The Lose-The-Frump-To-Gain-A-Bump Thread

[Emerald]

I've been reading that there are a few of us doing SW that are hoping to improve our fertility, or just get fitter in preparation for trying for a baby. I thought maybe we could have our own thread about our different issues etc?

Well I've got a 9 month old baby and would really love him to have a younger sibling. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17 (now 25) and only have one working tube. Also my hubby's swimmers are nearly all broken so we were told it would be very unlikely we'd ever conceive because of the combination of those three factors. My periods were totally awol after coming off the pill just over 3 years ago but after losing some weight following the GI diet they came back! And a few months later I became pregnant with my beautiful son

Anyway since having him my periods have been all over the place again but after less than 1 week on SW they have returned! So I'm hoping to start trying again in a couple of weeks time Ideally I'd like to be a lot smaller when I do fall pregnant again as I now weigh 2st more than I did when I got pregnant last time and had quite a difficult pregnancy and a nightmare birth. I hope that being a healthy weight would increase the changes of the pregnancy and birth being smooth. However, I deeply desire another child and wouldn't avoid getting pregnant, would just make sure I stuck at SW during the pregnancy and following it.

So that's my story. I know my PCOS and periods are significantly helped by me eating well and losing weight.

Emerald
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[El Nino]

Hi Emerald

This is exactly the reason I am trying to lose weight. Seems wierd to loose all the weight to only put it back on again but hopefully with pregnancy it can be controlled!
We haven't started trying yet, but will be soon and being less heavy and more healthy can only help! I started off wanting to lose 5 stone and thought that would be a mountain to climb but last week I hit the half way point so I am more confident than ever that I can reach my goal and then hopefully hear the patter of tiny feet!

Charls x

 

[zenabob2105]

funny you should start this topic, Although i don't have fertility problems, I have 2 lovely children, I was donating my eggs to a friend that has, when I went to the hospital for the initial test etc., was told was obese, and they were undecided if they could do the procedure. Anyway it was the turning point for me, I lost a stone before the procedure, so was only classed as overweight, and now she is pregnant with twins....:girlpower::talk017:

 

[MrsAH]

funny you should start this topic, Although i don't have fertility problems, I have 2 lovely children, I was donating my eggs to a friend that has, when I went to the hospital for the initial test etc., was told was obese, and they were undecided if they could do the procedure. Anyway it was the turning point for me, I lost a stone before the procedure, so was only classed as overweight, and now she is pregnant with twins....:girlpower::talk017:

OMG, that is so generous of you and such a selfless act. You must be a truly lovely friend!

 

[rainbow]

Ive just replied to your statement about your friend in a different thread - but I'll say it again what am amazing thing to do............. is she going to call one after you?! - thats what Id make my friend do lol xxx

 

[zenabob2105]

Ive just replied to your statement about your friend in a different thread - but I'll say it again what am amazing thing to do............. is she going to call one after you?! - thats what Id make my friend do lol xxx

Not sure, my husband did suggest zena and david after us, if a boy and girl twin....lol...but think it is unlikely to happen

 

[nina]

I really like the title of this thread!

I've been reading that there are a few of us doing SW that are hoping to improve our fertility, or just get fitter in preparation for trying for a baby. I thought maybe we could have our own thread about our different issues etc?

Well I've got a 9 month old baby and would really love him to have a younger sibling. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17 (now 25) and only have one working tube. Also my hubby's swimmers are nearly all broken so we were told it would be very unlikely we'd ever conceive because of the combination of those three factors. My periods were totally awol after coming off the pill just over 3 years ago but after losing some weight following the GI diet they came back! And a few months later I became pregnant with my beautiful son

Anyway since having him my periods have been all over the place again but after less than 1 week on SW they have returned! So I'm hoping to start trying again in a couple of weeks time Ideally I'd like to be a lot smaller when I do fall pregnant again as I now weigh 2st more than I did when I got pregnant last time and had quite a difficult pregnancy and a nightmare birth. I hope that being a healthy weight would increase the changes of the pregnancy and birth being smooth. However, I deeply desire another child and wouldn't avoid getting pregnant, would just make sure I stuck at SW during the pregnancy and following it.

So that's my story. I know my PCOS and periods are significantly helped by me eating well and losing weight.

Emerald
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hello,

I fell pregnant last august after doing Cambridge and losing nearly 5 stones...so worth it...and now i have to work so hard to get all of it off plus the pre-pregnancy weight.

I was still classed as morbidly obese during my pregnancy, but had a wonderful pregnancy --> and pre-eclampsia free (unlike my preceeding pregnancies which I develpoed severe pre-eclampsia and both babies went back to the Creator)

my point is...i think the medical profession places so much emphasis on us being 'obese' and that makes us worry whether or not we can have successful pregnancies...when the fact remains...no one knows for sure why some pregnancies work and others don't...

anways, emerald -- good luck on you losing the frump to gain a bump!

 

[Emerald]

El Nino - wow you have lost a lot, well done I know what you mean about the 'why am i losing just to gain again??' feeling. I did lose weight in order to become pregnant before, I got just about to my -10% on weight watchers combined with the GI diet. I Know that helped and I think without losing the weight my cycle would have never regulated itself enough to fall pregnant. I don't think being 2st heavier than before I got pregnant now is regular, I know I treated pregnancy as an all access pass to eat anything and everything I could fit into my mouth :O I stuffed my face (on the days I could stomach anything that is!!) And after my son was born, to try to help breastfeed him, I consumed a lot of fat under my health visitor's advice but unfortnatley all this did was make me bigger and didn't improve the quality of my milk (but that's another story as they say)

Zena - what a wonderful thing to do. As someone who at one point heard the news that having a child would be very unlikely I know the heartache of the idea of missing out on life's greatest (in my opinion) journey, what a wonderful thing to give back that joy to your friend. x

Nina - I'm so sorry to hear of your precious losses. What a beautiful little baby you have now! (How do you pronounce Sujoud btw?). I agree the NHS does put a lot of pressure of overweight women and often makes us feel guilty with scaremongering and 'we need bigger bed' type stories. One of the main reasons I was losing weight before my pregnancy was we were about to be put on the NHS waiting list for IVF and they won't accept you if you have a BMI of 30 or more, which I think that is terribly unfair. Anyway I am glad to hear your last pregnancy went so well

Emerald
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[mod-karen79]

i went on the Depo 2 and a half years ago now. 1st year was ok - i actually lost 2 stone very quickly and the only thing different in my lifestyle was the Depo. however it also caused weight gain in the 2nd year. too good to be true i guess!
one time i hadn't realised my Depo was due and it caused a bad case of thrush! about 1 and a half year on the depo i had abnormal discharge again when my Depo was due to run out. i got another jab. i had developed combined thrush and BV. i went back and forth to my GP for answers, but was told to sit it out and see what happens!!! ....they also suggested i visit the GUM clinic, which i'd done already, but went again to be sure as they'd made me paranoid! but the BV lives on a year later despite antibiotics this causes very uncomfortable sex for me and our sex lives, which used to be very active, has now suffered for the past year.

from september 2007 until december 2008 i comfort ate out of misery and frustration and managed to gain 3 stone!!! ...and my boyfriend has had to sit and watch his already overweight girlfriend get even bigger luckily he has been supportive and stood by me - he can get quite frustrated though! i've also had 2 smear test results with abnoral cell changes and i'm due to return for another. in january 2008 i decided to come of the Depo and go on Cerezette (minipill) as to avoid thrush when the Depo was coming out of my system. after a month on Cerezette i had a 1 day spot bleed. i used it for another month, then stopped completely. we now rely on condoms as contraception as i'm sick of pumping man-made hormones into my body. i've read alot into the Depo now and i don't think knowing what i do now i would ever get it again....i just wish the GP's would warn us beforehand!

3 weeks ago i visited my GP and spoke to her about all my issues. she said that if you're not on the pill, etc. and don't bleed it can cause a build up of your womb lining and cause endometreitis (sp?), so she put me on a 10 day course of progesterone to bring on a period. the tablets were HELL! my head was constantly pounding and it made me feel quite unwell. i also started getting a pain in my lower right leg - we were concerned about a blood clot, but i've had a test and been given the all clear - THANK GOD! i had a 3 day spot bleed. my GP wanted to put me on another course of the same tablets, but i refused as i can't live on them. as a result my GP has now referred me to a gynaecologist (or clever doctor, as she called them!). we've discussed my weight and i've told her i've already lost 2 stone and she just encouraged me to keep going and also offered to put me in for the GP referral scheme to my local sports centre.

anyway - despite all this we want to start trying for a baby towards the end of next year and i know i need to lose some serious weight to carry a baby comfortably. i hope to have lost 4 stone by xmas and will keep on going....as i still have about 8 stone to lose in total. even then i will still be considered obese but i won't feel it!

sorry about the essay! lol

 

[nina]

In terms of contraception, 'they' don't tell us the consequences of pumping our systems with hormones...

I have an appointment to get the copper coil...as I wanted to avoid the pill...but how healthy is it having copper in ur body anyways?
glad to know ur off the Depo and things are going better for you...you have the right idea, losing some weight just to feel comfortable being pregnant -- cuz those last weeks do get miserable at times -- especially when walking around or trying to do simple chores -- or even having to take a shower!

keep movin forward!

 

[mod-karen79]

thanks - i saw my friend struggle towards the end of her pregnancy, but she did eat doughnuts every day and gained about 5 stone! during the last few weeks she was so big that when she ate food it wasn't going into her stomach! she could only eat tiny amounts of food as the fat and the baby were obviously squashing her stomach. when she ate she had to tip her head back and walk around a bit - i thought there's NO WAY i want to be like that!

 

[nina]

well, a diet of doughnuts during pregnancy can't be that healthy (but is tasty!)

I tried to eat as healthy as possible while pregnant -- wanting to keep my weight gain to a minimum...and cravings during pregnancy are usually caused by vitamin deficiency...unless that is if you crave dirt! those unfortunate women who do get that type of craving need iron in their diet!

I felt bad when you said your friend had to resort to getting food down her esophagus that way! Poor lady!

With the excess weight...It can be difficult to walk around near the end of pregnancy -- but heres some advice...stay active and walk throughout ur pregnancy...especially near the end -- it gets baby into position and ready for birth -- trying to avoid a csection at all costs (if its not necessary)! I had an emergency section with my first but natural delivery with my second --- but those final days were spent walking...and usually with the support of my partner's arm cuz i was that out of breath!

 

[mod-karen79]

she just went for it and ate anything and everything in site! i don't think she cared until after the birth....she still looked 9 months preganant even 6 months after the birth. 2 years on and she's finally starting to shift it.

 

[Fattyfattyboomboom]

Wow, ladies that was a lot to read through. Well Zena, I too want to say what a noble and and giving thing you've done for your friend and I am sure she is every bit grateful from her top to her boots for your friendship and the gifts you have given to her and her family. To the others who have had troubles and losses, I honestly deeply feel for you.

Emerald, I too was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 20, and have struggled for years with my weight. The doctors treated me like s**t. Basically looked at me and said " you're too fat go away and lose weight!" As if I wasn't already trying to do that. I was too heavy for IVF so their wouldn't even consider it, and I got ever so discouraged. I felt as though no one would help me. One doctor put me on metformin for the pcos, But my bum and the toilet were on such best friend terms that I couldn't have much of a life. So I had to stop it. But we kept trying. For years without chance we tried. I asked and asked for help from the world and my doctors but no one would look my way...not until I lost more weight. I was then told by a doctor that if I could get down to at least 16 and a half stone, that they would try me on IVF, and by this time we had waited 7.5 years. 7.5 years of hoping when I TOTM wouldn't show that I would see that extra line on the PG test. Hoping that when my breasts were sore it was "a sign". And the disappoint of doing "another" test and seeing i was just fooling myself. And then I started to lose weight. from end 2003- June 2004 and I lost 2 stone which brought me down to 16.7 stone, and just when I had come to the conclusion that there was no hope and that I should just make different plans for us, Poof I was pg!! But sadly the day I found out I lost the baby too. So it was a happy but sad day. I was sad at the missed chance, but also happy that I knew it could happen. And So I was determined that, that was it. And the following month I was PG with my son. We were/are so lucky to have him and I am grateful everyday for my loving OH and DS . MY LU ( litte'un) brought me back to the land of living and made me realises I should never give up on my dreams.

I gained tons of weight when I was PG. 7St to be about right...well it may have been more but the scales didn't go that high at the height of my PG. I did lose 2 stone straight away but kept the 5st that remained. I have since gone up and down losing and gaining it twice now. I have recently lost 2 st in the last 2 months and am still just over a stone and a half heavier now then I was when I was PG with my son. But as it happens I just found out yesterday that I am PG again. I am every so pleased and surprised that this is actually the first month of our trying. Not sure how, but I am grateful. And yes, I do think the doctors freak out a bit about the weight. But my past PG was fantastic. I did however have SPD, which was the reason for the weight gain, but with SW and know I can keep the weight to a minimum. I think last time I made sure I didn't eat cr*p but I did eat WHATEVER I wanted. This time around I will be more mindful of the situation. And to be honest it is too early now to see what cravings I may have. I think the doctors should be more supportive. And take into account that you may be a large person.But it is not that you sit at home and eat pies all the time. There are reasons, a lot of times emotional reasons why someone is large. But we are treat ( i feel) like second class citizens. Everyone has their vices, it just effects us on the outside rather than in. I wish you all the very best in your quests to be mother's for the first or second time. It is a journey, but well worth the rewards.

Still not sure if SW changes when you are PG or only if you are Breast feeding.



Jenn

 

[Emerald]

FFBB you're story is so brave and inspiring! Many of the aspects are the same to my story - PCOS, Drs treating me like sh*t, tried and failed at taking metformin, SPD in pregnancy.....! I particularly know the 'the only way to help you is to tell you to lose weight' style of doctoring. I'm so pleased to hear of your positive result! I feel confident that if the same should happen to me before I get to goal that I can still continue with SW whilst pregnant, just expect the results to be slower and for it to all take longer. I think my main aim if I were to fall pregnant is to not end up three stone heavier by the time I'm 9 months pregnant again. I love the idea of me getting pregnant next year, whilst all lovely and slim and looking like a lovely slim lady from behind until I turn around and suddenly there's a beach ball in front of me but on the other hand I don't want to wait until I'm at goal, because I want another baby!!

Emerald
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[Fattyfattyboomboom]

emerald...I certainly understand. I was planning that too. But I look at it as this...I am not getting younger. I am going to be 32 in december , and this may well be my last and if not I need to get a move on. I would have loved to be a slim lady with a bump, but if i keep waiting the time may never come. Not to mention just because you are thin doesn't mean you are healthy. I may be 19.2st, but I tell you what lady, I am healthy as a horse. I know it won't last forever, but I eat good food, I don't eat "cr*p". I exercise, and I have normal to low cholesterol, normal blood pressure, I take my vitamins. Other than the SPD and occasional back ache ( to be expected at this weight) I am in great health. There are tons of skinny people out there who never put on weight or who are barely overweight and fill there body with all kinds of junk...and they drink like fish, and smoke like chimmey's and they are "healthy". So this time around, I mean business, and I am not any...not one person make me feel lower class or a bad person. I am a great mother, always do my best and work hard for my family, and no doctor is going to convince me otherwise.

The only thing I dread is the "speech" about my weight. Last time they told me not to gain any weight at all...which didn't happen....this time I am more aware and hopefully I will put on very little, but I am not going to focus on it....just make sure I follow the plan, what I need to satisfy my hunger, and use my syns....and if I gain then so be it. But I am sure it will be at a minimum.

Jenn
xx

 

[Emerald]

I completely agree about the idea of being 'healthy' - it seems so many people are of the belief that a slim person = a healthy person. It's a shame that it isn't as black and white as that isn't it? I am sick to death of medical 'professionals' never taking me seriously because I am over weight. When we were TTC my GP *insisted* time and time again over months and months that there was no reason for us not getting pregnant other than the fact that I was overweight with PCOS. I had to bully him into testing my husband's sperm and he said 'well ok but THERE'S NO POINT'. You should have seen his face when the results were really very bad and he had to tell us that we were unlikely to ever conceive! He had assumed that it was all because I was overweight.... He looked awfully guilty, and rightly so. Basically he had failed to offer us a simple test because of my weight and his assumptions about my weight and my PCOS.

I have had my moments when it comes to bad eating I admit, but I don't own a car and have for many years been a good walker, capable of walking long distances with plenty of stamina, much more than slimmer, smoker friends for example. I know I could have acted better and I will be better in the future, because it is what I want. But I've enjoyed my lifestyle and I've enjoyed my food! I've never felt my weight has actually held me back from a healthy adult life UNTIL I started trying for a baby. I do believe my weight has played an active role in the difficulties we've had because my weight impacts on my PCOS (and vise versa). I just wish that when I was diagnosed at 17 the (whole team!) of doctors I saw didn't tell me that they wouldn't try any treatments or try to help me because 'i was too young to want a family' - I was at the time but 5 years later when I wanted a family they refused to offer any help because I was overweight, except the advice of 'join weight watchers', and being told that they wouldn't put us for IVF because of my weight. They were of the opinion I suppose that I didn't warrant any help because it was my doing that I was in this situation. The truth is that at 17 when they knew I had PCOS I shouldn't have been fobbed off and should have been helped into a healthy diet regime, I didn't understand PCOS then or the implications it would have on my life. A doc a year or so later fobbed me off again by putting me on the pill and telling me that would help, all that happened was I gained more weight! Therefore when I came off the pill I was too heavy to be helped by the NHS and had to struggle just to get a sperm test.....

It's a vicious circle and there is a lot of prejudice around - but we both have happy endings don't we, no matter what size we end up as - because we have our LOs! I wouldn't swap him for being a size 8 glamour model with billions of pounds so I know I've got out of life what I really want. Being slim would be a nice addition but couldn't compare to my beautiful boy!

Emerald
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[Fattyfattyboomboom]

emerald....spot on hun. Yep, My LU is so darling and really a treasure and pleasure to have. I just hope my new comer will be as well manners and have such a loving and giving personality. Or they could be the devil's spawn...hahaha.

Yes, I do agree they fob people off. And it is the over weight ones that really get my goat. The ones who are year on year getting heavier and heavier given me advice...it is laughable. But the NHS get what the way. THey want larger people to be to worried and frieghtened to to go to the doctors that they just don't bother. Which most don't, I know tons of people who are overweight /obese and morbidly obese who just won't go to the GP because they feel that not matter what they say, the GP will say. " well your symtoms would clear if you lost some weight!" and then off they go....Feeling bad about themselves, less likely to lose the weight, and never to go to complain about anything again for fear of being made to feel stupid. But smokers ( I was one of the many thousands) get all the help they need to quit and to help them. Drink, drugs you name it you get help. You practically have to beg to see a dietian. To get any help at all if you are overweight. And I think it is disgusting. Where I am from, (texas) everyone pays for health care...whilst it is not perfect, no one is turned away. If you need the help they help you cuz it is more cost effective to help you lose weight then to pay for any problems you have later by leaving you. I just think it is awful. But I can assure you, no on is going to make me feel bad this time round. NO ONE!