A little about me first:
DH and I have been TTC since Mar 2007 (on and off). Got diagnosed with PCOS in Apr 2008 and have been on metformin since. Have had two regular cycles since then. Started charting 3 months ago and the current cycle shows signs of being anovulatory.
I have always wanted to be a mum and delayed TTC for financial reasons. At 33yrs old, I feel now like my time is running out. We are now seriously contemplating clomid as our next option.
My question(s),
-What has your experience been with clomid?
-How long did it take you to conceive?
-What dosage did you conceive with?
I am apprenhensive about the side effects(mood changes - I have suffered from depression & anxiety in the past and do not want to lapse again, multiple-birth, birth-defects, ovarian hyperstimulation and ovarian cysts forming). It is all very overwhelming for me at the moment.
I guess what I'm trying to ask is, should I consider Clomid? Are the risks worth it? What side effects did you get? feeling completely lost right now. What do you ladies think?
i fell pregnant on my first cycle of clomid that i was taking from day 5-9 after trying for 2 years with PCOS. HTH
ps. metformin did nothing for me, just made me sick. I love Clomid and i think its the only reason i became pregnant successfully. If i was u i would give it a try. As side affects go.. um from memory i get hot flushes a fair bit but that was really it.
At 31 I had 3 cycles of Clomid due to unexplained infertility (3 years at that stage). I had to stop taking it as it gave me HUGE mood swings so if you are prone to that I'd be very careful about going on it. I just couldn't keep taking it. I did not fall pregnant on it but did conceive 3 months after stopping it (resulted in an early miscarriage and I never conceived again in that relationship for another 5.5 years).
I sound like I'm always pushing this theory lately as I've posted about it several times of late. A diet with 2% or more of transfats in it is now thought to cause infertility in some women. It can apparently stop ovulation. I started getting pregnant easily last year (3 pregnancies in 1 year at age 41 which is unusual) after pretty much eliminating trans fats from my diet. I started falling pregnant only 2 or 3 months after changing my diet. Use a search engine with the key words infertility and trans fats & you will see what it's all about. Unless you have a very strict diet you are likely to be eating transfats regularly.
I just thought I would offer you an alternative as it seemed to work for me. I had been told twice in my life that my only option was to use IVF. They were wrong.
I have PCOS, and do not ovulate without stimulation. Jazz was conceived with IUI, and the help of Clomid. It was my 4th cycle, CD5-9 75mg, and also a HCG shot (ovidrel I think?) to pop the egg out.
My first two cycles were CD2-6 25mg, and then CD2-6 50mg, late ovulation (about CD 18-20), follies that were on the small side, and kind of thin endo lining (follies and lining in the bottom range of acceptable ... if that makes sense) but no BFP. The fourth cycle was really good, ovulated CD18 but with an excellent sized follie and really thick endometrium lining.
The physical side effects were frustrating bbut not toooooo bad. The headaches and hot flashes were the worst, but not everyone gets them.I can't even remember what other physical side effects I got... it seems so long ago...
I got one cyst in the whole 4 months, and that was at the end of cycle 3, and it resolved itself in a matter of days.
I found it really tough on Clomid. I have a history of depression and anxiety. The first cycle was ok, and the second wasn't too bad, but the third and fourth were horrid. I did back to back cycles, so as soon as AF arrived I was back on Clomid, so I didn't get a break. I was also charting too which I think makes it impossible to wake up and forget that you're waiting to ovulate/in the TWW, which for me was more stress too. If cycle 4 hadn't worked we were going to have a few months break so that I could get myself together. I hadn't had a depressive episode since beginning 2006 but there were some really low days towards the end of cycle 3 and into cycle 4.
That said, its worth it in the end. I would do the same thing over again, and will to conceive more little bundles down the track. I think you just need to be aware of yourself, and make sure you have a break before you reach breaking point. If you have had depression before, then you'll probably be able to sense ifn you are slipping back in, and catch it before it gets to a extreme point. Plus Clomid was only one aspect in my depression I think, and I'm not sure if I would have had symptoms so severely had I not been dealing with some other stuff as well.
Although clomid is a fantastic and effective drug it can deplete the kidney yin therefore drying the cervical fluid. I would recommend taking herbs before starting on clomid to protect the kidneys.
I concieved on cycle #2 taking 50mg from cd5-cd9, unfortunatley it ended in m/c. I concieved this baby on my 5th overall cycle of clomid 50mg but this was the first cycle i was taking it from cd2-6.
I had horrible side effects from hot flushed to mood swings and headaches, i was on my last cycle when i fell pregnant again. I didnt think i could take anymore - the mood swings were the worst, i was very unpredictable.
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How many cycles of clomid till BFP?
We are now seriously contemplating clomid as our next option.
What do you ladies think?
So glad to hear a success story.
That's what I needed to hear girls!
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