Kissmygrits

When it comes to pregnancy I have one rule....if I'm hungry- EAT. When I was too restricted to eat enough to meet my hunger, I got unfilled. This extra hunger is nature's way of insuring that your baby gets enough nutrients. This is very different from emotional eating.

I got unfilled at around 15 weeks. One of the reasons was because my fill wasn't working anyway. My Band was no match for Pregnancy hormones and related hunger so I was eating pretty good. I got unfilled because I didn't want to do any damage to my pouch. I have gained a lot of weight so far (I'm 29 weeks), but I'm okay with it. I know that once I have the baby, I'll get my fill back and the hunger hormones will subside and I'll get back to where I want to be. I got unfilled also because I was worried about getting too tight in later pregnancy (as the uterus pushes up into your stomach anyway- giving the feeling of restriction) and having some sort of complications from that.

The thing that really sucks about PCOS is that it is so different for different people. Some people's weight is really impacted by it, but there are plenty of thin people with PCOS where weight loss doesn't help their PCOS at all. Fertility is similarly impacted. For some people the condition wreaks havoc on the hormones- killing fertility, for some people PCOS doesn't harm their fertility at all. Some people's PCOS responds to moderate diet changes or metformin. Other people need to drop significant weight to see improvements. If you are overweight with PCOS, I think you are lucky because there's a good chance that weight loss can help your symptoms.

I've just recently had port discomfort (I'm 29 weeks). I guess it makes sense, the port is sewn into our abdominal wall muscles and these muscles are stretched out of place (along with everything else) in pregnancy. I can't really lie on my left side unless I put a pillow under my torso- otherwise it feels like my port is being ripped out. Ouch!

We used the Clearblue ovulation monitor also (before the Band I had PCOS which made my ovulations very irregular, so I wanted to monitor the situation). We got pregnant on the 2nd month we tried. It is all because of the Band because I was very infertile prior to weight loss.

I am astounded at how many bandsters have gained so little weight during pregnancy. Well, I can tell you that for me, the lap band has been no match for pregnancy hormones which have kept me eating constantly up until this point (14 weeks). I have definitely gained a good amount of weight already and I still have my fill. I don't have much restriction although you'd think I would. Still, I don't want to develop a complex about it, so I'm trying not to make it a big deal. I am eating out of genuine physical hunger, not for emotional issues (which was the cause of my weight problems before)-- so I believe in doing what my body tells me to do. I know that after my pregnancy, when all these hormones are out of my system and I have my normal energy back, I'll be back on track eating my tiny meals and working out like crazy. But I just refuse to obsess about weightloss/weight gain during pregnancy.

Telly, I am so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you. EVERYTHING I've read is that most miscarriages are caused by random chomosomal abnormalities in the baby- there is nothing you could have done and it is certainly not your fault. You are a healthy, vibrant woman! I wish you a speedy recovery and best wishes on your endeavors to conceive again. I'm sending you a cyber hug! I think (I've heard this from my sister) that your doctor will monitor you by ultrasound to determine when your uterus will get back to normal size. That usually means you are ready to try again.

HI again, everybody, Wish me luck tomorrow. We're going in for our 8 week ultrasound to hopefully see a strong heartbeat. I'm soooo nervous. Since I really haven't had symptoms, the labs and ultrasounds are my only reassurance that things are okay. I haven't had any morning sickness- just a tiny bit queasy if I don't eat anything. I've been real lucky!

I'm currently 7 weeks pregnant with previously diagnosed PCOS. Before surgery, my ovaries were riddled with cysts. My ovaries were so bad that the ached constantly and I couldn't sleep on my right side (hurt too much). I was on Met and Avandia (before it was pulled from the market), but they never really worked. My gyn said "you will never be able to get pregnant naturally if your ovaries look like this." That was the last straw- that was really the driving force for me to finally look at weight loss surgery as a permanent solution. After surgery and about 25 pounds down, I had an ultrasound to check on my ovaries and all the cysts were gone. I stayed on birth control to calm things down even more- for about a year and half. I also exercised a lot, which is supposed to help with glucose metabolism (even though my insulin and glucose levels were always normal- even before surgery). I came off the pill and we tried for 2 months to get pregnant and I got pregnant right away (the 2nd month). Still no cysts. No PCOS complications either (progesterone normal, etc.). PCOS never goes away- even if the cysts disappear, the underlying endocrine condition is always there, but for me the weight loss (that was ONLY achievable by LapBand) tamped it down to undetectable levels. I fully believe that LapBand made pregnancy possible for me- and without fertility meds or other medical intervention (which we were praying to avoid anyway). Of course, if I could only get all the hair back that I lost due to androgenic alopecia caused by PCOS that would be a true miracle!

Congratulations webenchant and juno!! It's good to see you both here.

Congratulations! So happy for you!

It's great reading all these posts. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one wondering/worrying about these things. For me, the part that is the most disturbing about the inevitable weight gain during pregnancy is the return of that old "food is king" feeling, that I had managed to get past because of the band. Literally, I can feel my old obsession with food coming back. My ob doctor said not to worry- it's the hormones and my body's way of making sure I get enough nutrients. And I know deep down that if I'm truly hungry (as opposed to head hunger or emotional eating), there's nothing wrong with eating- even if it's more than what I'm used to. But it kinda scares me to feel this way again. I feel like an alcoholic who's being told to drink for the sake of my baby. I know this is an extreme analogy- but that's the fear that have about my previous food addiction.

For purely ecological or environmental reasons- I did read somewhere that cloth is actually worse than disposable. The carbon footprint needed to manufacture and CLEAN the cloth diapers is bigger than the manufacture and disposal of the disposable ones. The cleaning was the issue- the energy used to clean the cloth properly was the bad part. Of course, cloth vs. disposable a personal preference issue, but I did read that analysis on environmental impact. NO JUDGMENTS HERE. Unfortuntely, there is no "good" choice for diapering.

Yeah, Heather, let's see some! Well, ladies I just had my first ultrasound on Thursday (at about 5.5 weeks). Not much to see yet- but everything is going well. It was basically a black blob with two circles in it (one baby- the circles were the yolk sac and egg sac). They saw a faint flickering for heartbeat but they want me to come back in 2 weeks to get a better heartbeat view. So far, I haven't had any real nausea to speak of. The BBs hurt like crazy and I am tired like nobody's business. Dog tired. Like I've been beaten with big sticks. Just excited and thinking about babies all day, every day. :biggrin:

Congrats!!! It's our first time too. Isn't this exciting/scary/overwhelming all at the same time? I really don't know what's going to happen with my weight... My exercise has dropped to near zero (the fatigue is killing me). It takes every bit of energy I have just to do the drive home from work then I fall asleep on the couch when I get home. I miss my gym workouts, but just the thought of exerting myself in the afternoons makes me want to hit the floor. I don't even make dinner anymore. Poor hubby! On top of that, I've been scarfing food- and not as comfort but because I am genuinely hungry. I sure hope the rest of my pregnancy isn't like this or I'll be 500 pounds by the end.

My prayers are with you. I know you are scared, but it looks like your doc is on top of it with the Lovenox. It's normal to be scared and with all you've been through already, your reaction is perfectly normal. I'm scared myself and I haven't experienced anything before- but I guess the concern/fear it's nature's way of establishing that bond between mom and child early. BIG HUG!

Holding my spot... I've got the first real prenatal appointment this Thursday. Hopefully, we'll see a sac and I'm told, if we're lucky,a heartbeat. Since we didn't take the "doubling beta" test (only a beta test to confirm pregnancy), this will be my first indication that everything is going okay. Yep- I take a generic version of the brand name "Natachew" by prescription. Question for you all, are you going to continue your gym / workout routine? Hubby wants me to stop running and walk and not to lift weights (I only do light weights- no body building or anything). I think both are safe unless I feel uncomfortable or overheated. Any opinions on this?

I like Elijah. We are going to name our son (if we have a boy) Eli. It is both a family name and a throwback to my alma mater (Eli Yale- go Bulldogs!). All of the names you chose are nice and would serve him well on the playground and (later) in the boardroom.

Now... a DHA supplement is definitely the one thing I'm missing.

I remember you, Telly. Congrats!!! And congrats to all the other ladies!! These are exciting times. As for me, I am staying put with my fill unless my body tells me otherwise (which it hasn't because I've been eating A LOT). I know my doc has a policy of immediately unfilling all pregnant women, so I've deliberately decided not to go into his office unless I need to. :wink2: People have really strong opinions on what "all pregnant women should do" but I think you just have to listen to your body and decide what's best for you and baby. If you're not getting enough food or you can't eat without getting sick, I would unfil. If you can get good nutrition, stay put. That's going to be my m.o. from now on (hopefully, that approach will work).

That's interesting. I guess this just shows how both the band and pregnancy can be so different for different people. I'm not having that problem at all. I got a huge fill a couple months before I got pregnant (I am now 6 weeks) and I feel like I can eat just about anything in any amount. My appetite has really really kicked in. I assumed I'd have to be unfilled once I got pregnant, but honestly, unless something changes, I don't think I'll need to because I'm eating like a horse. Generally, I can only go 2-3 hours without food. I haven't had any real nausea (maybe a little in the mid morning or early afternoon). I would not hesitate to get an unfil if I felt like I couldn't get adequate food in. You can always resume weightloss after the baby (thank God for the Lap Band!).

I am so excited to report that I got a BFP this morning (11 days past ovulation). It was totally shocking. I've had no symptoms other than feeling "wierd" and having a little nausea, which I attributed to just having a few "bad lapband" days (I usually feel a little queasy if I eat something that doesn't sit well). I have that dreaded bitch, PCOS, but since being banded my cysts have gone away- Thank God! But my doctor cautioned that the underlying condition is always there so it might be more difficult for me to get pregnant anyway. On top of my annoying ovary issues, hubby had low sperm counts (actually his counts were zero before he went to a urologist for treatment). His urologist had him on Clomid for 4 months to get his numbers up to normal. This was the first month we tried with his "normal" numbers and Boom! We were (reluctantly) considering IVF in the Winter if we weren't preggers by then, which we really didn't want to do and definitely could not afford. We prayed about it, used the ClearPlan ovulation monitor, and Preseed. God is good!!!

Thanks for all the nice things you have said! We are excited but nervous for sure. I guess this has taught me to keep the faith and not to get discouraged or give up. Even facing the most insurmountable odds, great things can happen. Who ever thought that with God's help I'd be able to conquer my weight and infertility? I feel so blessed. dewl- we haven't told anybody but very close family (parents and some siblings). We're waiting to tell the rest until after most of the danger period is over- probably around 8-10 weeks. I have my 6 week ultrasound next week! Mrs. FlipFlops- yes, I'm paranoid so I still test. But it's great fun to finally see a testing stick I'm not angry at. EJMdiva-- wow! You're in the homestretch. Keep us posted on your bundle! NJSoldierswife-- baby dust and blessings to you and your DH. It will happen and sooner than you think!!

Congratulations, Tink! I think the extended hoping, wishing, praying, makes the final outcome that much more sweet! Do you have an expected due date yet? Mine is March 19th.

On the subject of ovulation predictors- I see you bought a ClearPlan/ClearBlue Ovulation monitor. You will not be disappointed!! It's a bit of a heavy investment, but it is well worth it to know exactly what day you're ovulating. It just takes a little more of the guess work out. It is also useful in seeing the length of your cycles, if you monitor that kind of thing. It's a more sophisticated piece of machinery from the typical kits at the drug store. The best thing about it, I think, is that you can also monitor if you're not ovluating (something that tipped me off to the fact that I had PCOS a few years back).