgs before my last pregnancy so am thinking i willhave to do the same again, also feeling better about yourself will also help you to stress less about the non concieving. Its cliched but not thinnking about it does help - we tried for over a year and the month i gave up - decided to not temp check or worry about when we bd'd i fell pg. I have over 25kgs to loose before i get to a "healthy weight" but i amnot thinking of the big picture. Start little - my first goal was to get under 100kg and i managed that - have stayed there for a bit now ready for my next goal - weigh less that DH - so am working on that. Don't kick yourself if you fall off the wagon - just start again tomorrow- even if you start again everyday - and talk tosomeone - that what the girls on here a fabulous for - big hugs and hang in the chickadee -so many of us are there with you or have been there - many many times...

Hi Muchy,

Like AJ I also have POCS that is due to weight gain. I was on Metformin to help control my insulin resistance which was making if very difficult to loss the weight. My FS told me that overweight women often have POCS and have insulin resistance due to their weight gain. He was fantastic and gave me a calorie controlled diet and goals. I was also on letrozole to help stimulate ovulation because women with POCS often do not ovulate. I lost 11 kg doing this diet and had success with the letrozole. If I was you I would get things checked out with your GP. My mum and sister fell pregnant just by looking at thier husbands but I took 2 years with the first pregnancy that ended in a m/c last year and another 6 months to fall again after that. POCS makes it very difficult to loss weight but can me helped using medication.

Tracey

Hi Girls

thanks for your replys but i dont think i have PCOS at one time i had a scan on the ovaries as i was suffering with really bad periods and had alot of symptoms of endometriosis (sorry cant spell) this was just after loosing my baby girl but they said they couldnt even see them which is a good thing in away cos if there was something wrong the would be enlarged but i was never convinced i think my doctors always think i am just moaning and put everything down to being overweight. I still suffer with my periods there not as heavey but i get a bad headache for about 4 days i get pains in back and tummy and tops of legs i get bad bloatedness and boy am i stressy and i get so tearful and down i get the sweats and feel sick so all of this i never used to get before i had my angel also when i oveulate i get awful cramping on either side of my tummy i was even admitted to hospital the cramping got so bad and they said it was i urine tract infection although i still get it every month but not as bad. these cramping feelings on either side of my tummy i got when i was pregnant with my angel and they have never gone. i think if i try to diet and i am gonna take these tablets called ovulex you should look them up on the internet they are herbal and they level your hormones out and help you get pregnant my friend took them for one month and fell pregnant straight away and people who have done IVF have failed but then took ovulex and fell pregnant so i have my fingers crossed that when i start taking them they work. sorry to ramble on i hope you dont mind.

Munchy xxx

Hi Munchy

I've struggled with my weight all my life and was told that I needed to lose weight before TTC, I had 3 miscarriages before having a live birth but found it very easy to fall pregnant each time (3 of the 4 pregnancies occurred in our first month of trying). I too am a comfort eater and no matter how hard I try to lose more weight before TTC #2 it's happening much more slowly than I want it to but having said that even a 10% reduction in body weight can make a significant difference IF your weight is affecting your efforts in getting pregnant.

Hang in there, I know the comfort eating can be a vicious cycle but even if you take 3 steps forward and 2 steps back you're still 1 step ahead! That's what I keep telling myself! Hoping to hear that you're pregnant soon.

Hi Munchy
I am a very large lady also. I have endo and have just been told that I have Ashermans Syndrome.
Have you had a Laporoscopy or Hystorscopy??? to check the outside (for endo)and inside of the uterus. (If you had an infection in the uterus you also could have Ashermans Syndrome - which is scareing to the uterus walls - hence no preg). Something could be stopping you from getting preg

I was told once to loose 4-6kg to enhance chances to TTC.

I have had probs TTC and it can lead to me comfort eating (just can't keep away from those chippies).

I hope to be TTC soon after I have my Ashermans treated (it can cause M/C if I fall preg now). So I am trying to eat properly and do the exercise but am finding it hard because of the blues due to pain I am in most of the time.

Being preg and large dose have its down falls - not being able to see baby on u/s properly, high blood pressure which leads to pre eclampsia, just to name a few.
I even had the bad experience of a Rude Dr with a bad bedside manner .:angry:

Sending you lots of :bluedust:

Take care
Chris

Hi lachiemum and chris

thanks for your replys girls it is such a visous cicle and i wish i was strict with myself to loose the weight.

Chris you said something that made me think about scareing to the uterus wall i had a c section with my son harvey 4 yrs ago and after the op i had 3 different infections on the wond but my scare is fine now but always get discomfort in that area and when i was in hospital with a bad bug when i was 4 weks pregnant with my angel they done some swabs from down below and asked if i have had a c section before and i said yes why and they said cos i can see all the scar tissue i never thought you would be able to see that from looking up there but i did fall pregnant with my angel but then she did have so many problems i had to end the pregnancy. also 2 yrs ago before falling pregnant with my angel i had the poo's sorry if TMI for about 3 months every day no matter what i ate it would go straight threw me so i had somwthing done where they put something up by backside and pumped air into my tummy but the said i have IBS and that was it but i dont think i have ever had my actual uterus checked how would you get scaring on the uterus wall. i no what you mean about being big and not being able to see bub as good on the U/S that is one downful ah i am hopefully ordering those ovulex tonight i really hope that they work.

Munchy xxx

Hi Munchy (what an apt name for a comfort eater!)

I'm an emotional eater too, mostly through boredom and plus, I just like food!

I manage to keep it under control and I know as hard as it is to make the changes, you really will be so much less stressed about the things that lead you to comfort eat if you weigh closer to your ideal weight. I'm usually about 60kgs and am back at about 63 now since my little guy came out 11 weeks ago. When I was about 68 after the birth I felt like crap but now that I feel a little more in shape I feel a lot brighter.

Whilst I am an emotional eater, I'm also a control freak so I've only gotten to 68kgs at me heaviest non-pregnant weight but the effect it has on my psyche is huge.

Whilst you may have heard of people being too fat to conceive, I think it's really a myth stemming from the fact that fertility treatments aren't offered to obese women. It's due to the risks of complications in the pregnancy rahter than difficulty conceiving.

That said, if you are so overweight that it throws your endocrine out of whack and you grow a beard and stop getting your period then it's time to put the cookies back in the cupboard and back away! -but I think you'd have to be double your ideal weight to have that happen!

Think about trying to get your weight to a healthy level before conceiving if you can for your and your future baby's sake. You're more prone to gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and a whole host of other nasty troubles the heavier you are and the baby can get bigger than it should be which is not positive.

I know a rather rotund woman who was so fat when she was 8 months pregnant that you still couldn't really tell if it was chub or baby making her middle so big and you hear from time to time of a woman who will go to hospital with awful indigestion and it turns out to be labour pains and even the doc can't tell she's preggers without doing an internal!
-if they can get pregnant, I'm sure you can too!

Hi,
Thought I would add my bit.
I tried to concieve for 10years and 1month and success came when I was at my heaviest. I am quite overweight and have been getting progressivly so over the years with all the stress and depression of long term TTC. I spoke to my most recent FS about it and he didnt seem to have a problem with it at all. As long as you are healthy in everyother way you have just as much chance, if not more, than a thin person. The important thing is no smoking, gentle excercise etc, not just your size. Posistive thinking was my biggest difference with the latest IVF and it was just what the doctor ordered.
Don't be too hard on yourself as you will just add to the problem. I find if you dont worry and stress about losing weight you will find it easier. Instead of thinking you must diet and restrict yourself, just think about what is the healthiest thing to eat when you want to eat. I guarantee you wont gorge yourself on carrot and cellery sticks like you would on hot chips!!!
Good luck with it all.

ok girls, here is my 2c worth. I am 112kgs atm and pg. I never have had a problem falling pg. I've had 6pgcies all up. Granted I lost 3 but conversly that was when I was at a healthish weight range! I honestly believe that was stress induced. When I married Dh, I'd put on 10kgs in the six month prior and BANG, I was pg. I had DD#1 (had gained another 17kgs)and fell again within a cycle. I had DD#2 and had IUD put in which caused me problems no end (INCLUDING weight gain). I finally got that sorted in feb/march when it burst and the next cycle that DH managed to score a goal within the lines (we weren't timing DTD as he wasn't quite ready), I'm pg again! Size doesn't matter for some people. My mother is another one who is and always has been overweight and she fell every time she looked at my dad.
However, when I have u/s's they cannot see my c/s scars at all (I had two and they said during last one that everything looked dandy down there and I could have as many as I wanted!). I am seriously thinking it is the scarring causing your problems honey. You can fall pg, maybe go to OB and talk to him about your worries. Ask him to check scarring and what he thinks. I seriously think that is the way to go honey. Don't beat yourself up over the eating hon, we all do it at times. *hugs*. We all have our weaknesses.

Hi Munchy
From what you said in your reply, If I were you I would go and see your Gyn for a Hystroscopy (cam in uterus) to check things out up there. Do a google on it and read up and see if your symptoms are the same as the one's for Ashermans Syndrome. You can get it from a D & C, c section or an infection in the uterus. Plus it can cause probs if you do get preg when you have it.

I also have a hypothyroid and thats is another thing that can affect eating etc which is checked through a blood test (T3, T4, TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone)) My levels went haywire during preg of DS and we had to get him checked for a while after his birth. (poor little bugger)

At the moment I am getting myself well before I TTC again. I am trying to lose some weight (going to dietician as a Prof in Endocrine told me it will be hard to lose weight because of hypothyroid) and going to Special Gyn in Sydney to get Ashermans treated.
I just hope I am successful and have a baby next year :pray:

Hope this info helps!!

Take care
Chris

Thanks again everyone for all your replys i havent been able to get to a computer for a week. reading all the replys has made me feel a better as to been big and chris i am going to look it up on the net and see if i have any of the symptoms i am gonna give it till october before going to the docs cos it means i would have been trying for a yr and they say always give it a yr so fingers crossed it happens before then and i am gonna try and start doing some light excersise and start eating healthy i say that now its just sticking to it ah.

Thanks again

Munchy xxx