Hello everyone..

I am going to be married in May and my fiance and I are eager to start our family.. I am 33 and he is 31 and we would like to not wait too long. I am the healthiest I have been in years! I have lost 70 lbs since my highest weight and 40 since my surgery.. granted I have 60 more to lose to get to where I wouldnt mind being and my stretch is 80 more lbs.

Here is the thing.. the seminar said to wait a year after surgery.. that will be in July and that is a good time frame for us. I went to the doc this past friday and the nurse gave me a big lecture saying to wait until I am to goal before trying or not try while I am losing.. Now, I am not old, but I am not very young either and I don't want to wait! I figure, I would continue to lose, hopefully, God willing, get pregnant, have the band opened a bit, have a healthy baby (God willing) and then close it up and continue on my band journey..

What do you guys think? Is what I am planning not good? Should I wait to get to "goal" before trying? What if that takes a long time?

Just looking for some input..

~DonnaMarie~

wow! no body has insight on this..

thanks anyway!

~DonnaMarie~

I think this a personal decision. I have heard of people getting pregnant before they were at goal and everything is fine. Pray about it and the right decision will come to you. I would like to get pregnant this fall and I my 1 year will not be until December. It is going to have to be a game time decision for us according to how much weight I wil be down by then. Good luck to you!

I say if you want a baby go for it! You will be one year out from surgery and the badn isn't like RNY which has malnutrition issues. I don't see any reason why you can't have a baby then re fill the band and continue to lose. 31 is not old no, but you are right it's not young either. I would never put off having a child due to weight. Medical reasons yes but not for weight. Oh and congrats on getting married

Thanks Molly!

We are very excited.. for sure.. and we want to start a family soon. We have the house, the good jobs, and the "family car" so we are ready for the baby! LOL but we are traditional and will be waiting until I have his last name! *grin*

I am eager to be a mom.. and I think just dropping the weight I have will help immensly!

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Here is my (lack of) insight... http://www.lapbandtalk.com/pregnancy-and-weight-t32324.html?t=32324&highlight=pregnant

Well I can't speak of past experience, as I just started this weight loss journey...but I do plan to get pregnant round the same 1 year mark as you.

I personally wouldn't let the nurse discourage me. Not to scare you but the longer you wait into your 30s, the more chances you may have fertility issues. We tried and I ended up having trouble getting pregnant for almost 2 years before we succeeded with our first son. Of course, I weighed 300lbs at the time and increased weight can negatively effect fertility also, but still it's something to consider. I'm going to be 36 this year and don't have much time left for our last baby, so for our family, the right decision is to wait one year.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone!

I think for our family the one year mark is going to be it.. I feel that I am more than likely going to battle my weight always so having a baby isn't going to hurt anything. I will just open her up, eat healthy, have the baby, close her up and continue my band journey..

Thanks again everyone!

~DonnaMarie~

So, I totally did things "against suggestions" totally by accident but I'll share....

I had surgery on May 9th 2006. The last week of May I called my surgeon's office to find out if having surgery messed with your cycles. I knew I couldn't get pregnant as I was rx'd infertile several years ago.

Right. :biggrin1: Doctors make best guesses and sometimes, wonderfully, they are wrong. On June 2, 2006 at 36 years old my pregnancy was confirmed...my first child. WOO HOO!

I had a pretty event free pregnancy. Because I was so close out of surgery, I didn't have a fill. I was diabetic before surgery and became insulin dependant while pregnant. No high blood pressure, no crazy weight gain. I gained 17 lbs and Joslyn was 8.5 of it. The band probably kept me from putting on more weight....well, that and being crazy about controlling my blood sugars.

So, my opinion? Do things when they feel right to you. My baby is healthy and beautiful. I had no complications with the band at all. I'm excited to report I just got my first fill and am still 30 lbs less than when I had surgery last year. ROCK!! Not waiting a full year won't be the end of the world. Anything can be managed.

You guys are all great. Thanks so much! We are definately going to go as planned cuz I ain't gettin any younger!

Here's to a great wedding/honeymoon and maybe a baby.. *grin*

~DonnaMarie~

Hi Donna Marie!

My Husband and I are bothing having the Lap Band and want to get prgnant also. We have had some fertility issues and loosing weight is going to help us out.(Supposeably) I say as long as you are healed from your surgery and have lost some weight, GO AHEAD! Don't wait. I am 32 and hubby is 34. We have already had a miscarriage(BEFORE Lap Band.) and are hoping it's not too late for us to have a healthy baby. Do what feels right! COngrats!

XOXOXO

MEltini

I think most docs say don't get pregnant until at goal for one year is to have the patient focus on weight loss and get it over with etc...

if you get pregnant before goal you may not ever get back on track - (their reasoning not mine - many bandsters here have gotten pregnant and then get back on track with fills)i don't think it's medical (reason) but I am not a medical person.

i agree with others - it's your choice and if medically you are ok do it when its right for you.

my friend lost over 100lbs with the band and she is about 30lbs from goal but almost 10 weeks preggo now - she is just planning on a fill or two after the baby to get back on track. her doc has her almost unfilled completely and her nurse said after the first trimester she could get a fill but she is waiting until after the birth.

I think most docs say don't get pregnant until at goal for one year is to have the patient focus on weight loss and get it over with etc...

I am the least expert person alive on the issues raised in this thread, but just to put in my .02, I would have thought that the combination of band and pregnancy has more to do with providing proper nutrition for the developing baby, and not so much to do with the focus on weight loss. To me it does seem like a concern to have a device inside your body that is restricting intake of nutrition through mechanical means while at the same time being pregnant and having a baby inside that needs above average levels of nutrition.

Perhaps it is enough to say that the pregnant mother will get a complete unfill. But I can say that in my case, I've never had any fill at all and I still have a lot of restriction.

I also think that just because someone got pregnant with the band and had it all work out OK, this does not necessarily mean that every person will have the same positive result with a pregnancy that occurs while being banded.

I just think that this is a serious medical issue that needs more careful consideration than simply three or four anecdotal responses. Anecdotal responses are very valuable, but they are not the complete answer. I don't think it is necessarily great advice to tell this woman to just disregard what the nurse says.

I am not trying to be a party pooper here. I hope Donna Marie has her baby and everything works out great. I would just recommend a little bit more of a thorough, fact-based investigation before making this final decision.

But then, like I said, I am the most un-expert person in the world on these issues.

Very true. Very true. Can't argue with that!:biggrin1:

Thanks for everyone's input! I actually spoke with my doctor about this issue and he told me that lots of people get pregnant and have healthy pregnancies with the lapband. In fact, it has actually helped alot of women to get pregnant! (by having some weight loss ahead of time) I have a 10 cc band (the largest one) and when I am unrestricted, I can eat normally.. so that being said, I feel that I will be fine nutrition wise when it comes to feeding a growing baby.

I am actually going to see my doc and nurse again this week.. probably get another fill .. i think.. My doc said to wait a year from surgery and that is what we plan on doing. I am definately not giving up on my band. It is a life saver for me.. the tool is there to help me. I will use it like it was intended. Before I even had the surgery, I asked the doc if getting pregnant in the future would be a problem and he said, "nope, we will just open it up!"..

Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread.. first thing first.. Gettin married in MAY!!! woo hoo!!

~DonnaMarie~

Thanks Dona. My Dr said the same thing. I now feel much better and CONGRATS on getting married!