Trouble TTC
Clomid???
Hi all I'm new to all this, and i want some thoughts and opinions. My husband and i have been ttc for 4 months now, i know it's not alot of time but there are other factors. Such as, i'll be 30 in feb, he's 35 and has 3 daughters. I've never been pregnant and never been on any sort of birth-control. my dr. suggested clomid, is it worth it, side effects, positive results, etc. let me har what you think.
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Re: Clomid???
Hello there! First thing is first, you need to get a new screen name. For your protection, you do not want your e-mail as your user name. You will have to set up a new account with a different email to make a new screen name.
The fact that your OB is already pushing clomid worries me.Clomid is a serious drug with all sorts of crazy side effects. You can only take it so many times in a lifetime. The rule of thumb says that for woman under 35 to start seeking help after 1 year if TTC. For woman over 35, 6 months. I can't honestly say that there is a hard fast rule for men's age. However, 35 is still relatively young for men and sperm production.
Seeing that your husband has already fathered 3 kids, it's unlikely that he has a problem. However, fertility can change over the course of time. It's important that he have a SA (semen analysis) to rule him out. Clomis can help if there is a sperm issue, right?
You should also have some blood work done to rule our any hormonal problems. Also, you should have a HSG to rule out blocked tubes. If your tubes are blocked, the sperm can.t get to the egg or the egg can't implant.
Do you know when or if you are ovulating? Just because you have a period does not mean you are ovulating. I recommend reading Read this book. You really learn a lot of how your body works. It's not at all like they teach you in sex education.
Sorry, but unless you have known medical issues, you are rushing into treatment. It takes the average couple with no medical issues up to 1 year to conceive. In the medical field doctors suggest trying for 1 year unless you are over the age of 35 and then you should try for at least 6 months. Neither quota have you met yet.
Now, unless you have had testing (which it does not sound like you did), it sounds like both you and your doctor are jumping the gun here. I would never suggest jumping to a treatment before knowing what you are treating, clomid will not help blocked tubes, clomid will not help thyroid issues and a myriad of other things. SO at the very least, get testing done.
RIght now, your doctor like many other GYNs are throwing a pill at you and hoping for the best... well sometimes that little magic pill can cause more damage then it helps ( cysts on ovaries that can cause you to lose an ovary, HOM births because you respond too much etc)
Have you tried OPKs? CHarting? Reading books like Taking Charge of Your Fertility? THose should be your first steps to be sure you are timing sex around your ovulation, before assuming something is wrong where you need to seek medical assistance in getting pregnant.
After 7 years trying to concieve, 3 failed IUIs and 2 failed IVFs, my third IVF was a success!
My Christmas baby turned into a turkey bird! Dillon Richard was born at 34 weeks, 5 days on November 28, 2009 after 10 weeks on bedrest for preeclampsia.
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What Krissy said times 100.
If you were on the pill, 4 months is really not an indicator of fertility issues. It takes some time to get the hormones out of your system.
It took us four months to discover we were not even timing sex right. If you feel the need to be proactive start charting and go to www.fertilityfriend.com. or buy some ovulation testing sticks to make sure you are timing things correctly.
Also, since you are under 35, chances are that insurance will not kick in for fertility treatment or testing until you have been trying for more than a year.
You should run from any doctor willing to put you on clomid when you haven't even been trying for the average amount of time is takes most couples to get pregnant.
ETA: Any dr that says clomid is "worth it" has never tried it. That stuff made me bat-*** crazy with it's side effects. I also had no sleep for two nights and no cervical mucus. It was super stressful being on that drug. I am sure Jon and Kate could also discuss with you the Clomid "side effects" they got.
4 months and your doctor wants to prescribe clomid? What an idiot. It can take a healthy couple up to a year to concieve.
And 30 is nowhere...NOWHERE near AMA.
GL to you. But your doctor is stupid.
I just want to weigh in here - I understand the desire to get PG right away, and I understand that you considering advice given by your doctor, as well you should. In theory, docs should be trusted, and unless you have been through med school yourself, the tendency is to believe what they say. While I agree with the previous posters, I think you were wise to post here in an effort to gather as much information as you can, in this case, from those who have tried the meds. I also had a doc like yours, who thought that Clomid was the "cure all" infertility pill. After a number of months, I took the wheel and took charge of informing myself, and disagreeing with my doctor when need be. My advice is to learn as much as you can on your own, and ask your doctor every question you want to have answered. If that process does not go to your liking, switch doctors and find someone who cares enough about you as a person to educate you before letting you make decisions that could affect your health. Good luck to you!
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."
Miracle DD born 12.2005
TTC #2 since Dec 2008 w/ PCOS
***P/SAIF Always Welcome***
Keep it Natural, Baby!
This. But also, bear in mind that when you ask your doc why you're not being monitored on clomid, the general response is, "I don't believe it's necessary." When you ask why they don't believe it's necessary, they backpedal and start telling you your insurance won't cover the ultrasound.
And that's really the bottom line. Docs prescribe clomid w/o monitoring because they know the u/s isn't covered and if they told you it was vital to doing this kind of treatment and that unmonitored use could really screw you up, a lot of people would opt to wait until they could afford an u/s out of pocket, and the doc would lose the money from their frequent visits.
Now, not all ob/gyns do this, but that's essentially what mine said when I asked her why she wasn't monitoring me. It's also what she said when I asked why she decided not to schedule my HSG. "It's not covered by your insurance."
I had to wait more than a year to find out whether my tubes were open and my uterus was not, as she told me it was, bicornuate, but septate. All because my "insurance wouldn't cover it."
Would a doctor not tell a cancer patient about a certain kind of chemo that could cure them because it wasn't covered by insurance? That's crazy!
Skype: I said "if" its an ovulation issue then Clomid might be an option. I mean that a blood test wasnt a bad idea because it will show if there are hormones out of whack, which is what I found out form my blood tests.
This is NOT correct. The natural chances of multiples is around a 6% chance and taking Clomid only increases the chance of twins to 8%. It happens but barely more often than with normal natural pregnancy. Dont let the risk of twins scare you because its really barely an increased risk
Oh yeah, I totally agree, if she's having 90 day cycles or something, definitely should get some bloodwork done. But not if she's just a few months out of the gate and seems to have regular cycles. I just don't think it's necessary at that point, and more than likely wouldn't be covered by insurance anyway.
Like the other said, I would definitely have a few tests done before clomid. Also, have you charted at all? If I didn't chart I would have no clue that I ovulate as late as I do and we would be timing things completely wrong.
For me, I started clomid on cycle 10 after charting for 9 months and not seeing any improvement in my cycle. I showed the doctors my charts and explained how I spot for a week after ovulation and then I get AF. They first did an ultrasound to see if I was structurally normal (no fibroids, cysts, etc.) And then they did all sorts of blood tests to check my thyroid, hormone levels, etc. My DH had already done 2 SAs for issues on his end, so we knew where he stood. It was after all that testing that the doctor determined that I have LPD and started me on clomid to help me to ovulate earlier and "stronger".
If you haven't given charting a chance, I would try that first. It really can tell you a lot about your body. After that, maybe look into getting some testing done so you will know if the clomid will even help you.
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