Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

First fertility appointment 1yr wait - avoiding weight questions PCOS high bmi

27 replies

ethelinEd · 23/04/2025 19:54

Please read and share you experiences!

I have my first fertility appointment coming up in a couple of weeks at a London hospital. I’ve been waiting years. I’ve had pcos since I was 22 ( officially diagnosed but most likely had it always) and have just turned 30. Irregular cycles since I started my period at 15. Months without a period followed with months with regular periods. Put on weight and became obese in 2020 , however was trying to conceive since early 2019 when I was at my slimmest though not “ seriously”

Fast forward to 2022, I asked to be referred to fertility clinic and was denied due to my high bmi. Worked to try and bring it down and lost some weight but not the amount needed for bmi to be below 30. End of 2023 I told my GP my bmi was officially just above 30 ( I lied) and without checking I was referred. Unfortunately there was a big mishap and the hospital I was referred to didn’t have a fertility clinic anymore - after a whole year of waiting I was back on ANOTHER waiting list. Finally May 2025 I’m having my first appontment, however I have put on weight since and my BMI really is above 35. Out of fear of being rejected, I changed my appontment to a telephone consultation instead which to my surpise was granted.

For those who’ve been through the process, is being weighed in person a non negotiable during this process? After the first appointment ( which I’ve changed to a telephone appointment) what happens next? I’ve already had ultrasound scan recently so guessing blood tests? What my naive self wants out of this is essentially ovulation induction meds , letrozole
or clomid because I just know my issue is lack of regular or any ovulation at all. I was slim for years and still my period would be awol. Never had a positive OPK and I’ve tested religiously for years. My question is am I being extremely unresponsible and deluded that my weight won’t be found out and am I doing more harm than good? Just don’t want to be waiting - I’ve been back to losing weight but really do have months to go before I’m considered “ healthy” in the eyes of the NHS.

OP posts:
Lulu89x · 23/04/2025 20:20

We are already in the final week of April. May begins in 8 days. What is the reason for your serious weight gain? Is there a health condition that causes it? As your initial consultation is by phone, I presume they won’t see you or weigh you so you might be fine.

If I were you and I desperately wanted a child and I am looking to go done the IVF route, I would seriously consider trying to lose some weight not only for my future child but for myself aswell.

You want to try to be in the best shape as possible.

hope it all works out for you, good luck!

CrispAppleStrudels · 23/04/2025 20:10

I had my first round of fertility treatment at Guys in 2020 and my second round at St Georges in 2023 both for PCOS. Both were non negotiable about the weight criteria. After the initial appointment, which is mostly medical history, the process for me was blood tests, scans, Guys were happy to proceed straight to treatment but Georges needed an HSG first. DH obviously needed a sperm analysis as well, which happened after the first appointment - he had to wait something like 8 weeks just for his appointment to get that booked in. I can't remember at Guys but at Georges I was definitely weighed at every appointment.

For the first round, my BMI was 28 and DD1 was conceived on the third round of letrozole. However, at my first appointment for the second round my BMI was around 32/33. The doctor said she would book my second appointment for 12weeks time and if I could get my weight below 30 in that time, they would proceed. I did the Fast 800 diet with intermittent fasting, lost 12kg in 12weeks and got my BMI to 29.8 or something by the second appointment. And actually, that process in itself helped me to ovulate and I had a natural conception for DD2 and my first natural conception in 5yrs total of ttc both babies. The doctor said that losing up to 10% of your body weight can kick start ovulation, even if it doesnt take you under BMI 30. I obviously didnt need to complete the fertility treatment and was moved over to maternity. So you can't say that you know for sure that your weight won't make a difference - i thought the same, especially as I needed letrozole at the lower BMI, and clearly I was wrong.

I think if you dont want to commit to the weight loss, you probably need to look at private options. Lots of hospital fertility clinics have a private arm so you dont just have to go via private IVF clinics - i know Guys do for sure as we considered using them, and St Helier as well. They may be more relaxed on the BMI front. But having a higher BMI also pushes you down the higher risk category if you do fall pregnant, so I think for more options in terms of your pregnancy care, and a healthy pregnancy overall, you should consider getting your weight down if you can.