Gastric Sleeve & Pregnancy

I have been looking into the gastric sleeve. I go 12/29/09 to have all of my preop work done but I'm having 2nd thoughts now. I want to have a second baby but I also want to have my surgery done first. I took my 2-year-old to his check up today & discussed the gastric sleeve with my family doctor. He says that his "opinion" is he would wait until AFTER I have another baby. His reasoning is that there hasn't been enough research on this surgery yet & that I could possibly reverse it in the long-run. The facility that I'm having the surgery says that I should be able to have a baby within 12 months after the surgery. The time frame is not the issue. The issue is that I don't want to spend all of this money on something that might end up backfiring on me in the future. If I do end up getting pregnant, I don't want it to be unhealthy for the baby or unhealthy for me.

Does anyone have any information on the gastric sleeve & pregnancy? I have tried to research it but can only find the bare minimum on the subject. I would appreciate any information from anyone that has any.

Thanks,
Marci

I kind of agree with your doctor if you are going to have the gastric sleeve.  You will lose all that weight and then who knows how much you will put back on with the pg and then have to lose it all again after you have the baby.  The sleeve doesn't have the malabsorption part like the RNY and so you might gain most of the weight back and then it might be so hard to lose it after the baby.   I was considering the sleeve but ended up going with the RNY.   If I had gone with the sleeve, I personally would've waited till after I was done having kids to do it.   But I was getting close to 300 pounds and my body was starting to really hurt and suffer because of the weight.  I didn't want to carry around another baby at 270 pounds and be miserable again like my 2nd pregnancy with all that extra weight!   Being 140 when I got pg with this one has been so wonderful and I'm glad I chose the surgery I did.   Not carrying around the extra 130 pounds while I'm pregnant has really helped me have a better pregnancy.  It's all up to you! 

Now if you were to do the RNY, I would say get it done and then get pg.   The RNY restricts food portion size but also has the malabsorption part to keep the weight OFF (not too  much malabsorption though, not like the DS).   I am 24 wks and have only gained 8 lbs and know if I was this weight and had a "normal" stomach, I would've put on like 20 or so by now! lol  And I know with the malabsorption part and me eating healthy after the baby, the weight will come off.  With the sleeve, you are just limited in portions but absorb everything- making it possibly hard to lose that weight again.

Getting either surgery won't be unhealthy to the baby, it's just the fact of YOU putting the weight back on and not being able to lose most or all of the baby weight you gain during your pg.  So if it were me, I'd wait till I was done having kids to do the sleeve.   I was self pay too and would hate to waste all that money- plus time and the hard work to get the weight off, just to gain it back and then not be able to lose it.

JMO

Sorry, I think I replied to the wrong post!! (New at this whole thing...) I don't know all the abbreviations and what they mean yet. What is RNY?

Thanks,
Marci

Okay, here's my food for thought: I'd look at how much weight you have to lose, and whether or not it's affecting your fertility and chances of having a healthy pregnancy (not that this is easily quantified...just sort of "what do you think" kind of thing).  I mean, if you're like 70 lbs overweight and have had healthy children at/near your current weight, then wait on the surgery.  Have another baby first.  But if you're like 200 lbs overweight and just can't get pregnant for anything, then you may need to consider the surgery first.  Does that make sense?

Similarly, I'd just like to point out that as long as you wait the recommended amount of time after the surgery to have a baby, I don't think the VSG would be harmful to the baby at all.  Again, I'm not a doctor - but the way I see it is that you're still able to absorb your nutrients.  You would just have to take your supplements and eat nutrient dense foods while pregnant to have a healthy pregnancy.

Either way, good luck!

Cheers!

~Katherine

I have been trying to find information about people getting pregnant after getting the sleeve.  I had the band put in about two years ago and it has not worked out.  I have gained weight with it and it is painful.  Mysurgeon said he would take it out and asked me if I would like to have the sleeve.  I would consider it, but I want to have another baby.  The problem is that I am 47 and can't wait a long time.  I have about 80 pounds to loose, so not as much as some people I know.  I have read that during weight loss phase not to get prenant and I would not, but I figured I could loose it in about 8 months and then get pregnant.  I started at 180ish before the band, now I am around 210 and would like to be about 130 to 140 for pregnancy.  Any advice would help. 

Thank you all for your comments. I'm not up-to-date on the abbreviations yet. What does RNY mean?

Thanks,
Marci