# hello. advice about clomid please. *



## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

hello there. i am 37 with two beautiful children but would love a big family. we have been trying for three years now to no avail. i have just started my first dose of clomid (50mg per day), but after the day 11 scan revealed "three healthy follicles" i have been told to use contraception for the rest of the month as they only like you to have two! i have been told to take half the dose of clomid next month. 
I don't really understand why I've been given this advice. After three years of trying I'm guessing that none of these will fertilise so can't understand the caution when the likelihood of all three fertilising must be incredibly small.
has anyone else out there been told something similar?


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hi Doris

Don't really know the answer, the must be concerned surely of multiples hence the caution.  But as you say they may not all fertilise.  Maybe you should ask again.


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## professor waffle (Apr 23, 2005)

It is common for this advice to be given where there are more than 2 mature follicles & most people do take precautions but it's an entirely personal choice to take the risk.

It's impossible to say what the chances of none fertilising or all 3 implanting are, they're probably very small but triplets on clomid CAN happen as with any form of fertility treatment where the number of follicles is increased.

For me never having had a pg in 6 years of trying I would have taken the risk as for me I would accept whatever happened. For someone who has previoulsy had children it's a different matter & only you can decide what risks are worth taking.

Good luck 

xx


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

thanks for your comments. my husband and I had already discussed that triplets / twins wouldn't be a concern at all (health risks aside) - it would save us going through all of this again. our first two children, although conceived naturally, took quite a few years and were interspersed with miscarriages, so even if three did fertilise and were to implant I could miscarry anyway.
having spent the last eight years trying for a baby it seems pure madness to use contraception to avoid having three babies that i'd love to have!! maybe the consultant just assumed that we wouldn't want three!


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## Tiny21 (Jul 24, 2007)

Hi Doris
I have just had DIUI (first attempt) and our clinic would not have gone ahead had there been more than 2 follicles - we had 2 luckily.  They said it was too risky - i.e. the multiple birth aspect, they did reel off a list of potential complications, higher risk of certain diseases etc. and I must admit it did put us off as we thought the same, what is the issue? I can't remember the list but there were several quite serious diseases/conditions.  I suppose they err on side of caution.  I laid in the scan praying and wishing for only 2 or 1 follicle as was dreading the treatment not going ahead.  We had lots of smaller, as long as they are less than 10mm apparantly that is OK. 

Best of luck
Tiny


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

It's so lovely to get these replies. I have spent the last eight years feeling greedy for wanting more children yet desperate to have more. every consultation begins with " I know I'm really lucky but..." I feel extreme gratitude for what I've got but desperately want more children. we have 5 cycles of clomid and then i guess it'll be IVF. I'm slightly confused as to why it says in my instruction leaflet "only 40-50% will get pregnant" - they sound pretty good chances to me!


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## ♥keepinghope♥ (Nov 28, 2006)

hello and welcome

i dont know much about clomid but like what some of all the other girls are saying the chances of them all fertalision is prob very small but 3 is better than none eh

good luck xx


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## emsy25 (Mar 18, 2005)

Hi,

Just wanted to say hello and welcome.

Emma
x x x x


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## dakota (Feb 6, 2007)

HIya hun,

Welcome to FF, 

I took clomid and concieved. I didnt have any monitering so have know idea how many follies were produced  

I agree with  professor waffle its how you would feel with twins/triplets. I was told when taking clomid there was a chance of multiple pg and it was a risk i was willing to take.

Good luck hun

Nikki xx


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Hi, doris ethel welcome to Fertility Friends. 

I don't think there's any difference between longing for one child or more, to be honest so please don't think you're being selfish or feel guilty. By the sounds of things, your path to motherhood the first two times wasn't as easy as it could be either .

As Professor Waffle pointed out, the advice you have been given is standard advice offered to anyone with more than 2 follicles and I think their concern is more the risks involved in mutiple births and the extra drain on NHS resources it presents rather than whether or not you'd want them! There is no doubt there are more risks but, to be honest, all the while I took clomid I didn't have a single scan (just day 21 blood tests to show if I'd ovulatred or not) so I could have had a small army of follicles developing away and nobody told me to abstain! As PW says, the choice is entirely yours.

I am going to leave you a few links to areas of the board that I hope you will find useful:

*Meanings ~ *CLICK HERE

*FERTILITY INFO GUIDES ~ *CLICK HERE

*Secondary Infertility ~ *CLICK HERE

*Clomid ~ *CLICK HERE

You can "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the location boards. This is especially useful to find people from the same clinic as you.

We also have a newbie night in the chat room every Friday (times vary), where you can meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.
 CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

Good luck! Do let us know how things are going.

C~x


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## katedoll (Jun 3, 2007)

hiya doris ethel
welcome to this fab site.  I don't know if you have decided to use contraception this month or not and it is a personal choice only you can make.  I would just say though that I am on my 4th cycle of clomid (have had three cycles at 50mg, and now on my first month of 100mg) and I have not had any follicle tracking or any type of scan, other than 21 days blood tests to see if I am ovulating.  So I guess I could have 3 plus follicles and no one would know.That is not a reason for you not to heed your consultant's advice but just a point to think about.  It is very personal, but my opinion, if you want it, is that I may think I would kick myself if I used contraception and was trying to conceive.  It is no one elses choice except yours though - good luck anyway, and I hope you find this site helpful.


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## baby whisper (Sep 22, 2004)

hi hun just want to give you a big welcome to ff
good luck with everything 
lea-Anne x


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

Thanks to everyone for replying - i love this site already.
well we took the plunge ( but of course, if anyone asks we did exactly as we were advised by the consultant!; ) If i get pregnant we'll just have to tell the hospital my husband has super sperm that lives for days (he likes that idea!!). Having said that, there's no sign of a line on an OPT yet - can clomid make you ovulate later? 
I hate the thought that next month I've been told to take half the dose (only 25mg) what if that only produces 1 follicle? surely, if you ovulate anyway, there's no point taking clomid to just get one follicle?? or does clomid make them super follicles that fertilise and implant more effectively?? so many questions..so little info.
Maybe in a few weeks I'ii be posting that I'm expecting triplets (  ever the optimist!). I realise the risks involved with multiples as I work with severely disabled children, but there's a side of me that says three would be fantastic!! what am i saying? ONE would be fantastic....three would be unbelievably lucky.
best of luck to everyone out there reading this... I wish you all well.


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## Kamac80 (Nov 24, 2005)

Hi *doris ethel* and welcome to the site 

You have come to a fantastic place full of advice and support and you have been left some great links to try out.

I wish you loads of luck with everything.

Kate xx​


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Hi again doris ethel. Well done on taking the plunge - I can't say I blame you as I think I'd have done the same myself!

Clomid can affect your cycles in as much as shorten or lengthen them so it's possible you might ovulate later than you would normally. Have you actually been told you don't ovulate naturally? My understanding is that clomid is generally prescribed to people who, for some reason, don't ovulate naturally although it seems you often find it prescribed as a first case treatment regardless of diagnosis and, often, without any real full investigatiosn taking place. Certainly that is what happened to me as, my tests showed I wasn't ovulating but it was not until after I'd had 8 months of clomid and no success that I was sent for other tests that showed PCO and a blocked tube - along with my DH's slightly dodgy old swimmers poor old clomid had about a snowball's chance in hell of getting me pregnant, even if it did make me ovulate just fine.
Unfortunately, it doesn't turn your follies and eggs into super eggs that are certain to fertilise or implant - it just makes them ripen and release an egg. If you do so naturally anyway it will likely make you release more than one but that's about it. I was always under the impression that 50mg was about the lowest standard dose out there but obviously not if you've been told 25mg next time. Personally, if this cycle doesn't deliver the goods, then I'd try the lower dose for a month and see how it goes and then, decide with your consultant if it's worth continuing with it at that dose. Meanwhile, if you've had no other tests done on either yourself or DH yet, you might want to ask your consultant if they can be arranged.

C~x


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

thanks for your comments and advice. If I don't conceive this month (not hopeful at all now) then it seems madness to just take half a clomid next month. I hadn't thought about contacting the consultant to increase the dose again if month two doesn't work either. the dilemma then of course is to whether to admit that i ignored her advice about using contraception this month. failing to conceive with three healthy follicles could make her think i should remain on the higher dose (50mg) or could make her think I'm a fool who doesn't listen to medical advice...I don't want her giving up on me as all investigations so far have been on the NHS! 
both my husband and i have had a few tests. i've had a day 21 blood test to check I'm ovulating, a blood test on days 2-4 of cycle to check "that reproductive hormones are correctly balanced", a hysterosalpingogram to check for blocked tubes, and an ultrasound. hubby had semen analysis (is that all?) no problems found and so I've been put on clomid - even though I ovulate. i do only have one ovary but was told when the other was removed that the other one compensates and so having just one shouldn't affect fertility.
day 17 and only a very faint line on OPT. although I don't have much faith in them at least I won't think I'm pregnant on day 30 when my period still hasn't started! 
Bt were right...it's good to talk. x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hi Doris

I also only had a faint surge on opt's, so I am confused about that and clomid. I had all the ovulation pains as well.


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

I've had a few pains recently too and assumed they were to do with ovulating ( never had any pains before).the faint line on the opt has now disappeared! how ironic if clomid were to stop me ovulating when i've never had a problem there before! surely, if three follicles were seen on day 11 then i have to ovulate. maybe the body can re-absorb them?! does anyone know?


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## dreamerbarton (Aug 14, 2007)

hiya Doris Ethel 

why not com on the clomid thread n have a chat on there . i am new to all this to but find reading the posts a great help . i am on 50mg of clomid and i do ovulate every month anyway its just to give a boost and more targets for my hubby. i would keep trying with the clomid and speak to Ur consultant. i don't think the body does re-absorb the follicles the may have just been empty. 

goodluck 
gill


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

doris ethel said:


> I've had a few pains recently too and assumed they were to do with ovulating ( never had any pains before).the faint line on the opt has now disappeared! how ironic if clomid were to stop me ovulating when i've never had a problem there before! surely, if three follicles were seen on day 11 then i have to ovulate. maybe the body can re-absorb them?! does anyone know?


Hi Doris, I am still confused too if I ovulated as mentioned below I never surged completely but had a semi surge but line never got as dark on the peestick, I doubt if I would achieve any pregnancy as I am 43 and have found over 40 clomid isn't much good.. But I usually do ovulate when I am not stressed but as I have pcos stress prevents ovulation, my gyn said this will ensure stress won't stop it. But I would have at least peaked on ovulation I would have thought.


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

it's strange how they seem to give you so much info when you go in, yet once you start you seem to know nothing about what should or shouldn't happen. maybe we should just throw all our OPT away!!


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

opt's have always been accurate for me in the past, strange how I am now finding it doesn't work on clomid.  And surely with your good scan it should have peaked.


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

day 21 bloods showed i had ovulated (level of over 100, over 30 means ovulated - I think). My OPT's are going in the bin!


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

glad to hear you ovulated, what opts were you using so I can avoid them in the future along with the ones I bought off ebay.


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

cheap internet ones too! i've always been told to avoid them but now i'm going to.....i obviously just have a pee stick addiction!!


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

ok we fell into the same trap, yes it is bad for addictions, I imagine you mean the thin sort of cardboard ones, hmm. Well so glad you at least proved their inadquacy.  Good luck for testing this weekxx


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## ♥keepinghope♥ (Nov 28, 2006)

hello and welcome

im no expert but i would say that 3 babys are better than none and many girls have healthy triplets and like you said they mat not all take.

good luck what ever you decide keepinghope xx


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## doris ethel (Sep 13, 2007)

been testing since day 24 but no sign of a positive! day 28 is tomorrow so fingers are crossed. I tested early because I decided that multiples would produce higher HcG levels and so show up sooner! not feeling confident at all now (again!)

very tense and rowing with DH loads...always do around this time, which makes everything worse!!

I hate all these hoops we have to jump through...why can't people who want children have them? so many don't want what they've got!!

feeling really fed up. 

anyone else need a rant?

p.s the bit about testing early is complete boll**ks! I test from day 24 every month...just trying to sound rational!


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hi Doris

I have tested a bfn, but never realy expected bfp at my age.  I am now wondering in my case whether I didn't ovulate as I have no af either.  I am hoping at least that would turn up so I think of what to do next.

I really hope you do get a BFp, espcially as you were in the danger of multiples.  Yes I am happy right up until I start having doubts this cycle has worked.  I just want to jump at anything now to get pregnat.

Good luckx


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hi Doris

Just wanted to ask if you tested yet? 

take care

Bowx


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