Obesity and failure to ovulate...Anyone else in this situation?

[merrymunky]

Hello all,

Hope everyone is well.

I was just wondering whether any other users here are having trouble TTC as a result of their weight?

I am obese and since the age of 24 (I am now 31) have exerienced very irregular cycles. It is over 11 months since my last period. I use fertility friend to chart my cycles (or lack thereof) and regularly use opks and in the last 2 years have only had indicated ovulation twice I think. Even then I am not convinced they were ovulatory cycles. I never had an issue from the age of 11-24 then it all went wrong.

I have had internal scans and numerous blood tests to rule out other factors such as PCOS and they all come back clear every time. The last round of bloods (this month) revaled that my oestrogen levels are a little high and the doctor explained that with the excess weight, the ovaries mimic pregnancy due to the rise in oestrogen levels and effectively shut down and fail to release eggs.

They refuse to acknowledge that there could be any other factors affecting my cycles and only just prescribed a course of norethisterone to induce a bleed.

Until I lose literally half my body weight I will not qualify for referral to a fertility clinic for specialist treatment. It is heartbreaking and I feel I am being punished for being overweight.

I use another pregnancy forum frequently and no one else there seems to have the same issue and have been told in no uncertain terms that their weight is affecting their fertility in the way mine is. It's quite isolating and after 2 years officially trying I have seen SO many people get their BFPs and come back to try again and in some cases, have a second child.

My husband and I have been trying for longer than 2 years unofficially. For the whole 10 year relationship we have not prevented and have never caught.

So as I asked...is there anyone else in this situation or am I still pretty much alone?

 

[annmc30]

hi hun i know ow you feel i had a bmi of 37 i was told i had pcos and underactive thyroid and also no right tube but they said it was down to my weight i was put on clomid for a yr nothing happened i was also given metformin so i went on to lose 4n half stone and i found myself pregnant but it only lasted 7weeks when i mc so they said i needed ivf i went for my first cycle in april 2010 i got prengnant i got to 16wks but my baby had died at 13wks due to turnners syndrome then i had a failed cycle in feb this yr, ive got 1 cycle left which im waiting til next yr after i have my gallbladder out, i hope you get your little baby soon x

 

[merrymunky]

Oh ann you have been through the mill. *hugs*

My BMI is around 47...I am mordibly obese. No pleasant way to state it. I weigh around 21 stone. I did lose 4.5 stone on Slimming World last year but it didn't really help my cycles return at all. I had the odd bit of spotting, then an almighty 20 day insanly heavy bleed in September then nothing since. Not even spotting. Just nothing.

I realise I have to help myself and get back on track with weight loss as I have gained most of what I lost back.

 

[annmc30]

have you asked at the docs for sum help either a gastric band or even slimming pills i had slimming pill to help me, also have they tested your thyroid

 

[merrymunky]

She mentioned that I would be an ideal candidate for the gastric band but I am not willing to go down that route. It's a risky procedure and won't cure my craving. I want to do it myself really and reprogramme myself.

When I am on track I am very strict with myself and am very successful but lately I have been comfort eating due to this ridiculous TTC situation. It's a vicious circle really.

 

[annmc30]

as about the slimming tablets if u nee a boast they helped me loads and it just helps brake your fat down quicker its worth a shot and if u do need ivf then u need 2 have a bmi of 30 n below x

 

[merrymunky]

I doubt even losing all the weight my BMI will fall below that threshold. I did voice my concerns but they are so quick to fob me off.

I have always been a large framed girl (oldest excuse in the book I know but I am naturally solid) so I worry I will never get there.

 

[annmc30]

hope u get there hun if u need a chat anytime im here x

 

[SweetJennie]

Merry I was in a similar situation with the no ovulation. I had a BMI of 47.1 and no ovulation. They put me on Metformin and I started to ovulate right away. I've been working on my weight since and now I'm 41.4 BMI. I know it is really hard. I have struggled all my life with weight issues. The doc wants me to lose 60 lbs in 6 months for me to 'prove' I'm serious about doing what it takes to get a baby. Some people have no idea really.

 

[Amandajvv]

Sorry to hear you are getting so little support from your Dr. I have a bmi in the 40's but have regular cycles and was lucky to fall pregnant fairly easily with my daughter. However throughout my pregnancy the attitude of health proffesionals was so dismissive because of my weight. They expected me (and constantly told me) i'd get pre eclyampsia, gestational diabetes etc yet they admitted I had a healthy text book preg. In the end my daughter was stillborn but I blame them because I went into the hospital bleeding and they said they couldnt find the heartbeat because I was difficult to scan rather than, as it turned out, there was something going wrong and they failed to react quickly. I feel like their prejudices to obese patients put my child at risk.

Since then I have been ttc and the consultant was very helpful in prescribing fertility meds etc so weight wasn't a factor. So it is possible to get preg being obese. When I started down the secondary infertility route they blamed my weight the entire time. I pushed for every test and one by one they concluded I was normal and there was nothing wrong with my fertility and discharged me as a patient. Obviously if I dont falll naturally ivf is not an option on the nhs with a high bmi.

My advice to you from someone who had the same issues, I advice pushing your Dr to help you firstly regulate your periods and work from there. Know you cycles. I would also say I know how impossible it is to lose weight but give yourself some small targets because I wouldn't wish anyone to go through a pregnancy hearing the entire time that their pregnancy is going to go wrong because of their obesity and that when it unrelatedly goes wrong they fail to help because they are too quick to jump to the weight excuse! Even if you dont have pcos metaformin may help with the weight loss. I have been losing 1kg a month with some extra exercise. Slow but steady..

Big hugs hun, push your dr for help for regulating your cycle! Hope you make progress!

 

[merrymunky]

Jennie - WOW...they really do just expect you to be able to click your fingers and be at their ideal weight. It is so insensitive isn't it? Mine was showing me I only had to lose 11 stone to get down to a BMI of 28!! ONLY?!

Amanda - I am SO sorry that you have been through such trauma. They are SO quick to blame weight for everything. I'm so sorry they didn't act quickly enough for you *hugs*

 

[SweetJennie]

Really! Only is something I hear all the time. And what gets me is that they tell me that if i was serious I could do it. I wouldn't be doing up the house to rent out to go live with my parents again so I could save for IVF if I wasn't serious! Even when i was sick a few years back and in the hospital for a few months I gained weight on the hospital diet. The nurses were surprised. I really dont eat that much to be at the weight I am. Blah. Lol. Anyway enough about me. I'm not trying to hijack your thread.

 

[ttcval]

I am in the same boat, i get what you mean it seems no one around you gets what you are going through unless they are overweight themselves, people think that losing weight is easy and dont understand that its not simple as if you comfort eat/overeat it is a form of an eating dissorder, they say trying to stop overeating/comfort eating is as hard as coming off drugs. I dont know how many times i hear the word "only" it gets you so down at times.

Im 22 and have a bmi of around 44 and weigh about 18st. I know how you feel when you say looking around it seems everyone is having kids, all the people i used to talk to on here have either had their first or are about too. People all around me seem to be pregnant too which just adds to it.

Like you Merry i do not have regular periods and am lucky to have 2 a year, My doctor said if i get down to 14st they will help me and give me clomid. That is the most help i have been given by them, I am now seeing a dietician to try and help eating habits but find it hard when your at home by yourself, I unfortunately have no self discipline and am trying to find some way of stopping myself from running to the fridge or the cupboard for a quick fix due to my emotional state or as i have come to realise boredom, I eat when I am board.

Anyway I have been yabbering on enough and am glad you started this thread as you do often feel like the only one so it is nice to see we are not alone in this.

 

[beccad]

Obesity makes you less likely to respond to fertility drugs even if they did prescribe them, plus the health implications of being so severely pregnant and overweight are fairly serious. Just because someone doesn't have them it doesn't ring true for everyone. Have you had any counselling to try and address the root causes of your obesity?

 

[rosebud_01_99]

hi there,

i had a bmi of 42 for years and was treated awful by doctors , i have pcos and find it hard to lose weight i now have lost 6 and a half stone and my bmi is 30 im hoping and trying to get another 2st off to get it down to 25. but nothing in my fertility has changed, i still dont ovulate ,i still dont have regular cycles and my last (7th) ivf was done after the weightloss and it still was a bfn! so unfortunately for me weight loss is not helping my hormones at all, really infuriating.
rosebud

 

[ttcval]

Hi rosebud, congrats on the weighloss first of all, if you dont mind me asking how did you go about losing the weight and also over what period of time this loss achieved as i have been looking in to lots of different methods and am even looking into the possility of hypnotherapy.

thanks

valentina

 

[Soili]

Well, just a piece of my story. I have PCOS and simply gaining 5kg made me stop ovulating. That is only 10 pounds, that's nothing, barely even a new dress size. Yet that's all it took. I was in denial for a while, but faced the facts now and dieting until I know my weight is no longer an issue. It's a gamble. I don't know if I'll start ovulating again, but willing to try.

What I'm trying to say that weight does matter in fertility. I hate it that it does, but that's simply how it is.

 

[HOPEnFAITH]

I am in the same boat. I am 41.2 bmi and have pcos. I got very sick 5 yrs ago and had to take a high dosage of steriods and now am considered mordibly obese. I wish that the weight would fall off but, it's just not going to. So i feel all of your pain

 

[merrymunky]

Beccad - I very much appreciate that obesity and pregnancy are not a great combination but many obese people have totally normal pregnancies and go on to have a great healthy birth experience. I am generally in good health. My only issue is the lack of ovulation. I am very mobile and my weight is not much of an issue. I would love to send time losing weight and am willing to get back on my slimming world track and keep losing in a bid to increase the chances of my cycle returning to normal. However with time ticking on I can't waste too many years doing so, so I guess I have to give myself a kick up the backside.

The reason for my obesity? I have always been a "larger" girl and unfortunately am an emotional eater. I accept that.

Thank you for all the replies. Whilst it is good to know I am not the only one in this situation it is sad that others go through the same hardships and feel punished by the system.

 

[mrsdavisthe1]

omg that is intersting i have never heard that before. i am 28 and weigh 264 i am so sorry but i irregular periods. they put me on provera to induce period and now today i am going in to get my results i think you should get a second opinon.