The husband and I are on month 29 of actively trying to conceive. I’ve undergone a number of medical procedures and tests as has he. Six weeks ago, after a review of my last procedure where everything was found to be good on the inside, she prescribed Clomid for three months. I ovulate on my own. In fact, I’m pretty regular, with only minor cycle deviations. My hormone levels are fine.
As far as I can find, Clomid is used to induce ovulation. If I already ovulate fine, why am I taking it? Does it do anything else (other then increase my chances of multiples!)?
According to rxlist.com: “CLOMID is indicated only in patients with demonstrated ovulatory dysfunction”.
Kinda sounds like the doc is taking a stab in the dark that doesn’t really address your problem. They didn’t give you any indication of why it was being prescribed at the time of prescription?
When we were doing IUI, the doctor gave me Clomid. I was ovulating properly, but the Clomid caused me to make 2-3 eggs per cycle instead of just one, which upped my chances of the IUI working.
As I understand it’s fairly common; it’s cheaper than the next step up, which is the full injectable fertility drugs + IUI, and a LOT cheaper than the step after that, which is a higher dosage of injectables + IVF. (That’s where we’re at now)
We are not doing IUI right now, but that is the next step is this doesn’t work.
I have been able to find the information. It is apparently also used as it increases the uterine lining thickness, increases egg production, and increases egg quality, all things that may help.
Be aware that it significantly increases your chances of multiples. Are you getting dildocams while taking it to monitor what’s going on with your ovaries?
I’m thinking it’s just a particularly evocative way to describe a transvaginal probe, probably for an ultrasound, which does indeed look particularly like a plain plastic vibrator. (Scroll down to the second photo on this page for an example.
S’ok, I had one of those thingys to diagnose some wonky ovarian cysts in the past. Just that I’d never heard them referred to as ‘dildocams’ before. Mind you, that is a very apt description.
Ah, yes, the dildo cam. Had that bad boy take a peek when diagnosing my PCOS… I prefer to shove my own toys in there, thank you very much. Not the most pleasant experience ever.
That’s the ‘official’ indication. There’s a lot of off-label use for a variety of legitimate reasons that I won’t go into, as they vary quite a bit from patient to patient. It’s unfortunate that the OP’s doc is not more communicative.
It is unfortunate, and in the past I’ve actually complained to the provincial governing body about it. In that instance they cancelled a surgery without notifying me, so when I called the hospital for my admission time the Friday prior, they had no record of me on the list. Of course, the clinic was closed for the weekend and they wouldn’t contact the doctor for me. Monday come around and I am there waiting for them when they open. Turns out the Sr. Resident was supposed to call me and forgot. This is why I’m glad I’m moving on to a proper fertility clinic now (my referral is in, just waiting to get the call).
Anyhow, thanks for the responses everyone. Turns out she did tell us why we were using it, but I have a bad memory. I was talking to my husband last night about this and he’s all ‘…uh, yeah, she told us why…’ and proceeded to rattle off a bunch of stuff.
Although I ovulated just fine (and from the ultrasounds and the fact that twins run in my family, was probably ovulating more than fine), I did two cycles of clomid while other tests were being run before starting the more invasive stuff. The logic was that I was “subfertile” and the more eggs I produced, the better the chances that one of those buggers might stick.
Didn’t work, all the tests came up nada. We never found out what was up, just “unexplained fertility.” I gave up (the drugs made me insane) and we later had a surprise bio baby.
IANADoctor but I work in the Fertility medical sector. Basically, what you learned about Clomid is correct, as is what **Qadgop **had to say. I will also add that one of the first things Fertility docs try to do is both understand your natural cycles and establish a more clearly-predictable cycle that they can use as they attempt vary treatments. Clomid is used, I think, as part of that process, too.
I, too, am sorry that you aren’t getting more conversation with your doc - I am not sure who you are seeing - I have no idea where you live - but my company supports a national network of fertility practices, so if you are looking to understand your alternatives, you can PM me if you’d like…
