Weight gain on meds?
16 Replies
Tink - December 18

so this is really starting to bug me. i am not overweight usually and am pretty athletic. in fact i met my RE's nurse by playing on the same women's soccer team with her. I am blessed to have met her, since she has gotten me free follistim shots twice now (that is $800 worth that i saved due to her!). anyways- i am active, i usually work out and am usually a size 8 at 5'9, about 148 lbs before all this. i am now wearing size 10 and up to 156-158 most days. it is just driving me nuts. i am bloated all the time from the drugs and have been taking it easy during cycles, for fear that exerting myself too much won't be good for my IUI cycles, possible implantation etc. Plus i feel so worn out, bloated, headachy all the time, plus the cramping (i tend to grow a lot of follies on meds), i just don't feel up to working out. my pants are all too tight. i was just curious if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. this is my 8th month on fertility meds. So it has taken its toll. i did 4 months of clomid only, march, april, may and june. then i did an IUI in august and sept with clomid. (so 6 mos of clomid). then a lap in october and an IUI wtih follistim in november. i am now on follistim again for my 4th IUI this weekend. i am so bloated today, i had to change the pants i planned to wear this am. doh! it is just nerve-wracking to me and another side effect i guess. i know in the end i want to be gaining weight, but i want it to be cuz i am pregnant! lol ;)

 

chele - December 18

Tink, I have to tell you that I am in the same boat!!! I have always been thin, all my life I asked the doctor "what can I take to help me gain some weight?" Then when I 1st started w/ the Clomid... boom I started gaining weight. I fluctuated btwn 128-130lbs forever (I'm 5ft 7in). I have gained over this time about 15-17lbs!

 

Tink - December 18

well i don't feel as bad. i hate blaming it on the meds, but i really think that is it. i haven't changed my eating habits much, in fact, the only change is for the better- less soda (i used to drink 2-3 coke zeros a day, now i only do 1 max- and usually a caffeine free diet soda like sprite zero). so who knows. of course if we get our wish, we will be gaining baby weight anyways, but it's hard gaining weight and not having that reward of being pregnant!

 

Lucky717 - December 18

Thank you for posting!! I am right with you both. I am on Zoloft and gained 10 pounds right off the bat and then went on fertility meds and gained another 15 pounds!!!! I've never been this big. I have always been a size 6 or 8. Get this I am a size 14 or 16 now!!! YIKES!!!!!! I hate these damn meds. Tink I know what you mean about gaining weight and not being pregnant. It sucks!!

 

hopingforablessing - December 18

Hi ladies, I am in the same boat. I took clomid this month and the day after my O I gained 6 pound it's been 21/2 weeks and now I'm up to 10lbs. I however just found out I am pregnant which I am ecstatic about. I'm usually 127lbs 5'7' and I have no problem putting on 45 pounds during my pregnancies. So I am a little nervous to start out with the extra 10 already. My ultra sound showed some free fluid and a couple of cyst which my docs said helps and to the swelling and weight gain. Keep up all the hard work. Baby dust to all....

 

cmelissa - December 19

I was just thinkong today how fat i feel since being on all these meds! Geez not fun at all! My flat tummy is now all bloated and hangs over my pants somethimes when i sit, i feel horrible! I just hope i get pregnant soon, people are going to wonder why i'm gaining weight and i'm not even pregnant!

 

chele - December 19

Hi everyone! I'm with all of you, this is terrible... at least if we were pregnant... I never realized going in that the weight gain was an issue but never gaining weight all my lifte I would have never thought... Are all of you taking Clomid, or are you on injectibles?

 

Tink - December 19

yep, well at least we know we aren't alone! we can be big and bloated together! lol...Chele, i am doing injectables now (follistim)- my second cycle on them. I did 6 mos of clomid before that. so for 8 months i have been on fertility meds and it is showing! DH is so sweet and said he hasn't noticed though. i think he is lying! lol

 

Tracy88 - December 19

I gained 15 pounds on clomid in 3 months, so when I stopped that, I started seeing a personal trainer and lost about ten. Then I did a cycle of injectables and gained back 5 BUT luckily got PG that cycle! I was on bed rest for the first trimester for various reasons, so now I am up 20!!!!! I started all this stuff at 120 and am now about 148ish. I just know that I have to roll with it because the weight gain isn't over yet and I will see a trainer again when i am ready to start over after birth. Good luck ladies! There are great things on the horizon for all of you. It does suck to feel like you have no control over the weight, but when you do get PG, you won't really give a crap and will save the worrying for the end.

 

chele - December 19

Tink, sounds like you picked a good one! : ) My husband also say's your not fat, your just a little heavier then your use to so you think your fat. I've always worked out 3 days a week, but since Oct I have kicked it up to about 5 because I swear everytime I look at myself I am disgusted! MY dh say's that all of us girls are stressting ourselves out over nothing, our eyes just seeing ourselves as huge.... Who knows, but we will all do what we have to in order to get that bundle of joy, right. : ) Have you ever taken the Gonal-F or Metaform (sp?) If this does not work this time around then my RE spoke of Gonal-F, metaform. What does the follistim do? Tracy88, how far along are you now?

 

Tink - December 19

No metaformin for me- that is really for PCOS sufferers I believe and has something to do with insulin or something? Anyways- Gonal-F however, is Follistim's counterpart- they are basically the same and do the same thing- they are an injectable designed to produce better quality eggs and multiple eggs. They are like clomid, but stronger and won't thin your lining like clomid. there is a greater chances of multiples (due to better/more eggs) with the injectables- 20% chance of twins with follistim/gonal-f. Chele- i used to work out a lot- but i have taken it easy since starting IUIs 4 months ago. i figure i would rather gain a few pounds, than risk overdoing it and messing up my IUI potential etc. I tend to go all out when i work out, so i figure i just will take it easy and focus on the IUI- i am too crampy this week from follistim to exercise at all, even if i wanted to. I'll just deal with the weight gain for now, even though it sucks.

 

chele - December 19

Tink, thanks I understand better now. But I am wondering why he mentioned the metoform when the insulin test/PCOS test came back negative..hmmm If I have not been blessed this time around then I was told I would start Gonal-F and eliminate Clomid... yeah!!! But now I read that the injectibles seem to cause some people more weight gain then the clomid... : ( I have actually been taking it easier w/ the workouts now and keeping it to about a hour of cardio on the bike so I am not jumping around. I asked my doctor and he said resume life as before but use your judgement so I continue to work out because I've been told that if you are working out when you conceive then you can continue since your body is use to it (lower impact i'm sure). But if you have not been doing so, then the advise you not to until after the birth. I don't blame you though....

 

Tracy88 - December 20

Chele, I am now 18 weeks with a little girl and my belly is huge! I did Gonal-F at the lowest dose, had four mature eggs, actually only ovulated two, and two took. I then lost a twin (vanishing twin) at 8 and half weeks, so now have a singleton! If any of you are worried about multiples with the injectables, remember that only 20% of twins make it to birth. Most are lost between weeks 5 and 10, like mine. And I gained less weight on the shots than I did on clomid. I had a much better reaction over all to the shots. Clomid was hell to me. I would have continued working out into my pregnancy, but was put on bed rest due to enlarged ovaries (happens from the shots sometimes, more often when you actually do get PG) so exercise just wasn't an option. It's all worth it though.

 

lqtoo - December 22

Hi everyone. I have gained about 15 pounds in the last 6 months since starting to take injectibles for IUI - Puregon (called Follistum in the States I think). I too have the uncomfortable feeling of all my pants being too tight and feeling like I'll be cut in half every time I bend over. However, I got a bfp yesterday, so I think that the weight gain is worth it. The way I console myself is by thinking that maybe I will have a lot more stretching room in the skin over my stomach, since it has already been "pre-stretched" by the bloating and pre-pregnancy weight gain. Keep on trucking it ladies, it's gonna happen for you soon, and it will all be worth it!

 

Tracy88 - December 22

Congrats on your BFP Iqtoo!

 

leahb5 - December 24

i'm getting ready to start my injectables for the first time ever!! i'm going to be on bravelle(like follistim) i'm glad i read this so i can really watch for it. i was on clomid for 6mo and gained maybe 5 lbs.i'm 5'5 140 now and i'm hoping not to really gain any weight with the shots but that seems nearly impossible. the nurse did tell me to be prepared for all the bloating...yuck! i go in as soon as i start af to be evaluated(vag. ultrassound) and then they will tell me when to start meds. i'm still praying for a christmas miracle though...good luck to all!!

 

chele - December 24

Tracy88, I have read about the meds doing that to some (enlarging ovaries), so I can totally see why you would not be able to work out or even want to. Now that you have your little girl on the way, I would not jeopardize that either. Hopefully my body will function like yours and I won't gain alot on the Gonal-F. IQTOO that's wonderful, Congratulations!!! Leahb5, good like w/ your u/s!

 

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