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When I finally got up the nerve to visit my doctor to talk about fertility options, I was terrified. At age 32, and with two healthy boys at home, I wasn’t exactly new at this baby having business. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
However, for some reason, as I was getting older, it just wasn’t sticking. My husband and I had been actively trying to conceive for three years, but had never gotten even a single positive pregnancy test, not even so much as a late period.
My boys were now 8 and 12, so somehow in that period of time, my body had changed so much, that having babies just wasn’t working out.
What My Doctor Said
I really expected more waiting, since I had already had to wait for my pap smear to come back and for my blood work. In all honesty, I really didn’t expect my doctor’s visit to amount to much of anything, other than more of the usual.
Take your time, eat healthy, take your prenatal vitamins and try not to stress.
That was the usual speech that doctors had been giving me for quite awhile, but this was a new doctor that I was not used to yet. So, imagine my surprise that within three minutes of our conversation at my appointment, when she wholeheartedly agreed to starting me on Clomid.
In fact, she was the one singing the praises of the ever popular fertility drug, telling me about how her own two year old girl was a “Clomid Baby”! I was so excited, and I just could not wait to get started on my fertility journey.
It had been so long that I had just been sitting around waiting during my fertility journey, so I was really pumped that I was actually getting the option to “do” something.
Nervous Starting on Clomid
However, I would definitely be lying if I told you that I wasn’t exceptionally nervous. Clomid. After all this time, I was going to be taking the most popular fertility medication on the market.
I was getting ready to start taking a fertility medication that had been around for more than 30 years.
In case you didn’t know, Clomid is super effective, and stimulates ovulation in more than 80 percent of the women who take it. It is super helpful for women who aren’t ovulating properly, and really is sort of a first line of defense fertility medication for women.
Doctors usually start with it before moving on to more powerful medications, and it usually works out quite well.
I was a little bit nervous about the cost of Clomid as well. I knew that my particular health insurance wasn’t too keen on covering fertility related medications, so I must admit, I was a little worried when I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication.
However, at my local big box store pharmacy, my one month supply of Clomid only cost me $9.00! Talk about surprising!
With that kind of luck going in my direction, I was already feeling good about starting on Clomid. The only thing left to do was go home with my super affordable prescription, and wait for my beloved period to return.
Clomid Baby – Here We Come
Once my next period started, it was time to really get down to business and start on my first round of Clomid for real.
It was crazy to think that after all this time, I was really, honestly, and for real starting on actual fertility drugs.
My doctor prescribed Clomid for me on cycle days 3 through 7. I had previously heard that some doctors like women to take Clomid on days 5 through 9, but I was happy that my doctor chose to get me started on day three, since it was less time for me to wait!
The pills themselves, and the act of taking the pills was, well, less than exciting. They were just pills. Big, white, round pills like any other pill. Nothing exciting there.
Once day three of my cycle rolled around, I flipped my daily planner to the page marked “START CLOMID,” and took my first pill.
I went ahead and set an alarm on my phone, so I could make sure to take the pills at the same time every day. I had read somewhere that sometimes that helped, so I definitely wanted to try that as well. I took my pill, drank a whole glass of water, and waited.
And waited. And waited. Nothing happened. For five whole days, I took my Clomid every day at the same time. I was religious about it, and never missed a dose or even took a dose at a different time than I had planned.
The first couple of days, I was feeling on top of the world, taking my fertility medications, working on getting pregnant, living my best life, you know the drill.
Clomid Side Effects Wreak Havoc
However, it was right around day three when things started to get a little bit tricky. I woke up with a horrible headache on day three, and I am telling you, it didn’t let up for about two weeks.
No matter what I took for it, Motrin, Tylenol, Excedrin, even Midol, the pain was still there and it was like the headache that wouldn’t go away. I almost even started to wonder if I was actually having a migraine during this time, since I don’t usually have bad headaches, and these headaches made me feel like I was very sensitive to light and sound.
The mood swings, ah, the mood swings.
Those were a totally different story, and while I didn’t feel like they were really an issue at first, as time progressed and I went further through my cycle, it was plain to see that mood swings really were getting to me.
For me personally, my mood swings were not so much that I was sad and then happy, in that sort of cycle, but rather that I was extremely annoyed and angry over almost any and every little thing.
Cranky, cranky!
It really was almost everything that my husband and kids did during that time frame that I found to be exceptionally annoying and really made me extremely upset.
This was another part of taking Clomid that I really found to be surprising. I had no idea that these things would affect me so dramatically, since I normally don’t find myself having any sort of reaction to medications.
Google Search Shows Me I’m Normal
However, once I actually got online and Googled Clomid and the side effects of Clomid, I did feel a little better. What I was feeling was, despite how weird it was for me, incredibly normal and not something to be concerned about. I read page after page of testimony from women who agreed that Clomid made them have headaches, mood swings and more.
There were women just like me who agreed that their Clomid headaches were worse than a usual headache, and that no over the counter pain reliever would help with them.
Also, tons of women agreed with me that their Clomid mood swings were more intense than other mood swings that they had experienced, and were even sometimes right up there with their pregnancy mood swings.
I also read that many other women had experienced side effects and symptoms that were not like anything that I had experienced. It was then that I realized for myself that Clomid really does affect every single woman in a different way and that no two experiences are exactly alike.
For example, many women reported experiencing absolutely no side effects at all when it comes to Clomid and even others reported worse and more serious/severe side effects than the ones I was experiencing myself. It really did teach me a lesson that Clomid can have all sorts of different effects on women.
After 5 Days of Clomid
After five days of actively taking my pills each day, I was pleased to see that my headaches and mood swings were slowly starting to dwindle away. I know for some women, those symptoms last throughout the entire cycle, so I was hoping that would not be the case for me.
I slowly started to feel much better, but I was not off the hook just yet. It was still time to be very careful in tracking my cycle, writing my days on the calendar and paying attention to where I was at in my cycle.
This is incredibly important because women have to pay attention to their cycles so that they know when ovulation is expected, and when they should time intercourse for the best chance of getting pregnant.
For most women, ovulation is most likely to occur between days 12 and 14 of a woman’s cycle, but over the counter ovulation predictor kit tests can help women to pinpoint their own fertile days and improve their chances of conceiving.
Good News, Bad News
The halfway point of my cycle came and went without much fanfare, and I anxiously awaited day 21. In my own particular case, my doctor wanted to send me for some blood work on day 21 of my cycle to see if the Clomid had actually worked. The blood test that she ordered for me was a progesterone test, and it was simply a very quick in and out blood test at my local hospital.
In fact, my cycle day 21 actually managed to fall on a Sunday, and I just took in my lab orders and the hospital drew my blood. I was in and out in about fifteen minutes and I was anxious as I sat at home and awaited the word from my doctor.
Since my cycle day 21 was on a Sunday, I didn’t hear from my doctor until Tuesday.
However, when I did hear from her, it was with good news!
My blood work indicated that I had ovulated as expected on Clomid. This was great news for me, and meant that Clomid had worked in my case, just as expected!
Of course, just because Clomid made me ovulate does not mean that I got pregnant. In fact, in my first month of taking Clomid, I did not get pregnant.
Of course, that wasn’t a great time, and I was a little bit disappointed that things didn’t work out perfectly in the first month, but it was a little bit reassuring to know that my body was working the way it was supposed to and that I was actually ovulating as expected.
My 2nd Round of Clomid
As of right now, I am on my second month of Clomid and my ovulation day just passed. This time, I used over the counter ovulation predictor tests that I got free with the ConceiveEasy TTC Kit (so I had a stock of 20 of them to use!) to make sure of when I was ovulating and I tried to time sex just right.
It’s so hard when you are wanting something so bad, and trying so hard, but you really don’t have too much control over it. The fact of the matter is, I am doing everything in my power right now.
So, what happens next?
I’m not sure really. Like I mentioned, I am on my second round of Clomid this month. I am hopeful that something will stick this month and that everything will work out for the best.
My doctor has already mentioned that she is not going to be comfortable keeping me on Clomid for more than six months. After that, we are going to have to move on and get going on some other kind of fertility treatment. I’m not entirely sure what is actually going to happen with all of this, but I am remaining hopeful and doing everything within my power to make trying to conceive be the most successful thing for me.
How to Give Clomid a Boost
As most of you probably know, there are a few things that you can do to try to improve your chances of conceiving when you are on Clomid.
• First of all, eating a healthy diet is super important no matter if you are trying to conceive or not.
• Taking a prenatal vitamin with plenty of folic acid is also a great way to boost your overall health as well as your fertility.
• Getting plenty of exercise is also great and trying to cut down on overall stress and worry can really go a long way towards helping with fertility.
• Try an over the counter fertility supplement like ConceiveEasy to help give the Clomid a boost.
• If you are trying to conceive, definitely ask your doctor if there is anything you can do to help.
My Clomid Journey
As for me and my own personal case, I am not too sure how things will end up when it comes to Clomid helping me to conceive. I am hopeful and I am excited about all the promising things that await my fertility journey.
I try to focus only on the positive and not to let any negative thoughts get into my head. I know that the process of trying to conceive and the process of fertility is not always an exact science, and I am trying to enjoy the journey and do the best I can.
To other women out there who are like me and are trying to conceive, keep your head up, and do the best you can!
Come back next month for my next personal Clomid experience installment!
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