Hi, I am 34 and considering lap band surgery I have wavered about it for a few months now. If I have the surgery I was told I can't get pregnant for one year post op. Is it Better to have the surgery and be healthier ( I have htn, pre diabetes, sleep apnea) which would get rid of my health concerns even though I'd be 35 when I would be allowed to get pregnant or is it better to be younger 34 with the problems I mentioned and no band til after baby #1????please help thanks

Hi, I am 34 and considering lap band surgery I have wavered about it for a few months now. If I have the surgery I was told I can't get pregnant for one year post op. Is it Better to have the surgery and be healthier ( I have htn, pre diabetes, sleep apnea) which would get rid of my health concerns even though I'd be 35 when I would be allowed to get pregnant or is it better to be younger 34 with the problems I mentioned and no band til after baby #1????please help thanks

I would say have the baby first...then the surgery. Having not starting my family till I was 36 and the last one at 41.....I can definitely say it is easier the younger you are with children They take alot out of you as you get older...LOL (not to mention...harder to get pregnant the older you get)

Anyway...Im thinking if you did surgery first...you would lose some weight...its not a speedy process for many...and then they would unfill the band and you would again gain for nine months...well, some drs unfill and some dont from what I have heard. would you feel dissappointed if you gained weight after working so hard to lose it only to somewhat have to start over?

I guess you have to do what is right for you...both situations have their advantages and dissadvantages.

Good Luck to you on BOTH journeys!!

For you and the baby it's much better if you're at a healthy weight/bmi.

Lots of luck with what ever you decide

I got the band at 34 and had my first baby at 36. I would have had a very hard time if I didnt lose the weight first. Gestational diabetes was not something I wanted to deal with on top of high bp and and a bunch of other issues I had pre band. I had absolutely no issues during my pregnancy and had a normal vaginal delivery. My son and I were both healthy and pre band I dont know if we would have been. I couldnt get pregnant for 17 years pre band. The 18 months I waited after surgery was worth it. I plan on trying again next year and will be 38 before the next one. I believe its better to be a healthy older mom instead of an unhealthy only a year younger mom.

Good luck.

Im not 35 yet but I will give my opinion. I would definatley have the surgery first. Yes its a year you will have to wait but, imagine how much easier the pregnancy will be if your not fighting the sleep apnea and diabetes!

Pregnancy can cause diabetes and high blood pressure and so many other things so I would not want to add them ontop of what I was already dealing with.

And just think if you get your band and work hard and lose a good 50+lbs in that year how much easier it will be to get pregnant and how much healthier your body will be for the entire process.

I had two miscarriages in the past two years. I ended up losing 65lbs between march and this Summer. Found out in august we were pregnant and everything is going so beautifully this time and I do believe it has a lot to do with the weightloss and fact that I'm healthier.

Also if you already have your band and you end up gainin 30 pounds or so during pregnancy you can just go get a fill after instead of having that additional 30 to take into surgery with you! Just an opinion and you must do what feels right for you. Hope this was somewhat helpful and good luck on your journey!

I'm 34. I had my surgery earlier this year in April and I'm 12 pounds from my goal weight so I decided to start trying to conceive.

Being a bander and a labor/delivery nurse, I would say definitely lose the weight, then get pregnant...diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea will all be exacerbated by pregnancy. Then you risk a hypoglycemic baby, and other problems with the pregnancy. Best wishes to you!

I tried to have a 2nd child for years and after 5 IVF cycles, gave up. I had my surgery and was told not to get pregnant for at least a year. I laughed....I have PCOS and don't ovulate. After loosing a great deal of weight, I it was suggested that I take birth control. Again.... I laughed. 10 months post op I was pregnant and in Nov 2011 I gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl. Now she's 1, just stopped breast feeding, and I'm on my 2nd weight loss journey. I think surgery first, then baby. I was 22 with my first, but 34.5 with the second. It was a more difficult pregnancy 2nd time around, but very worth it. Good luck!

I think you should do surgery first, its better for your health and the baby, because if you don't take care of yourself and get pregnant you could have a high risk pregnancy or the worst...have a miscarriage. .... Don't worry too much about the time...

Look i had surgery on march 23, 2012, and by Sep 19 i had lost 85 pounds,.and found out i was 14 weeks pregnant, so i got pregnant 3 months after surgery, i remember the doctors told me to take birth control but i Didn't listened because could of swear that i couldn't have kids (i tried alot before for a long time ) .... Im 23 weeks pregnant and everything is going great, the Dr haven't take any liquid out but he does want to monitor me closely, so i see him once a month......

So if u want u could get pregnant right away, im super happy but at the same time i feel blue sometimes because i see that i haven't loose any more weight and gain 5 pounds so far because of the pregnancy, i was 35 pounds away from my goal but im not worrying that much, i know if i was able.to loose that much weight i know i can loose it again once the baby is born.....

I am 44 and pregnant with my second. My first daughter was born pre-band. I don't really see much of a difference yet, but I'm only on week 7. Having some minor difficulties already but I also had them with my daughter's pregnancy so I'm just taking it easy and praying as much as I can.

Get yourself healthy first.

I have read that some get the surgery pre-baby because ther weight is making them infertile. You only need to lose a small amount of weight to get your hormones back in gear. It would be easier to lose some weight first or you may struggle just to get pregnant all together.

Good luck on your decision!

Hi, I am 34 and considering lap band surgery I have wavered about it for a few months now. If I have the surgery I was told I can't get pregnant for one year post op. Is it Better to have the surgery and be healthier ( I have htn, pre diabetes, sleep apnea) which would get rid of my health concerns even though I'd be 35 when I would be allowed to get pregnant or is it better to be younger 34 with the problems I mentioned and no band til after baby #1????please help thanks

I am 32 and am actually getting ready to get the lapband and have not had any kids yet. I've asked multiple docs and lapband patients and they have said that getting pregnant with the band maybe better than waiting. For me, one of the reasons I want and need to lose weight is to be healthier for pregnancy. My docs have said they would not recommend me getting pregnant at the weight I am now for the fear of complications. So I am going to get the band, get to a healthier weight and go from there. I think many woman are having children later in life now, and I think you should have them when you are ready and the healthiest. I have also talked to some that feel that having the band, helped post baby in being able to lose the weight. Good Luck!

I'm 37 and pregnant with my 1st. so far no complications and baby is healthy and developing well. i lost 150 pounds before getting pregnant. i doubt i'd be able to say same if i had been at my original weight. i still have 100 + pregnancy regain to get to goal, but so far so good. i had the surgery because i wanted to have a healthy baby. i don't know if i could have said the same two years ago pre-surgery. i think the chances of complications would have been far higher weighing significantly more than i do now. bear in mind the percentages that they use for over 35 aren't saying that one in five babies is going to have a problem. it's a higher risk certainly than someone in their prime at say, 25, but the risk is not so much greater at 34 versus waiting a year or two post surgery until 35 or 36. i believe the benefits of waiting outweigh the risks of rushing.

edit: waiting to get pregnant and having the surgery now is what i meant. not sure if that was clear or not.