Pregnancy with the sleeve

First topic message reminder :

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if there is anyone out there who has been pregnant since having the sleeve or knows of anyone who has? If so how did you go eating wise? I can't seem to find anything on this anywhere, only pregnancies with gastric bypass...

Thanks :)

Bee

Just an update...I went to my dietitian appointment today, I jumped on the scales, and it showed I had lost just over 2kgs. I explained how I have been kind of maintaining that the last 2 weeks, but was aware of the 2kgs I had lost. We went through what I've been eating, and I've been doing well, but some changes have been made. I am now avoiding low fat foods, and going for the full fat ones. So full cream milk, instead of light milk, full fat cheese, yoghurt's etc. I am even aloud to have soft drink! I can use extra oils in my cooking, and can use margarine/butter on bread. It's such a massive change! I have worked so hard the last 12 months, I had cut all of those things out, or down, so it's weird knowing I am aloud to eat it! I won't be eating junk food, but will be having fuller wholesome foods. I also have some samples of juice that has protein in it, and if I like it I can order it through nestle'. They also have some stuff you can add to any food which is basically just fat, to up your calories, which I may need my 3rd trimester. I will be aiming to gain 6 kgs during the pregnancy, but wont need to start gaining until late in the 2nd trimester. My focus right now is to maintain weight. So once this morning sickness goes away, and I stop throwing up things will be easier! lol

Bee xx

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for the reply and the great info ! It pretty much confirms my understanding (albeit limited !!)of how it all works, which gave me a big sigh of relief, as it means i have made the right plan for both the weightloss surgery and attempting to fall pregnant.

I dont have a surgery date as yet, I do have an appointment with the surgeon booked for the 9th of March which was their earliest available, but they will bring it forward if there is a cancellation and i have completed all my pre-op visits with the dietician etc.....and my aim is to complete these as soon as possible.

I had blood tests done a few months ago which determined that i was still ovulating - so I was pretty happy about that, so i dont think i have any fertility issues that i know of at this stage. However, my age is one reason i decided IVF and fertility assistance would be the way to go and another is that my partner had a vasectomy about 12 years ago - he is 36 and i am still annoyed that he found a doctor willing to give a vasectomy to a guy so young at the time - but then my honey can be pretty persuasive - lol.

Apparently after 5 years vasectomies are very hard to reverse successfully, but they have other ways of extracting whats required ! Painful ways I'm told - ouch ! My partner has two gorgeous girls from a prior relationship who are only a few years off leaving home, and we both thought that even though there are some challenges to us conceiving and having a successful pregnancy, that its something we very much would like to pursue.

Hence, i hope to have the WLS in the next few months, lose the excess weight of about 40 kilos and then commence attempting conception close to the 12 month anniversary of surgery. It may not turn out the way we intend of course, but its better to try and fail than never having tried to begin with.......and if a pregnancy does not eventuate, then i will have lost the excess weight, renewed my vigour, confidence and health etc.....so its all good.

I loved that you replied and gave me so much needed info.

Smiles
Bella :)

Hi Bella

thanks for the congrats and sorry for the late reply - I haven't been on here lately.

The main reasons for not getting pregnant before 12 months post op (in my surgeon's opinion - because i did ask) was that No.1 - the best window for weightloss is the first 9 months as you consume much less food than you will be able to after the 12 month mark and the lack of ghrelin takes away hunger best at this time (he said there's speculation as to whether the body starts to adjust to the reduced ghrelin or you become more sensitive to the little you have and hunger increases a bit as time goes on)pregnancy at this time robs you of this 'best window' and weightloss at a later date will require more work and No.2 - it's really not healthy for the developing baby for you to be loosing weight. You won't be meeting the baby's nutritional needs and it's such a critical time when organs, nerves, the brain etc are being formed. It puts you at increased rates of miscarriage,inter-uterine growth retardation, low birth weight and pre-term labour.

My advice would be to have the sleeve and wait as close to the 12 month mark as possible before becoming pregnant. With regard to IVF, your chances of success are greatly reduced if you are obese anyway as fat produces it's own hormones and can cause problems with ovulation,, implantation and it greatly increases miscarriage. And if you need IVF for reasons like PCOS or anovulation weightloss can actually cure those problems.

You are building a little human and the environment and nutrients you provide it with can determine the quality of the rest of it's life so you owe it the best you can provide.

When are you planning surgery? (BTW you won't regret it!)

Cindy

Thanks heaps Bee !

That reassures me heaps ....... I wasnt sure whether to plan conceiving first (which could ages - even on IVF) or going ahead with the Sleeve surgery first. My thoughts are to have the sleeve done first and maybe start on IVF closer to the 12 month surgery anniversary mark..........but i guess its still a way to go before either journey starts.....

I hope your pregnancy is being kind to you and baby, & that it brings you all much excitement.....................

Bella :)

That's ok, I'm happy to answer any questions you have :)

Weightloss continues as normal even after child birth. My dietitian said by the time I have the baby, I should be the same weight I was when I fell pregnant, because you dont gain excess weight during the pregnancy, only what you need to gain. So once you have the baby, your weightloss will continue as normal. You do get really hungry while pregnant, but thats all due to pregnancy hormones. So once the baby comes out, everything should go back to normal!

Bee xx

Thanks Bee

Yes that does help !

Do you know if the effectiveness of the sleeve continues aiding weightloss after childbirth ?

Sorry to sound so ignorant, or if im asking questions that are too personal ( & if thats the case - please let me know and I wont be offended). I'm still waiting to have my initial consult and have loads of questions that keep coming to mind - which i write down to ask at my consult, but everyone on here is soooooo wonderful and its nice to be able to ask people who have actually experienced the things I am uninformed about.

My partner & I are considering trying for a child next year, however i want to have the Sleeve surgery first - for several reasons, including as you say its best to be pregnant when not overweight. However, due to my age, I dont want to necesssarily have to wait the full 12mths before attempting conception - yet if im fortunate enough to fall pregnant I will want to put the needs of a pregnancy ahead of all others........ and my health also.

Cheers & appreciation
Bella :)

Hi Bella,

I was told that because you lose weight so fast the first few months, and you need to get enough nutrients in for yourself, its best to wait 12 months, plus its better to be pregnant when your not overweight. But I had gone from the band to the sleeve, and had already lost alot of weight, and my stomach compacity is where it should be, so I was given the all clear to start now. I wouldnt of started trying if I had only lost weight with the sleeve and not the band, because I wanted to be as healthy as I could for pregnancy.

I hope that helps :)

Bee

Hi Bee and Cindy and many congratulations on being pregnant !

Thats two wonderful journeys, both of them life changing and amazing that you have embarked on ........ and I hope the morning sickness side of things subsides soon.

I'm just wondering if either of you, or anyone else too, could clarify for me why the surgeons do not recommend planning to get pregnant before 12 months after surgery ?

I have been told several differing reasons such as:
a) ... much weight is lost in the first 12 months and getting pregnant negates this - so why have the sleeve surgery and then get pregnant within 12 months?
b) ... the stomach takes that long to heal from the surgery and would be painful if having to deal with a pregnancy while healing
c) ... due to weight being lost, its difficult to maintain an adequate nutrient level to the foetus as well as to yourself.

Is it due to any of the above reasons ......a combination of them ...... or for totally different reasons ? :)

Anyway, if anyone can answer my question, that would be great and truly appreciated and Bee & Cindy I am so very happy for you both.

Smiles :)
Bella

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!!

I've never heard of this problem in normal pregnancy, but I might be wrong...lol

I don't have morning sickness in, and by this I mean I dont feel nausea...but 8 times out of 10 when I eat or drink I either feel like I am going to throw up, or I do throw up.....badly. I dont really have much morning, so yeah, I dunno if its a normal pregnancy thing, as I dont get nausea...but I am finding it hard to eat atm because of this. I'm hoping it will pass soon. Other than that everything is going ok...I had another scan yesterday and got to see my little babies heartbeating away :) Theres a pic on my blog...

Bee xx

Hi Cindy
Yes, the cycle is interesting, isn't it? And the funny thing was that I wasn't sure about going to the show - but hubby said, when I finished talking to the other woman "see, you were meant to come here today for this". He might be right, too!
And yes, I do mean literally catching the baby. My daughter is having a home birth too (her third attempt, and both of the others ended in hospital, so hopefully this one can go as planned). But even in the hospital last time I was able to catch the last one, and it was brilliant. We still had the midwife, though, and I didn't charge a thing! LOL
Chris

You are doing great with what you can fit in. But you will find you can fit in more at the 9-12 month mark simply due to the healing of your stomach.

My surgeon explained it, like you said, that unless you 'abuse and overstuff' your stomach it will remain at the same capacity it was designed for at surgery but what happens is that after surgery the stomach swells and stiffens due to the trauma of surgery and it takes 9-12months (like it does with all surgery) before all the swelling has resided and the subtleness has returned to the stomach. He said this makes people think they have 'stretched' their stomach but it has actually just fully healed and is stretchy again.

So don't think you have done anything wrong when it suddenly becomes easier to fit things in, it's just natural :)

One child huh? I have a few friends with only children and I can definately see the advantages. I really wish I had had more time just with my first child, because you never get that one on one relationship back again. You will have such a lovely close relationship with an only child - and they seem such calm, mature children. Siblings do tend to bring out the worst in each other (oh, okay and the best too)

As for me I just love kids. I thought our last was our last but he's 5 now and I said to my husband "This just can't be the last time I experience this, it can't be the last time I hold my baby and watch it grow and listen to the laughter and share in a little soul's life. We just have to go again". Luckily he adores kids too and off we've gone again. I can't even say for sure if this is the last, I just enjoy sharing their lives so much. But I guess I'll have to stop having babies one day though! LOL

Cindy

Hi Chris,

good to 'see' you again.
the cycle is funny isn't it. I spoke to kath (who started the other group) when I was trying to decide on the sleeve and was extremely grateful too!

What do you mean by 'catch' your grandchild? Are you going to 'literally' catch him? Wow, that would be great. We are having a homebirth and when my daughter and her boyfriend (both 15 yrs old) heard that the midwife will cost $3000 they said "Hell, WE'LL do it! We can just watch a few births on You Tube - it'll be dead easy!........and we'll only charge $1000 each!" LOL

Cindy xx

Hey Cindy,

I can actually eat the amount Im suppose to just fine...I have no issues, and Ive been told if I dont force food in, my sleeve should stay the same size forever. I can have 3 meals and 3 snacks, Its not that I cant fit it in, cos I can, its just that Im not interested in it, and the morning sickness makes me gag when I eat at the moment, that should pass in a few weeks though. I can even drink at least 250mls straight within 5 mins, so I have no issues.
Yes, this is my first pregnancy, and if all goes well will be my only as we only want one child. I guess I'd like a boy, but if we have a girl that's okay too. As long as I have a healthy baby it doesn't really matter.

Goodluck with yours, being your 5th you must be an expert by now :)

Bee

Hi everyone
Welcome to the forum Cindy - it's great that you've joined us, and thanks.
You were so helpful to me when I first started looking at the sleeve, and just yesterday I spent some time with someone else who is considering it, and she was as grateful to me as I am to you - it's a cycle, isn't it?
I'm glad that both of you are doing well in your pregnancies, despite the morning sickness.
I'm going down to Adelaide in a couple of weeks to "catch" my newest grandchild as he enters the world.
Best wishes
Chris

Hi again Bee,

wow, I only looked at your signature properly after i posted. I originally thought you were sleeved in 2007 but i now see it was June 2008! I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to get in the amount of food you should this soon after being sleeved. I remember how little I could eat 5 mths out from the op and it's easily half what i can eat now. I wish you luck - your dietitian will steer you in the right direction.

And congratulations on your first baby! It is a wonderful time, I love pregnancy (after the first trimester) I hope you do too. Are you hoping for either sex? it doesn't bother me this time but i remember how desperately i wanted a girl first time round (politically incorrect I know, you're supposed to be happy either way LOL)

Cheers,
Cindy

Hi Cindy,

Im 7 weeks, 4 days. I to have the hunger thing, my surgeon said its due to hormones. I find I get morning sickness if I havent eaten, but also when I do eat...I'm not really interested in food, even though I get hungry. The thought of eating makes me sick. I've lost about 3kgs in 5 weeks, so it isnt that bad, but I know I need to get it stable. I do eat a very healthy diet, and I am monitored by my dietitan. I just had all my blood work done and Im not lacking in any vitamins which is great. This is my first child. Even though I feel hungry alot, I find after a few mouthfuls it goes away, but I am finding the last few days when I eat it makes me gag....Hopefully that goes away soon! I didnt need to wait a year, as I was banded before my sleeve, so they took the 1 yr wait from my band date which is 1.5 years ago. I am suppose to be having 3 main meals and 3 snacks a day, but I just cant do it atm. I will call my dietitan this week I think. Other than that Im doing okay, and hoping I have a sticky little bean!

Bee :)

Hi Bee,

Chris told me (some time ago but i'm in the middle of morning sickness and a renovation where I've had to sack the builder and take over organising it myself, so haven't had the chance to get on here yet) that you were pregnant after having a sleeve and wondering if anyone else was.

I was sleeved October 12th 2007 and am 8 weeks pregnant - so I really took that 12 month rule to the line :)

This is my 5th child so I've got a few pregnancies to compare this one to and so far it's no different. But I am finding a difference between how I've felt being sleeved and 'not' pregnant and being sleeved and pregnant. The hunger supression was working really well pre-pregnancy but i have found since becoming pregnant I'm getting really hungry. For example I used to get up in the morning and easily do without breakfast until everyone else had been fed, lunches made and everyone off to school but now i wake up hungry and really *have* to eat. This my be due to morning sickness (what a misnomer - it should be called 'all day sickness') because with my other pregnancies the only thing that calmed the sickness was eating, so it could just be that desire. I'm interested to see if the ravenous hunger disappears with my morning sickness.

I've put on 200gms (I was 60kg when i fell pregnant - about 5kg from goal) and this is from my constant snacking.

If you need to increase your calories to stop loosing (which you should do because burning fat releases toxins that are harmful to the fetus) may i suggest things that will give you a big nutritional boost as well as calories like avocado and nuts or nut butters (great for baby's brain).

So how far along are you? How are you feeling? Is this your first child or one of many LOL?

Cheers
Cindy

Well one problem I am having so far is my weight....I cant stop losing! Not alot, but I'm still losing just under a kg a week, when I should be stable. I see my dietitan again soon, and I think Im going to have to start drinking weight bulking drinks just to stay stable. I know she was thinking of using these for when I need to gain. I just cant eat 3 meals and 6 snacks a day! I physically cant do it, Im not interested, and when I force myself, it makes me sick.....pooie!

Way to go Bee

Congratulations Bee! Wishing you a great pregnancy. Wow your a pioneer girl!

Hi everyone :)

I have seen my dietitan again, and I have been given the goal of getting my weight to stablize. I cant lose anymore weight, and I dont need to gain any at this point. Before pregnancy I was given an eating plan of 3 main meals a day, and one snack. Now I need to eat my 3 main meals per day, and 3 snacks. One snack needs to be fruit, and the other to a calcium snack of some sort, like a glass of milo, or a le rice/yoghurt. For breakfast I have cereal. My lunch and dinner need to be high in iron and protien, so basically i need meat. I am finding I am very hungry, which is something new after all these months. My weight is staying the same which is great. The dietitan said when I get to the stage where I need to gain weight, i will do it by increase my calories, and only gain between 7-12kgs, which means once the baby comes I should be right back at my current weight. I am on pregnancy vitamins, which I have been on for a while, and I am also taking caltrate to make sure I get in enough calcium. I see my surgeon next Monday, and I see my dietitan again in a month. If anyone has any questions pls feel free to ask, or pm me. Ill keep you all updated

Bee xx

Hi Bee,

Congratulations hope all goes well..


Love and Best wishes

Donna-lee

Congradulations Bee wonderful news hope your pregnancy goes smoothly for you






Cheers Sue

awww thanks Lisa :)

I havent announced it in the real world yet, thus why its all hush hush on my blog, as some family and friends read it. Im trying to wait it out a bit more.....yay! Im so happy though lol

Bee xx