I have PCOS and need to lose about 130 pounds to be at an ideal healthy weight. Can anyone share their story about their own PCOS journey to pregnancy after the Sleeve? The longest I went without menstrairing was a full year and only started because my doctor put me on birth control. But I stopped because I didn't want to put a band aid on my pcos issue. I wanted to know that through diet and exercise I could beat the pcos and ovulate on my own! But sadly I just can't. So now, to save my health and the posibility of children, I am going through the motions to get sleeved. Can anyone tell me if they had success after being in a similar situation? How did your sleeve and weight loss affect your pcos and symptoms and how long did it take before you noticed a positive change after surgery?

Thanks for reading!

Estelle,

Thanks for posting. I have the same questions. Has your sleeve been scheduled? Mine will be in December.

Hi Ladies,

Why don't we keep in touch with each other. I have posted the same question, googled it, researched it and can't find a straight answer anywhere. I know that at my surgeon's office, a lot of children were born post-op but the type of procedure was not specified.

I think the lack of information is due to the following: a lot of bariatric patients are older and the sleeve is relatively new. Younger women having this procedure to be able to have children is fairly new.

My endocrinologist said that the key was weight loss - and the more the better. I am hoping this will work!

My surgery is December 22nd - How about we all keep in touch?

Efamcan

I've been looking as I have the same health issue and vsg is the best surgery for getting pregnant as you get more nutrition as the body has not been alter. My surgeon said it will be more easy to conceive as hormones return to normal, but you have to wait 1 yr (your very fertile so be careful to hold off, but if u get prego before tell your surgeon )so your body is strong. I wish you all luck as I'm on the same path stay intouch.

Hi ladies, I just wanted to chime in on this topic. I'm currently 11 months post op from my sleeve and I am just about 7 months pregnant with twins. My surgeon advised to wait 12-18 months which was the plan. We were using condoms and apparently my body decided to function that month and now there will be 2 more. We're excited to be having twins, but it certainly wasn't planned. Luckily at the time my weight loss was slowing down and my Vitamin levels were all great. The twins are big and strong and growing very well. At the time of getting pg I was down 80lbs. I was so sick in the first trimester that I lost an additional 20lbs. As of today I have gained 2lbs from my conception weight. My doctor would like me to gain another 10lbs, so we'll see. As far as PCOS prior to having my sleeve I never ovulated on my own. I did spontaneously one month when I was at my highest weight of 338 and I conceived my son. After my son was born in August 2009 we decided not to prevent pg because it took me 2 years to conceive him. From August 2009 to January 2011 I didn't ovulate once that I know of. I had my surgery on 1/4/2011 and started using ovulation tests just to see if my body was responding to the weight loss. I never did get a positive ovulation test until the day the twins were conceived. Of course we had already DTD and used a condom, but after seeing that bright positive ovulation test later that day I just knew it had happened.

But all things considering things are going really well. I've been really lucky to have such a healthy pregnancy so close to having my surgery. Luckily with VSG we don't have malabsorption issues so if we do end up accidentally getting pg close to surgery it's not the end of the world. It's not recommended, but would be as bad as say RNY or DS. From my first prenatal visit on my doctor wasn't worried in the slightest. I've seen the same OB for 8 years now and she was my acting primary to help me get my VSG. She wasn't concerned. She knew that carrying twins so close to VSG but being 80lbs lighter would be far better than being pregnant close to 350lbs again.

I'm scheduled for a repeat c-section on Feb. 7th to have these munchkins then I'll be back on plan trying to lose the rest of my weight. I'm tall so my goal is 175lbs. I haven't gained much with my pregnancy, but I still have a long ways to go to reach my weight loss goal. I would recommend getting as close to goal as possible before TTC. I just think things would be easier after.

Thank you for sharing your story FuriosMommy. I feel very hopeful.

Wow Nikki! Great news! Congratulations!

Furios- I really just started to cry reading your story! I'm so happy for you. I too was lead to this surgery due to PCOS. I want children more than anything in the world! Right around the time I decided to have this surgery my periods stopped. 4 days post op I was getting in the shower and realized my period had come. I cried the entire shower! This is going to be the best decision of our lives ladies!

Hi ladies.....there is hope. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 20 always been overweight and never ovulated. It took me 8 yrs to conceive my daughter who is now 13yrs old I always told her she was my miracle baby:) After my daughter I was still not ovulating never had a period and the PCOS was just as bad. I ended up getting a divorce. I am now remarried and happy as can be. So now at the age of 37 I decided at my highest weight of 330lbs to get weight loss surgery done otherwise my husband would never have a chance to have children. I choose the Sleeve due to the issues everyone was having with the band and gastric bypass.

So lets skip ahead once I started losing weight I started to ovulate became pregnant very quickly and the Dr said it is due to all the hormones being stored in my fat cells and when you lose the fat all these hormones are released and that is why you need to be very careful right after surgery. Well on a sad note I did lose that child but once again in 2 months was pregnant we also lost that child was very distraught and emotional so the doctor suggested birth control for a few months to regulate my hormones and take a break and to not have to worry about getting pregnant. So I took his advice. I took birth control for 2 months then stopped taking it and bam once again I was pregnant but once again we lost it. That happened on July 9, 2011. As all you ladies know that PCOS can not be cured weight loss can help with many symptoms such as ovulation. But you still have the high risk of miscarriages. After each loss they have you wait to have a complete cycle before trying again and we always do...but in July we also had a trip to Vegas planned and we ended up getting pregnant AGAIN!!!! I am now just about over all this baby stuff not wanting to go through all the pain and heartache of losing all my children. So my husband and I agreed that if we lost this one we would be done. So now it is December I am now 22weeks along and baby is doing good. We know it is a little girl we will be naming her EMMA.

So now with the sleeve they do not believe that my miscarriages were connected that it is due to the PCOS. I do have to supplement with a Protein shake called Monster Milk due to no weight gain and low calorie intake. My 18 week ultra sound shows her growing right on time except for her stomach and it is a week and a half behind but my Dr believes that is due to the low calorie intake from me. And now that I am drinking this Monster Milk she should be able to catch up.

Sorry so long and please feel free to ask any questions. It has been a long hard road for us but I believe in April 2012 (same month I had my surgery done) we will have out little bundle of joy to Celebrate. Oh and by the way husband said since it is a girl we will have to try one more time:

Hey girls!! I also had PCOS and TTC 7 years before Finally becoming a mommy through adoption!! I had my sleeve 14 months ago and last month decided to stop birth control and leave it in the hands of God. Well.... Sunday (1 month after stopping the pill) I realize I haven't had a visit from Aunt Flow so I take a test and BAM! BFP!! Went to my high risk OB yesterday and am 5 weeks preggo and numbers look good so far. Still cautious of course but very hopeful that my PCOS has resolved as my GYN predicted!! Good luck girls! The sleeve was the best thing I've ever done for myself (besides my sons adoption of course!!)!!

These stories are so inspiring thank you all for sharing

These are really great stories. They doctor's always said I had PCOS, but I always had my period. I got pregnant right before my surgery and had to delay the surgery, but lost it at 5 weeks. I had the surgery right after! So I don't know what is going to happen, but I will wait for a year (June) to attempt to get pregnant again. The miscarriage lasted 27 days for me. I did it naturally. Please keep posting your updates!

I do notice that all these stories are from 2011, So I wanted to ask if you are still on this site can you inform us on what is going on currently in your lives. I am truely inspired by all the stories. I have not had a normal period since I was 13 years old. I am 23 now, was diagnosed with PCOS in 2011, had my surgery after TTC for 3 years. My husband and I were pregnant the year before surgery and with twins. We lost them at 20 weeks. It was difficult for both of us as it was our first babies. In January 2014 I had Gastric Bypass Surgery and now 4 months later I have lost a total of 107 lbs I am currently 203 Lbs. I have worked super hard at trying to get all this weight off just to concieve at least once. I dont think the stress from the Military and a Husband works for me. Between getting stationed at a new home and leaving family it has been hard. So your stories are motivation for me! Just so you know. I understand I am young and I have time, However with a husband in the service I am not sure what time I do have with him so I take it day by day with hoping that I can keep a piece of him forever.

Thanks

Bethany

I have a question have any of you ladies have had a baby after surgery and your husband has low sperm count ? Because I mean all you really need is one of them lol

Had my sleeve on Dec 19,2013. I am currently 8 weeks pregnant. Had my first daughter in 2009 and was trying since then for my second. Though we had planned to wait the 12-18 months that is recommended. I am nervous and scared for the road ahead but my doctors don't seem worried. I had lost 72 lbs prior to getting pregnant and have not gained any weight (just yet.)

Edited April 30, 201412 yr by tisha_stanley

Since most of the post are from 2011, I will tell my story. I had PCOS since I was 13 years old. I would get a period every few months, sometimes a few months in a row, and then sometimes I would bleed for a whole month (the dr would put me on a pill to stop the bleeding). When I turned 19, somehow I got pregnant. I had a very complicated pregnancy, high risk, antiM in my blood, low amniotic fluids around my daughter, and was induced early. A few years later I tried to have another child, and was unable to. My periods were the same, once every 4 -5 months, then bleeding for a whole month. The gyn told me I wouldn't be able to have any children anymore because my PCOS and thyroid was extremely bad. BROKE MY HEART! I thought about all the way I could try and have another child regardless of what the gyn said... finally I figured surgery may help, not only help me health wise, but help me have a child as well. I had my surgery (sleeve) on August 15, 2013 HW: 272 SW: 255, right after my surgery LITERALLY that weekend, my period started. And the became on point every month and 2 days following. Cramps were back! Bleeding normally was back! This past Feb, my fiance and I (now 27) found out that I was pregnant! My GYN/OBGYN said that since surgery my PCOS is gone, and I was ovulating normally. Currently today, I will be 16 weeks pregnant in 2 days, and I am 9 months post op tomorrow. My CW is 180, and I am still losing weight, I have yet to gain a lb... which is not what I am going for, but for some reason my belly is growing and everything else is shrinking! I am high risk again. They put me on high risk because of surgery, I still have this stupid antiM in my blood, and just incase of low fluids around the baby, although everything seems to be going great. Also, this pregnancy has been completely different than my first. I don't know if it is because I have a smaller stomach, I eat differently, gender difference who knows. This pregnancy has been extremely easy. Hardly any morning sickness, just very sleepy and I have to eat more often. But hope this helps you ladies. I know prior to surgery I was looking for answers as well.