Clomid/Fertility med users

For those of you who have used fertility meds, Clomid or whatever, to get PG I have a few questions.

Did your OB handle your fertility issues or did you see a RE?
Did your OB prescribe Clomid and what tests did he/she do prior to giving you a script?
How many cycles would your MD let you do of Clomid before moving onto something else?
What meds did you take to help achieve PG?

My answers...
I am just seeing my OB and there has been no mention of moving to a RE. We did a vaginal U/S at beginning of one of my cycles to see if there were cysts plus hormone levels, thyroid levels. I am told that I can do up to 6 cycles...we have done 3 (the first one no O) and are taking a break from Clomid for the holidays. I am not sure of the next step if we don't achieve PG in the next few cycles. I am supposed to take Metformin for suspected PCOS, but I highly doubt that I have it. I left the Met at home while we were on vacation and I have not weaned back onto it just yet.

Not to hijack but...

I was diagnosed with PCOS. I had to have my gal bladder out in October. Via sonogram they had seen a golf ball size cyst on my right ovary. Because they were in there anyway for the gal blader they used the camera/scope to examine my ovarys to see the placment and compisition of the cyst.

Well when he got in there..there was no cyst but rather a large "bag of viens"... they said it is very common in women.. it easn't on my ovary..just next to it. Thanks to the photos they have now rulled out PCOS.

All to say.. sono's can be VERY misleading.

I went straight to a RE to handle infertility issues. More thorough exams but well worth it.

Did your OB handle your fertility issues or did you see a RE?
Did your OB prescribe Clomid and what tests did he/she do prior to giving you a script? my OB prescribed mine after doing blood tests to check my thyroid and to check if I was ovulating on my own-which I wasn't
How many cycles would your MD let you do of Clomid before moving onto something else? He prescribed 4, and said after those four, we'd talk about increasing the dose or going to something else
What meds did you take to help achieve PG? I don't think I took anything else.

Hi, I'm usually just a lurker, but I thought I'd share my experience.

I have PCOS, before being diagnosed, we did 3 cycles of Clomid w/ no success. I did NOT have an ultrasound w/ any of the Clomid cycles, and I feel now that my (former) OB was just sorta thowing that at me to see if it would work. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely insist on the ultrasounds, plus a trigger shot (hCG?) and IUI, just to cover all the bases.

After the Clomid failure, I found a wonderful RE, did some tests, was diagnosed w/ PCOS, and we wound up doing injectables + IUI and it worked! I had 2 other REs that recommened that we skip directly to IVF, and I'm so glad that I took the extra time and found a RE that I was comfortable with and who didn't feel the need to rush into IVF. The injectable drugs only last for a couple weeks at most and they really aren't a big deal (we did Follestim (sp?) and it was about $800-$1000 if I remember correctly).

We're thinking about TTC #2, and I am considering trying the metformin first - what side effects did you have from it?

If it were me, I'd go ahead and start finding a good RE, you can do Clomid cycles with them too if you are still wanting to, plus they will test to make sure your tubes are open and test your DH to make sure everything is ok on his end.

I'm sorry if this is rambling, I'm in a rush trying to post and do dinner at the same time! I hope I answered some of your questions.

I'm still seeing my OB. I have been on clomid for 4 cycles so far. She didn't do any tests beforehand, just does monthly pelvic exams for cysts. I'm sure she should probably do more, but she has a more laid back approach to it since I already have one child and conceived him so easily. I am still only on 50mg and she said that after 6 cycles of it, she may up my dose. She is allowing me to be on it longer than normal because I only have 1 tube and don't ovulate from that one side every month. So considering I only have a good O every other month, she is giving me more time on it. She also said that she will probably not do anymore tests until after I have tried 6 cycles. I hope things work out for you. Nothing is more frustrating than the wait. Good luck to you all!

Metformin gave me GI distress for the first few weeks on and off while I took it. I was on 1500mg and did best when I took it all at night vs 3 times during the day.

I never did clomid we were getting ready to, but we switched dr and he did a simple blood test and found out that I don't produce progestrone and you need that to get and stay preg. Dr Edward Zabrek is on the net and he has and does tons of Medical Stories for the New England Med. and he is a fert. specialist and says that more women's only problem is no prog. and we clomid it goes up and then when you go off of it it drops down. I took prog. pills three times and day and I now have 2 children, not saying that is always the answer but I would check into it, you have to have a min of 11 to carry. I was getting preg. but miscarry before I knew I was preg. I have had several miscarriages and I mean several. I am so glad that we did the test. MichelleChell also used him and went through the same thing.

Hey, I didn't even notice this forum!

I have taken clomid twice (2 cycles). Once on 50mg and once on 100mg. I ovulate on my own, but we took it to produce more follicles and to better control my ovulation date.

We went to an RE because I wanted the best care, and OBs usually don't have a lot of experience with infertility. We did testing and sonograms before taking the clomid so we knew why we were taking. I didn't want to just take anything randomly without knowing what was up. It turns out that DH has an erratic sperm count (sometimes its low, sometimes its normal) and that is the cause of our infertility.

Did your OB handle your fertility issues or did you see a RE?
*My OB handled everything but he specializes in the treament of PCOS and infertility

Did your OB prescribe Clomid and what tests did he/she do prior to giving you a script?
*Yes to the Clomid, He did some blood work and a vaginal U/S to Dx PCOS

How many cycles would your MD let you do of Clomid before moving onto something else?
*He said we'd try 4 but the first one did the trick.

What meds did you take to help achieve PG?
*Just the Clomid (50mg cd 3-5) and progesterone

Did your OB handle your fertility issues or did you see a RE?
I have PCOS, before being diagnosed, we did 3 cycles of Clomid w/ no success. I did NOT have an ultrasound w/ any of the Clomid cycles, and I feel now that my (former) OB was just sorta thowing that at me to see if it would work. If I had it to do over again, I'd definitely insist on the ultrasounds, plus a trigger shot (hCG?) and IUI, just to cover all the bases.
Exactly the same for me and I ditto what Carla says. I quit my OB and then we saw Dr. Rodriguez, RE at Plano Presby ARTS. :D

Did your OB prescribe Clomid and what tests did he/she do prior to giving you a script? Bloodwork only.

How many cycles would your MD let you do of Clomid before moving onto something else? 3 cycles and I quit going to Dr. Potter due to her lack of ethics and knowledge. I should have done a lawsuit for malpractice. I hear she's going through one (or more probably) now with another patient.

What meds did you take to help achieve PG? IUI and IVF injections.