13 weeks pregnant, high risk and banded

[armywife71503 0]

My name is Lindsey. I am 26 years old. I was banded in August 2009. My starting weight was 300 lbs at surgery. My current weight is 192 lbs. I have lost a total of 108 lbs.

I am 13 weeks pregnant and due on April 1st, 2011. I have 2 amazing little boys at home. We have also had two stillborn daughters and lost a third daughter during pregnancy. I also have a history of genetic X female abnormalities and pre-term labor. I am considered high risk for many reasons and the lap-band is just the icing on the cake.

I have lost 20 lbs since finding out I was pregnant. My doctors are not wanting to remove any Fluid at all. I have 5 1/2 cc's in right now. My OB said he would not even begin to worry until I have lost 10% of my pre-pregnancy bodyweight. That is only 1 lb away now. I am not hungry. I am trying to force food down, but I feel even more restricted being pregnant than I did pre-pregnancy. I am pretty much living on Ensure and salad :rolleyes2:

My pants are no longer able to be buttoned despite the 20 lb weight loss, so I know I am getting bigger just losing weight. After all of my previous losses, this entire situation is just making me nervous.

I am so glad that I just found this website as nobody on my other pregnancy message boards truly understands what I am going through and the complications that I am facing.

[jfaulk71 0]

You waited the customary "one year" post banding to get preggers. I think you'll do just fine. As long as the doctors are monitoring the baby's growth and developement you shouldn't worry so much. I know that's much easier said than done but just try to relax a little and enjoy your pregnancy. I'm 301 and hope to be banded in Dec. I'm trying to have a baby, my last child is 21 year old. Ya, I'm crazy, my current husband doesn't have kids. So, hopefully I'll be having a band baby as well. Good luck and you're in my prayers.

[aSpen 0]

I just had my little girl and I never got unfilled...I ended up losing a lot of weight my entire pregnancy...I went from 210 to 190 and stayed that way my entire pregnancy...not til the very end did I actually gain any weight..I weighed 198 when I delivered...my baby girl was healthy as a horse...no issues with her what so ever..I barely ate myself, although I didn't feel anymore restricted then I usually feel...I just ate slower and drank a ton of Water prior to eating..I drank Protein Shakes in the morning to be able to get the Protein and vitamins...just make sure you get enough protein and water..also make sure you take your prenatal Vitamins too...Best of luck with your pregnancy and congrats..hope you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy..

[sassy k's mommy 1]

During my pregnancy I didn't gain any weight until I was 38 weeks pregnant. Then I gain three. Then I gained 2 pounds making my pregnany weight gain of 5 pounds. If you are overweight from the beginning they don't stress out if you lose weight. My doctor didn't.

[rcruz 0]

You waited the customary "one year" post banding to get preggers. I think you'll do just fine. As long as the doctors are monitoring the baby's growth and developement you shouldn't worry so much. I know that's much easier said than done but just try to relax a little and enjoy your pregnancy. I'm 301 and hope to be banded in Dec. I'm trying to have a baby, my last child is 21 year old. Ya, I'm crazy, my current husband doesn't have kids. So, hopefully I'll be having a band baby as well. Good luck and you're in my prayers.

Good luck I did the same thing I have a 21yr old and am 34 weeks pregnany

[jeepingirl 0]

I have lost 20 lbs since finding out I was pregnant. My doctors are not wanting to remove any Fluid at all. I have 5 1/2 cc's in right now. My OB said he would not even begin to worry until I have lost 10% of my pre-pregnancy bodyweight. That is only 1 lb away now. I am not hungry. I am trying to force food down, but I feel even more restricted being pregnant than I did pre-pregnancy. I am pretty much living on Ensure and salad :drool:

First off congrats on the pregnancy!

i lost an addt'l 25 in the first 14 wks of my pregnancy. (90 lb loss before getting prego) i definatly felt more restriction after getting prego and was only able to eat a few bites of salads and proetein shakes. my drs all told me not to worry, but when they misdated my pregnancy by 3 wks because my baby wasn't growing properly i had issues. everyone is different though

neither of my ob's had a clue about how my band was going to effect the pregnancy (based on the fact that they NEVER could answer any of my questions)

i took it upon myself and got unfilled for the pregnancy. and beleive it or not- didn't gain anything until after i had my daughter!

i'm now struggling to get back on track (which is one of the reasons they say not to unfill). u need to do what you feel is best for you and the baby. only you will be able to decide that though- so if you're not comfortable get unfilled, or at least some of it taken out

[Jachut 487]

It sounds like things are going great. Its understandable that you would be nervous, you've had some traumatic experiences in the past.

I have not been banded and pregnant but I have been pregnant and lost significant weight. On purpose, with the blessing of my doctor because I was 220 odd pounds when I conceived and I had had preeclampsia twice before. I did NOT want to pile on weight, although in the ironic way these things go, that is not the way my body tends to react to pregnancy.

Statistically, gaining weight during pregnancy within normal limits is associated with a healthy pregnancy. That's only a statistic. As my doc pointed out for me, the baby needs nutrition, not fat. You need to take in adequate carbs, Protein, Vitamins and minerals, you do not necessarily need to take in a lot of extra calories and gain fat. You can gain the average weight during pregnancy by eating Big Mac's or ice cream and pickles or whatever(in fact most women do!) and you have not done one single thing to increase your odds of a healthy baby whereas you can eat perfectly, not gain weight and have done brilliant things for your baby.

If you are sure you're eating the recommended intakes of various foods and you are supplementing well, dont let minor weight loss worry you, if its getting a bit out of control, supplement with somethign healthy like a fruit smoothie, made with some milk, some fruit, even a bit of cream or full fat yogurt. That packs in calories AND nutrition (I wouldnt turn to artificial foods like shakes at this time, if you want to go that way go for a weight gain supplement without all the artificial ingredients).

If you really cant eat enough, the unfill a bit, you'll probably get tighter and need to eventually.

good luck!