Starting clomid - PCOS diagnosis

[LethargicButAwesome]

Hello all, am 30, DH and I have been ttc for DC2 for over 2.5 years years now. (After the longest referral ever) I was diagnosed with PCOS so have been given metformin 1500 to regulate my cycle, been taking this for a month now. The progesterone blood test shows I am not ovulating so they are sending out a clomid perscription in the post and I'm due to start on my next cycle. (Guessing some time in the nExt two weeks).

Any advice / experiences to share? Anything that I should do along side to increase my chances? Or someone going through the journey - a little nervous but equally excited too!

@Leodot thanks Hun! I'm really happy for you getting your bfp it's amazing news and I wish you all the best, please keep us updated xx

Hi @sittingwaitingwishing I went on to take letrozole and it worked 1st month! X

Oh wow we I've been absent from posting for a few weeks and very pleased to have come back to this. Congratulations @Leodot @sc1995 and @BEESY90 so very happy for you, you give hope to all of us! Hope they all become beautiful babies - and great that you can exchange pregnancy advice / stories! About time this thread revolved some good news

I hit the 3 year mark this month and am on my fifth round of clomid. mHot flushes are so intense now. Currently in my fertile window....not as hopeful as I was when I started the process tbh... :(

@cosmo30 would be interested to hear about your ivf journey, not looked into it yet and hubby isn't too keen but might be a road we need to go down (hopefully not as still have two potential opportunities on clomid.) is the searching for a clinic process something you had to do yourself, where did you receive the information from?

@LethargicButAwesome I have a care fertility clinic literally round the corner from where we live, so I just did a bit of googling and bit the bullet and enquired! I don't want to be waiting who knows how long for this operation on the nhs when I could at least be trying something in the meantime.
I know it's Gona be tough and no guarantees it will even work, but I will always kick myself if we didn't even try it.
I will keep you posted
I do not miss those hot flushes, I feel your pain!

Also @Leodot you need to stop taking metformin!

@cosmo30 that's convenient we have around 3 clinics all about an hour away...yes please do keep us posted!

Have my 6 month check up next weel... suppose they will just be telling me they can't do anything further

Has anyone heard of flaxseed helping them? Have heard it's v good to boost fertility?

@LethargicButAwesome Well that has been a bit of a subject for debate! The GP took me off it so I didn’t take it for 2 weeks then my consultant phoned and put me back on it this week. Apparently it can lower rates of miscarriage in women with PCOS so I’m taking it until 13 weeks now.

@Leodot what dose of metformin are you taking?
My consultant hasn't got back to me so I've continued taking a reduced dose as ive read it reduces the risk of miscarriage in the first trimester

@[AUTO]g5e9tkcoqrcli I’m not taking a reduced dose. I’m taking 3 tablets a day same as I was pre pregnancy.

Hi everyone

Congratulations to those of you who have just got your BFPs! Fantastic news!

Ive been lurking on this thread for a while but tomorrow will start my first cycle of Letrozole. Fingers crossed. I was originally prescribed clomid by the endo consultant, but the ACU changed this to letrozole.

Ive been diagnosed with PCOS for 3 years and have been taking Metformin for over a year (4 tablets a day). Our referral in March got scuppered due to Covid so it has been a long 4 months waiting. I was referred by the endocrinologist who deals with my PCOS, rather than my GP.

I've seen a couple of comments about scanning - i am being treated at Guys & St Thomas' on the NHS and will be having tracking scanning so it definitely is available on the NHS.

Hope to read more success stories from you all soon :)

Hey @MoscowMuse 😊

Sorry to hear that your referral was messed up by covid. Good news that you’re now about to start letrozole. How are you feeling about it?

Welcome @MoscowMuse - and wishing you the best of luck! That’s interesting regarding tracking scans. I have my next consultation call in September and will be following up then to ask why I haven’t been offered scans.

I’m pleased to say that my second cycle of Clomid on 50mg did work in making me ovulate as I had a period (my first since November!!!!), so while its not as exciting as a BFP, I’m really happy and going into this third cycle with a bit of hope. Just goes to show that sometimes subsequent cycles at the same dose can be successful, as I was worried when nothing happened on the first cycle that 50mg would not be enough.

Also forgot to mention I have been taking MyOva tablets for about 7 weeks now - who knows if that had a contributing factor in my second cycle of Clomid working in making me ovulate 🤷‍♀️ but I’m willing to give anything a go at this point!

Thanks @Leodot and @sittingwaitingwishing! We haven't been trying for as long as some other ladies on here, but we knew i had pcos from the start so we always knew it was going to be trickier. I guess im excited to get started but a little apprehensive!

The metformin got my cycles down to 33-35days but there has been no sign of ovulation except for in January. I was prescribed provera to induce a period this month, which was going ok (except for quite a lot of fatigue) until the last tablet when i got an awful hot flush at a family socially distanced bbq! 😳 So preparing for the worst with letrozole side effects!

@MoscowMuse I completely get the excited/apprehensive feelings - it can be a bit of a rollercoaster (especially with all the hormones added in to the mix too!). How many cycles of Letrozole are they starting you on?
I’m with you on the hot flashes... although this week I can’t work out if it hormones or this hot, humid weather 🤣

hey @MoscowMuse just to give you a bit of encouragement. I've recently been put on letrozole ttc number 2 and had no side effects whatsoever. Also, while I didn't get a bfp with my first cycle, I had confirmation of ovulation and a 29 day cycle (normally mine are anything from 40 to 65+!!) which I was so happy with. Best of luck x

@sittingwaitingwishing That’s great news that it made you ovulate 😊. I was taking 50mg and it worked for my first and second cycle, didn't for my third, then worked for my fourth cycle which is when I got my bfp. All four cycles were on 50 mg. Fingers crossed your body has had the kick start it needs ❤️.

@Leodot that's interesting and just been reading some research articles and your right. Reduces the chance of miscarriage in early pregnancy. That's odd as on my letter even starting metformin specifically stated to stop taking it.

Welcome @MoscowMuse have read great stuff on letrozole so best of luck and welcome to the club!!

@LethargicButAwesome That is strange. I’ve never seen anywhere that it could be harmful. My GP didn’t say it was harmful just that I didn’t need it but honestly he’s useless which is why I kept ringing my consultant until I got hold of her as I’d read I should keep taking it which she then confirmed. The problem was I couldn’t keep taking it as I’d run out and my GP was refusing to prescribe me anymore. It was all a bit ridiculous to be honest!

@sittingwaitingwishing congrats on ovulation and periods! Im trying to keep the positive thinking - its all about the small victories. Ive been prescribed 3 cycles of provera and letrozole so far and then we'll see how it goes, i suppose! I dont have a science background at all but am finding the scanning absolutely fascinating.

@Rg1987 thats really good news about the side effects and congrats with ovulation! My poor hubby is bracing himself for another round of mood swings 🤣😬

Thanks @LethargicButAwesome

@Leodot and @LethargicButAwesome my endocrinology consultant has said that its fine to keep taking metformin throughout pregnancy and that it may help to prevent gestational diabetes. He seems to treat it as some kind of wonder drug to be honest!

That odd, had my 6 month check up on Friday and she was a bit. Cagey about taking metformin, we concluded it's fine to take in pregnancy until week 12-it was a bit odd as she simply went with what I said rather than verifying whether it DOES reduce miscarriage

I'm taking a break from metformin was supposed to start period today but only BFN and no show of AF.

Next stage is to have a break for 3 months then start letrozole

Hello there. Really glad there's an active clomid group running during Corona virus. I'm on my third round of clomid and increased to 100mg this cycle. Some have mentioned this: I also noticed ecwm on day 5 and day 6 in my first two clomid cycles. Is there a correlation there?

Hey all. hope you're all well. Just a quick update, i sadly found out today at my first scan that i had a miscarriage. Going in for an MVA tomorrow The thought of having to go through all of it again is really heartbreaking.

How are the rest of you guys getting on?

Hi @sc1995 - so so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I can’t imagine the heartache and as you say, the thought of having to go through the treatment again must be really awful. Sending lots of love and thoughts your way.

I picked up my next prescription of Clomid today. Finished my three cycles in 50mg and only ovulated once, so now up to 100mg and while my hospital doesn’t offer tracking scans, I will get blood tests each cycle to see if I’m ovulating. Not going to start this next round until my husband has his semen analysis which is finally happening next month (we have been waiting since March, due to Covid) but keeping fingers crossed all is ok with him! Really hoping the Clomid works at 100mg, otherwise the doctor said next options were ovarian drilling or IVF.