Did the sleeve help anyone with fertility?(esp 40 or over)

[SassyBee53 27]

One of the main reasons I chose to have the sleeve was on recommendation from my OB-GYN. I have PCOS pretty bad, never wanted to do IVF because of $$ and also the hormones with PCOS are so bad I didn't know if I could stand more. My partner and I have not prevented pregnancy in over five years. I had an early miscarriage about 4 years ago, but nothing since then. I will be 40 when I hit one year post-sleeve and I'm a bit nervous that I'm too old. But at least I will (hopefully) be at a healthier weight by then and more able to have a healthy pregnancy.

SO my question is , did the surgery help with fertility? Any older Mom's get pregnant after surgery? Was it a healthy pregnancy?

[Nelly631 39]

I don't know anyone personally but i have heard story

[catwoman7 11,223]

^^ same as the previous poster. I don't personally know of anyone, but I've heard stories on here and other forums about people's fertility going way up

[JessLess 1,163]

I've seen many women posting here upset that they got pregnant right after their surgery, like 6-7 months after. IMHO, think you should use birth control for a year after surgery as doctors recommend. That was you can lose as much weight as you can the first year without having to worry about getting in the nutrients necessary while you are pregnant.

I definitely think it will improve your fertility. My friend just had a surprise pregnancy and a miscarriage at 50. Whether you can get pregnant at your age with your own egg really depends on the person.

Bottom line; pregnancy soon after surgery is possible. Please use birth control.

[NYJenn 1,463]

Use the search tool. I’ve come across many stories of women who found they were pregnant after surgery. My surgeon said no babies until 2 years out though, so just keep that in mind.

[SassyBee53 27]

3 hours ago, NYJenn said:

Use the search tool. I’ve come across many stories of women who found they were pregnant after surgery. My surgeon said no babies until 2 years out though, so just keep that in mind.

Thanks, yeah I will search again and see what I can find. My Dr told me at least 12 months to wait. By then I will be 40, so that's why I was wondering. My OB-GYN is aware of my situation too and is willing to help me nutritionally etc. at that point. Because of my PCOS I react very poorly to hormonal Birth Control so that's not an option for me at this point.

[New&Improved 1,780]

Fertility rates drop dramatically once a woman hits 40.

but it's not impossible of course to get pregnant

[SassyBee53 27]

2 hours ago, Superman84 said:

Fertility rates drop dramatically once a woman hits 40.

but it's not impossible of course to get pregnant

Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. Hence why I posed my initial question.

[Fhionafaye 2]

My OB/GYN thinks that I have had PCOS since I was a teen/puberty.

I have 4 children. This isn't me trying to boast. I'm currently on Mirena. All of the times I got pregnant I was on the mini pill. Progestin-only no other hormone. I've only conceived between these weights. 230lb to 270lb.

I'm not sure how uncommon it is for that to balance someone out. During blood work, Progesterone and Vitamin D are the only levels that ever showed up alarmingly low for me.

So my OB/GYN recommended Mirena instead to make sure I don't have an accidental pregnancy or trouble with continuous bleeding and sporadic periods.

I feel slightly embarrassed and erroneous saying I'm technically infertile. Without the mini pill, I likely wouldn't have been able to have children.

I wonder if seeing an endocrinologist specifically for fertility-related reasons would help just to raise whatever is low. I was also on 500mg of Metformin with my last baby so that may have also been at work with the progestin. I hope I'm not being offensive to you or your OB/GYN. Maybe I was just a rare case that isn't similar to most PCOS hormone imbalances. So this wouldn't be helpful at all. I just thought it might be worth a shot later on.

I'm only done with the first stage of my insurance for Weight Loss Surgery. I don't have a surgery date yet. I was just told by the weight loss clinic that my file was processing this last week and I'd hear back in 2-6 weeks.

I hope everything goes well for you and the weight loss is enough to right everything naturally and that you find something to prevent it in the meantime if that's what you are trying to do. ❤️

[SassyBee53 27]

Thanks for your encouraging post. Sadly, I've tried all different BCP's, Natural Progesterone Cream, Metformin, Acupuncture....However I haven't taken Clomid due to my extra weight. I'm thinking I may give that a try once I'm down to 215/200 or 1 year post-op at least. I know that I sometimes ovulate, and my OB-GYN thinks I have had several chemical pregnancies. Gives me hope to know that others struggled and still got pregnant.

Good luck with your pre-op, it took me a year to get the courage to make an appointment, and was approved in three months, but waited six due to work/grad school/time off etc. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster three weeks, but I'm down over 25 pounds so I can't complain.

[xmeridith 7]

Never had any infertility that I knew of because I didn’t meet my husband until we were a bit older. But. 18 months post RNY we were pregnant the second month of trying while I was 39. Now 42 and halfway through a second pregnancy. Both 100% healthy. ❤️