Who has done unmonitored Clomid?

emiannie

I'm considering it.  My cycles have been (if consistent at all) 37+ days long.  I got pregnant "accidentally" in September, but I was just coming off BCP, which my OB says can aid in ovulation.  Anyway, I have a rx for 50mg Clomid.  The doc (not my OB) asked me to come back for mid-cycle monitoring, but I honestly do not want to spend the money for the ultrasounds.  It's a lot of moolah and I never really responded great to Clomid before anyway.

So what was your experience? (If you're going to respond with a flame, please don't.)

JillRock96

I did because my OB doesn't monitor, and I didn't know any better.  But, I was on a much higher dose.  I started at 100 and increased to 150.  By the third cycle, I had a giant, painful cyst.  It went away on its own, luckily, but I had to sit out a cycle.

Not flaming at all (I would probably do it with 50 mg), but just wanted to share my experience!

MrsMAF

I did 3 cycles of unmonitored Clomid...they weren't successful though. 

dundasgirl

I took 50mg of Clomid with an OB....which is less monitoring than an RE I am sure.

I did still have u/s and bloodwork though.

Mouseygail

I'm starting a cycle tonight.  I'm a bit nervous, but honestly...50 mg with no trigger doesn't seem like much of a risk to me.  I'm sure if the oddity happens and I were to end up with HOM somehow, someone would direct me back to this post and tell me what an a$$ I am...

mrsolsenk12

I did, before i knew better. My OB didnt monitor. I did 3 cycles (one at 50mg and 2 at 100mg). I only respondee to 1 of them.

itsmevkb

I did six unmonitored rounds of clomid, none of which resulted in pregnancy.  Then, I did two IUIs using clomid where I was monitored and again, no pregnancy.  I was on more than 50mg at that point and I never had more than two follicles.

Maybe two years later I did another round of unmonitored clomid and did get pregnant but miscarried at 10 weeks.

So, in total I've done 7 unmonitored and 2 monitored.

superned

I have done cycles without mid-cycle monitoring.  I always go in on day 1, 2 or 3 to get checked for cysts though.

I chart my temps and do digital OPKs to self-monitor for ovulation to make sure I'm responding.

I do think it makes a difference what your diagnosis is.  I am DOR so my OB and I feel like my risk of multiples is very low.

I know my choice is very unpopular on these boards, but I think it's a personal decision (and I also think people vastly overgeneralize and overstate the risk of HOM with Clomid).  My OB has been in practice for forty years and has never had a patient get pregnant with HOM on Clomid.  I trust his opinion that this is a very low-risk choice for treatment for me.

ETA: I have always been on 100mg.  I got pregnant with DD on my second cycle with my OB (fourth overall - I did two with an RE two years prior, both BFN).

Annbe1le

I did 3 with my OB. Nothing came of them. The bad part is I never knew if I responded at that dosage or not b/c of no monitoring (not even b/w). But IMO, it's worth a try!

Mrs.Babbsy

I did 4 cycles with the OB, I just charted.

 

Dr.Loretta

My first cycle was unmonitored, and ended in a suspected ectopic.

No flame, but wouldn't you want monitoring to see if you respond?

Sarafuss

I did two cycles with my OB before I knew you should be monitored.  They only had me do CD21 b/w (which is stupid since not everyone but ovulates on CD14.  But apparently my idiot OB thinks so).   I didn't ovulate either time.  After the first cycle on 50mg and I didn't ovulate he just had me start Provera and upped me to 100mg.  It still pisses me off that he had no clue what he was doing and how he handled things.   

Anyway, it sounds like your doc has the right idea with mid-cycle monitoring.  I wouldn't want to go through all of that again.  I was stressed not knowing if I would ovulate and when to have sex lol.  I totally get where you are coming from not wanting to pay for the ulstrasounds.  But I think it would make TTC more stressful than it already is.

 I guess I'm also confused as to why you want to take Clomid if you've never responded well to it?  Clomid didn't work for me do we've moved on to Femara, which worked. 

ETA:  Ok so after re-reading I think you meant you didn't respond well so you're not concerned about HOM.  I hope this didn't sound like a flame.  I just wanted to offer my perspective on the stress it caused me doing unmonitored cycles. 

laura1

superned:

I have done cycles without mid-cycle monitoring.  I always go in on day 1, 2 or 3 to get checked for cysts though.

I chart my temps and do digital OPKs to self-monitor for ovulation to make sure I'm responding.

Ditto this.  I just wanted to make sure I didn't have a cyst before starting the next cycle.  

Personally, I think it is worth a try!  I was always only on 50mg, and when monitored I had 1-2 follicles.  DS was a clomid/IUI baby  

KYRN

I haven't b/c I've had access to free u/s but I can tell you that if I hadn't I would have done it unmonitored.  I know there are horror stories about people using it unmonitored but I'm sure you know that.  Many OB/GYN's will give it unmonitored since there's no recommendation against doing so from ACOG.  The biggest recommendations are about proving that ovulation is being induced and if you know you're responded in the past that's really not the issue.

I think it might be safer to only use it every other cycle if you're going unmonitored, and since clomid has some residual effect you're still getting some of the benefits on the "off" cycles.

ETA: I would also recommend Femara.  Lower chance of multiples, fewer side effects, and it worked for me when Clomid never did.

perry7285

i've used a 50 mg dose of clomid twice (and was monitored). once i responded with zero follicles, the other time i responded with EIGHT follicles. so it's possible to respond poorly sometimes and respond excessively other times.

please don't take this is a flame, i'll support whatever decision you make--i just want to warn you based on my experiences that even a low dose of clomid can lead to an excessive number of eggs. 

GuitaristsGirl

I did 2 unmonitored cycles with 50mg Clomid with my OB.  The first cycle didn't work, and the second I stopped with a few pills left because the side effects, including pain, were so severe. . .

I got in to the RE a few weeks later (thank goodness for a cancellation) to find a ginormous cyst.  It was a scary time as they couldn't be sure from the u/s if it was fluid or blood-filled and it refused to shrink.  I ended up on bcp to hopefully shrink it and sitting out for, I think, 4 cycles.  That was a really down time for me as it was, quite litterly an attempt at 2 steps forward that resulted in 4 steps back. . .

GL, whatever you decide!

staycee

and no one mentioned the possible lining issues that clomid presents that go unknown if not monitored.

dana316

I did 5 rounds of unmonitored clomid, with zero success.  In my current situation, I wouldn't do it again...but I was okay with it then with no trigger.

 

kamcfarlane

i did 2 cycles unmonitored with no success. then i did 1 cycle monitored that resulted in DS. i did 3 monitored cycles TTC#2 with no success (several follicles each time) and ended up conceiving with femara (1 follicle).

i highly recommend the femara if you can get it. i had MUCH better lining and the side effects were very minimal.

if it came down to it, i'd go unmonitored again. if it's the difference between a kid and not a kid, the risk is worth it in my mind. but i'd choose femara over clomid any day of the week.

good luck!  

Sarafuss

kamcfarlane:

i highly recommend the femara if you can get it. i had MUCH better lining and the side effects were very minimal.

This!

LIAngel

All my Clomid cycles were unmonitored.   The cycle I got pg with Nicholas we did 50mg of it from CD 5-9 and then I was to call them when I saw the peak on the CBEFM. I went in for an IUI the day after I got the peak reading and 2 weeks later got BFP.   Same exact thing with Ava.

iluvadam

I did 4 rounds of clomid with metformin with my OB unmonitored.  Started with 50mg of Clomid and the max of metformin and then upped the Clomid by 50mg each cycle.  My OB would only draw blood to check my Progestrone levels to see if I had ovulated.  I never did end up ovulating on it...not even once.  I did not like the side effects of the meds at all.  I had a lot of stomach upset (probably because of so much metformin) and big mood swings.  I felt like I had far less side effects on the injectables than I ever did with the clomid/met combo. 

I wish you lots of luck!  Hope your experience is much better than mine was.

itsmyangel

my first 2 or 3 cycles of clomid i did unmonitored ( we did do progesterone checks to see if they thought i o'd)   after conceiving my 2nd cycle and resulting miscarriage we tried a few more and then did monitored for a cycle or 2 before realizing my dh has 0% normally shaped sperm and moved to ivf.    I will say that if you do unmonitored I would start with a lower dosage and ask for blood check after o'ing to check for ovulation strength but i never personally had any neg. side effects from it