Infertility and Weight

[Weltz29]

Hi Everyone,

My partner and I have been trying for over 5 years now and have had no luck. We went to the Dr for support and they said that we meet all the criteria for IVF but as we have a BMI of over 30, they will not help us until we bring our BMI down For me this is very hard as I have PCOS and other digestive issues which make weight loss very challenging.

Does anyone have any advice or experience of a similar situation and can suggest where we could go next? I simply can't believe that because we do not meet a certain weight, it means that we do not qualify for any support what so ever!

[Kittykat198]

I’m sorry for your experience and feel cross this is still the case years after it happened to me too.

I have pcos too and ibd and completely understand your situation. I can only share my own experiences but I did lose weight in 2017 to be prescribed clomid and it was hard and humiliating and losing weight didn’t work for me.

I then revisited Ivf in 2021 but by that point was too old for Ivf in my area too and my bmi was over 30. We ended up self funding and I completely get we were in a very privileged position to do so. Our clinic accept anyone with a bmi under 35 so if you can self fund, it’s worth shopping about.

Clinics abroad I’ve heard also can be more sympathetic to higher bmis but I don’t have any experience of this.

Fertility treatment is seen as elective and so is an easy target for restrictions and cuts but please don’t take away the message that your bmi means your shouldn’t have treatment. People with high bmis get pregnant naturally every single day and have pregnancies without issue.

With pcos I did find that myo insitol was helpful in losing a bit of weight and ovulating more regularly (our clinic recommended it). I was also prescribed metformin a long time ago but it did not agree with me!! Metformin is suppose to help some people with pcos with ovulating.

In my experience, gps aren’t overly helpful with pcos or anyone who wants or needs to lose weight either. However, it can’t hurt to ask what they can do to support you?

I recommend asking your gp to check your thyroid as I found it a million times easier to lose weight when my thyroid wasn’t off and thyroid impacts fertility. While you might not qualify for a referral for treatment, you could ask for them to check your partners sperm or your tubes in the meanwhile?

[Weltz29 in reply to Kittykat198]

Thanks so much for all your advice. There are definitely a few things here that I could raise with my DR and see where I get I guess.

[Bexarama83]

When I started treatment my bmi was just under 30. By the end of treatment and now that I’m 26wks pregnant, my bmi is back up at 32. The docs make you feel so bad for having a slightly higher bmi and everything is harder; scans etc. so I would say, try and lose some weight if you can as everything is easier if you’re in a healthy weight range. Best of luck!

[Twiglet2]

it sucks!!! But it’s true I’m afraid if you want nhs funding you need to meet the criteria which includes under 30 BMI 😢 there are quite a few Facebook pages and forums to support that exact scenario (everyone is different on how they want to lose the weight and how much they need to lose) but honestly one piece of advice I would give you is to not spend time and energy on fighting the ‘why’ (other than maybe adding your name to a petition etc to get it changed) and just focus on meeting it to get treatment started. Alternatively you could go private (our nhs clinic allow BMI up to 35 when private like we are now but for funded it couldn’t even be a smidgen over 30). I was just under at 29 BMI when I finally got pregnant through a frozen transfer and obviously the pregnancy took me over the 30 again and they also said this (together with my age) put me at higher risk of blood clots post partum and they went on about my BMI the whole pregnancy as being a risk factor so I am actually trying to lose some weight (slowly and healthily) at the moment even though I am under the 35 range for our private treatment I would like get back under the 30 for my own sakes! My other half is doing it too as over and it is much easier when both are on board together 💜 Best of luck to you both! Xx

[flamingopher]

I would go back to your GP and push to be referred anyway, they can still get going with all the tests etc, it’s only the actual IVF treatment that your BMI has to be 30 for.

It’s also possible (but not common) for your fertility consultant to use their own discretion about proceeding regardless, depending on your circumstances. Some places are stricter than others and factor in medical history.

Losing weight (trying to) really hindered my progress and mental health, you can get hyper fixated on it and then self sabotage. Just remember it’s not a personal attack, people with higher BMIs can and do get pregnant naturally - you’re not at fault here. I’ve seen women come in for planned c sections with a BMI of 50!! I had to stay away, it was infuriating!

Good luck, just keep swimming x

[Weltz29]

Thanks very much for the reassurance. It's so hard trying to loose weight when the stakes are so high. Also with PCOS the task is difficult anyway. We have been going to the gym several times a week and have scaled right back to 3 meals a day and healthy snacks! I just feel like I am so far from my goal that I can't even see it

[herewego89]

weight has felt like an impossible battle…. My BMI was massive 50+ I had weight loss surgery, and it got to 32…. Last push to be accepted was using Keto diet and now at 29.8 BMI… on injections and having ICSI. Have a look at Keto has helped me drop 1.5 stone in a month.

Wishing you all the best x

[Weltz29 in reply to herewego89]

Thanks for the advice and well done for getting to your goal x

[herewego89 in reply to Weltz29]

Thanks hun! Don’t lose heart, cheesy as it may sounds it’s part of the journey x

[Boo718]

we were exactly the same I lost 5 stone and still couldn’t get my weight down far enough they wanted it below 11 stone and I just couldn’t get there I sat on 11 or just above 🤦‍♀️ it’s so frustrating. Please be careful not to lose the weight too fast I did and it had a huge impact on my hormones and was actually detrimental to the ivf. We ended up going abroad who were less bothered about bmi and more interested in general way of life. Xxx

[Lunasa81]

Loads of debate about it in Ireland here at the moment. The government are putting IVF help in place for 1st time ever (all privately funded) and bmi under 25 is one of the guidelines.

[AlzahRani]

Hey, hope your dream come true soon. I tried ketogenic diet may help: turkishdocivf.com/the-impac...

Best!