In a previous post I had mentioned that my RE is determined that I am too fat to have a baby because I am too unhealthy. How does she know this? Well isn't it a known fact that if you are overweight you have a myriad of other health issues too? Did she do any tests? No, but really, it should be safe to assume that I have blood sugar issues, cholesterol, blood pressure problems, fatty liver, and the list goes on.
So after being told that I needed to lose at least 100 lbs before she would help us get pregnant, I started looking into extreme measures. By that I mean gastric bypass surgery. I don't particularly like the idea of doing that (but the more I find out about it and its results the more I'm softening toward the idea). The problem is that I'm not getting any younger and each passing month makes my eggs and chances of conception a little bit lower. I could potentially lose all the weight on my own but the chances are slim (see what I did there?). A few years ago I lost 80 lbs with diet and exercise but I was 8 years younger (we all know its harder to lose weight when you hit 30. I also had a job where I walked away at 4:30 and didn't have to deal with it again until 8:30 the next morning... No three to four hours of at home work after getting home at 6:00. I had a workout buddy and was living in a place where I could be at a gym in about 5 minutes.
Fast forward to today. I work until 4:30 or 5:00 each day and then have a 45 minute commute to get home. I have to cook supper and then put in a few more hours to do planning or marking - the joys of teaching English, when you assign a class of 25 kids essays it means you have to mark those essays. Another big obstacle is that I live at least an hour from the closest gym. I know there are other things I could do but the gym was motivating to me and I like variety. Right now my biggest hurdle is my ankle. I broke it and tire ligaments about 20 months ago. It hurts if I do even 5 minutes of walking so exercise is seriously painful. I'm about a month from surgery on it so hopefully that will help.
I know this all sounds like excuses but these are very real problems and barriers to my weight loss success. Since my RE appointment on June 20 I've lost 15 lbs which I know is good but nowhere near what I need to lose.
So what is my whiney point? Well in order to move forward on the gastric bypass you have to be referred to the bariatric clinic here (there is only one in the province). I asked my GP for a referral and she was happy to do it saying she'd support me any way she could. She ordered a full battery of blood and urine tests because she said they usually ask for those. I also had her test my hormone levels.
So today I went back because something came back wonky and she wanted me in. So given what the RE said I should have been in for really bad news right? Nope... Diagnosis: very low vitamin D. So I have to take supplements. The doctor said it's obvious why I'm low, I'm very pale, I've often referred to myself as translucent in fact. Given that I always use a ton of sunscreen or I burn horribly... And sunscreen blocks vitamin D absorption. No biggie. Vitamin deficiency is easy to fix, dealt with those before.
So what about everything else? Totally and completely normal numbers. Cholesterol, liver, sugars, all perfect. Yes I am on blood pressure meds but the doc figures given my family history that I would be anyway (nearly every relative and my parents and my grandparents all had high blood pressure) she is pretty sure it's not a weight related issue.
So where is this unhealthy person that the RE is so concerned about being pregnant. This GP and two other before her have commented on how may be the most healthy overweight patient they have ever seen. Sigh. But it doesn't help me to get pregnant.
At this point I have two hopes. The RE has me scheduled for an assessment with the high risk pregnancy clinic in the city to see what they think. I'm hoping they give us the go ahead. Failing that I am going back to my original OB/GYN and asking her for help. She didn't have a problem with my weight a couple years ago and I asked if it was an issue and she had said absolutely not... So hopefully she still thinks that way.
So there you have it, the healthiest unhealthy person out there!
