Anyone have trouble conceiving before weight loss?

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thelowcarblady
thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi there,

I am just curious -- did anyone have trouble getting pregnant before losing weight?

The reason I ask is because my SO and I have been "not trying, not preventing" for almost a year now, but I am 200ish pounds, and my healthy weight should be between 130-145 so I know I have a fairly decent amount of weight to lose to get to that point. I just haven't gotten pregnant yet, and although i know everyone is different -- my mom was like super fertile and so is my only full blood sister, both getting preggers on the like first try each time....

Anyways, I have not been to a doctor yet to verify -- but I think i might have a hormone imbalance as my cycles are almost 30+ days and they vary quite often...def not like clockwork. Also, my SO and I have always been pretty frequent with le sexytimes so I know when really trying you should probably not have sex like everyday but we usually end up having sex like 4-5x a week at least lol :bigsmile: :blushing: ...i also don't exactly sit there for a while afterwards either so that also hurts chances....

anyways, I have researched hormone imbalances and I have a lot of symptoms like foggy-headedness, being really tired, and several others. All research ive done does say that weight loss and eating better and exercise all help chances of increasing fertility, so I know I must try these much more intensely before I just go to the doctor and have them prescribe me some pill that Im sure my body doesn't need to take or just "mask" an underlying problem or something. I really have to try before I just give up on conceiving naturally without medical help.

Anyways, sorry for the book lol, I was just curious how many other women out there had trouble conceiving but was finally able to get pregnant after exercising/losing weight/eating better?

Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    Had/having trouble, no luck yet.

    Tired of trying. It's been 6 years.
  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
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    Had/having trouble, no luck yet.

    Tired of trying. It's been 6 years.

    I'm so sorry to hear that! :frown: Have you been to a doctor at all?
  • kmariet7
    kmariet7 Posts: 229 Member
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    My issues seemed to be stress related. When I got out of the high stress job I didn't have any problems... Good luck!
  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
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    My issues seemed to be stress related. When I got out of the high stress job I didn't have any problems... Good luck!

    i thought about stress as well -- we did just have his dad and step mom living with us for close to two years -- they just moved out in may, so we've just recently gotten our house back to ourselves again. Maybe that too will make a difference lol, we were definitely stressed out while they were here lol

    (PS) I love your profile pic, i am a harry potter fan too! ;)
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
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    Definitely see a doc if you've been having unprotected sex 4-5 times a week for a year and not gotten pregnant.

    Having a cycle longer than 30 days is not necessarily a sign of a problem -- if you are having sex that frequently it wouldn't matter if you are just a late ovulator. But if you have long cycles, coupled with not getting pregnant despite frequent intercourse, you should get checked and so should your partner. It is equally likely that it is a problem with his fertility as it is that it's a problem with yours.

    I was 201 at 5'4" when I got pregnant with my daughter and got pregnant on the first try. Not at all trying to gloat, but I just want you to know that this issue is not super likely to be correlated with your weight. If you have PCOS, maybe, but if your cycles are pretty regular, just a bit long, it is not likely that you have PCOS.
  • thelowcarblady
    thelowcarblady Posts: 137 Member
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    Definitely see a doc if you've been having unprotected sex 4-5 times a week for a year and not gotten pregnant.

    Having a cycle longer than 30 days is not necessarily a sign of a problem -- if you are having sex that frequently it wouldn't matter if you are just a late ovulator. But if you have long cycles, coupled with not getting pregnant despite frequent intercourse, you should get checked and so should your partner. It is equally likely that it is a problem with his fertility as it is that it's a problem with yours.

    I was 201 at 5'4" when I got pregnant with my daughter and got pregnant on the first try. Not at all trying to gloat, but I just want you to know that this issue is not super likely to be correlated with your weight. If you have PCOS, maybe, but if your cycles are pretty regular, just a bit long, it is not likely that you have PCOS.

    well being overweight is a common reason for someone to be hormonally imbalanced and if your hormones are not correct like just by a little bit it can make you just completely not ovulate and I think that's what's been happening with me considering many of the other symptoms i have that are common. But I figured I'd try to be better about my diet and weight loss because I haven't been taking it as seriously as I should be, and if it still is an issue we've agreed to go to the doctor and get checked out.

    I don't know why but I have a feeling that is what is causing a lot of my problems, so we'll see i guess. i try to trust my instincts
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    I got pregnant around 225-250 lbs.

    My husband and I haven't been trying since then. I don't plan on trying again until I'm under 200 lbs. If you haven't gotten pregnant in a year, especially with sex so frequently, I would suggest you BOTH go to a fertility doctor and get checked up.
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
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    Definitely see a doc if you've been having unprotected sex 4-5 times a week for a year and not gotten pregnant.

    Having a cycle longer than 30 days is not necessarily a sign of a problem -- if you are having sex that frequently it wouldn't matter if you are just a late ovulator. But if you have long cycles, coupled with not getting pregnant despite frequent intercourse, you should get checked and so should your partner. It is equally likely that it is a problem with his fertility as it is that it's a problem with yours.

    I was 201 at 5'4" when I got pregnant with my daughter and got pregnant on the first try. Not at all trying to gloat, but I just want you to know that this issue is not super likely to be correlated with your weight. If you have PCOS, maybe, but if your cycles are pretty regular, just a bit long, it is not likely that you have PCOS.

    well being overweight is a common reason for someone to be hormonally imbalanced and if your hormones are not correct like just by a little bit it can make you just completely not ovulate and I think that's what's been happening with me considering many of the other symptoms i have that are common. But I figured I'd try to be better about my diet and weight loss because I haven't been taking it as seriously as I should be, and if it still is an issue we've agreed to go to the doctor and get checked out.

    I don't know why but I have a feeling that is what is causing a lot of my problems, so we'll see i guess. i try to trust my instincts

    A few things to know that might help with your decision:

    1. It can often take awhile to get an appointment with a fertility specialist. It might be a good idea to at least make the phone call now, see what kind of wait time you'd be looking at, and if it's a long one maybe get yourself an appointment and then continue losing weight in the meantime. Having the appointment on your calendar might even be a good motivator because you want to be as healthy as possible before getting tested.

    2. The first step is usually a semen analysis, so even if your weight is a factor in your test results, you'd at least know if your partner checks out okay before deciding on next steps.

    3. Something else to do in the meantime might be to chart your cycles. Go to the website FertilityFriend and learn more about it. It's a free site where you can record your data (bbt temperature, opk, cervical fluid, etc) and see when/if you ovulate. I use it to help me keep tabs on my cycle, know when to expect my period, and conceive my first child.

    Best of luck! I think it is good that you want to trust your instincts and I don't want to put any pressure on you. My way of dealing with TTC stress is to arm myself with the most info possible, but I know that for some people that can be even more stressful! I hope it all works out!

    ETA: Fertility specialists can use the data that you collect on FerilityFriend too. So it is a great idea to come to your first appointment armed with a few cycle's worth of data.
  • Amayah24
    Amayah24 Posts: 1
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    Yes that happened to me then I finally lost about 50 pounds and was pregnant within months if not right away
  • kmariet7
    kmariet7 Posts: 229 Member
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    My issues seemed to be stress related. When I got out of the high stress job I didn't have any problems... Good luck!

    i thought about stress as well -- we did just have his dad and step mom living with us for close to two years -- they just moved out in may, so we've just recently gotten our house back to ourselves again. Maybe that too will make a difference lol, we were definitely stressed out while they were here lol

    (PS) I love your profile pic, i am a harry potter fan too! ;)

    Thx! It's not gonna hurt to call and get an appt. with a fertility doc. Hopefully the reason is just stress and now that the house is yours again you may have better luck. I can only imagine how stressful that could be... Lol feel free to friend me:)
  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
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    My SO and I were trying for 2 years, I managed to lose 40lbs, and finally got pregnant.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    I don't have this problem, but I hope you get a bun in the oven and have a happy/healthy baby soon! :)
    Echoing above, get checked out if there's no success after months of trying!
  • prettyfitchick
    prettyfitchick Posts: 502 Member
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    I think every one is different I have done the whole not trying but not preventing for a few years then I told my husband to see a dr I thought was him but we were both normal and until we seriously tired for about 4 months is when I finally got pregnant
  • chriscolh
    chriscolh Posts: 127 Member
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    I was never overweight while trying to get pregnant (it was always after the baby where I had problems with my weight!), so this might be a little different than what you are looking for, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. In my experience, the better you are eating BEFORE you get pregnant, the better shape you are in BEFORE you get pregnant, the easier your pregnancy will be. When I was in the groove of eating healthy and exercising when I got pregnant, I was more likely to continue. And the more I was able to move during the pregnancy, the easier the delivery and the faster I could get back into shape afterwards. I was on bedrest for 4 months with baby #3, and the recovery after that one was awful! You don't want to lose weight when you're pregnant, but that doesn't mean that you have a 9 month feeding frenzy. Your body will change, you will gain weight, but the healthier the pregnancy, the faster the recovery.
    I guess my point is, you don't want to be healthy just to conceive, but also to carry that sweet little baby, and beyond!
    Good luck!
  • fittobefree1
    fittobefree1 Posts: 6 Member
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    I've been trying to conceive for a long time and I'm overweight. I have additional issues as well, but I'm working to get my weight down. I read that even losing 10% of your body weight can make a huge difference in trying to get pregnant. You should check out the trying to conceive boards on here. There are some really good people on there.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    there is research that shows that having too high a body fat percentage can cause hormonal disruption to the point that it can cause temporary infertility and even ovulation ceasing altogether. Getting to a healthy body fat percentage results in a return of fertility. The body fat percentage range for optimum fertility is about 20-25%.

    Note that this does not apply to all women, just something that happens to some women at high body fat percentages. This *may* be the issue, but bear in mind that there are lots of factors that can affect fertility, so getting to a healthy body fat percentage won't cause the return of fertility if there's some other factor affecting it.

    Also, don't try to have sex when you ovulate (not saying you are, just that it's really common for women who are trying to conceive to do this). That tends to result in having sex slightly too late as you may not show signs of ovulation until after the event. Just have sex every 1-3 days throughout your cycle... unless your man's the one with the fertility issues, then that ensures that there's always live sperm in there lying in wait for when the egg decides to make an appearance. (on that note, if/when you do go to the doctor about this, you both need to go and be checked out)
  • doubleduofa
    doubleduofa Posts: 284 Member
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    I would see a doctor now. It could be the weight, it might not be. I didn't read all your follow ups, but do you track you cycles? Meaning, do you know when you ovulate? I would track at least three cycles (with temps) so you can more easily identify an issue - like luteal phase defect. There are many things that can cause infertility and miscarriages (I'm dealing with the miscarriages) and I'm glad I saw a specialist sooner rather than later. My treatment regime took almost two months - that two months where we couldn't even try. Anyway, good luck to you. I know how frustrating it can be.

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