IUI after VSG...have questions
well, i am excited to say i had my first iui yesterday. i am fully aware that they don't often work on the first try out, but i'm either successful or one try closer to being successful. :) (of course if find out im not pregnant ill probably be heartbroken).
so, my questions are these...my ob-gyn knows both my surgery and working with a fertility specialist as does my wls surgeon. the fertility specialist knows of my sleeve. i feel, though, as though each is expecting someone else to cover the basics with me.
i had blood levels drawn in prep for this and was told my levels were all great. they never gave me prenatals, i never questioned it figuring he knew what he (fertility specialist) was doing. but then yesterday i read a sign on their door about importance of folic acid (which i should be fine with) and then it said that if i was not taking a prenatal to ask the doctor to write a script for one, so i asked about it.
the nurse seemed rather shocked that i was not taking one so she was going to have one called in for me and i started yesterday. sooo, if i should have been taking it before why didn't they tell me? and if i should not be taking it at all (i'm afraid maybe some levels might be too high now??) then why did they call it in?
second, no one has ever talked to me at all about the "dos and don'ts" of being pregnant. thank god for online so that i can do some of my own research. i realize that a lot of people don't know they are pregnant in the first few weeks, but i do know there is at least a possibility and i'd want to do the best that i can from the start. i'm hoping there is nothing i've missed.
finally, i'm reading up on the nutritional needs, and food intake recommended by pregnant women and dying. there is no way i can fit all that in, and i can eat a lot more than most of my fellow sleeve friends. sheesh, just keeping track of all of the requirements is daunting, but that cannot be the same guidelines for us, is it?? and if so, omg, how do you do it?
i tried to search here for similar posts and was unsuccessful which surprised me. i also tried to find sample pregnancy meal plans after wls. wondering what wisdom y'all might be able to share. i will be making some calls here, but hearing it from real people sure helps.
thanks, tas
First off, relax!
I got pregnant 6 months after my sleeve with my second baby, and I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant with my third (just about 3 years post op now). My labs have always been great, and I've never changed my vitamin routine, pregnant, nursing, or in between, it is always the same. I take two target brand flintstones every morning. In the afternoon, I take calcium, and recently I've added an occasional iron in the evening. When I first got pregnant I compared my two chewables with prenatals, and found that I was already getting more of everything important than what the prenatals had in them. Also, because they're chewable, we're more likely to digest them fully since they spend less time in our little tummy. I asked my OB about just continuing as I was, and he said it was fine. I never had additional labs done while pregnant, but had them checked just after having my son, and again while nursing, my levels stayed fine. As for the eating, we don't need to do anything drastic like double your calories. In the beginning, if you're not feeling well, just eat what you can. In the second and third trimesters, just add about 300-500 calories to your normal intake. If you go with random numbers like 2300 calories a day (which assumes a "normal" intake of 2000 plus 300 for baby) you're probably going to end up with a lot of extra weight to lose in the end. Of course, if the baby is not growing on target, then the numbers may need some tweaking. Overall, I just add an extra snack or so (which I'm hungry for anyway) and things went fine. Hope this helps.
Good luck with the IUI!
aww, thanks for asking. it didn't take, but i am literally laying on my bed with my legs propped up as i type...yes, i know i don't have to, but it just seems like it can only help, right? i was just inseminated again about an hour ago...i knew it would likely take a few tries, so we're on round 2...1 step closer. maybe 2. that's ok. thanks for asking. :)
oh, and i did ask about the prenatal vitamins and they said yes, keep taking them, i'm not overdoing it. yay. :)
