Hi Willow - I hope I can help a little. :hugs:
Spotting prior to your period does indicate some type of hormonal 'disturbance' . If you are receiving positive opk's it is likely that you are ovulating. However, you are right to say it isn't a definite. Testing your progesterone levels 7 days before your next period is the best way of letting us know you ovulate. As you will see from me, if you don't ovulate on cd14 a cd21 test won't give you peanuts. So, when you get a positive opk assume that the day after the positive you ovulate. Count 7 days from then and get your blood test. This is important. You will see from me that my cd21 test indicated I hadn't ovulated but my cd25 and cd27 tests indicated I had. Quite obviously I did as I am gestating away as we speak!

Clomid isn't too scary - though no drug should be taken flippantly I would be the first to agree. However, it can be really helpful in sorting out luteal phase defects and by boosting hormone levels to facilitate a nice strong LH surge which has the flow on of increasing the progesterone levels. Without decent prog. levels it is more difficult for a pregnancy to be maintained. This is why shorter luteal phases often precede pregnancy losses in the first few days - simply the prog. level begins it's decline before the implanted pregnancy triggers a greater progesterone increase.

Really the side effects of clomid in MOST but not all women are minimal. The risk of multiple birth (mainly twins) is about 8 percent - so you have a 92 percent chance of not having a multiple! There are some studies that show fertility drugs increase the risk of gynaecological cancers however gynaecological cancers are higher in women with fertility issues also so the figures ar a little contentious. I would argue that the contraceptive pill does more to stuff around our 'bits' than some rounds of clomid - but that's my thing and isnt' a medical fact.

I hope I have helped if I can help more let me know.