Trying to conceive
 

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for a few months. Did anyone have a hard time conceiving because of their weight?

Just today I watched a video on CNN about the link between obesity and infertility. It's interesting if you want to watch. Video link: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/hea...nfertility.cnn

*for some reason my computer will not open the video file.:shrug:

I didn't...I weighed around 220 both times I got pregnant. But, I've heard that infertility is fairly common in obese women. It's also fairly common for it to take a few months regardless of your weight. Before we actually started TTC I started keeping track of my BBT for a couple months and noticed that I ovulated MUCH earlier than the "normal". So then I had a better idea of my fertile days. Have you talked to you OB/Gyn? It's worth it - s/he can rule out other issues going on. GL!!

Thanks for posting that Suzanne! I am also trying to conceive and knew I needed to lose weight to aid the situation and this weekend I'm going to the ob/gyn to have a consultation about my fertility or lack there of and hopefully I'll have more to add :)

Hi AmbieP,

Just wanted to say hello from another 300+ gal TTC.

ETA: Feel free to PM me if you would like to chat.

I was on birth control for 13 years and I am sure it is just getting it out of my system being part of it. But my husband and I have waited 6 years to start trying so that we would be financially stable. Seeing the negative pregnancy tests or getting my period just kill me every month. I have been working out and watching what I eat but my gosh it is so hard. The emotional roller coaster is just out of this world!

alright...had that doctor's appt. went in ready to fight the infertility (get my hormones regulated and have crazy tests run for PCOS) and then they ran a preg. test. Guess what...it was positive. I'm now about 5 week pregnant. Never expected it. I lost 86lbs and then got pregnant. I now call my little one my MRC baby (after the plan I lost my weight on). Hang in there girls. Don't be afraid to go talk to your doctor about it. Mine was awesome!

I tried to get pregnant for a very long time but had problems with ovulation. It took me years to find a doctor who really understood that I wasn't ovulating (many of them kept saying if I was having a monthly period I was always ovulating, which even I knew wasn't necessarily true). I finally found a doctor who did a simple blood test to see if I was ovulating, and I wasn't, so she put me on Clomid. Unfortunately, we never could find the right dosage that would make me ovulate every month. I did sometimes, and I didn't others. Then I said ok...I'll just forget about it for a while and see what happens. Then I lost 110 pounds. I met my goal of 165 in October, and I got pregnant in November.

I'm not saying it's always that simple, and that obesity is the obstacle for everyone, but it clearly was for me. I became a healthy runner, and I got pregnant almost immediately without even thinking about it at the age of 36, after MANY years of disappointment. I truly wish my doctor had made the connection between obesity and infertility clearer to me from the beginning. Obviously, I knew that being obese was bad for my health overall, but I truly just thought I had ovulation problems regardless of my weight. Now I totally blame the weight. Again, however, that's MY body and I'm not saying it's true for everyone, because lots of people can conceive at different weights. My body simply would have none of it until I got healthy.

Do I believe this means everyone has to get to a completely healthy weight to conceive? Obviously not. The better your diet is and the more active you are, the more likely you will conceive and have a healthy pregnancy -- that much everyone knows. I just think I happen to be a walking advertisement for the obesity/infertility link!

I truely believe it will happen when it's supposed to. It is just so hard every month to not be pregnant. I have waited so long to start trying making sure our finances were good and that I was grown up enough. I am afraid now that I missed my chance to be a mom. I know I am young (almost 31) It is just so hard to not get discouraged every month. It has only been 4 months ttc and I know I should just be patient and not think about it but man is it hard! Thanks for everyones support!

Don't get too discouraged if you are not pregnant after only 4-5 months. My friend found out she was expecting in December, and they have been trying for 2 years.

When there is such a small window each month for pregnancy (just a couple days, tops) it is really hard to hit that exact point of time in a given month. When you are trying for 4 months, for instance...really there is only about 8 days of fertile time there.

It's luck of the draw, really...sometimes you get lucky, and other times you don't. It will happen when you least expect it to. :)

I am also TTC at the moment. I am 29 years old and already have 2 children ages 10 and 8 that we concieved when I was much thinner (140 w/first 160 w/second.) I was also wondering if it was hard for other obese women to concieve. I've read in alot of help sites and such that many over weight women found it easy to concieve and even lost some weight during their pregnancy and had perfectly healthy children. I told my dr we were TTC and I was really expecting her to tell me I was to heavy but instead she told me to start walking everyday and taking my prenatal vitamins. Heres hoping that we could be or are carrying a little one very soon. :) Dont give up! I know I dont plan to.

I had a problem conceiving because of my weight...my periods are irregular and because of that my ovulation is irregular. I came to this site and ended up losing about 60 lbs (I got down to 198) and with the help of my fertility doctor, I was able to get pregnant. I just delivered my baby boy 6 weeks ago and here I am wanting to lose weight again.

I second aphil, however - it can take a healthy couple up to a year to conceive without any fertility problems. If you are having regular periods, most likely you are ovulating normally. Good luck and I hope you get that positive test very soon!

We tried for 6 years - I have been heavy that whole time. I was only diagnosed with PCOS a year ago & started metformin then. In the last 1.5 years I've lost 70lbs but that still wasn't enough. I just finished my first round of fertility treatment (clomid & pregnyl) & it worked!

For someone people the weight matters - for some it doesn't, as far as conceiving goes.

Good luck - I hope you are able to do it.

Congratulations, Lifeguard!!! That's wonderful!!

Oh Lifeguard that's so cool! I've seen your other posts relating to trying to conceive and am so happy for you! :)

I have been struggling for a few years to get pregnant.
Apparently I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (sorry if I miss-spelled).
Basically I don't ovulate on my own.
My doctor has told me that weight can be a big factor in overcoming this problem.

I've been taking medication to help me ovulate, but I think that my weight is still interfering.

It's a painful process to go thru. I wish you the best.

Trying to conceive, desperately seeking answers
 

Hi My husband and i are also trying to conceive...I have always been heavy, but i always remember ovulating because i had the discharge....
Now i am the heavest i have ever been 223lbs and I first realized something was wrong when the cervical muscus wasn't there during my ovulation time.
so i went to the doctor and he said my progesterone was low... first it was 4.0 then it was 6.8 the next month after i lost literrally only six lbs and started taking my thyroid pill.....I also have hypothryoidism. i was on 1grain of armour now it is backlogged, so i am taking 25 mcg's of levothyroxine, which is less than i was taking before, and yes i have an apt with another doc to get on levothryoxine and cytomel. My gyn's nurse said taking the thyroid pill wasn't enough to let it go up tha tmuch, but my question is why did it go up? My TSH levels were 2.5 under the old thyroid scaled anwhere between .5-6 were considered normal, but research i have read suggests that your the scale should be 1-3 and that to achieve and sustain pregnacy they should be closer to 1.... They were getting there with the armour now i am fighting to get the T3 i need which is what the cytomel will give.. I have all kinds of test scheduled in March to determine if i have PCOS...

I guess my question is why is my progesterone level hopping around like this?, how can i make changes to my lifestyle and eating habits so that my body has the optimal opportunity to ovulate..... Its crazy cause i otherwise am very healthy.... i don't want to have to take clomid or another drug just yet... I really feel that when it comes right down to it.... I just need to lose weight... i have ate myself into a stupor and i want to try and lose it first... all the research i do read about PCOS says it can be controlled by losing weight?

I became pregnant when I started exercising and eating healthily. Also, maybe TMI but...
I used to assume that I ovulated 14 days after the first day of my period and would make sure that we had sex a couple days before. We tried for several months with no success and took a break. I thought that if I lost some weight, that would help. I did lose some weight, but in turn we both felt better and had more sex (like every day). Anyway, turns out that I ovulated way earlier than what I thought...way earlier than 14 days past the first day of my period. I'm now 13 weeks along!