BMI and fertility help

[thurl30]

Hi everyone,

I just wondered if anyone has a higher BMI, and has been referred for fertility. My GP is in the process of referring me, I have been ttc for 2.5 years. I have to do a few tests before my referral goes off, and I'm just waiting for the correct cycle days before I can take the tests. My concern is not the referral, but when I get my first appointment, and I'm thinking about if there is any point in it with my BMI being high. Has anyone else had experience of this?

 

[Emmi]

Are you NHS or private? I do know that NHS like you to be below 30 but then I always hear so many different things. I would go to your appointment and await what they say.

Good luck

 

[bonniessis]

Sorry, this comments really long. I know my NHS Trust you have to be below a BMI of 31. I had to lose about 2 stone before they would consider any treatment. I know they want you to lose weight as it's easier to fall pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy with a lower BMI however after my first round if clomid didn't work I kinda went off the rails and gained a fair amount of weight and was mega unhealthy, coincidently that's the month I got my BFP.
Just to mention, it took me a year to lose the weight to start treatment, I was so disheartened after my first appointment that I thought "well sod you, I'll get pregnant on my own" and ate what I wanted (how stupid was I?!?), plus I'd already lost quite a bit of weight before going but they won't really take that into consideration. A little tip too (unless they measure you) I'm 5ft7 and when he asked my height I told a little white lie and said 5ft8 to bring my BMI down a bit, then my consultant also lied and marked me down as 5ft9 to bring it down further. Might be worth a try :0)
Good luck, I see by your ticker that you're already doing well with weight loss, keep it up and I'm sure you'll be fine xxx

 

[thurl30]

Hi ladies, I'm NHS, my GP read out her guidance to me which said a patients weight shouldn't stop a GP from referring, but then I thought when I get to the referral are they just going to turn me away? My BMI is currently about 41, I need to lose another 12lb (as of my weigh in last Wednesday, hopefully will be less now) to get my BMI to under 40 which is where I want to be when my GP weighs me and sends off the referral. I have heard it's quite a wait until you get your appointment, so I was hoping to be at least BMI 38 when I go to my first appointment. Bonniessis I love the idea of the height thing, I actually don't know what I am, I am about 5ft 8 and a bit so think I might go for 5ft 9

 

[thurl30]

Oh and Bonniessis I completely forgot to say then congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it's all going well

 

[JenniferS92]

I have heard it's quite a wait until you get your appointment,

Hey at 5ft 6in my weight makes me a BMI of 43.29 im classed as obese!!

but my and my oh had a joined appointment at dr's and he brought it up took the weight and height of oh and then told us he would refer us as its been about 3 years of trying with no luck (not even a MC at time of going to dr's)

as you can see from my signatures oh has his Sa appointment on the 13th dec and the results appointment on the 19th.. bearing in mind that i had to reschedule this due to the fact of oh's work schedule and he was on antibiotics at the time, our original dates were in november and we went to see the DR at the end of september and had our letters 3 weeks later. i dont think we had to wait long personally and we would have known the results sooner if the test was done in nov.

Hope this helps you to know that it may not be a long wait as you thought x

 

[Pinkie 33]

Hello, we were referred for treatment by our doctor but the clinic sent us away to lose weight. I had to have a BMI under 30 and DH had to be under 35. I lost 2st and he lost 5.5, it took us 6 months. Despite the outcome (see signature) it was worth it as his swimmers did increase slightly with weight loss.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you

 

[thurl30]

Hi Jennifer, that's very quick! I know it varies between different PCT's but I was told by someone that it's usually about 3 / 4 months until you get an appointment, thank you for this info

Hi Pinkie, BMI of 30 is such a huge weight loss for me, I told my slimming world consultant what was going on and she said I would need a BMI of 30, what a nightmare Well done on your weight loss though, that's brilliant! My DH is in the healthy range for his weight which is good for him but annoying for me, makes it much harder when he is chomping on naughty food, although he is being quite supportive at the moment thumbup: Sorry to hear what happened with you, fingers crossed we all get our happy ending next year

 

[ChartsNHearts]

In my experience, once you have been referred to the consultant they will not stop harping on about your BMI!

It has honestly been the only thing anyone has wanted to discuss with us since we started our appointments. At one appointment I was only 2lbs over the weight I needed to be in order to have a BMI of under 30 and yet they still said they'd refuse to offer me any treatment at all because I wasn't under the magic number. In our experience, they'll let you go through all their tests (sperm/HSG/scan/blood tests) but they won't offer you any help at all until your BMI is under 30 - and they don't allow any wiggle room, not even a lousy 2lbs. I have lost 3 stone, but they don't care about that - they don't care about anything other than being able to tick the box saying that you have a BMI of under 30.

Sorry to sound so bitter - it's just been a crappy experience trying to get the NHS consultants to talk to me like a human being and all because my BMI was 32 rather than 29.9 when I was referred. I have a BMI of under 30 now but it has been a stressful time getting here and it's very frustrating that my weight has been my main worry throughout this process so far, rather than more important matters relating to our plan for treatment.

Well done on the weight-loss so far, I know how hard it is and you're doing great!

 

[thurl30]

Hi ChartNHearts, thanks for your post, don't apologise this is what I want to read...it's reality, I can't pretend my weight isn't an issue as much as I'd like to, I have PCOS too which makes things a bit harder it's a never ending headache Have you got a treatment plan now? Well done on getting your BMI down, but what a stress! I need to lose another 5 stone to get to a BMI of 29.9

 

[ChartsNHearts]

Have you got a treatment plan now?

We're about to start IVF in the next month or so actually - a combination of poor sperm motility, a diminished ovarian reserve, and one blocked tube, meant that ultimately this was the recommendation for us.

Good luck with everything - my sister has PCOS but she was lucky enough to get her BFP whilst she was dieting, before she could access any treatment, so I hope that the same happens for you too and that you get your BFP very soon!

 

[thurl30]

Thank you, I guess anything is possible. Good luck with your IVF, I hope it works for you and you get your bfp

 

[kaye]

We got referred had all the tests, then they said they could not offer me any treatment until my bmi was under 30.
I was gutted, couldn't stop crying and went a bit of the rails being depressed and comfort eating. This January I started a new diet and I am currently 2lb away from losing 4 stone andmy bmi is currently 30.05 so nearly there and waiting for my doctor to re refer me.
They will not budge on the weight side of things on the nhs.
E will see you with a bmi of 35

 

[thurl30]

Hi Kaye

Congratulations on your weight loss, that's fantastic! Have you been following a specific plan? With regards to the BMI, will they not even see you with a BMI above 35? Mine is still 40 x

 

[kaye]

ive been following a diet called metabolic effect from two american brothers. the book is on amazon. i have been excercising a lot too. best thing ive done.

when i went to the hospital my bmi was 39, i had tests done liks bloods, tubes checked and scan of womb etc. after that they said they could not give me clomid or ivf or any treatment till i had bmi of 30. they said they would never help someone get pregnant with high bmi as the health risks in pregnancy if overweight. honestly i was devastated and crying my heart out. so thats why 4 years 1 month im still waiting to get any where

 

[xxshellsxx]

Last october my BMI was 44.6 and although i was allowed the referral and blood tests no treatment was offered until my BMI was under 35... ideally under 30! I have lost 5st 8.5lbs since then with slimming world and i was able to have my HSG done in May this year. I then went in for laparoscopsy in august my BMI was 29 - it can be done i promise you! Take each 7lbs at a time and it doesn't seem so big!

My surgery was successful and i conceived in September on my first clear cycle after laparoscopy, only to lose my miracle in October... so i'm praying for my rainbow sometime soon x

 

[kaye]

Last october my BMI was 44.6 and although i was allowed the referral and blood tests no treatment was offered until my BMI was under 35... ideally under 30! I have lost 5st 8.5lbs since then with slimming world and i was able to have my HSG done in May this year. I then went in for laparoscopsy in august my BMI was 29 - it can be done i promise you! Take each 7lbs at a time and it doesn't seem so big!

My surgery was successful and i conceived in September on my first clear cycle after laparoscopy, only to lose my miracle in October... so i'm praying for my rainbow sometime soon x

Fantastic weight loss, well done!!!! Sorry about your loss

 

[thurl30]

Hi ladies

Kaye you have done so well though, it's so heart breaking that it's the weight that stops us, I'm really active but I know the risks are huge, I really do wish you the best of luck

Shells I am so sorry to hear about your loss, I have lost 2 pregnancies and it's just so difficult, I am at Slimming World and I really like it, I have cut back on my carbs massively because that's supposed to help with PCOS, but on the flip side having PCOS makes weight loss slower so you're right with the taking it 7lbs at a time. Congratulations on you weight loss you have done amazing

 

[Heatherlt]

I'm in the US so it might be different, but my doctor's max BMI is 40. I have been losing weight for the past year and just made it under that at around 37. I was SO scared my weight would be the only thing focused on and that I'd just be told to lose weight and he wouldn't help. But so far he's only told me that I've done good losing weight and to keep going. I'm crossing my fingers that you get a fluff-friendly doctor!

 

[bonniessis]

Oh and Bonniessis I completely forgot to say then congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it's all going well

Sorry I've not been on in a while, everything's going fine now that I'm further on, I've had a few bleeding episodes etc but fortunately he's hanging on.
Slimming world seems to the popular choice, my mum's been on the plan for 9 weeks now and has lost 28lbs. I'm thinking about joining too as it's the only plan I know of that allows you to "diet" while pregnant. I wanna start getting things (weight etc) in order for my wedding in September.
I also have PCOS and wasn't ovulating, once you finally get your appointment, try asking their views on metformin, my consultant wouldn't even consider it as a weight loss aid for me but I know that some others do get it to help lose weight. Also, they might offer you an appointment with a nutritionalist, I turned this down as I hate people telling me what I can and can't eat.
Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you xxx