Is anyone TTC with Clomid?

Melrose1702

Hello

I have been ttc for 10 months now, I was on birth control pills for13 years. I went to the doc, last week for a check up and everything is ok, I have been ovulating on my own, but for only a few hours in 1 day, with irregular cycles. So my doc. Prescribed me Clomid to boost my chances. If I dont get prego on my own this month I will be starting my first cycle of 50mlg.

Is anyone else on it. Would love to share this journey with someone.

DebateThis

Oof. This is not good. Before any fertility medications should be prescribed, you and your husband should have a full workup for infertility testing under the care of an ASRM-accredited fertility specialist, who is NOT just an OB.

At minimum, you need the following tests and labs run:
1. Semen analysis for your husband
2. CD3 transvaginal ultrasound
3. CD3 bloodwork
4. HSG (dye test to see if your tubes are open)

If your H's SA and your tests come back ok and you don't have something like PCOS, THEN you could start a clomid cycle. During the cycle you should be monitored several times to make sure you haven't developed cysts and that you actually responded appropriately to the drug. Proper monitoring looks like this:

1. CD3 ultrasound and bloodwork (yes, again - this should be done for every medicated cycle)
2. CD10-12 ish transvaginal ultrasound and bloodwork
3. 7dpo bloodwork.

I can give you tons of stories from many many years of being part of this community where women have irreparably damaged their bodies by taking clomid without all of these tests and precautions in place and it's not worth it. Clomid is not candy and OB's have no business prescribing it.

Kristinmo

Listen to DebateThis.  She is very knowledgeable about this.  There is a lifetime max on the number of cycles you can use Clomid, so don't waste them if you have blocked tubes or your DH is not producing good sperm.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, unmonitored use of Clomid can lead to higher order multiples.

Melrose1702

Thanks everyone for your input and concerns, i did a sonogram and everything was great. Because we have only be trying for 10 cycles the doc. Said I'm not considered infertile, and he has no reason to believe other wise given my history, he asked me if I wanted to waited out a cople more months and see what happens. Or I could take Clomid which he did prescribed. I have read horror stories and great stories of people on my same position who had great success.

Twinkie0612

Melrose1702 said:

Thanks everyone for your input and concerns, i did a sonogram and everything was great. Because we have only be trying for 10 cycles the doc. Said I'm not considered infertile, and he has no reason to believe other wise given my history, he asked me if I wanted to waited out a cople more months and see what happens. Or I could take Clomid which he did prescribed. I have read horror stories and great stories of people on my same position who had great success.

So your doctor doesn't think you have any infertility issues, but is going to prescribe you Clomid anyway?  Your doctor should have his license taken away.

DebateThis

Melrose1702 said:

Thanks everyone for your input and concerns, i did a sonogram and everything was great. Because we have only be trying for 10 cycles the doc. Said I'm not considered infertile, and he has no reason to believe other wise given my history, he asked me if I wanted to waited out a cople more months and see what happens. Or I could take Clomid which he did prescribed. I have read horror stories and great stories of people on my same position who had great success.

If you are having enough trouble conceiving that you need clomid, you are infertile and need to see an RE. And I have an oceanfront villa in Arizona to sell you if you think your OB is anywhere near accurate. An ultrasound alone is NOT enough to diagnose infertility or tell you that you're fertile. FFS. Wake up. Or don't and have your ovaries rupture. Your call.

24karat

Melrose1702 said:

Thanks everyone for your input and concerns, i did a sonogram and everything was great. Because we have only be trying for 10 cycles the doc. Said I'm not considered infertile, and he has no reason to believe other wise given my history, he asked me if I wanted to waited out a cople more months and see what happens. Or I could take Clomid which he did prescribed. I have read horror stories and great stories of people on my same position who had great success.

So you're not infertile, you ovulate normally, and yet your doctor and you think it's OK to go ahead with a serious drug that is only supposed to be used by those who actually have real trouble with fertility/ovulation. That makes perfect sense.

I seriously don't understand how you can think this is a good idea.

Melrose1702

Here's is some light into the subject.
I will make an informed decision. Thanks.
https://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/0020.html

DebateThis

Melrose1702 said:

Here's is some light into the subject. I will make an informed decision. Thanks. https://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/0020.html

LMFAO. Honey, you don't need to tell US about Clomid. The people that are responding to your post have collectively decades of experience with that drug as well as probably a dozen other common infertility meds.

You're clearly not making an informed decision if you've already decided to take a drug, unmonitored, with no prior testing to see what's actually impairing conception (if you're having issues at all). No amount of clomid in the world is going to get you knocked up if you have blocked tubes or if your husband's sperm is screwed up. And given that nearly 45% of cases of infertility is due to male factor, there's a high probability that it would be part of a diagnosis.

And again - if you have something like PCOS (which is the most common infertility diagnosis in the US and affects millions of women) Clomid can make your ovarian cysts spiral out of control and grow at exponential rates. Guess what? Ovarian torsion/having to have ovaries removed is a risk. There are other meds that tend to work better for women with PCOS, too, but you won't even know how Clomid is working for you since you're not going to be properly monitored while you take it.

But go on and be a fucking genius and take a drug you might not even need when you don't have a diagnosis and it could actually make things worse. SMRT.

ETA: I have my own fun links: https://www.inciid.org/printpage.php?cat=infertility101&id=262

https://www.inciid.org/article.php?cat=infertility101&id=249

Specifically:

Clomiphene Abuse

Too often, doctors give clomiphene to women with unexplained infertility before the couple has a fertility workup, or even after they have a workup, but there is no evidence of an ovulation disorder. This empiric therapy may create new problems, such as interfering with fertile mucus production, and often delays further evaluation that can lead to a specific diagnosis and proper treatment.

DebateThis

And a few more just for shits and giggles.

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12095217/clomid-question-is-it-okay-to#latest
https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12055969/benched-why-monitoring-is-important
https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/8053367/clomid-police-users-please-pull-over

Twinkie0612

DaisyBlinks said:

F/U question (@DebateThis)

We're wanting to officially start TTC in January but my cycles have always been insanely long (like averaging 90 days), so obviously I have less chances to get pregnant in a calendar year than the average woman. Obviously I'll talk to my doctor about all this, but out of curiousity now, would my 'full workup' be different than a woman who has never conceived before if my doctor wanted to prescribe clomid to increase the number of times I ovulate in a year? 

I hope you don't mind me answering this, but here is what I would do.

I would try temping for a few cycles, it would be helpful to know if you are ovulating or not (I would guess not with cycles that long, but it is possible).  If you hit 60 days with no period, then call your doc and he can give you a script for provera to start your cycle.  If you have 2 or 3 long annovulatory cycles in a row, it is reasonable to begin testing to figure out why you aren't ovulating.  

Some OB/GYNs are good about doing IF testing, some aren't.  If your doc wants to give you meds before doing any tests, find another doctor.  You should have the same testing as a woman who has been trying for a year (the exception I'd 7 DPO blood work, hard to so if you aren't ovulating).  You should have CD 3 blood work, an HSG, and your husbands/SO needs a SA.  Just because you aren't ovulating, doesn't mean you don't have another issue as well.

If you doctor does prescribe Clomid, make sure it is going to be monitored by blood work and u/s.  Like discussed before Clomid carries serious risks such as ovarian cysts and thinned lining.  

DebateThis

DaisyBlinks said:

F/U question (@DebateThis)

We're wanting to officially start TTC in January but my cycles have always been insanely long (like averaging 90 days), so obviously I have less chances to get pregnant in a calendar year than the average woman. Obviously I'll talk to my doctor about all this, but out of curiousity now, would my 'full workup' be different than a woman who has never conceived before if my doctor wanted to prescribe clomid to increase the number of times I ovulate in a year? 

If your cycles are that long, I would start charting asap to see if you're even ovulating and give it like 4-6 mos - if you're not seeing thermal shifts or if your luteal phase is consistently shorter than ~10-12ish days, I would see an RE. You could have something like PCOS or luteal phase defect going on or another hormone imbalance. In any case you should still have all the labs/cd3 ultrasound done prior to clomid. If something like PCOS is causing your long cycles, often metformin would be the first line of treatment and you wouldn't even need true "fertility drugs" like clomid that require more monitoring.  This is also important w/PCOS bc many women with that syndrome don't respond to clomid or they have an extreme reaction. If you can regulate your cycles with just metformin (or just diet, or just fill-in-the-blank for a particular dx), that's definitely preferable.

The bottom line is that in any case, it's important to find out WHY your body isn't doing what it's supposed to, before you start taking meds, so you know best how to treat whatever is going on.

Twinkie0612

DaisyBlinks said:

Thanks @Twinkie0612 and @DebateThis ! 

I'm going to order a Basal thermometer and put in a call to my doctor. I appreciate the quick responses! 

@DaisyBlinks GL and if you do end up needing testing, @DebateThis is right a RE is the best way to go.  Hopefully you don't end up needing any testing!

Jags8

@DebateThis - What happens if you have a short luteal phase?

DebateThis

Jags8 said:

@DebateThis - What happens if you have a short luteal phase?

It can be difficult/impoosible to sustain a pregnancy, resulting in early miscarriages, due to low progesterone.  Anything from aging ovaries to obesity to thyroid dysfunction can cause the low progesterone (the hormone that's needed to sustain a pregnancy) but when progesterone is low there tends to be a higher rate of chemical pregnancy. LPD isn't an independent infertility diagnosis though - there's usually some other problem that is causing the luteal phase to be short (like hormones/your thyroid being out of whack/too low) and the LPD is just an extra symptom of that problem. If that makes sense.