NEWBIE.

 Hi Everyone!
Im Erika and Im 3 yrs post op RNY. I was 280 down to 115 at my smallest (yuck) and then most comfortable at 120. 
I was extremely suprised to find out that I am 6 weeks pregnant (in my estimation). 
I have tried to get pregnant for the past couple of years, but we only try for 3 months out of the year, because I am in school, and the only way( in my mind) to have a baby is during summer break!
I am in nursing school, and have just completed my OB clinical. Imagine my suprise that I find out Im pregnant 2 days before my final!! Talk about distracting me on a test!

I just have a few questions that can only be answered by my favorite place to get information! I love the support that exists on this site! I may have never choked down all those vitamins and drank my protein shakes if it wasnt for the wonderful people on this site cheering me on, being my support, and having a familiar ear to hear my sucesses and fails. 

I hope I can learn from you all
What can you tell me about eating during pregnancy? I feel sick in the morning when I wake up, and just drink a ton of water. About 10 I start to be able to eat some fruit, and by 1pm when I am done with school, I am ready to eat all day! 
Right now I am convinced that I have a peptic ulcer, and am eating an alkaline diet, which is mostly fruit and vegetables. I realize I am not getting my 60g of protein, but meat makes my stomach boil. I can tolerate some chicken, which is less acidic, but only about 20g. I cant drink protein shakes, because they also make my stomach boil. 

do you eat more with pregnancy? I really am not conerned with gaining weight because I am really good at restricting my diet, and once I have the baby, I will be able to go back to my post op diet to lose weight. I am concerned with being able to eat enough, since my stomach is so small, and I can only eat so much at a time, besides the fact that right now I am eating basically vegetarian with minimal simple carbs (like a tortilla or tortilla chips) some complex (the ones in the fruit and veggies) and very little protein.  I can eat yogert so I am getting at least 8 oz a day. 

Also, did you go to a high risk doctor? my surgeons office told me that I needed to go to a high risk dr to monitor my vitamin levels and measure fetal growth to catch abnormalities early. I am at a high risk for malnutrition and vitamin deficincy or saturation.  ??? Basically more blood tests and ultrasounds. 
Whats your take on that?

Thanks for all your advice! I dont really have anyone else to bounce ideas off of. Also EVERYONE in my nursing classes wants to know EVERYTHING about pregnancy after bypass. (ok me too!) What are the risks? What are complications? if you have a story I would love to hear it. If you dont want to post it, please message me. I would love to hear anyone's saga of their 9 months of learning and experiencing. I would never discuss your personal information (Im fluent in HIPPA) but I live for medical scenarios!! 
 Erika

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I have experience with pregnancy, but none post-op (yet). I do know that I have heard of and read stories from women who have perfectly healthy and "normal" pregnancies post WLS.

I don't think having had WLS puts you into the high risk category, but you will require some extra care such as more labs, etc. I would make sure that whatever OB you choose is familiar with those extra needs and how our bodies work after surgery.

Here's wishing you a delightful and healthy pregnancy!

I do not see a special high risk OB. My OB does understand my cir****tances and has had me go for some extra growth scans (ultrasounds), but not until my third trimester when baby should be growing fastest. My PCP orders my nutritional labs, and I make sure both docs have copies of all of my lab results (and, of course, I get copies for myself to track my own results).

I'd be very concerned about your protein intake (or lack thereof). My protein levels dropped quite a bit pretty early in my pregnancy, and I have been eating meat, eggs, cheese, etc., all along. I had to increase my protein intake even further, and my protein still hovers at the very low end of the range.

Overall, pregnancy after WLS isn't much different from normal pregnancy with the exception of taking more supplements and more closely monitoring labs. I think some WLS patients make a bit too big a deal of it, honestly! In your case, I'd be more concerned about the ulcer issue and the lack of protein in your diet, but that would be a concern even without WLS.

Congratulations, Erika!!! That is so exciting :) I don't have a lot of advice, since I'm just starting this as well (14 months post-op and I think about 7 weeks along), but I'm right there with you. Just make sure you have an OB that will keep up on your labs and make sure baby is growing fine :) 

 I agree that my protein is low, but the ulcer is proving to complicate things. 
My first OB appt is tomorrow and I am going to see if she is on the up and up with nutrition, labs, intake, growth and other such things (I never trust a military dr. Sad but true) I already have a FACOG DR picked out that I worked with this semester at the hospital, that I know provides complete, current care for his patients.
Got my fingers crossed!

 So happy to hear your doing well, I too am preggers i'm due July 4th!!!!!! 3 years post op. 
I am having to see high risk speicliest in Hawaii since i live in okinawa, japan. 
We will be returning to the states in May.. My OB here has things ready to go in the states, i see a fetal monitoring speicalest, since beany baby isn't growing as fast. 
Plus i had a hard time keeping anything down... My sugars are out of control crazy i stay at like 60 range no matter how much i eat, so i feel like i eat allllllllll day now. 
i've only gained about 10 pounds so unsure if thats a good thing or bad. Knowing our minds post op 10 pounds is horrible. Congrats.