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Fertility / Infertility (Expert Forum)
conceiving a child after anorexia?
Questions in the Fertility/Infertility forum are answered by doctors affiliated with USF Health. Topics covered include fertility or infertility issues, egg quality, fertility drugs and side effects, fertility tests, genetic testing, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), ovulation, relationship issues, risk factors, sperm count/quality, and surgery.
conceiving a child after anorexia?
by Jah jah's mommy, Jun 10, 2007 12:00AM
I'm recently in recovery from 11yrs of anorexia. I have severe osteoporosis as a result. I am 22 years old. I was put on birth control for the estrogen to help replenish my bones, and return my period. (I do not menstruate without the pill) I have doubts of my being able to actually carry a child in the future, but was considering a surrogate mother. Is there anyway to tell if I'm even producing eggs anymore? Is a surrogate, with my egg and husband's sperm possible?
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-M.D.-SP, Jun 18, 2007 12:00AM
At age 22, you almost certainly still have hundreds of thousands of eggs in your ovaries - they just are not being released. In general, regular monthly ovulation requires that a critical % of a woman's body weight be fat - approx 20%. Thus, once you reach full recovery, you will hopefully start having regular periods again when not on the pill. However, if this does not occur, then you would need injections of fertility drugs to achieve ovulation, which should be accomplishable pretty easily if required. As for the need for a gestational surrogate, you probably could carry on your own; the high estrogen levels of pregnancy if anything would do good things for osteoporosis. The answer to your question about a surrogate, with your husband's sperm and your eggs being possible, is 'yes' and in fact this is a very frequent arrangement. I am just not sure you will need a surrogate.
eveyone who is Anorexic should read more about the Anorexia Treatments at
http://www.anorexia-nervosa.org.uk/anorexia-treatment.php