Weight loss for IVF 2021/2022

[WeightlossKin]

I need to lose three stone to qualify for IVF. I've got one to lose for my referral and two more after that for treatment.
Creating this for myself and for others who might want to buddy up!

@WeightlossKin thank you. I hope you’re enjoying your holiday.

can’t move the appointment but I’m trying to remain positive. Even if I have to have another appointment in 4 months for an IVF referral, at least I’ll hopefully have some sort of diagnosis tomorrow which will be helpful.

if it’s unexplained, then maybe the HSG will have helped to flush things out, and we can continue trying before an IVF referral. Hopefully they’ll decide my thyroid is too high (4.5 is too high for ttc I believe) and I might finally get a prescription to lower it in readiness for a referral. Doc at local surgery won’t do anything about it, but maybe the fertility consultant will. My weight is down a bit today, bmi is 30.2, I’m so close which is the hard thing.

I’ll definitely not eat before the appointment tomorrow. I’ll have my SF shake 4 hours before my appointment and no fluid after to help. We’ll see.

hope everyone is alright.

I come home today but it's been really lovely! Very hot and sunny in Spain 😎 I've probably gained half a stone 😂 I won't be weighing myself until Sunday so will see how it goes.

That's a very positive attitude @Lauralozzle . There are usually silver linings to shit situations. Goodluck today! Please let us know how you get on if you're happy to. It'll let me know what to expect when I'm in the same situation in the future 🤦

@Lakyta1717 how have you gotten on this week?

@Hedgehugs well done on the weight loss so far! And welcome back 😊 day 21 bloods are so hard with inconsistent cycles aren't they? How frustrating that they've lost the sperm sample! 🤦 Not the first time I've heard of it happening.

Hi everyone!! I DID IT!!!!

bmi on hospital fancy scales 29.9. I celebrated with a KFC I was bloody starving!

So, spoke to the consultant. No surprise that my thyroid and prolactin bloods are getting repeated. Tubes are fine. We have the dreaded unexplained infertility diagnosis.

consultant said can do two thing, IUI over 3 cycles with chance of conception being 30% at about a grand per round or IVF.

chose the IVF, as I don’t want to waste savings on IUI if more cycles of IVF are needed.

nurse has given us a sheet with IVF clinics, we filled some paperwork in and have to let her know our choice and she’ll send the paperwork off.

So, things are happening!

That's amazing!! Well done @Lauralozzle 🥰
30% chance with IUI sounds quite high, I thought it was usually much lower than that. I'd be exactly the same. To start with I thought I'd want to do the least "manipulated" process possible to try and get as close to natural selection as possible but now that it's been 2.5 years of our natural selection being "no selection" I'm keen for whatever is going to give us the best chance.

I bet you feel SO relieved. You've worked so hard well done!! Do you know how long IVF will take before you get to have it? Will they weigh you again before you start meds? Am I asking too many questions?!? 😂 I'm just genuinely excited that you've gotten to this point, that's amazing!

@WeightlossKin I am so relieved. Had my SF shake at about half 9 this morning and then nothing until after the appointment. I was super thirsty but I’m so glad I made it. Not in a particularly healthy way but it was two days of being super hungry but 100% worth it!

No idea how long IVF will take - once I tell the nurse which clinic she said she will call me to finalise the referral and I’ll ask her rough waiting times then. My understanding is the paperwork is for funding from CCG and that takes about 6 weeks (from reading other threads) and then sometime after that the clinic will call. I’m hopeful we’ll have a cycle started this year though. Well, I bloody hope so!

She said I have to keep my weight down so I guess they’ll weigh me again, maybe at the IVF clinic. I’m assuming that will be the case so I’m going to stick around as I need all the support I can get. This loss isn’t real fat loss, it’s basically water and I need a serious buffer!!! Bet me and OH looked like right twats though when they weighed me, she was like ‘well done you’ve done it’ and we just jumped up and high fived in the middle of the room haha. 😂

Hi everyone, happy hump day.

So, nurse called today, paperwork will be sent to CARE end of the week, and then 2-3 weeks from that should expect to hear from CARE.

They’ll then arrange another weigh in, a scan, I imagine more bloods and OH will have another SA.

Then after that will discuss protocol with consultant.

Then after that appointment with nurse re injections. Then cycle starts after next period. She said looking about 3 months to get that all done. So maybe a September cycle… Fingers crossed maybe, was thinking of booking a holiday abroad in September, won’t bother now!

So, still very much keeping my weight down, fingers crossed for a good weigh on Saturday - I’ve been eating since Monday and you can tell haha 😂

That's amazing 🥰 I'm so thrilled for you! If the weight loss is genuinely water then don't be panicked if you have a gain next time you weigh as it's to be expected!

😱 September isn't far away! That's really exciting. You should be so proud of yourself for powering through⭐. Hopefully you've got a little time to lose the buffer you want to lose before your next appointment. How amazing to think you'll have had IVF by the end of the year 🤞

I really need to just sort myself out and lose the weight I need to now. I think I need to lose 32lbs. Which sounds like so much .. oh dear.

@WeightlossKin You can do it! Take it 1 lb at a time!

I fully expect tomorrow’s weigh in to be a gain from Monday, but I’m okay with it. I’ll be happy if there’s a little loss from last official weigh in though. I definitely need the buffer though, and generally speaking, need to lose the excess weight because I know the niggling cramps on the side and everything started when I stopped being ten stone, I’d ideally love to get back to ten stone, I’d be in the healthy bmi then. 3 stone to lose mind, it’s a lot.

it’s very exciting to think I’ll have IVF by the end of the year! My next step is bloods appointment on Monday, to find out thyroid and prolactin levels now and if they’re still the same. My prolactin levels are high and consultant said it could be a reason.., who knows.

Weigh in for me - I’m down 2.5lb from last Saturday. just started AF too so I’m happy with that.

That puts my bmi at 30.0 according to my scales.

how is everyone?

That's a really great weight loss after going back to more normal eating! puts you on a good track for your buffer by your next weight related appointment whenever that may be!

I have never been less than what I am now really. I can't imagine being 10 stone!! I can't imagine the 12st 7lbs I need to be. I'm feeling like I can't ever get there because I've never gotten there and I've made no progress since March basically 🤦 but you're right, 1lb at a time! Hopefully I'll be more motivated and stay on plan 100% now that I've had a break.

I'm really struggling this week with pregnant people and babies and stuff.

It's good that they're looking into your thyroid and prolactin. If nothing else I always think it feels nice to have something going on in the fertility pipeline.

Have gained a pound this week. Which I think is okay considering I've been on holiday and age basically whatever I wanted? Although we walked between 10 and 20 miles everyday so I was hoping not to have gained anything! 🤦 Husband managed to lose a pound. Wtf is that about. He doesn't even need to lose any 🫤

1lb gain from holiday is really good I think. I can easily gain about 7lbs from holiday! Lots of walking seemed to do the trick.

keep at it, I’ve stopped my SW subscription and calorie counting with SW style food. On my period at the moment though so might have demolished a massive chocolate bar yesterday!

This period after the HSG is pretty heavy and quite painful.

I totally get the struggling with pregnancy announcements and babies and stuff. It’s hard when you see birthdays of babies pop up where people got pregnant when we were trying. 3 years we’ve been ttc in July. It’s hard to keep positive.

it’s also annoying when OH has a loss! Im excited for the time I weigh less than mine!

I can definitely gain loads on holiday. We went on a two week holiday for our honeymoon and I genuinely gained half a stone 😳 that was what was left after all the water bloating went. And I couldn't blame it on my period etc. As I was on the mini pill! 🤦 It went up from there.

Chocolate on your period is a must isn't it? It's like antibiotics when you have an infection. It'll only be worse if you don't have a bit of chocolate! It sounds like you have a sensible plan which is similar to mine! Sorry to hear your period after HSG is so bad. I wonder what causes that? Maybe everything is a bit tender and raw after?

We're officially 3 years in September I think? Although I came off contraception in July. It all just blends together though. Sucks doesn't it? It has made me realise how strong we are to keep going.

Oh I hadn't thought that I'll have to weigh less than my husband 😂 how exciting/completely unachievable!!

Hope you've got a good Monday ahead. I started the day with scrambled eggs for breakfast so it's a good start! I need to make some real progress this week.

Chocolate on your period is a definite must! It just makes it that bit better!

Im thinking maybe the HSG flushed stuff out that maybe came out on my period. I did spot on the day, but I dunno - must have something to do with it. It’s much better now, nice and light, so the leftover chocolate is hidden away.

3 years, or coming up to 3 years in our cases - yes, it suck’s massively. To think we need IVF as well just adds to the suckyness! You have to be so much more resilient than you would have ever thought.

Im busy with work today (to a degree) and I’m back to being good today diet wise. Should help keep my mind off things. I had my blood test this morning for thyroid/prolactin so I think I’ll give the fertility clinic at hospital a call next Monday to see if the results are back and what the plan is if my levels are still off. Fingers crossed someone finally gives me some medication!

Scrambled eggs for breakfast sounds like a fantastic start to the day!

Good that your period is lighter now. Heavy painful periods are the icing on the infertility cake 🙄 the thing is I'm not sure how resilient I actually am. I'm living through it but it's so bloody painful!

I hope they do give you some meds. It's crazy isn't it that we can be just on the boundary or slightly over the normal and it doesn't matter to them. I wonder if the fertility clinic will give me Metformin for my PCOS and to see if it boosts some weight loss? I sort of hope so if it's going to help!

I'm having a good day diet wise today 😊 determined to have a good week this week! 💪

Had a terrible week, diet wise, literally ate all the food. 4lb gain.

Hopefully I’ve got it out of my system now, need to get back on track!

How is everyone?

@Lauralozzle I think that's a classic "bounce back" from being so strict on yourself for so long. As you say, hopefully out of your system now and you can get back on it more sustainably 😊 don't let the gain get to you, it'll go! Do you have a plan for the week ahead?

I've lost the 1lb I gained from holiday. So I'm happy with that I guess. Would always be nice to lose 1.5 or 2 . Better than it could have been though! Jubilee weekend isn't going to do me any favours food-wise but I'm just going to be quite strict with myself on all of the other days.

I hope everyone else is getting on okay too 😊

Well done on the loss! Every pound counts!

I do have a sort of plan. Still caloriecounting but trying to keep an eye out on my carbs and sugar. I’m going for a 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein ratio - that’s what is sort of advised in it starts with the egg. I’m not there yet hitting all these (protein is never 30% but I’m trying)

Sugar is a massive downfall for me, so I’m focusing on trying to keep that down for now - once I’ve got a handle on that I’ll try and focus on the macro ratio better.

Still SW style meals but I’m not shying away from full fat diary or olive oil, avocados etc.

@Lauralozzle that sounds like a good plan. Sugar and sweet stuff is my downfall too, I have such a sweet tooth. I'm so much better than I used to be though, but can't resist some sweet treats each week.

@WeightlossKin well done for losing 1lb, that's great! I'm glad you had a lovely holiday but also managed to get back on track straight away. It can be hard to jump straight back into it after a break.

I managed to lose 1/2lb a this week, which I'm happy with considering I've had some crazy busy weekends lately. I've literally done nothing this weekend and I so needed it. It's exam season at work, I've been busy for the last 3 weekends and I'm so exhausted. So yesterday I spent a whole day on my sofa watching working moms and napping 😂 was glorious!

@Lakyta1717 half a lb is good! Well done! I remember when I used to TA in a school and exam season was madness! I imagine after Covid now it’s all going again! So well done on the loss because the call of cake is real!

I really struggle with sugar, but last two days my sugar levels have been decent! I’ve managed to stay away from the Chocolate and sweets. I’m looking forward to this 3 day work week though this week. I keep telling myself Monday is like a Wednesday! I have an exam for work soon that I need to start revising for so hopefully that’ll help make the week go quick, or not, we will see!

hope you all had nice weekends :)

Thanks 😊 it's definitely full on after 2 years of no exams. Feels so strange to be going through it all again. I think the fact we haven't had a proper full school year for 2 years has also made this one harder, just not used to it. But I've only got this half term left, so making the most of it while I'm there.

I'm having a bit of a mopey day today, feeling crappy about it all and just trying not to eat my feelings which is incredibly difficult.

@Lauralozzle well done for staying away from the sugar and chocolates, it's really hard when you've got a sweet tooth. Love a 3 days work week, always makes it so much more bearable!

That sounds like a sensible plan @Lauralozzle 😊 sugar is also my downfall and is definitely my enemy! Chocolate and biscuits and cakes. 😳 Well done getting it under control the last few days! It'll be worth it.

@Lakyta1717 well done on your loss! Your weekend sounds amazing and very chill. I'm sorry you're having a mopey day today. I think we all do don't we? Lately I seem to have more mopey days than not. Do you need to vent? Lately it's been helping me to write quite angry letters/essays to the universe 😂 I delete them after.

I can't remember if I said on here or not 🤔 we got a big fat envelope through from the fertility clinic with a questionnaire about us/our fertility "journey" so far. Plus a request for us to get a few more blood tests. I've got one more to have and then can send off our questionnaire back to the clinic and then they'll allocate an initial appointment.. that could still be months away but I'm already having another weight loss panic about how far I've got left to go. 🙁 I didn't think we'd hear anything at all until August! So I'm nervous it'll all be too fast and I won't be ready when we have our first appointment and it's weighing on my mind a lot. Apologies if I'm just repeating stuff, I should have gone back to check but cba 😂

@Lakyta1717 I’m sorry you’re having a crappy day. I think we all have days where we want to eat our feelings. One half term left, that sounds good!

@WeightlossKin I was super snacky tonight, but instead of reaching for sweet snacks (I have some super nice candied nuts) I resorted to cheese. Two slices of Edam cheese. Who am I? Haha.

I know weight loss and impending appointments are hard! I’d just get your last tests done and send it off, it could be a couple of months for an initial appointment anyway. What tests have you had so far? There might be more tests to have which can take a little while, it all adds up and months have passed before you’re anywhere! Sometimes impending appointments give us the boost we need to really focus. I have struggled so hard with it though, cause it feels like extra stress, but you can do this.

Update for me. I’m pretty annoyed to be honest. Last bloods for thyroid and prolactin (ordered by consultant) we’re taken last Monday. I called the fertility clinic today to see what they said/what they were. Thyroid is up again at 6.45. So I’ve gone from 9.something to 4.something to 6.45. It’s all over the bloody place and it’s too high. Nurse said they like it under 3 for IVF. Prolactin still high (940 so down a bit from 1006). Nurse asked if I had an appointment- explained I had my consultant appointment earlier this month, I’ve been referred for IVF now and I’m waiting for CARE to call me. Nurse then said oh maybe they’ll just sort it out. Like seriously, why order bloods and then just say we’ll wait for them to sort it out.

Nurse asked if GP was dieting my thyroid, explained no, no-one has sorted it yet. Again, maybe CARE will. I then suggested if it’d be worthwhile making an appointment with my GP. She said that was a good idea and to tell them I’ve been referred for IVF. Im sick of feeling like I’ve been fobbed off, no one wants to sort out this prolactin thing because it’s borderline and ‘sub-clinical’

Anyway, I’ve made an appointment with my doctor for Wednesday. Things I’ve read said elevated prolactin (but not high enough to be a tumour) can be thyroid problem. My levels are not stable and above normal. I’ve also checked symptoms for under active thyroid:

• fatigue. I am tired all the time, bit of a problem, hence sugar issue. I only feel good after about 10-12 hrs of sleep and I’m pretty sleepy a lot of the time, fall asleep usually at drop of a hat. (I thought I just never grew out of my teenage sleep pattern but maybe it’s just not normal!)


• constipation. Ahem… I have IBS, it’s one or the other to be honest


• Dry skin - sometimes


• sore achy muscles - especially when I wake up, I often feel a bit swollen but it goes when I’m up and move about. I’d put it down to my mattress (it’s 8 years old)


• heavy periods - day 2/3 are always heavy and painful. Always had this, I’ve learned what works for me, I just thought it was me and my normal. Back in the day it was why I went on the pill


• weight gain - yeah, not sure if it’s that or my chocolate addiction but losing weight is so much harder than it used to be.

so, I don’t have every symptom but I have some. That’s suggests I am symptomatic. I just put it down to other stuff. I’m going to go in on Wednesday with a bloody list and hopefully I’ll leave with a thyroxine prescription. I just want someone to take responsibility for medicating me!

Super well done snacking on better choices @Lauralozzle ! I'm doing a lot of taking sweet things out of cupboards and then putting them back 😂 oh how I want them.

Yeah I'm going to get my test done next week and then just send it in. And then maybe that'll give me additional motivation to properly stick to plan. I've got two afternoon tea type treats this week because of the jubilee 🤦 one with work and one with family. Will keep my fertility in mind! Although family things equals a baby being included and that makes me want to comfort eat. I've had other tests done by GP but the clinic said my day 21 test was out of date and I've never had an LH/FSH 1-5 day test done so that's what I'll need next week. Hubby had to have testosterone, chromosome X? And some other ones done.

Your update makes so cross! How crazy for them to not do anything as the IVF clinic "might"? It would be helpful if they proactively addressed it so it's under control by the time of your appointment / IVF no? Especially if they know your prolactin needs to be lower. And care are there for the IVF so... Surely it's too late to let them address if? I'm sure they probably would but it feels like such a backwards approach!!

Definitely go in with a list. If your thyroid isn't behaving in a stable way surely that's enough of a reason for them to try medication? Maybe ask them what the harm would be in trialling it for three months to see how you feel and their medical rational if they say no.
My colleague recently had to fight for thyroid meds and feels 1000% times better.

People always ask if I take Metformin for my PCOS but my doctor has always said there's nothing they can give me 🤷 it's crazy.

@WeightlossKin keep putting them back in the cupboard!

we had a fuddle in the office today for jubilee so I might have had some chocolate cake. Massively over my sugar goal, but it’s not that bad, back on it tomorrow.

I’m hoping the doctor will listen tomorrow, fingers crossed. I agree, it seems madness to expect CARE to sort out my thyroid - it’ll just cause delay. If they refuse I might ask for them to refer me, or at least write to the endocrinologist again because surely they’ll say I need the meds. I suppose I’ll find out tomorrow.