BMI/IVF funding

[Spangalow07]

Hello,

I have just come home from an appointment with my gynae feeling really down and hoping someone might be able to help clarify some points.

History so far -

Severe endometriosis, adhesions, scarring and PCOS

Lots of operations to try and clear it up, lost my fallopian tubes in the process

Been in chemical menopause since Oct '21 to help with life altering pain from endo.

Coming off of chemical menopause as symptoms are coming back and want to give my body a break to see how it reacts and see what shape my ovaries are

Appointment today was to discuss coming off of Zoladex and to see next steps in terms of starting a family etc. I turn 34 in March and my Gynae has really been piling the pressure on for me to start IVF sooner rather than later. Whilst in the chemical menopause i have found it hard to keep weight off, despite being super active, and today has just been a car crash. My Gynae looked me up and down and said "i can tell you now you will not get NHS funding for IVF at the size you are" and proceeded to tell me I need to lose 3 stone to get funding. I am 5ft8 and come in just under 100kg, and of course i know that is a little heavy (although i am muscular, i do have a thing for crisps!) but i feel like 3 stone is drastic? I was then also told that i have to lose 3 stone in 6 months because if it takes me any longer my eggs will be useless due to my age.

I have a family history of severe eating disorders watching my mum grow up with anorexia for many many years, so anything weight related is a little triggering. But am i being too soft? I feel really upset and hurt because i followed the clinical pathway they wanted me to go down, and i was told at the beginning the chemical menopause will mean i hold weight more, and now it feels like i am being penalised for this? My consultant saw me 6 months ago and she never mentioned such a drastic weight loss then (i am assuming because i had my mum with me and she works for the CCG).

Has anyone else experienced this before? I understand if i go through IVF privately, they do not have a max weight and will do a cycle, so this is just isolated to NHS.

thanks x

[Waitingonarainbow]

Hello

I don’t have any answers for you, but I just want to say that I’m so sorry for how this conversation happened. It doesn’t sound like the doctor was very sensitive or professional in how they addressed this issue, and they certainly could have acknowledged the impact that your condition and the treatments you have been on have undoubtedly had on your weight.

We went down the private route while we wait for our NHS initial appointment. My weight isn’t ideal and if they calculate my BMI I would definitely be considered overweight for my height, but this wasn’t mentioned when my gynae consultant was referring me for NHS IVF - but maybe it will be addressed when we finally get our initial appointment!

[Skittles11]

Sorry you had this negative experience, sounds like the doctor was really insensitive all round. I believe the NHS have a BMI of 30 as their cut off and I don't know if it varies with private clinics but my private clinic I think has a cut off BMI of 35

Good luck x

[IVFjourney1]

I’m really sorry to hear about your experience and the insensitivity of the consultant.I have found the NHS have been strict with my BMI, I put on weight in-between my cycles and was exactly 30 BMI which they said I need to lose a few pounds and then when I went back the following month having lost the weight,they realised they worked out my height wrong and I actually needed to lose more weight! I have found reducing gluten and dairy has been helpful with PCOS, I wish all all the best in your journey 😊

[Boo718]

hello I’m sorry you are going through this. I was in a similar boat I had to lose weight for the nhs. I lost 5 stone and got to 11 stone but couldn’t get any further (I’m 5ft.) I couldnt get my bmi low enough. So we ended up going private abroad.

The doctors abroad said that losing the weight so fast had been detrimental to my fertility journey as it had messed up all my hormones/periods etc. I know probably not what u want to hear but I wouldn’t want anyone to go down the path I did. Periods changed, ovulation times changed my hormones were all to pot.

Spain didn’t once weigh me they said that you could have someone who is 9 stone but eats very unhealthily and that a bigger person might eat extremely well. Everyone holds weight differently xxx

[Spangalow07 in reply to Boo718]

Hello lovely, thank you for your response. This is my concern, losing the weight in 6 months and messing up my cycle when I have no idea what it will actually be like due to being in the menopause for so long.

It seems so many of us choose to go abroad as there seems to be no pathway for anyone who doesn't fit the mould. It shouldn't have to be like this!

[Lata7384]

hello love

Sorry to hear your story. I experience the same. After my missed carriage in 2017, my GP referred me to the fertility clinic NHS. I was 33 years old at that time. They did few blood tests and then told me everything looked fine, keep on trying. After 4 years they offered me ivf but i need to lose weight. I am 5.6 and weight 91kg, they told me to lose weight to reach 30BMI. It was utter madness, i have thalessemia and they ask me to lose 20 kg in 4 months which was impossible to do. In October 2021, then the consultant told me, i will offer you AMH blood test so that we can proceed with your ivf as you are nearly 38 years old. But your partner also needs to lose weight, and he is a big guy. That was absolutely insane because nobody mentioned about my partner weight in the start. We wasted 5 years in the hope NHS will help but no joy. We finally took the private route. We did one cycle in UK, failed on egg collection. This year we fly to Cyprus, I am currently 15 weeks pregnant. Wishing you all the best xxx

[Positivechangeplease]

hi there, I’m really surprised about the comment about the time length in losing weight as I don’t see why your eggs would be useless at 34/35. My eggs were harvested at the age of 39 and I have a baby as a result. I know it sounds like you have a lot more challenges but I’m not sure why the comment about your eggs not being any good was made.

As for the BMI and weight loss comment. Unfortunately there are the rules and in order to get ivf on the nhs your BMI has to be under 30. Because of your challenges you’d definitely be entitled to it so I guess the doctor is just trying to get you to remove the blocker to that. Sorry it’s triggering. It definitely could have been broken to you in a better way. They do say that being a good weight can help the chances of ivf so you might find that a lot of women on this forum attempted to lose weight during their treatment. I certainly did towards the end of my journey. Losing that amount if you’re fairly heavy in 6 months is probably doable if you’re careful about it. But you must do it sensibly. I went carb low in order to lose weight, so kept healthy veg and protein in the diet whilst lowering any carbs. Good luck 🤞

[Jumpppy]

Been where you are 😞 Echo the other comments, I wish I'd just looked at private when I realized how strict NHS were. In Scotland you had to lose the weight (and keep it off) just to join the wait list. Keep that in mind too as it can cause further delays.

In case it gives hope I was 37-39 BMI for all of my IVF attemps and have been successful (a lot older than you for most). Do what feels right to you, you know your body best.

Good luck!