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First time TTC with infertility drugs. Scared and looking for help.

larnottlarnott member
in Infertility

Hi Ladies,

I'm 33, and trying for baby #2 with my husband. My son is 8 years old and I had no issues getting pregnant with him with my previous partner. After having him, I had a Mirena IUD inserted for 5 years and then had another inserted for 2 years until my current husband and I decided to start TTC. I hadn't had a period for over a year. Dr. prescribed Provera and I was too uneasy about the drugs to take them. I suffer from health anxiety. Have not treated for it other than a therapist and do well controlling it. You can all giggle because I am a medical research director by profession. All I do is study medications. I guess this is why they all freak me out. I went to a well renown endo specialist who told me to take the provera as the side effects would not be awful. I did, 10mg x5 days. I was irritable, swelled like a tick, hungry, had sweats and mild anxiety. I even had the occasional heart palpitations. I chalked them all up to being in my head because I am fully aware of my condition. I had AF 2 days after stopping the medication on 05Aug. It was not heavy, and lasted only 3 days. I had been trying the OPK sticks even thought the doctor told me they were a bit bogus. however, on 17Aug i got a positive confirmed by two tests. I continued to test. Unfortunately, my husband is in the Army and was away at training for the 4 weeks. to this day, i am STILL getting positive OPK tests? I'm not sure what is going on? My Doctor did blood work on 26Aug and my prog was 1.0 so he said i did not ovulate. :( HCG was negative today and no period so he's wanting me to start another round of Provera. Again, I'm scared of it. I just drove 14 hours in a car one way x2 this week for vacation, and I'm petrified of blood clots! I sound like a complete whack a do, and was never this way until all of this starting getting to me? So.... my question to you is, did anyone have terrible side effects? My doctor is the best in his specialty, but, because I also have a degree and work in the medical field, i think he's trusting me a little more than he should. He even mentioned clomid at day 3 of my period. I'm reading that you've all had several testing, etc. the only thing I've had is blood work and an MRI to rule out pituitary tumor. Can someone enlighten me and give me a game plan on how I should temp, what to pay attention to and If you had good results with Provera. I'm more trusting of y'all who have actually been through this!! thanks so much

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Re: First time TTC with infertility drugs. Scared and looking for help.

  • Drove2uDrove2u member
    Welcome!! First you should be seeing an RE not an obgyn for this stuff. You should have had your tubes checked as well if you haven't already. Clomid is no big deal but your RE will be monitoring you. With clomid I had some hot flashes but if you want a baby it'll all be worth it in the end.
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  • bsckgb7bsckgb7 member
    Drove2u said:
    Welcome!! First you should be seeing an RE not an obgyn for this stuff. You should have had your tubes checked as well if you haven't already. Clomid is no big deal but your RE will be monitoring you. With clomid I had some hot flashes but if you want a baby it'll all be worth it in the end.

    Clomid is a very big deal from an OB.  They don't do the proper monitoring.  Clomid is the one the first medications used in the fertility world and as long as you are properly monitored by an RE, then you should be fine.  Some ladies have side effects from Clomid, other have very few. 

    With respect to the OPKs, is the test line darker than the control line?  That's a positive.  If you see a faint line or a light line on the OPK, that's not a positive. 

    How long have you been trying?

    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
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  • larnottlarnott member
    I do see an RE. My OBGYN is high risk and works very closely with them. I was scheduled for the dye test, but, they wanted to try the provera to see if they could induce a period before going forward with it. I did have a period after 10mg x5 days. But lightly got 3 days. At progesterone check at day 20 (I was leaving for vacation) my level was a 1.0 so they said I more than likely did not ovulate even though I had positive OPKs. They are still positive? I don't understand? I've taken the clear blue digital and first response? Odd and frustrating. No AF on 02sept when do, so started second round of provera 10mgx5 days. Doc said on day 3 of AF to take clomid. He's not given me any further details yet, though? I'm just nervous. The provera makes me feel awful. I'm going to try taking at night with dinner. any advice you have is greatly appreciated!
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  • bsckgb7bsckgb7 member

    You get a control line and a test line on the OPKs.  Is the test line darker than the control line?  That's a positive.  OPKs don't work like HPTs.  You aren't looking for ANY line. 

    OPKs don't work for everyone.  You can't do a blood-test on CD20 to check for O if you haven't been monitoring the person for signs of O.  OPKs just mean you had a surge, it doesn't guarantee ovulation.

    You husband needs an SA and you need an HSG before you start fertility medications.  Provera is not a fertility medication (Clomid is). 


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  • riveridgionalriveridgional member
    Well, if you had a great PCT test, which it sounds like you did, you don't necessarily need a SA for your husband. Based on our PCT tests, my RE stated the SA would be a waste of money. It really was cool seeing all those guys swimming around!! I do agree an HSG test should be conducted. However, there are docs who will do a round or 2 of Clomid first to save you money. It sounds like you are scheduled for one, so that's good. I don't have personal experience with it, but multiple positive OPKS can indicate PCOS, which can also cause failure to ovulate. Do you know if your RE has tested for this yet? I believe the diagnosis can be obtained through an ultrasound. Bloodwork may also be needed. Also, if you are using first morning urine, some tests are so sensitive you aren't supposed to use FMU and it can give false positives. That happened to me one cycle. OPKs are always a bust for me since I can't use FMU and I drink so much water, my pee is always too diluted.

    Try not to worry about side effects as most meds don't yield any side effects that aren't also side effects of pregnancy. You can do it! It'll all be worth it!
    Married to DH 10/6/12
    TTC since 5/14
    Unexplained with (controlled) hypothyroidism and suspected ovulatory dysfunction (but, I do ovulate on my own)
    Clomid 50 mg 3/15 (unmonitored) - BFN
    Clomid 50 mg + metformin 4/15 (unmonitored) - BFN 
    First RE appt. 5/15; Natural cycle 5/15 monitored with 2 mature follicles and Pregnyl Trigger (full dose) + prometrium - BFN
    6/15 HSG - clear tubes & normal uterus; great PCT test results
    TI - 100 mg Clomid + prometrium (AM & PM) + vaginal estrace (AM & PM) 6-7/15 (monitored) --> no additional response and thinned lining - BFN
    TI - Injectables (follistim + Gonal-F, Ganirelix, & 1/2 dose Pregnyl) + prometrium (AM & PM) 9/15 --> 3-7 mature follicles (3 definites and 4+ that could have matured due to trigger) @ O -->BFN + 5 large cysts
    BC for 2 weeks due to cysts
    TI - Injectables (Gonal-F, Ganirelix & full dose Pregnyl) + prometrium (AM & PM) 10/15 --> 1 mature follicle --> BFN 
    TI - Last attempt at injectables (Gonal-F, Ganirelix & 1/2 dose Pregnyl) + crinone (AM only) + vaginal estrace (AM & PM) 11/15 --> 3-4 mature follicles --> BFP!! 11/27/15 @ 13dpo (shockingly, actually waited until then to test)

    Beta #1 @ 16dpo (11/30/15) = 1,075
    Beta #2 @ 19dpo (12/3/15) = 3,150
    One baby: Saw heartbeat @ 5w5d (114 bpm; baby measuring 2.3mm)

    "Great Things are Happening"
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  • larnottlarnott member
    Hubby did an SA and all was well... I was scheduled for the HSG but after having AF with provera he decided to try that again before going through with the test. Since I had a successful first pregnancy with no issues, he highly doubted this is the problem? I also had an US done and they said nothing abnormal there, either? I did have darker lines than the control and still continue to get smiley faces on digital. So, I'm guessing the OPKs are not going to benefit me. I've purchased a BBT and started using it this month. On what date will they check blood work to see if you ovulate after you have AF?
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  • KidShrinkKidShrink member
    Many REs will do monitoring through the cycle to check your response to the meds, looking both at follicule size and thickness of lining, both of which are super important. Bloodwork is also common during the monitoring, looking at your estrogen and LH levels. OPKs may save you money in the short term (although not so much if using more than 1 per day), but you'll be wasting your time, not knowing how well your body is responding to Clomid (do you need more to produce mature follies? Is it thining your lining?). Good luck!
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  • larnottlarnott member
    My OPKs are for some reason always positive!!
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  • larnottlarnott member
    My whole message didn't post.
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  • PiperellaPiperella member
    I'm also new to the whole clomid game but I wanted to share that the OPK results can be skewed with Clomid.  I use the clearblue digital and while it said i'm High every day since the last pill of clomid, it is not because of an LH surge.  It is high because of the estrogen.  Could this be an issue you're also having?  I have heard the LH surge can also be a bit wonky.  I'm tracking it still because my RE wanted me to.  Good luck to you!
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