Clomid Buddies (moved from TTC board)

[LoveCousar]

Ask I'm in Columbus. I was looking at a few centers in Cleveland incase I was referred to a RE.

 

[Ask4joy]

Cool! I'm seeing Dr. Goldberg at the Cleveland Clinic. He is the head of reproductive endocrinology at the Cleveland Clinic and has published a lot of research. Everyone says he's the best!

 

[Norelisa]

Nore - sounds like you have a good plan! I'm doing progesterone and pineapple core after O too. I love pineapple so I buy one every month before O and slice it up to eat after. (Actually DH sliced it up for me).

Does anyone know if evening primrose oil is ok to take during a clomid cycle? I know not to take it after O but haven't been taking it this cycle because I read conflicting things.

LAR - are you having any signs of AF? Hoping AF stays away and you have good news to share!

I think my RE talked about EPO, saying I could take some herbs but should avoid EPO.. I have to admit I didn't look too much into it after I read that people with epilepsy should avoid EPO.. (though I am almost considered epilepsy-free I don't want to take any risks. haha ) But then again, it could also be a "no" because I am doing injections as well as clomid..

Ugh I know Belle - I'm guessing it's because of the clomid. I don't remember if happened before? I really liked not tracking at all last month but I guess if we are doing IUI and if I'm supposed to start progesterone after O I have to track.

For my IUI they will do a follow up ultrasound on CD12. Not sure how injections of Follitrope will play on OPK tests though.. I have a few left of the Clear Blue ones...

Do you just call in when you get your POS OPK then? I have been thinking I might do a monitored cycle for my first IUI, just to see how my lining responds. I mean, hopefully I won't need an IUI, but I'm being realistic about things

I think its great to get the lining monitored, but I would strongly reccomend Vit E (800-1000 IU daily). My af went from 2 days to 6 days, and even though my follicles didnt grow last time, my lining did!

Going to acupuncture this afternoon.. I think. I like the systeme here, you just show up during opening hours and get treated as soon as the DR has time. I have had to wait up to 1 h, but that is rare..

 

[Ask4joy]

Belle - yes. My first 3 rounds of clomid were monitored and I always had good lining and only 1, maybe 2 mature follicles at O so I think my RE thought it was fine not to monitor me. AF tends to be on the heavier and longer side for me (5-6 days, not including spotting, with the first 2 days being heavy flow) and was even heavier on Clomid. I think I read somewhere that heavy AF can be a symptom of low P. I think having a monitored cycle is a good idea...it definitely tells you a lot!

Nore - I like that system! And an hour isn't bad...sometimes I wait 30 minutes even for a scheduled appointment (though not usually). That is great that you're nearly "epilepsy free"! That's gotta be a good feeling!

I think clomid is really drying me up this month. No fun! Or else my body is just out of whack right now. I hope it improves soon! I feel like O is nowhere in sight.

 

[Ask4joy]

Just a follow up to my previous post if anyone is interested:

SYMPTOMS OF LOW PROGESTERONE

If your suffer with many of the symptoms below then it’s likely that you could be suffering from low progesterone levels:

Weight gain (especially around the middle)
Menstrual cramps
Low/no libido
Menstrual headaches
Breast tenderness/swelling
Endometriosis
Mood swings
Amenorrhea (absent periods)
Waking in the night
Spotting
Short menstrual cycles
Irregular periods
Acne
Exhaustion
Ovarian cysts
Difficulty sleeping
Low basal body temperature
Slow temperature rise after ovulation
Sugar cravings
Anxiety
Infertility

I experience the majority of these! And noticed some of them began or became more pronounced after 30. Hoping the P suppositories help!

 

[BelleNuit]

Thanks Nore I used to take 800 iu of vitamin e, but cut back when I read that it increases the risk of stroke in higher doses. Now I take closer to 500, hoping thats okay!

 

[Norelisa]

Just a follow up to my previous post if anyone is interested:

SYMPTOMS OF LOW PROGESTERONE

If your suffer with many of the symptoms below then it’s likely that you could be suffering from low progesterone levels:

Weight gain (especially around the middle)
Menstrual cramps - CHECK!
Low/no libido
Menstrual headaches
Breast tenderness/swelling
Endometriosis
Mood swings
Amenorrhea (absent periods)
Waking in the night (CHECK!)
Spotting (CHECK!)
Short menstrual cycles
Irregular periods (CHECK!)
Acne
Exhaustion
Ovarian cysts
Difficulty sleeping
Low basal body temperature
Slow temperature rise after ovulation
Sugar cravings (CHECK! And the cycle I had progesterone supplements I had almost no cravings!)
Anxiety
Infertility (CHECK )

I experience the majority of these! And noticed some of them began or became more pronounced after 30. Hoping the P suppositories help!

I will get progesterone after my IUI And I also got some natural progesterone pills from Cambodia that I haven't used yet.. I guess if they cancel the IUI again I will try the natural progesterone stuff

 

[Norelisa]

Thanks Nore I used to take 800 iu of vitamin e, but cut back when I read that it increases the risk of stroke in higher doses. Now I take closer to 500, hoping thats okay!

Im sure its ok, there are other things one can do for thicker lining too, so if there is a lining problem at least something can be done

 

[Ask4joy]

Just a follow up to my previous post if anyone is interested:

SYMPTOMS OF LOW PROGESTERONE

If your suffer with many of the symptoms below then it’s likely that you could be suffering from low progesterone levels:

Weight gain (especially around the middle) - CHECK! (Though I've lost it through dieting the last 2-3 months)
Menstrual cramps - CHECK!
Low/no libido
Menstrual headaches
Breast tenderness/swelling - DOUBLE CHECK!
Endometriosis
Mood swings - CHECK!
Amenorrhea (absent periods)
Waking in the night - CHECK!
Spotting - CHECK!
Short menstrual cycles
Irregular periods - not sure if 26-32 counts as irregular?
Acne - CHECK!
Exhaustion - CHECK!
Ovarian cysts
Difficulty sleeping - only recently (clomid?)
Low basal body temperature - CHECK!
Slow temperature rise after ovulation - CHECK!
Sugar cravings - CHECK!
Anxiety - CHECK!
Infertility - CHECK! (Subfertility?)

I told my general doctor about all of this before even ttc and she brushed me off. Even still, my OB and RE haven't checked my P levels but at least my RE prescribed the progesterone suppositories.

 

[Norelisa]

Just a follow up to my previous post if anyone is interested:

SYMPTOMS OF LOW PROGESTERONE

If your suffer with many of the symptoms below then it’s likely that you could be suffering from low progesterone levels:

Weight gain (especially around the middle) - CHECK! (Though I've lost it through dieting the last 2-3 months)
Menstrual cramps - CHECK!
Low/no libido
Menstrual headaches
Breast tenderness/swelling - DOUBLE CHECK!
Endometriosis
Mood swings - CHECK!
Amenorrhea (absent periods)
Waking in the night - CHECK!
Spotting - CHECK!
Short menstrual cycles
Irregular periods - not sure if 26-32 counts as irregular?
Acne - CHECK!
Exhaustion - CHECK!
Ovarian cysts
Difficulty sleeping - only recently (clomid?)
Low basal body temperature - CHECK!
Slow temperature rise after ovulation - CHECK!
Sugar cravings - CHECK!
Anxiety - CHECK!
Infertility - CHECK! (Subfertility?)

I told my general doctor about all of this before even ttc and she brushed me off. Even still, my OB and RE haven't checked my P levels but at least my RE prescribed the progesterone suppositories.

Yeah, some Dr doesn't seem to listen.. :/ i love having this forum to learn more so I go prepared to see the Dr..

Oh my cat, I did it! I injected myself with follitrope (Follistim). Not as bad as feared at all, phew!!

Oh and I hope Rawan finds us here too.

 

[LAR83]

well i guess i will be sticking around here for a while. went for a pregnancy blood test today. havent gotten the results yet, but then i started bleeding. not heavy yet but it usually starts off slow like this... so... yea...

 

[Ask4joy]

Aww I'm sorry, LAR! It's so hard when your hopes are up. A friend of mine conceived on her 3rd IUI after 2 years of unexplained infertility, so there's definitely still hope!

Nore - good job injecting yourself! Glad to hear it wasn't that bad!

Still negative OPKs for me. Haven't even gotten a flashing smiley on the clearblue indicating an estrogen surge but my temp did drop today. I'm not very good at being patient.

 

[LAR83]

I am exhausted. the first cycle was easy but the second cycle not so much. hoping for a more laid back third cycle. i just want to show up to my appointments, have sex, and forget i am trying to get pregnant. if only there were a way.....

 

[BelleNuit]

Oh Lar, I'm sorry to hear that I really thought for sure this was going to be it for you. I'm still rooting for you that this next IUI will be the one.... 3rd times a charm right? You should ask your RE about the extended dose femara IUI (take it from CD 1-9), supposedly it has superior results for unexplained peeps as opposed to a standard course of femara or clomid. Might be worth a try changing it up for the 3rd cycle.

 

[LAR83]

thanks Belle. I might ask about that for the future, but it won't work for this cycle since I am already on day one and don't have the meds yet. I had high hopes for this cycle too since my period was the latest it's been since I started tracking. Also, I was experiencing some symptoms that I thought were pregnancy-related, but now I realize some of it was probably related to Ovidrel. Since it is a synthetic form of HCG, it tends to mimic some signs of pregnancy. very tricky! I feel embarrassed that I was so hopeful that I even went for a pregnancy blood test. Ughh... Oh well.

How is everyone else doing?

 

[BelleNuit]

We've all been there Lar, don't feel embarrassed! I used to announce to my close friends every TWW that I *might* be pregnant and so should drink less when we were going out LOL. In a perfect world we both would have been pregnant a year ago. Its okay to get excited every now and then TTC should be exciting. We've just been doing it for too long

 

[LAR83]

I know.. I have had these cycles where I felt convinced before, and I promised myself I wouldn't do it again! But here I am. You seem to have done a really good job at keeping your expectations at bay. It's so hard to find a balance between being hopeful and not being *too* hopeful.

 

[Ask4joy]

LAR - I don't blame you for going for the test. AF was late! Did you get your hcg number back?

Belle - I'm going to ask my doctor about femera for next cycle. The hot flashes/night sweats and insomnia with clomid is pretty awful. I honestly don't know if the 50mg even makes a difference for me. If the point for unexplained is to produce more than one mature follicle then 50mg isn't enough. But I hate to think what the side effects on 100 would be!

I had my teeth cleaned today and told the dental hygenist I *might* be pregnant so please use the extra shield for the x-rays...even though I know I haven't even ovulated yet. Lol.

 

[LAR83]

no.. I actually got a bizarre call from my RE's office saying that my results were in normal range, that I should take clomid starting tonight for 5 days, and then go in for an ultrasound on the 9th. apparently they didn't take very good notes there, and when she saw my results, she must have thought I went in for my day three blood work. So I have to call them back tomorrow to say wait, actually yesterday was day 1 and also my doctor said she was switching me to femara. It's kind of busy, impersonal office. Unfortunately the train was coming by when I was listening to my voicemail and all I heard was "within normal range" and "ultrasound" and thought for a split second that maybe I was pregnant, but then I listened again and heard "clomid" and realized they messed up.

 

[BelleNuit]

I dunno Lar, I think I've switched over to the other extreme, I just expect NOT to get pregnant, which isn't exactly good either :/ I would have felt pretty frustrated with that phone call if I were you! I'm hoping you can get those details sorted out!

Ask I also get hot flashes and night sweats on the lowest dose of femara. I think I am sensitive to slight hormone changes, you might be the same! But yes, I do agree the only way for femara/clomid to work for unexplained is by producing multiple eggs... and clomid tends to be better for that than femara. Which is why the extended dose femara is so promising for unexplained. You tend to get multiple eggs due to the longer course, but don't have the same negative side effects on lining and cm that you have with clomid, so it actually shows superior pregnancy rates.

Lar if they switch you to femara you should totally ask about the extended dose regime (with IUI)! In a clinical trial it showed pregnancy rates on par with injectibles and IUI (around 20%)