37 answers

Clomid - Lake Elsinore,CA

My husband & I are trying to conceive our 2nd child. We have a wonderful 6 yr. old boy & have wanted another child for a while now with no such luck getting pregnant again. My Dr. has prescribed Clomid. I am on my 2nd month of taking it now (technically I’m on day 6 today 2/28/08)& the reason I am asking for advise is because basically I feel really stupid about the number of days thing! See I have NEVER had a regular period, it seems like every other month my period starts a week later, but thats neither here nor there. These are my Dr.’s notes for me: Day 1 start period, Days 3-7 Clomid, Days 11-14 Ovulate, Days 21-23 Progesterone level blood test.

Just so I’m clear & forgive me for being so naive, we are suppose to be trying to conceive on days 11-14 is that correct??? Any advise would be appreciated, or if you have any experience with Clomid, I’d love to hear your experiences. Thanks

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Featured Answers

I've never been on clomid myself but I have a friend that was on it unsuccessfully. She started taking an herbal supplement called Dong Quai. She has been taking it for about 3 months now and tells me her periods are becoming more regular, which makes it easier to track ovulation. I'm not big into pharmacuticals though and don't know much about them. Also, red raspberry leaf tea helps to tone the uterus. Hope this helps, good luck!

I have not tried the Clomid, but one of my dearest friends was on it for almost a yr, and yes 11-14 days are the days you want to try and conceive.. She also has gotten pregnant with using Clomid, she is now having twin boys.. Best of luck to you!!

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Although I don't have direct experience with this medication I know a great resource has been: www.menoqueen.com and www.women4balance.com/4health
Please be fully informed, those are not the only days possible to conceive. It's really not that tight of a window. Are you sure you are ovulating?
J. K

1 mom found this helpful

Hi A......there are other things to do as well besides take the Rx. There are amazing people in this city who can help. To start with check out the website www.birthwell.com to connect with someone who works with preconception. Good luck...Moxy

1 mom found this helpful

As with others, this was our first course of action. First of all, your doctor should have told you to take your temp; higher temp = ~ovulation. Second, you should have also been advised to use an ovulation kit, esp. since your history is of irregular cycles. Third, your husband should have also been tested to make sure that there isn't a problem on his side of the equation. Finally, your doctor should have also given you the option of IUI (Interuterine Insemination), esp. if your husband is not at 100%. This is a procedure that an ordinary OB/GYN can perform - you don't need to go to an infertility specialist for it. In addition, the IUI procedure is used in conjunction with the Clomid (it can be taken up to six months though not preferred).

The IUI procedure is this: you ovulate, call the doctor's office, you go in either that day or the next, your husband makes a deposit in a cup, the doctor makes a "shake" and puts it in a syringe with a long "hose", your doctor uses an ultrasound to figure out which ovary is ovulating, he inserts the "hose" at the entrance of the proper fallopian tube and pushes the boyz in to ensure that they don't get lost (you know men, they don't ask for directions :) LOL). The reason I still remember all of this detail is because I had an idiot of an OB/GYN who did NOT do the above and when we went to the specialist we were enlightened. Could have had a lawsuit, but as you know, the goal is to eliminate stress not create it. We finally conceived twins after 4 IVF attempts. So in other words, don't give up. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Good Luck!!!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi A.,
While I did not have any success with the Clomid, our twins were conceived via IVF. There is an amazing organization that you can be a part of online called "Resolve." The reason I'm suggesting this is that you can converse and exchange information with women who experiencing or have experienced what you're going through from all over the country or in your backyard. Go to resolve.org and you will be amazed at the information available to you. I became close friends with one woman in particular and we now get together for play dates with our twins. Best wishes to you...

1 mom found this helpful

A.,
Doctors can say some really dumb things, can't they! If your cycle is highly irregular, then you are probably ovulating on different days each month. That's just logical! You will probably have the most success and happiness if you just don't worry about drugs and try Natural Family Planning instead. Go to http://www.boma-usa.org/ for more info. It's easy, accurate, and nearly free (you just have to learn first). Take your fertility into your own hands, rather than a doctor who obviously is trying to cram you into a category you probably don't fit in.

My husband and I used the Billings Method to postpone and then achieve our baby. My mother-in-law, who has extremely irregular cycles, used it to conceive all three of hers, exactly when she wanted. She's also a teacher, and I think does long-distance coaching, if you don't live near her. She's all about NFP and charges virtually nothing because she just loves sharing with as many people as possible. Send me a message and I'll gladly put you in contact with her.

Best of luck! ~D.

1 mom found this helpful

As the other respondents said, but in addition to that, you want to make sure you look for your body's "ovulation" symptoms... discharge changes, ovulation cramping, basal body temperature etc. There is a lot of info on this on the web. So don't just rely on counting days, look for your body's ovulation signals too. I never used Clomid... but we got pregnant naturally by going according to my ovulation symptoms and tracking that along with my period etc. There are also "ovulation calendars" on the web, which are free and you can use this to track your own pattern. It's very useful and this is what I used. We got pregnant this way. Just do a Google search for "ovulation calendars." You can also buy a "basal body temperature" thermometer. You take your temp every morning before getting up. Keep it next to your bed and log your temperature every day. This is what I did also. Since you are trying to get pregnant, also take vitamins, folic acid etc. or you can even take pre-natal vitamins already. I'm not a doctor, but this is what many women do, to prep your body.
Good luck to you and take care,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo
Good luck to you and take care.

Hi,
First off, let me say that I am a not in the medical field, so my information is from my own experience and from what I have been told or read. If you have any questions about this process you should ask your doctor for clarification. It can be a confusing process when you first start out. Your doctor's notes have ovulation at days 11-14, so yes, you are correct that this is when you should be trying. Make sure you know that you are ovulating within that time frame. Some people may ovulate earlier or later than this time frame. This is true for me. Ususally two weeks after you have tried to conceive, your doctor will have you take a blood test to check hormone levels which will tell them if you are pregnant and they may check other levels. If your progesterone level is low, you may be prescribed progesterone to bring the level up. Clomid seems to be the first medication doctors usually start with in trying to assist in infertility. I did two cycles of Clomid and then went to an injectible medication. I conceived with an injectible medication that I received through an infertility doctor. It can be overwhelming reading all the info and learning about the science of getting pregnant with a little bit of help. I wish you lots of luck in this process and that you will achieve your goal of a new baby!

C.

Hi A.,
You're still young so the Clomid might still be fine. But honestly I had a OBGYN waste a lot of time with me at age 37. I too had very irregular periods, and I tried the Clomid deal with no luck.

I finally took my sister's advise and went to an "Expert" in TO after 8 months. Within 10 minutes he said he had a theory, he did an internal scan and said, "You have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)" which really screws up all your hormones throughout your cycle so it's really hard to be at the right point to conceive during your cycle (especially on Clomid). I only wish I had know before the eight months. I'm so grateful we had SUCH a great doctor. It still was a very long road for us, but we have THREE beautiful children that according to my original Dr. I was too old to have.

PCOS can be worked around if they know you have it. But irregular cycles is one very important clue! My cycles were all over the place and as I got older it got worse they could go from 24 days to 42 days! Which made it impossible to do the Clomid correctly. A side note I did get pregnant on our own just before the Clomid deal and then lost the baby at 6 weeks. Later I was told I had to be very careful at the beginning of my pregnancies because of my constant hormone changes. I think my specialist had me take the low dose of aspirin for the first trimester and I may have also taken Progesterone. A Dr. would know but if you do get pregnant you can ask about it because it's pretty common to keep your hormones level.

My advice is since you are young try the Clomid for no more than three times. It's not too expensive. Then have some hormone tests done and even have them look internally at your ovaries. If you have PCOS then your ovaries look like a bunch of grapes. If the doctor really knows what he's doing he'll be able to tell, not sure how many OBYN's do this test though. Also a lot has come out on diet in the last 5 years check into the whole PCOS and diet online.

Most likely you'll be fine and really the Clomid deal is so simple if nothing is wrong with your hormones. Most importantly if you feel like things are not being taken seriously just go to an expert. I can not stress how much easier it was once we went to a doctor who really knew what he was doing!!!

If you want to ask me more email me! Believe me I've gone through just about everything with infertility.

A Little About Me:
I'm a 45 year old mom with three beautiful children and a great husband. We have a 6 yr boy and almost 4 yr Boy /Girl Twins. I'm very grateful for my little ones as I waited along time for them!

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