The normal course of treatment is to tak...

Liza - September 8th, 2005 1:13 PM
[Original Comment]

The normal course of treatment is to take it for 5 days each cycle, doctors vary in which days they advise, 5-9 is the standard, 3-7 is popular too. However, there was a study done where they gave some of the women Clomid on days 1-5/2-6 and 23% of them fell pregnant. That's the best conception rate. However, the theory is that the sooner in the cycle you get more eggs but later in the cycle you get better eggs, it's a quality v. quantity. Because of that, sometimes age comes into play - for a woman in her late 30s/40s where egg quality is on the decline they might play it safer with days 5-9 whereas for a younger woman they might go for the early eggs with 1-5 or 2-6. A lot of women who are unmonitered choose 'in the middle' and go for 3-7 or 4-8 so they get the best of both worlds. It's VERY rare to conceive on your first cycle of Clomid so if you've bought and get through your cycle with no side effects you might as well give it 3 cycles for a fighting chance. The majority seem to conceive on cycle 3 but many women seem to strike gold in cycle 2 also.
By 'repressors' I mean just as you thought, BC pills suppress ovulation and when you go off there's a 'surge' response hormonally. It's similar to the effects of a miscarriage and in both cases, some women find they have enhanced fertility in that honeymoon period just after coming off. It's like holding a balloon underwater - when you let go it bounces way up and then settles back to float on the surface. Hormones do that jump as they're settling down.
I must interject here that I have wonky hormone levels and have conceived all 4 of my children on the mini-pill. The first time I was travelling and didn't adjust for the time zone and conceived fraternals. My mother conceived my sister 3 months after losing my brother (at 22 weeks - Rubella). So we know that 'rebound' effect well. You may find that just coming off the BC pills enhances your chances for a cycle or two anyway. So my advice would be for you to give the rest of this cycle BC-free to normalize and then do Clomid on days 3-7 or 4-8 in your next cycle and you'd probably be in with your best chance.
You can take it for 6 days, some doctors prescribe it that way, but it won't have any bearing unless there's some reason with your cycle for doing it. Honestly, you'll find yourself relieved to get to that day 5! I don't suffer from PMS or anything but I did notice a dull 'ache' in my forehead the whole 5 days and was very happy to see the back end of that!
And do read up on Overstimulation - You need to know the warning signs and symptoms. And be prepared, when you O on Clomid many women find it rather painful and find they don't enjoy that conception sex much because of it. That's down to the stronger ovulation it causes so not tons of fun but hopefully effective.
HTH!


HealthyTwins - July 21st, 2009 1:14 AM

Liza, cudos for being so outspoken and helpful without being judgmental.

Do you mind if I ask you another question I had? Did you confirm that fraternal twins only count if you have have them on your mothers' side? My GREATgrandmother on my Fathers side (grandfathers mother) was a triplet.

I also understand everything you were saying about charting and beginning with 5-9. That pretty much helped make the decision I've been stumbling on, which was when to start.
Am I correct in guessing that BD is short for intercourse? If so, should I not BD everyday for because it may lower my husbands sperm count? If the window of highest fertility is only two days..then I will actually only hit it once if I BD every other day. That kind of brings me to my last question: Are we supposed to BD after the last clomid cycle day 9 (if I do the 5-9 days)? I mean, am I supposed to wait for conception until the clomid cycle the first month is in my system? Or should we be trying to conceive immediately upon taking clomid? Should I try to conceive every other day starting on day 5 and then twice in a row on day 9?
I hope I didn't confuse you. This is just a lot to think about.


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