Denied Clomid because PCT say I am overweight

If you're under an endocrinologist at a hospital try and get them to prescribe Metformin. I was in a similar situation - had PCOS (and thyroid disease) and was v overweight. I lost a couple of stone but my consultant also put me on Metformin - not sure which did the trick but I fell pregnant within 3 months (after 18 months of trying beforehand).

Good luck - maybe try your best to lose some weight so they can see you're having a good go at it, but push for Metformin in the first instance. My consultant actually told me to come off it as soon as I was pregnant, but to go back on afterwards as it reduces the risk of developing diabetes.

i do hope you get somewhere, and that you have your much longed for baby

PCT's are part of the postcode lottery I had clomid to conceive my DS after I lost 2 stone. I managed to get my BMI down to 34.

Check this website www.fertilityfriends.co.uk you may find a bit more support from ladies who do understand infertility/pcos

oh dear...this post has got a bit hairy!
HMS my specialist told me to loose some weight before I started IVF, I lost a stone and started ovulating again (i have pcos and hadn't had any signs of ov for over a year). Just a bit of weight off can make a big difference.
Good luck with it all x

Go private for goodness sake, it doesn't cost that much! Yes the NHS lottery is unfair, yes it sucks, so do something about it. Get a loan, borrow money from your parents, do overtime, get a weekend job.

If I hadn't spent £500 on private investigations and treatment for PCOS I wouldn't have DS. Simple as that.

BMI is dubious (note my point re the Williams sisters), there is a lot of research suggesting this and as a nurse my wife is up to date with such things. You cannot make such a statement without even seeing my wife, who clearly does not look obese at a size 14. She just weighs heavier than she looks and the point is (I am sure due to her athletic background), I am sure a lot of women are the same. Even on our wedding day my wife was a size 10 at 10 stone 9 pounds and only just within so called recommended BMI guidelines. I also thought she looked too thin as a size 10, it is not her natural size. I am absolutely sure our GP would not refuse treatment and when my wife was pregnant her weight was never mentioned by the midwives etc. We now have a beautiful and healthy boy, conceived naturally despite PCOS. My wife also made a very good point about depression caused by infertility. This is also an important health issue. I'm off to enjoy my evening. Goodbye

To your first point, yes, your wife is undoubtedly very fit. This is great.

To your second, your wife suffers from PCOS. I posted a link to a site which helps PCOS sufferers (as well as others who are dealing with weight and health issues).

Nevertheless the situation is that under current guidelines she is considered overweight for IVF treatment.

Sorry if she is upset, and sorry if your Friday night is ruined. People on this thread were trying to help the OP.

OK, I am Roseability's husband (nice username btw wife!). Just arrived home expecting a nice Friday night in with a bottle of wine to find her very upset and preparing some carrots and steamed fish for tea. I see this post is the cause of my Friday night being ruined.

First, this is ridiculous - my wife is indeed those dimensions. However, how many of those who criticised her can run 8 miles in under an hour? How man of you do this twice a week plus a circuits class? How many of you do this with a demanding 2 year old to look after as well? How many of you eat home grown veg most nights cooked by as fair a hand as mine? Very few I imagine.

Second, it would appear the issue is that someone has been denied fertility treatment on the grounds of weight where no consideration has been given to the reason for being overweight. It is widely recognised that BMI is dubious to say the least. I'd love to know the BMI of the Williams sisters for example. Anyway, it can only be wrong to discriminate on the basis of BMI without taking into consideration, crucially, PCOS. My wife has PCOS and one of the main symptons is struggling to keep off weight. So, how can you deny a treatment for PCOS based on a symptom of PCOS?!

And before you start, I did a charity 54 mile endurance event last week and exercise regularly.

Im off for a moan on dadsnet

I was just trying to defend the original poster using my own personal experience that is all. I apologised earlier if I had jumped the gun. No need to tell me to "sort yourself out". I won't be posting anymore. It has gone too far

for the OP - I noticed you said you cannot exercise easily because of hip problem - I would really advise hiring a personal trainer to advise you on an exercise routine that is safe and comfortable for you to follow. There are many strength building exercises you could undertake safely and even some forms of aerobic exercise, perhaps seated

I don't know whether you are going to follow the recommendations to lose weight or not, but regular exercise would obviously improve your fitness levels and would hopefully help with depression also

I am currently 41 weeks pg with SPD, but am still able to enjoy attending the gym, as I have had advice from a personal trainer who has tailored an exercise plan specifically for my physical limitations. I was sorry to think of you being unable to exercise if you would like to be able to.

Yes, you're right - there's a lot more to people than their BMI.

But if you are a nurse then you do have to acknowledge that there are risks if you're overweight.

IVF is hugely expensive and, sadly, the NHS can't provide everything free to everyone. Therefore it is rationed - like a lot of healthcare - to those women who are 'safer' risks. I'd love to say this is unfair, but it's a commercial reality.

Why are you so resistant to the idea of losing weight? It's better for your general health, not just in terms of fertility/conceiving. You may be fit and have a healthy lifestyle (well done for that, it is a great achivement) but you are still overweight.

I know it isn't a personal attack, I just disagree that IVF should be refused to overweight women. As I have said figures and charts don't take into account the whole picture. Surely something like childbearing should be based on a holistic picture. If I hadn't managed to conceive my DS naturally he might not be here, as I might have been refused treatment. Can you possibly argue that someone (and I don't just mean me personally but all women in similar situations) who is fit, has a generally healthy lifestyle, is a good parent in a stable marriage with a good home and who is a size 14 (so not obese) should be refused the chance to childbear? I actually doubt very much I would be refused treatment because I don't look as much as I weigh IYSWIM. Would people be stopped from adopting because they are overweight? Could the NHS not take other factors into consideration? What about the health risk of depression associated with not being able to childbear (a basic human/womanly need)? I am just worried about such narrow criteria based on figures alone.

So facts are facts, but it dosen't make them morally right. I am a nurse BTW, so perfectly aware of health risks associated with being overweight but my training and experience has taught me to look at the WHOLE person, not just BMI.

Blimey roseability - I was trying to be helpful. You really are prickly and defensive.

Shan't bother any more. Sort yourself out.

oh for goodness sake roseability - it's not a personal attack, it's a fact. Your weight / height makes your BMI above the limit for IVF in some places.

Forgot to add that I have PCOS

Becauseimworthit and captainkarvol it is ridiculous that I would be refused treatment and your comments ARE hurtful. I don't smoke or drink much alcohol. I eat a healthy diet (all organic home cooked foods) and I exercise. I am running a half marathon in september. I am a size 14 clothes. I have one DS with whom I had a healthy pregnancy and birth. I adore him and he is a healthy and content little boy. You cannot rely on figures alone. Yes according to those charts I am obese but you only have to look at me to see at worst I am slightly overweight, so they can be misleading. I will not be posting on this thread anymore, it is ridiculous. I know you will be thinking I am just being defensive but I have admitted I am overweight, just not obese as the charts say (yes there is a difference) and I am a lot fitter and healthier than someone who is thin but smokes never exercises and eats crap for example. yet they would probably get treatment before me. I am running a half marathon for god sake!

heartmoonshadow

I feel like I am looking in a mirror!

I have gone through the EXACT same issues as you are.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in December last year...After 12 months TTC with no luck.

I was referred to the fertility unit at the hospital. I waited almost 2 months for the appointment. I was devastated. The fertility nurse told me that I had to get my BMI under 35 before they would even consider helping me.

So, I killed myself to lose weight before my first appointment with the consultant.

I lost 1.5 stone in just under 4 months by doing the low Gi diet, cutting out sugar and doing exercise.

When I saw her I hoped she would help as my BMi was 35 on the dot! The most amazing thing as well was that after 14 months of TTC I had managed to fall pregnant all by myself even with PCOS! Unfortunately I lost the baby at 7 weeks.

I went back for my next appointment 2 months later and my weight was down even more. I had lost just over 2 stone. My bmi was 33! So I was way clear of 35.

Again, they refused to give me clomid /metformin....anything! In fact I was discharged from the fertility unit and told to go away and GET SLIM. I was also told to refer back to them if not pregnant by September.

I have been screaming for help but nobosy wants to help and they just keep telling me how well I am doing losing weight and to keep going rather than take drugs.

The NHS are all about budgets and quotas....weight is an easy way for them to avoid treating tax paying citizens.

It makes me sick.

And there is a lot of truth about pregnancy when very obese, but saying that I had my son when I was the weight I am now - so bmi 33, about 14 stone 5 oz. I had a problem free pregnancy and problem free birth, So it is a load of bollocks that it automatically causes all these problems. I was the biggest of my friends and I was the ONLY one that had a complete problem free pregnancy and birth. The rest of them were slim and 3 out of 4 of them had hard pregnancies and had to have emergency C-sections at birth.

hello ladies,
would just like to say that i am on clomid at the moment. My fertilty nurse keeps saying that i need to lose weight. I can't really tell you how much i weigh because i don't know. she gave me metformin and i have lost weight. It keeps failing my clothes feel different. I don't believe in dieting as i cut down on certain foods and sweets as i have a sweet tooth.
I am not sure what to say, so women who are size 20-24 get pregnant i don't know how but they do.
sometimes dr's get it wrong!!!!

at that height/weight I think you would be refused IVF in some places, but I don't know about other fertility treatments.

Sorry, but at that height and weight you must be overweight, even if a lot of it is muscle.

No idea if you'd be refused treatment though.

Okay maybe I jumped the gun a little but I just hate that fertility treatment has become so political. Where do you stop? Refuse treatment to smokers or people who drink alcohol etc. I know these are valid points about weight and fertility/pregnancy but where do you draw the line? A lot of overweight/obese people conceive naturally so why should an overweight person who can't conceive naturally, possibly be denied the chance to be a mother?

No offence to anyone, I always get my knickers in a twist about such matters. According to those BMI charts I am obese. I am 5 ft 4 inches and weigh 12 stones and 9 pounds. BUT I have a lot of muscle as I used to be a serious runner and I still exercise. I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy with my DS whom I conceived naturally. So would I be denied treatment?

If you have PCOS, then a low carb diet can be very, very helpful.

see this site

There are a number of members on this forum who suffer from PCOS as well.

And 6 months is not a short time. Even if you only lost a pound a week that's a stone and a half.

HMS, don't know if you are still there but I don't think anyone has been ranting, they are trying to help.

I also have PCOS and was declined NHS assistance from GP, he wouldn't even do tests to identify PCOS, just refused as had "only" been trying for a year. You can't wait for some GP to decide he feels inclined to help you. You need to get proactive.

I went private. Husband had full sperm count/motility tests, I had tests for hostile mucus (sorry TMI alert) and blood tests which identified PCOS. DH also had low sperm count. We both cut out alcohol and I was prescribed metformin - which made me lose 2 stone in a month. Three months later I was pregnant.

Total cost of all this private treatment? Less than £500.

And sorry, but if you are four stone overweight you really need to lose weight before getting pregnant - you will be more susceptible to gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia otherwise.