Anyone had over 12 cycles of Clomid?

[Zeri]

Hi,
I've never posted here before. I'm 36 (DH is 44), with polycystic ovaries, but I ovulate every month from CD16-22 usually. I was prescribed Clomid when ttc#1 and got pregnant with a DD, who's now 3. I took it again when ttc#2 and got pregnant again but m/c. Been ttc#2 again for over 2 years - and have had Clomid off and on (usually with a couple months break in between). From 2009-now I've had 12 cycles of Clomid (50 mg) in all, and was wondering if it would be safe to try another round, since I seem to get pregnant on it quickly, as opposed to naturally.

I've read online that it's not really safe to take after 12 cycles, though, because of the risk of ovarian cancer, but when I asked my gen doctor and gyn about it they didn't seem concerned about the risk.

Anyone try more than 12 cycles of it?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[oneday87]

didnt want to read and run but sorry can't offer much help. im only on my first cycle of clomid, when i was at the doctors he did say they would not do more then 12months of it that we would be moved along to something else...
sorry couldnt help hopefully someone will know more then me.
good luck

 

[popchick75]

I've had more than 12. I just started seeing a new RE and she said no more clomid. After a certain number of cycles, the success rate drops so low that you are doing more damage than good. You may want to ask about femera or injectables.

 

[Zeri]

Thanks for responding!

popchick, can I ask how many cycles you had in total, and what was the dose? I've spaced out my Clomid a lot, so I don't *think" it's caused me too much damage, at least not that I can tell. My cycles are pretty much the same as they were before.

 

[want2bmomy]

i did 8 clomid(150) cycles continuously...able to conceive in second cycle but m/c @ 8 weeks.
now took 3 months break...just started femera this month.
My Dr says...clomid makes ur lining thin...if u use it more.So take care.... baby dust

 

[popchick75]

Probably about 20? Mine were all spaced out as well. My dose was always 50mg.

 

[Zeri]

Good luck with the femara, wanttobemomy!

Popchick, wow! So I'm assuming your doc didn't have a problem with u taking it for 20 cycles? How did u feel about it? My doc doesn't know that I've had 12 cycles exactly..as I repeated the prescription a couple times without his knowledge, after my m/c when I was desperate to conceive again and couldn't get an appointment. :-/

What's the way forward for you now?

 

[popchick75]

I've been through 4 different REs over all of this time. Each one had a different philosophy about treatments/tests. I don't think that it was that they thought it was a good idea per say, as much as they assumed they could monitor me better or whatever and have a better outcome than the other doctors.

I just started with a new RE last month and she is the one who said no more clomid. I just got back our NK cell test and it turned out positive! After 10 years of trying I am finally not unexplained. That being said, the results were so high that they are going to do one more genetic test before we continue on. If that turns out ok, we are going to do intralipid infusions with IUIs.

 

[Zeri]

Ok, thanks for clarifying re: the doctors and Clomid!
forgive my ignorance - but what's NK? It sounds like you have an explanation for not getting pregnant, though...which could be a relief. It must've been hard trying to conceive for almost 10 years and not knowing why. Hopefully your next baby is just around the corner!

 

[popchick75]

I hope so too

NK stands for natural killer cells. It's a problem with my immune system. Everyone has a certain number of these cells in their bodies, but mine are elevated. When the NK cells are elevated, they will attack anything that they see as an 'invader'....this includes embryos. It can cause early miscarriages or total implantation failure. Apparently, it happens more in women with secondary infertility. Something about being pregnant the first time activates the cells with additional pregnancies.

This fix is to get intralipid infusions by IV to suppress the nk cells. I'm really hopefull that this is finally it!

REs are funny. Each one thinks that they are better than all of the others They were all so positive they could figure out what is wrong, but i seemed to have stumped them all. It took 4 to finally figure it out! This is one of the reasons I tell people that if you are unsure about what a RE is telling you or you think something doesn't sound right, go get a second opinion!

 

[Zeri]

Lol @ the RE's. it must be good to finally have an explanation though. I hope your next bfp is your take-home baby!