Starting Femara

Cwhitaker27

I've been a little MIA lately since waiting to finally see the RE. I had my first appt last week after failing my last 2 cycles on clomid and having a couple of med free cycles. My RE seems nice and wants to start me on Femara. I'm just a little confused though. While on clomid this time around, I did ovulate but never concieved. I'm not sure how Femara will help. My RE stated I would respond better but it seems that I responded to clomid because I ovulated. Does this seem odd to anyone else that she wouldn't do a post coital test or something else to determine why conception wasn't occurring even after ovulation?

BabyKsMommy

From what I've read around here post coital tests aren't very accurate and a lot of REs don't do them. Mine does not.
Clomid can thin your lining so I have heard a lot of REs prefer Femara over clomid. Plus Femara has less s/e.

If clomid hasn't worked for you then I think it's a good idea to try something different. Sorry I can't see your siggy as I'm on my phone so I don't know your history.

Are you upset because it seems like your RE isn't finding the problem, instead is just throwing pills at you hoping they will work?

Cwhitaker27

It's ok, my history isn't in my siggy. I have unexplained anovulation. I concieved after 4 cycles on clomid with DS a yr and a half ago being monitored by my OB. I tried my last 2 cycles of clomid TTC2 at which time I decided I should see a RE. I had my first appt and I guess I was expecting more? I just didn't understand what a difference Femara would make if I was already ovulating on clomid and figured there was something else going on and thought she would do other tests.

Dragonfly1226

Cwhitaker27:

It's ok, my history isn't in my siggy. I have unexplained anovulation. I concieved after 4 cycles on clomid with DS a yr and a half ago being monitored by my OB. I tried my last 2 cycles of clomid TTC2 at which time I decided I should see a RE. I had my first appt and I guess I was expecting more? I just didn't understand what a difference Femara would make if I was already ovulating on clomid and figured there was something else going on and thought she would do other tests.

Many REs (mine included) won't do more than six total Clomid cycles in a lifetime. Clomid can have lasting effects on your lining. Your RE is smart to change it up. My RE usually won't do more than three cycles of a certain intervention before moving on because after three cycles you usually reach a point of diminishing returns. GL!

TJ1979

Dragonfly1226:

Cwhitaker27:

It's ok, my history isn't in my siggy. I have unexplained anovulation. I concieved after 4 cycles on clomid with DS a yr and a half ago being monitored by my OB. I tried my last 2 cycles of clomid TTC2 at which time I decided I should see a RE. I had my first appt and I guess I was expecting more? I just didn't understand what a difference Femara would make if I was already ovulating on clomid and figured there was something else going on and thought she would do other tests.

Many REs (mine included) won't do more than six total Clomid cycles in a lifetime. Clomid can have lasting effects on your lining. Your RE is smart to change it up. My RE usually won't do more than three cycles of a certain intervention before moving on because after three cycles you usually reach a point of diminishing returns. GL!

I agree with all of this.  Femara worked for me - give it a chance. FX for you!

itsmevkb

Clomid tends to thin the lining of the uterus whereas Femara does not so that works in your favor.  You don't know if maybe the egg did fertilize but just never implanted. 

Also, how many follicles were you getting with clomid? 

I ovulate on my own but used clomid for a ton of cycles and only conceived with one of them and then I miscarried.  I used Femara for two cycles and got pregnant my second cycle (in which I used Femara and some Follistim).  Femara also has lower instances of miscarriages.

I hope it works for you.

4legsRbest

All of the PPs have given great advice! Just wanted to say good luck to you!

Cwhitaker27

itsmevkb:

Clomid tends to thin the lining of the uterus whereas Femara does not so that works in your favor.nbsp; You don't know if maybe the egg did fertilize but just never implanted.nbsp; Also, how many follicles were you getting with clomid?nbsp;I ovulate on my own but used clomid for a ton of cycles and only conceived with one of them and then I miscarried.nbsp; I used Femara for two cycles and got pregnant my second cycle in which I used Femara and some Follistim.nbsp; Femara also has lower instances of miscarriages.I hope it works for you.

I usually had between 3 and 4 follies on clomid.

Cwhitaker27

Thanks for the clarification and support ladies. Hoping Femara does the trick. I always hear good things about it, especially on this board.

Sarafuss

Femara works very well for me while Clomid barely works at all.  It's also normal for a certain protocol to take a few cycles before working.  It took 3 rounds of Femara to conceive DS and 3 to conceive this baby.

A lot of things can affect whether you conceive or not.  Maybe you respond better to Femara with better quality eggs, more follicles and a better lining.  I don't think it would hurt anything to do a post coital test but there could be many reasons (that are unknown) as to why you didn't conceive in prior cycles.  Good luck!

amberger31

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and hubby and I have been TTC for 27 months now. We started seeing a fertility specialist in August. We went through all the testing and were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, so he gave us a prescription for 6 months worth of Letrozole/Femara and sent us on our way. Just said to let him know how it goes. Is this normal? I've been seeing a lot of posts regarding Letrozole/Femara and most women are monitored while on it, having ultrasounds each cycle to measure the follicles. He never mentioned any of this to us. Is this something we should be requesting to have done? So far we've gone through 2 unsuccesful cycles with the letrozole and I will be starting the third cycle on it tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

TJ1979

amberger31:

Hi everyone,I'm new here and hubby and I have been TTC for 27 months now. We started seeing a fertility specialist in August. We went through all the testing and were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, so he gave us a prescription for 6 months worth of Letrozole/Femara and sent us on our way. Just said to let him know how it goes. Is this normal? I've been seeing a lot of posts regarding Letrozole/Femara and most women are monitored while on it, having ultrasounds each cycle to measure the follicles. He never mentioned any of this to us. Is this something we should be requesting to have done? So far we've gone through 2 unsuccesful cycles with the letrozole and I will be starting the third cycle on it tomorrow.Thanks in advance!

You might have better response posting on the main board than on this persons thread. But no, that's not normal and not safe. I'd find a new RE.