Intro & Needing a Clomid crash course

marielynn04

Hello everyone! Just wanted to do a little intro. My name is Marie and DH and I are from St. Louis, MO. We have been married for a few years now and have been TTC our first since June of last year. This is my very 1st post!  

I was on BCP for many years and have had very irregular periods since stopping them. In 7 months, I only had 3 cycles. I went to my Dr. at the beginning of January because I had not had a period in about 2.5 months. He put me on something to jump start my period and also put me on Clomid 50mg. We talked about how he thought I just wasn't ovulating or just wasn't  on a consistent basis. I didnt think much of it... Hes a Dr. and should know what he talking about.

 I took Clomid days 5-9 and am currently on cycle day 12. I got to talking with some of my coworkers and they were very shocked about the whole situation -me being put on Clomid. They said most Dr.'s do some sort of monitoring and blood work. Mine did not do anything, just told me it would probably be a good idea to start on in. I do go in for blood work on cycle day 23 I think. So now I am just confused. And I was also told that you can only take it 6 times. Is that a year, per pregnancy, in your life??

One of the girls told me to make my way over here. She said that everyone on here would have a better idea and that she learned a lot from you when she was trying to get pregnant the 1st time.

So here I am! I did read the intros and things like that. I tried googling it but didn't feel like I was finding the correct info. I just feel like I should not have taken this step and need to be prepared to grill him when I go back in.

Thank you so much in advance for your help. 

Eags

They should be doing monitoring and b/w.  The monitoring shows you how you are responding.  My 2nd cycle of clomid caused my lining to go to sh!t & we wouldn't have known that (and to switch to something else) without the u/s.

B/w should be done 7DPO, not at CD23 (unless that happens to be 7DPO). 

Amongst the scientific community, there are differing opinions on how long you can take clomid.  My RE (and myself) feel that there is not a limit.  It just depends on what research article you read and feel is most accurate.

Shayliz

It can take your body up to a year to regular after BCP. He should have put you on provera to get your period back and not jumped to Clomid.

 Your co-workers are correct, you need to be monitored while on Clomid with mid-cycle ultrasounds, not just bloodwork on some cycle day - and there is a lifetime max to Clomid.

I would call your doctor tomorrow and ask them to monitor you properly.  

marielynn04

I don't chart or anything... I didn't know anything about that until I started lurking on here this evening. I do plan to start after this cycle though. Since I didn't, how would I know when 7DPO would be?

 Monitoring, as in ultrasound? When is that usually done?

 

OneHotMama89

No advice for you unfortunately, but I just wanted to say welcome!

From what I have learned from the ladies on here, though, monitoring is a must while on Clomid otherwise there's really no point to being on it.

marielynn04

He did no kind of testing what-so-ever. I am really starting to realize this was a bad idea. I just wish I would have know this stuff before hand. Stupid me for trusting a Dr.

Shayliz

jefa621:

marielynn04:

He did no kind of testing what-so-ever. I am really starting to realize this was a bad idea. I just wish I would have know this stuff before hand. Stupid me for trusting a Dr.

Yeah.  I wouldn't be taking that Clomid and I'd be ditching that doctor.  All the Clomid in the world won't help you get pregnant if your tubes are blocked, which is why you should have an HSG.  Also, has your DH had a sperm analysis?  These are all routine things (among many others) that should be done before starting a drug like Clomid.  I'm by no means an expert, so some of the other ladies may be able to chime in more, but I can see you need to get yourself educated before you even consider Clomid.  If I'm not mistaken, you can only take clomid for 6 cycles in your entire life.  

Also, if you're not charting your temps, start now.  Women can get pregnant with long cycles if they ovulate.  It could be that you're ovulating just fine, but missing your fertile window.  Click on my ticker to take you to fertilityfriend.com.  Read through the tutorials, and educate yourself about your body.  GL! 

Jefa is spot on.. having one annovulatory cycle or irregular cycles doesn't mean you aren't ovulating and you definitely need the tests she mentioned (and CD3 and 7dpo bloodwork as well as an follicular ultrasound) before even considering fertility medications.  

It does suck that OB/gyn's hand out Clomid like it is candy and a fix all for imaginary problems. 

marielynn04

Ladies, thank you sooooo much for all your thoughts! I am planning on calling my Dr.'s office on Monday to see what they say about all of this. I have a feeling that they are going to tell me the opposite. In that case, I will be finding a new Dr. This is sooo frustrating. In the meantime, looks like I will be checking out fertility friend.

Would anyone here happen to live in the St. Louis area and could give me some recommendations for a different Dr.?