40 1/2 yrs old, need IVF soon, planning WLS-My debate & Questions
Hello All, I am sorry if this is a bit of a ramble,
I am about to lose my insurance that pays for WLS. This past fall I decided I was DONE with my weight (BMI 40 and 40 years old) and to look at WLS. My husband is older than me and time is out for both of us (time to save towards retierment) I have been trying to get PG for years and have a cancelled IVF due to low response to meds and high FSH already. I didn't want a large weight loss to mess with my hormones, so I didn't do WLS (and yes I know that weight loss can help with pregnancy, I did lose naturally during this time and gained it back).
Ironically, I think now if I had done WLS a few years ago, then waited a year to get pG I'd have been more likely to get PG a year or so afterwards and now I am out of time. I am 40 1/2 with unfavorable labs.
I pretty much had decided to just use donor eggs, which I thought I could have Sleeve surgery next month, wait till Dec and donor egg IVF it. I get the benifit of the younger persons eggs and a padding of time. Now that I am close to surgery submittal I think that I should try once more with my eggs. I thought maybe try early summer with mine, dismal stats, then in Dec donor eggs and then give it up..I only had one cycle and the meds, maybe a different protocal I might produce. I really want a daughter and would really like to have one who looks like ME. We would be doing this in Mexico, since it is 1/2 the price down there. USA IVF is too expensive and forget donor eggs here. Course I might be just wasting my money that I DONT have and could spend on the son I do have. I've spent so much on a kid I don't have..
I know that people wait awhile after WLS to try and get preg.II can totally understand waiting AT LEAST 6 months after the Sleeve or DS/Ry. I was debating the Sleeve vs. the Band. I think the Band is crap, why bother and was going to take the plunge on the Sleeve, but I still want the pregnancy chances to be high.
I thought perhaps, get the evil Band in mid-Feb. Hope that it works for me and no complications, accept the slower weight loss in exchage for a lack of shock to my system (losing 1/2 your stomach must be one). In June do a IVF my eggs and hope for the best-pretty low probability at this point. The month before IVF stop my weight loss however I can, so my body doesn't think it is in shock. Then if/when it doesn't work, do donor eggs as planned in the winter.
Another thought, because of money, is to the evil Band (yes, if I am calling it evil, why am I considering it..because I am a bit hesitant to go to such a severe Sleeve surgery at this point, mostly..) Band, then donor eggs (sigh). Save what I would 'waste' on my own eggs.
Another thought is get Sleeve, wait till Dec to do donor eggs.
What I WON'T do is Sleeve, wait only a few months and then try my eggs and yada,yada. Early summer is just to fast after a Sleeve to try for PG.
Maybe I could do Sleeve, wait till fall/winter and then do IVF with my eggs, and then soon after, if it didn't work, then donor eggs? December was sort of my cut-ff for pregnancy (actually my 40th b-day last May was, but I gave myself and extension and gave up trying, it is just too exhausting mentally).
My secret hope was to get pregnant before all this and now I being faced with a date on the calander that I can't change, my DH is about to lose out WLS insurnace.
My mom 'joked' (in a nice way..) that to get pg I should lose weight as she thought i was eating my young. Awful. But, basically she is saying, being overweight has affected my fertlitiy. Getting WLS would fix that aspect, but my egg timer is about up.
Any thoughts on my ramble, rambling??
I am about to lose my insurance that pays for WLS. This past fall I decided I was DONE with my weight (BMI 40 and 40 years old) and to look at WLS. My husband is older than me and time is out for both of us (time to save towards retierment) I have been trying to get PG for years and have a cancelled IVF due to low response to meds and high FSH already. I didn't want a large weight loss to mess with my hormones, so I didn't do WLS (and yes I know that weight loss can help with pregnancy, I did lose naturally during this time and gained it back).
Ironically, I think now if I had done WLS a few years ago, then waited a year to get pG I'd have been more likely to get PG a year or so afterwards and now I am out of time. I am 40 1/2 with unfavorable labs.
I pretty much had decided to just use donor eggs, which I thought I could have Sleeve surgery next month, wait till Dec and donor egg IVF it. I get the benifit of the younger persons eggs and a padding of time. Now that I am close to surgery submittal I think that I should try once more with my eggs. I thought maybe try early summer with mine, dismal stats, then in Dec donor eggs and then give it up..I only had one cycle and the meds, maybe a different protocal I might produce. I really want a daughter and would really like to have one who looks like ME. We would be doing this in Mexico, since it is 1/2 the price down there. USA IVF is too expensive and forget donor eggs here. Course I might be just wasting my money that I DONT have and could spend on the son I do have. I've spent so much on a kid I don't have..
I know that people wait awhile after WLS to try and get preg.II can totally understand waiting AT LEAST 6 months after the Sleeve or DS/Ry. I was debating the Sleeve vs. the Band. I think the Band is crap, why bother and was going to take the plunge on the Sleeve, but I still want the pregnancy chances to be high.
I thought perhaps, get the evil Band in mid-Feb. Hope that it works for me and no complications, accept the slower weight loss in exchage for a lack of shock to my system (losing 1/2 your stomach must be one). In June do a IVF my eggs and hope for the best-pretty low probability at this point. The month before IVF stop my weight loss however I can, so my body doesn't think it is in shock. Then if/when it doesn't work, do donor eggs as planned in the winter.
Another thought, because of money, is to the evil Band (yes, if I am calling it evil, why am I considering it..because I am a bit hesitant to go to such a severe Sleeve surgery at this point, mostly..) Band, then donor eggs (sigh). Save what I would 'waste' on my own eggs.
Another thought is get Sleeve, wait till Dec to do donor eggs.
What I WON'T do is Sleeve, wait only a few months and then try my eggs and yada,yada. Early summer is just to fast after a Sleeve to try for PG.
Maybe I could do Sleeve, wait till fall/winter and then do IVF with my eggs, and then soon after, if it didn't work, then donor eggs? December was sort of my cut-ff for pregnancy (actually my 40th b-day last May was, but I gave myself and extension and gave up trying, it is just too exhausting mentally).
My secret hope was to get pregnant before all this and now I being faced with a date on the calander that I can't change, my DH is about to lose out WLS insurnace.
My mom 'joked' (in a nice way..) that to get pg I should lose weight as she thought i was eating my young. Awful. But, basically she is saying, being overweight has affected my fertlitiy. Getting WLS would fix that aspect, but my egg timer is about up.
Any thoughts on my ramble, rambling??
Ok first.. Holy cow. Take a breath. 
The sleeve is a shock on the body.. but the procedure recovery is not more than a day longer than the band. First and foremost.. Do NOT get a surgery you do not believe in/want/think will work for you. That is throwing it all away. If you believe in the sleeve then get the sleeve. It gets some use to eating but I believe by 3 months out I was feeling normal with eating. My friend who has the band has an adjustment period everytime she gets a fill. Can be a pain. Again.. GET THE PROCEDURE YOU BELIEVE IN!
Ok.. now on to the baby bit.. All research has shown you get pregnant easier with the lower BMI. I got pregnant a month before my year surgery date on condoms..I went a good 8 years before surgery using nothing with my husband and got no where on the baby front.
If this was me I would get the surgery ASAP..concentrate on the weightloss journey.. then at the end of the year (assuming I had no complications and all my labs were in order) I would try for the baby. I do not know the cost associated with all of this.. but can you have your eggs stored for a later date? In the end..your eggs or not.. I think you will love that baby in your arms regardless.
Good luck!
The sleeve is a shock on the body.. but the procedure recovery is not more than a day longer than the band. First and foremost.. Do NOT get a surgery you do not believe in/want/think will work for you. That is throwing it all away. If you believe in the sleeve then get the sleeve. It gets some use to eating but I believe by 3 months out I was feeling normal with eating. My friend who has the band has an adjustment period everytime she gets a fill. Can be a pain. Again.. GET THE PROCEDURE YOU BELIEVE IN!
Ok.. now on to the baby bit.. All research has shown you get pregnant easier with the lower BMI. I got pregnant a month before my year surgery date on condoms..I went a good 8 years before surgery using nothing with my husband and got no where on the baby front.
If this was me I would get the surgery ASAP..concentrate on the weightloss journey.. then at the end of the year (assuming I had no complications and all my labs were in order) I would try for the baby. I do not know the cost associated with all of this.. but can you have your eggs stored for a later date? In the end..your eggs or not.. I think you will love that baby in your arms regardless.
Good luck!
HW:260+ SW: 248 Pre-Preg 180 Post-Preg Starting Wt: 225 Current PP wt: 195 GW: 170ish.
As far as eggs, I had a low response to meds, which means few eggs, I have high Estrodil, which is an indicator of low follicular reserve. My IVF at 39 I had only one. One..but funny, I had a IUI a year before that and had 3..I guess my age really kicked in; then that December (i year ago) I got pG. If I had recognized the symptoms that were in my FACE, id' taken progesterone and possibly kept it. :(
As far as freezing goes, when you get eggs out, generally around only about 1/2 fertilize and then only about 1/2 of them thaw out, so with my age, not a good thing if I only produce a few.
A IVF in the USA costs about 10-13K. Mexico 6K. Donor eggs in the USA well over 5K.
As far as the sleeve/band, I think the sleeve would work better, think...but I am also very hesitant to perm remove half of my big ol stomach and I do know that some people get results with the band
I was thinking, maybe if I got sleeve. Waited till Nov. Stopped any weight loss a month ahead of time, then do a IVF with mine. If it doesn't work or if I have to cancel cycle again, then move to donor eggs with in a few months. I just didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to try IVF this summer and with WLS in March, that is too soon. I wish i'd thought of WLS before, i am in the 3mo diet program right now. I only qualified since I shrunk and it put me into 40 BMI. (thanks bad knee!) One thought.. the other is all the Bandy stuff above.
And I also thought about cancelling WLS surgery, do donor egg and move on. I sort hope that weight loss might help me get PG, remember I am over 40, so things are bleak and no matter what weight I am I still have 40 year old eggs..
Time is ticking on surgery.. thanks for your help
As far as freezing goes, when you get eggs out, generally around only about 1/2 fertilize and then only about 1/2 of them thaw out, so with my age, not a good thing if I only produce a few.
A IVF in the USA costs about 10-13K. Mexico 6K. Donor eggs in the USA well over 5K.
As far as the sleeve/band, I think the sleeve would work better, think...but I am also very hesitant to perm remove half of my big ol stomach and I do know that some people get results with the band
I was thinking, maybe if I got sleeve. Waited till Nov. Stopped any weight loss a month ahead of time, then do a IVF with mine. If it doesn't work or if I have to cancel cycle again, then move to donor eggs with in a few months. I just didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to try IVF this summer and with WLS in March, that is too soon. I wish i'd thought of WLS before, i am in the 3mo diet program right now. I only qualified since I shrunk and it put me into 40 BMI. (thanks bad knee!) One thought.. the other is all the Bandy stuff above.
And I also thought about cancelling WLS surgery, do donor egg and move on. I sort hope that weight loss might help me get PG, remember I am over 40, so things are bleak and no matter what weight I am I still have 40 year old eggs..
Time is ticking on surgery.. thanks for your help
Hi there. I tend to do the frantic thinking/planning thing to so I can relate to the stress you are feeling over these decisions! I also have terrible baby fever!
First of all I am a revision from band to sleeve. I had a terrible experience with the band. I actually ended up gaining weight with the band. I am 3 months post revision and am doing awesome! At just under 2 months post revision everything felt new-normal eating wise. I can eat anything, just in smaller quantity. If I chose to eat dense protein and healthy foods, it is easy to keep my calories to under 1,000 per day. If I slack on my food choices and eat more unhealthy stuff and snacks, I can easily eat up to 2,000 calories. I continue to lose weight at about 3 pounds per week because I eat on plan most days. I was probably eating closer to 4000 cals per day before surgery to maintain my pre-op weight :( When I still had the band, my husband and I tried to conceive and didn't get anywhere because of my weight. Now I have to wait to try and get pregnant because of my revision, which is very frustrating, but it is still 100% worth it. I would have had to wait for a baby either way! At least I am actively working toward things this time ;)
Anyway, I highly advise you don't get the band because of your concerns with it. Your concerns are valid. There are successful bandsters, but it all comes down to personal choice.
I think you should go forward with WLS to increase your chances of fertility no matter how you go about getting pregnant. With a 40 BMI, you are on the lighter side for WLS. I bet by fall/winter you will be close to your goal weight already! If you are like me, you won't have trouble bumping up your calories enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy when you are ready.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
First of all I am a revision from band to sleeve. I had a terrible experience with the band. I actually ended up gaining weight with the band. I am 3 months post revision and am doing awesome! At just under 2 months post revision everything felt new-normal eating wise. I can eat anything, just in smaller quantity. If I chose to eat dense protein and healthy foods, it is easy to keep my calories to under 1,000 per day. If I slack on my food choices and eat more unhealthy stuff and snacks, I can easily eat up to 2,000 calories. I continue to lose weight at about 3 pounds per week because I eat on plan most days. I was probably eating closer to 4000 cals per day before surgery to maintain my pre-op weight :( When I still had the band, my husband and I tried to conceive and didn't get anywhere because of my weight. Now I have to wait to try and get pregnant because of my revision, which is very frustrating, but it is still 100% worth it. I would have had to wait for a baby either way! At least I am actively working toward things this time ;)
Anyway, I highly advise you don't get the band because of your concerns with it. Your concerns are valid. There are successful bandsters, but it all comes down to personal choice.
I think you should go forward with WLS to increase your chances of fertility no matter how you go about getting pregnant. With a 40 BMI, you are on the lighter side for WLS. I bet by fall/winter you will be close to your goal weight already! If you are like me, you won't have trouble bumping up your calories enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy when you are ready.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
Lapband 8/2007. Revised to VSG 10/2010.... 170 pounds lost!
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