Clomid- will my GP prescribe without monitoring?

[lillie07]

Hey, not sure if this should be posted in infertility or conception, sorry if it's in the wrong place!

We've been TTC for 2 years, with a mc in between. We've been waiting for my partners SA results came back, which were all fine and we received about a month ago. The doctor who I was originally under had moved practice now, but she said once the sperm analysis came back we should be okay for the go ahead for clomid.

Obviously with covid etc, I don't know where I stand. I've seen a lot of women on different forums/sites who have just been prescribed the low dose clomid with no monitoring because face to face appointments have been cancelled, I didn't know if I had to be referred to fertility/gynaecology for it to be prescribed or whether o can just ring my GP this week and discuss?? Thoughts??

If I do need to be referred, when would this happen? Could I ask for the referral now or would I have to wait until this has 'blown over'. I was willing to wait but I don't know how long it will go on now so I'm a bit stumped.
Thanks! X

I had to be referred to fertility clinic at the hospital to be prescribed it. Not sure if it’s different in different parts of the county though!

@Littlepoppet1 thanks for the reply! I thought the same originally, but now I'm not too sure. I've read in a few places that you need to be monitored on it too. Not sure but desperate to get the ball rolling. Again, thanks for the reply! X

I wasn’t monitored when I was taking it, just given 6/12 worth and a follow up appointment for after the 6/12 if i still wasn’t pregnant. I have also read people that have been monitored aswell though so think it does vary. I’m in the NW if that helps!

Hi @lillie07 I was prescribed it through the fertility clinic at the hospital. They usually want to do lots of tests on you before they give you clomifene. They need to do blood tests, scans of your ovaries and womb, they normally like to do an HSG where they inject the dye into your tubes to check there’s no blockage. If they have you clomifene and you had a blocked tube then it could result in an ectopic pregnancy which can be life threatening.

What posters might mean when they say they have been prescribed a low dose with no monitoring is that they’ve already had all the tests so can been prescribed it but they won’t get the check ups to see how they’re getting on. You should have a blood test after your first dose of clomifene to check if it’s worked and then they review your dosage. You might also get a scan to check that your ovaries haven’t been hyper stimulated and they might just generally want to check in with you after about 3-6 rounds.

Most people probably won’t have been having those things because of covid-19 but that’s not the same as just being prescribed clomifene over the phone by a GP. I’ve been told they won’t see me until the end of August/beginning of September for my check up and I started in Jan/Feb so essentially I am being left to get on with it.

I think there’s no problem with asking your GP for a referral just be mindful that it might take a while. I know it’s so hard when you’re desperate to be pregnant now ❤️. Good luck!

Thanks @Littlepoppet1 I'm in the NW too so probably be similar! I think I'll give them a ring tomorrow to see what the score with referrals is. We've waited so long but another few months/ a year or so of waiting, although not ideal, would be okay. Thanks for your help x

@Leodot hi, thanks for your reply! Really helpful stuff ☺️ I was wondering myself about the HSG, I've mentioned it to them a few times but haven't been referred for one yet. I have PCOS so I've had numerous blood tests, numerous scans etc, sometimes I do feel like I'm going round in circles with it all!

Thank you so much for all the info, it's hard to know what to do when help seems so far away because of the current situation. I'll give the GP a call tomorrow, at best maybe they could get the process of a referral going, we'll see though! Thank you xxx

@lillie07 I know, I felt like I was going round in circles too. I also have PCOS and have been having various scans and blood tests since I was about 20. Despite this my GP still refused to refer me until I’d been ttc over a year and then when they finally did refer me, I had to wait another eight months before I got prescribed clomifene as I didn’t have any blood tests or scan results that were within the last 3 months. They also said that given my history of PCOS I should have been referred by my GP after 6 months not a year. I was so upset!

I think I have just been unlucky though, as a lot of people I speak to have had a way more straightforward referral than mine! I now have an amazing consultant so fingers crossed😊. I would get on to your GP and make sure they start organising tests as well as doing the referral because the fertility clinic were angry with my GP when I turned up and had no recent bloods or scans or anything. Especially as the wanted I do them in specific days in my cycle and given that my cycles were around 50-87 days long that took us a while!

Good luck with it all 😊xxx