breastfeeding pre & post surgery & finding a surgeon sydney

gingerchicken wrote:

I've just found a great website/forum which has answered a lot of my concerns about breastfeeding and being sleeved.
I thought I would share the address for others who are curious.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/184096-breastfeeding-with-sleeve/

ginger xx

That was excellent to read, I'm being sleeved in 3 weeks and my little man does not want to give up the boobie lol he's 13 months, I was prepared to wean him but if I don't have to that's great :)

I've just found a great website/forum which has answered a lot of my concerns about breastfeeding and being sleeved.
I thought I would share the address for others who are curious.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/184096-breastfeeding-with-sleeve/

ginger xx

thanks for the great links "fortunate"

im still learning my way around the forum..... so very grateful indeed :)

http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/t9188-do-i-wean

http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/t7881-breast-feeding-before-and-after-surgery

http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/t10604-breastfeeding-when-getting-the-band-done

Because I find the search function a bit tricky :) .

I don't think you necessarily need to wait until you wean, but waiting until your supply is well and truly established would be a good idea.  You would also need to be okay with the possibility that breastfeeding *might* not be able to continue, despite best of intentions. 

My dietician wasn't any help, she told me my supply would simply "dry up", my pre-op regime was put together from bits I picked up online.  Pre-op I had 3 optifast, 1 piece of fruit and lean meat (or another optifast) and veg for dinner.  Post-op I tried to make sure I didn't have less than 1000 calories per day for the early months.  For me, this worked well and I continued breastfeeding without trouble. 

Good luck.
xxx

thanks Jagxclusive for your reply.

YOu have given me some pearls of wisdom to think about there.

"Your baby is only breastfed for a limited time, it is the one chance in his/her life you will have to breastfeed them." 
 What you said here really resonated with me. Thankyou


We have been fortunate to have four children..... bubs number 4, we plan to be our last, so falling pregnant again is not something I have on my radar..... but again, it makes me want to treasure this time feeding her even more.


I have read a few posts about people being able to breastfeed whilst going through the surgery, and that did give me a little glimmer of hope I suppose. I am concerned/troubled in a way, because I don't really want to spend another uncomfortable year being this size.


thanks
ginger

Hi ginger, I can only offer you my personal opinion.
I would be inclined to set up your surgeon and sit on it a while until you really have finished breastfeeding bub. It's wonderful that you are able to.
Losing weight - starting opti will cause your body to go into ketosis, where the fat cells release toxins which would be bad for bub. If you still have milk by the time of surgery, the anaesthetic would also be bad in your milk. I couldn't imagine trying to feed and go through the surgery as well, but I really doubt milk would be there at all as your fluid intake is via drip for the first few days, and once you are home it can really be a struggle to get enough liquid in, let alone enough nutrition to sustain yourself and a growing child. I found out about the sleeve when I was finishing up breastfeeding my baby at 12 months old, but as I wanted to try for more children quickly, was advised not to have the surgery if I couldn't wait the 12 months until trying to fall pregnant again.
 
Your baby is only breastfed for a limited time, it is the one chance in his/her life you will have to breastfeed them.

 My guess is you have been overweight for a while, and when we have a baby, really, we give up our body in a sense to cater for them. If your weight situation is not dire and you are able to wait a bit longer, then wait. The time will pass quickly. Determine when you want to finish breastfeeding, allow time to finish up for transition for baby to bottle/cup depending on age, and also when and if you want to have another baby, and allow 12-18months before falling pregnant after surgery for optimum health of you and child. Also, bear in mind that there are risks to the surgery, and consider possible implications on your child. Your surgeon knows best. All the best with your desicion.

Hi there,
Long time reader.... first time writer ;)
I have a 10 week old newborn. I live in Sydney.

I have just had my very first appointment with a surgeon about the gastric sleeve and was told that I would have to either give up breastfeeding to have the surgery..... or wait until I decide to wean her and then have the surgery. This is due to the fact that it would be hard to keep up the milk supply on the opti fast and then on limited fluids post op. Neither of these two option is really what I wanted to hear actually :(

I just wanted to know if there was anyone out there who has been able to continue breastfeeding on optifast and post op, or anyone who knew of a sydney surgeon who is willing for me to continue to do so. Perhaps it has more to do with the dietitian?? I don't know, Im really at the very early stages of it all....but of course, keen to get things rolling.

At this point, I'm a little disheartened as I really would like to get the surgery sooner rather than later..... but not at the cost of my little bubs not getting breast milk. Oh what to do?
Thanks