Obesity & IVF

rafaytina02

DH & I have been trying to get PG for a while now. We have recently undegone testing for fertility, and have been deemed perfect candidates for IVF! I am soooooo excited, but I made the dreadful mistake of looking up IVF & obesity.. I just could not emotionally handle a miscarriage. Anybody out there have any experience or words of advice or wisdom.

I am 8lbs and still trying to lose...
In desperate need of motivation!

Please Help!

ValerieMartini2Olives

I am assuming the 8lbs is a typo.
If you are really concerned, you should lose 10% of your body weight before you plan to do the IVF.

workout_ninja

I lost weight prior to starting IVF as I read the statistics also. I lost 30lbs by the time it was my turn on the waiting list which was a year. My pregnancy was successful. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will come off. Good luck :happy:

ldrosophila

Do you have PCOS or insulin resistance talk to your doctor about putting you on metformin. Also continue to eat right and exercise that will give your baby the best chance.

Predsfan2013

My future husband and I are currently trying and have been not preventing it for over a year. I do have PCOS. We have decided that to focus on our health now and if it happens then we will take it with stride. I just started taking metformin and In the last 6days along with diet and exercise, I have lost 5lbs. IT will happen but you have to have patience and lots of faith.

Sending baby thoughts your way

taranj21

i was not overweight when we needed to do IVF, we had tried for 3 years with no success. tried clomid, iui, iui with medication, then had to do 3 IVFs. There was no medical reason that we didn't conceive. I actually had my first daughter without even trying. I do want to warn you though that you WILL gain weight with the IVF meds. I gained nearly 30 lbs.
The first cycle didn't take, the second cycle I miscarried at 8 weeks, and the third cycle I got pregnant with triplets.
If you want to talk at all about the IVF process let me know....I also was on a message board for that.....
good luck!

nathalier71

Best of luck to you! We did IVF and unfortunately was unsuccessful... your story will end up more positive! You probably should work on losing weight - I know our specialist was a big supporter of that theory.

simplybittersweet

I'm glad to have read this. My DH & I are starting IVF next month, round 1. The clinic we go to cuts off treatments at BMI 45 and mine is 44. Since my weight can fluctuate 10 lbs. on any given day, that is the difference between receiving IVF or not. :-/ I actually have to get medical clearance from a maternal fetal medicine doctor before I can begin IVF who will look over my records and say yes, I think she can handle IVF or no, she can't. My appointment is tomorrow and I am terrified they will not give me clearance. Even though I knew I was obese before, I never gave it as much thought. I've been on MFP and before this, Spark, for forever now but only because I know my weight is unhealthy and sometimes it gets me down but for the most part, I feel comfortable and always think, "Oh, people way bigger than me have healthy pregnancies ALL the time." But now I may not even get to the healthy pregnancy part because of my weight! EEK! Time to get a move on... Thanks for posting this!

arplatt

Hello everyone,
I have never posted to a forum before so this should be fun. I am classified as obese. My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for 2 years. We have gone throught 3 IUI's and just recently a failed IVF. I am trying to see if anyone out there had success after losing weight and getting pregnant?

bettanyloses

I lost over 50 pounds and was on my way to being in the right BMI range for IVF (the best clinics say 30 or 35 max), when I got pregnant naturally. We'd been trying for years. Weight loss can make a massive difference.

candiceh3

Yes weight loss can make a massive difference. I had a BMI of 30 when we successfully conceived via IVF. There is a risk of birth complications in the obese - I think due to difficulties with anesthesia. All around it is best to lose some weight and then try.

Best of luck.

taliar93

Seriously consider waiting until you've lost more weight to go for IVF, why? You want to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, and you're gonna want to be in good shape to run around after a kid!

BunBun85

My husband and I had been trying for almost 4 years, I had already lost 105lbs (weight loss alone wouldn't have helped me in the end, immature eggs not able to be fertilized) and my OBGYN told me that the BMI cut off was 36 for IVF, I think I was 38 when he said that. I did however meet the criteria to begin taking Clomid and was told that I could continue my weight loss May-November while I was taking it and that by then I should be in the BMI range. I'm happy to say that I do meet that BMI requirement now but even happier to say that the second round of Clomid worked and we're having a normal healthy pregnancy. I'm 5'2, started out at 211 and am 197 now, doctor supervised weight loss.

Depending on your fertility issues it may be a possibility for you to also start out trying Clomid while you're working to be healthier for IVF. It might be worth talking with your OB about.

Best of luck and baby dust to all!