# what is the story with clomid ?



## frogy (Sep 5, 2007)

Hello ladies 

PLease tell me .....
Is clomid safe ? what about all the side effects?

I m 29 I  have PCOS (14 cysts and more on each ovaries ) being given provera 5mg then clomid 50mg , here I am   supposed to take clomid today I haven t yet , but can t I get   with just provera ??

Clomid is scaring me out of my mind   it s  a powerful drug that doesnt even seems to work anyway ? 

Any good comments ? 

Forgot to ask doctor all those questions and was not even given any advice anyway ...

Thanks xxxx anna


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## AmandaB1971 (Feb 19, 2006)

Froggy

I'm sure the Clomid girls will be along soon to answer all your questions but I just spotted your post and wanted to nip on and tell you that Clomid does work, maybe not for everyone but my friend had Clomid 14 years ago and the result is a beautiful 13 year old daughter about to start her apprenticeship at the Royal Ballet School! So it does work!   Can't help you with side effects etc, but the other girls will no doubt post soon and will be able to help you.

What I will say though is, there are side effects to all the drugs we take in pursuit of this dream hun.  I've done two ICSI cycles and trust me the side effects couldn't be any worse than that but you get through and if you get a BFP in the end then it's all been worth it.



Amanda xxxxx


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

Hi Hun ..Right where do we start, clomid is given to Ladies with PCOS as it stimulates their ovaries, at the moment you have lots of polycystic potential follicles and clomid will hopefully help stimulate your ovaries to produce good follicles which will contain eggs and help release them..as common side effect of pcos is that your don't release them because they get stuck behind their little hard shells.. they sometimes have to vary the dose to get you to ovulate successfully.. I had to get onto 150mg before it worked for me..

Provera is just a tablet (think it is progesterone based) that is supposed to make you bleed once you have stopped taking it ..bit like a withdrawal bleed (if you are in the right part of your cycle ..I had it recently and because I wasn't in the right part of my cycle it didn't make me bleed, but if you are it will prompt your body to bleed) has your Dr told you to take the clomid before you have a bleed ? that seems unusual if he has given you Provera, so I would double check that hun, most people are given Clomid to take from day 2-6 of their cycle ..ie day two of their period, but this can vary slightly and should say on your prescription.

A lot of ladies find taking clomid at night helps with the side effects ..probably because you sleep through a lot of them.. I have found this to be honest. 

Clomid has several side effects but nothing too bad, you will find that it dries you up fluid wise, so to get around this you can either take evening primrose oil up until ovulation, or you can take childrens chesty cough syryp that contains an expectorant in that I can never spell it begins with g mine is buried in a box somewhere.. the tixylix childrens chesty cough one is good as doesn't hav lots of other crappy stuff in.  Take this 3 times a day until you ovulate and it will help loosen things up

..another good thing is something called pre-seed which you can buy via e-bay or the internet and it is made to be a lubricant that is the ideal enviroment for little spermies..

Come and join us on the clomid girls thread as you will get lots of friendly advice and support on there ..and we are all a bit loony so a few laughs as well.. watch out for that Jo she is the biggest loon   (Jo you know its true   ) 

Hope this helps..just shout if you have more questions..
Cat x


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi

I think the other ladies have really given you some fantastic advise but just thought I'd add that not everyone will experience side effects. The side effects can vary month to month, person to person.

I took clomid a couple of years ago for 6 months. I actually ovulate with no problem at all (don't have PCOS) but was prescribed it to boost so basically I released more than one egg a month, the theory being more eggs, more target practise for the sperm (sadly it didn't work for us, despite me conceiving several times naturally beforehand). I did get a few side effects...I always get ovulation pain in natural cycles but when on clomid these were exacerbated because I was releasing 2 or 3 eggs each time. I did have some terrible mood swings, a few vivid dreams and a couple of hot flushes...but really nothing to write home about...and to be honest, not much worse than my usual PMS !! You may find that you don't get any side effects at all ! 

Like Amanda, I've done 2 x IVF/ICSIs and have just started downregging for my 3rd IVF and the clomid was a breeze in comparison...but even with the IVF/ICSI I've not really suffered too badly from side effects...and as Amanda also said, we just have to think of our ultimate goal, our ultimate dream of having a baby, and if it takes a few hormones/drugs to help us, then so be it.

I can understand how apprehensive you're probably feeling, don't get me wrong, I remember feeling pretty much the same before I took my first cycle of clomid...but once I did I was pleased I was actually doing something to try to help.

As for Provera, this is just a form of progesterone and it can't actually help you conceive. If you have PCOS then this usually means you don't ovulate or if you do then only sporadically. The clomid helps waken up your ovaries and triggers ovulation so releasing an egg !

Clomid's actually been around since approx the late 1950's/early 1960's and if it wasn't a successful drug then they wouldn't still be prescribing it...think of the 1000's & 1000's of babies that have probably been born in the last 40+ years to women who've taken clomid to help them.

There's a "sticky" thread on this clomid board that lists just some of the successes of ladies on this website through using clomid...just click on this link...

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=40064.0

There's also a list of possible side effects (although as I say, not everyone will get these and certainly won't get all of them !)...

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=48662.0

and finally, I put together a list of helpful hints and tips which may be useful...

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=41641.0

Wishing you lots of luck 
Natasha

PS...one tip that I was told was to take the clomid in the evening as this means you sleep through alot of the side effects...I used to take just before bedtime and did find it helped.


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## baby whisper (Sep 22, 2004)

hi Hun i to have pcos and  i was on clomid a while back as you can see i have two beautiful girls from it my oldest Mia was actually conceived  on the first cycle it doesn't work for everyone but well worth trying my first cycle of clomid i never really suffered and side affects at all in fact i was happy as hell because i was excited about taking them lol with all the cycles i have had i only found i had bad mood swings hot flushes headaches etc with only one cycle but it verys from person to person  you can only give it a go you never now you might one of the lucky ones
good luck 
lea-Anne xx


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## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

cat! how did you know i was going to read this post?!!   

hi froggy! ive just recently joined smelly cat on the clomid board and i assure you, we are all lovely ladies (if not a little   sometimes   ) 

side effects do vary from person to person and month to month. i had really bad headaches and vivid dreams (zombie babies etc   ) but if it works then its going to be worth taking. i cant help with the pcos as i dont have it but the other girls have gievn you some good advice.

hope so see you on the clomid board 

love jo xxx


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## Rosie P (Nov 10, 2005)

Hi Anna. I can't really add much to what the other ladies havealready said, but just wanted to let you know that although the thought is very scary, the reality often isn't that bad at all. I did 8 cycles of Clomid (2 x 50mg 6 x 100mg) and some months I had a lot of side effects and others had virtually none. The bad ones you soon tend to forget though (bit like having bad PMT) and as you can see for me it worked on my 8th cycle, so was all worth it.

I hope the positive stories on here will spur you on and help ease some of the fears you have, and the lovely ladies on the Clomid chat thread are lovely and supportive so come and join them here: http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=110071.75

Good luck. 

Rosie. xxx


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## frogy (Sep 5, 2007)

Dear Ladies

Thanks all for all your wise advice, but I think I m going to give clomid a miss for a little while
I really wanted to be a drug free conceived bb , maybe some of you might think that I am in denial, not accepting the reality of things and probably I am .

It s too scary, I think as well the doctor and everyone else advice ( my friends that went through it 2 years ago) made me too scared of the all thing
In my mind I feel it s not going to work anyway as most of you took up to 8 cycles....

It s so much disappoitment each time it s negative , I m not sure I can take anymore this year, I feel like an old women as it is , having AF once a year .........................

I never thought I would be where I am today and feel like I m letting myself down,  anyway.

Well on a happy note , let s have wine tonight ....

Thanks again


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## dakota (Feb 6, 2007)

Hi hun, 

I concieved on my first cycle of clomid along with metformin.

I can understand your fears of it not working and the side affects. Its hard to imagine how it will affect us.Clomid could be just the boost you need. It maybe something for you to consider in the future? 

I wish you all the best on your journey

Huggles
Nikki xx


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## AngelMoon (Dec 1, 2006)

Hi Frogy,

I've just seen this post and thought I'd reply. I also have PCOS and since I was 16 had about 3 periods 'naturally' so I know exactly how you feel. 

My husband and I were trying for approx 18 months as I wanted to conceive the 'normal' way like everyone else seemed able to. Unfortunately that didn't work for us and after alot of heartache and stress we went for the Clomid. I didn't even consider the side effects, I'd heard there were a few but it didn't frighten me at all. Perhaps as my mum had taken it 26 years ago where she fell pregnant with me and my twin sister, it put my mind at ease. 

I had the follicle tracking done along with 100mg Clomid and was also taking Metformin 3 times a day. I'd started this about 12 months previous as this is known to help women fall pregnant and give them periods. Unfortunately that never happened with me although it certainly helped me loose a little bit of weight as planned. Along with the weight loss, I gave up smoking & drinking completely. I wanted to give my body the best possible chance. I was given Norethisterone to induce a bleed and took my first cycle of Clomid. I took the advice of the girls on here and took my tablet before I went to bed so I avoided the s/effects but I never got any at all. 

On a Thursday night at 9pm (beginning of February) I couldn't wait to do a pregnancy test any longer so decided to do it then. I informed my husband and I did the necessary. 2 minutes later it came up with a very mixed result. Was a very, very, very, very faint positive. I was convinced it was negative but my mum, sisters and sister in law were convinced it was a positive after explaining it over the phone & texting a photo of it! It was certainly different to the ones I'd done before as they were very clear negatives (that awful feeling) so we made a decision to test again first thing in the morning as I'd bought 2 tests and my urine would be stronger. 

We didn't get much sleep that night and at 6am I bolted out of bed and dashed to the loo. I again did the necessary and couldn't bear to see the result 2 minutes later in case it confirmed what I thought it would - a negative. We said not to touch it at all in case that effected the result ha ha so DH picked it up and told me the most unbelievable news ever. It was a POSITIVE and this time there was no mistaking it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We hugged, cried and jumped up and down saying 'we are going to have a baby' over and over again! 

That feeling was indescribable and still chokes me to this day. It's my last day at work today and my baby is due 7th October so little more than 4 weeks away. I never, ever, ever thought we'd get there, it was without doubt the hardest, worst experience of my life trying to fall pregnant but without Clomid we'd never be where we are now. I know it's not successful for everyone and for that we are eternally grateful but I don't like to hear of people that won't give it a try. We had friends who tried for 4 years with no success, neither of them had anything wrong with them it was just one of those things. Clomid had been suggested to them but they were worried of the side effects, etc. We went to see them when I was around 11 weeks pregnant and I told them they HAD to go for it, they made an apt shortly after and they have their first scan on 11th September!! It didn't work first time for them but 3rd time worked a charm.

Please give it a go babe, I believe anything is worth trying in order to have a baby. Best of luck and don't be scared - there are worst ways of fallling pregnant! 

x


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## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

omg that made me cry how you described that! its definitely made me wanna carry on with the clomid anyway. i love hearing success stories


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## frogy (Sep 5, 2007)

Dear all 

Thank u so much for all your support, but I still havent change my mind, this year has not been a good year so I m not going to make it worse.

I will try eventually but not this year , too much going on in our lives I can t bear the extra pressure it s putting on me , I feel I ve to perform and it make me that small  

But good luck with the baby,xxx 
And thanks to all of u xxxxxxanna you are all angels for showing so much supports .


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

Frogy ..To be honest hun there is probably never a perfect time for fertility treatment but the better you feel mentally ..well its got to help.. good luck for whenever you do decide to go ahead. 
Cat x


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## dakota (Feb 6, 2007)

Frogy ~ you will know when its the right time for you hun.

Stay  

Huggles
Nikki xx


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