Clomid Sucess Rates and should I get my hopes up?

Question

Just wondering my doctor is just about to start me on Clomid in a few months. I have ready all the books and I am losing weight, stopped drinking caffine, And also quite smoking. (Oh by the way I have PCOS) . The doctor is going to have me try for 2 more months to do it natraully and then if that does not work she is going to put me on clomid. I have done everything possible to do it natraully. I have used the ovualtion prediction kits and layed on my back after sex with my hips up. I am starting to get very frustrated becuase nothing seems to be working and I am worried that taking the clomid will not work either. Any more suggestions..... ?

I am 22 with PCOS. I have done everything that has bin asked by my doctor for someone that has PCOS. I just wanted to know if I have missed anything that I shouldbe doing.. Before I go to using Clomid..

Answer 1

First, ovulation predictor kits are VERY inaccurate for women with PCOS. It detects the LH surge which means you are going to be ovulating (however, women with PCOS have messed up LH levels).

Your best bet at getting pregnant is going to be treating the PCOS the correct way. To do this you should eat a low carb diet, exercise and be on an insulin sensitizing drug, such as metformin. Once you are on metformin, then you can start all the fertility treatments (such as Clomid, injecibles, IUI, IVF, etc). It might be possible to get pregnant with Clomid alone, but your chances will be much higher if you are on metformin.

I recommend seeing a reproductive endocrinologist to oversee your treatment.

The underlying cause of PCOS is insulin resistance (IR). The best treatment for PCOS is going on an insulin sensitizing drug such as metformin (1500-2550mg per day) combined with a low carb diet and exercise. There are a few important things to know:

1. Many women "pass" the test for IR, but still respond positively from the metformin. No one knows exactlly why..my thought is that the test is not a sure fire way of detecting the IR.

2. You must be on a high enough dose of metformin. I've heard women complain that their bodies dont start working even though they've been on metformin for awhile. Some doctors are hesitant to up the dose past 1500mg...but for some of us it takes more. I don't respond until my dose is around 2000mg a day.

3. It can take a few months on the correct dose, before your body is regulated.

4. It is important to treat your PCOS even if you are not trying to get pregnant. There are higher risks for many things (high blood pressure, blood clots, diabetes, and many other things) when you have PCOS, but if it is treated properly, then those risks are lowered.


There are TONS of books about PCOS and dieting. There are two that I recommend. Here's the links at amazon for those (if you're interested):
http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/0809224275/...
http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/0007131844/...

I also recommend a couple web sites:
http://pcos.itgo.com/
http://www.inciid.org/faq.php?cat=infert...

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bhp... This one is a great message board where you can ask all your PCOS questions or just chat with the women who are also dealing with PCOS. Good luck.

Answer 2

My doc actually didn't give me a chance to do anything else, just put me on clomiphene the day he diagnosed me with PCOS. Whether that was the right decision or not (to be fair I didn't really have any weight to lose and not ovulating/hormon imbalance seemed to be my only symptom), is besides the point. I actually conceived on the 3rd cycle. I'm 30 weeks now and there's only 1 in there.
If you've been doing other treatments and still haven't had any luck, then clomid is probably the right choice for you.
Being on clomiphene regulated my cycles, but it did so at 35 days, so don't be surpirsed if your cycles are longer; I've heard other women say this happened to them also. The biggest side-effect I experienced was the hot flashes. I could be sitting at the computer and suddenly be roasting, but 5 minutes later was cool again.

Answer 3

again you have not mentioned yr age and the details about yr cycles. i've seen lot of these type of questions here without adequate data.. assuming u r young and ur cycles r regular, ur husband's semen analysis is normal (including sperm count, motility, abnormal forms), and there r no anatomic reproductive organ deformaties in u, and all endocrinilogical values r within acceptable range, i see no harm in clomiphene. why not start with low dose, follow up with follicular studies, and planned sex.
but the thing which best seems to work sometimes, is de-stressing. just relax, and u will never realise that u have missed ur periods. take a holiday. give it time. hope and perseverance. bye.

Answer 4

One thing you could try is going to your physician and getting your ovulation calender, to see when is the best time to have sex, some people that are trying to conceive, maybe trying too hard or too many times per night (you know what I mean). But make sure that you are stress free when trying, because the problem maybe you are just too stressed out about becoming pregnant to get pregnant. when the time is right it will happen, sometime stuff happens when we lease expect it or when we don't think it is ready to happen.............Good luck to you and yours