TTC with Letrozole/Clomid

[acaciabluebell]

Anyone else here on Letrozole or Clomid for ovulation induction?

I'm on my 2nd cycle of Letrozole and looking for others in a similar situation.

Info about me:
26 y.o
Been TTC for just over 2 years.
Dosage: 5mg of Letrozole on days 3-7.
Diagnoses: Male factor (0% morphology), low AMH, low progesterone

I'm currently on CD10 and using OPKs to track for ovulation. I'll be taking a blood test on 7dpo to check if I ovulated.

@AprilMayAnne the follicle sounded positive! Did your periods just stop? Hence starting the treatment?

I’ve only done one night of pessary last night and it was okay but only because it’s my first! Mines once a day so now I’m panicking I maybe need more. It’s 400mg. I’m intrigued to see if it will stop my spotting but not feeling hopeful. It’s the last thing to rule out before moving to IVF really. I’m out of ideas after this if progesterone doesn’t stop my pre AF spotting which lasts a whole week!

@AprilMayAnne 9dpo is still early like you say so I’ll be crossing everything for you.

Hey again all. Bloods this month confirmed ovulation on 5mg letrozole so that's what I will be sticking with. Will test Friday (CD28) if AF hasn't showed. Unfortunately now covid positive so hopefully that has no negative impact

@AprilMayAnne I never had any inkling it was going to happen for us the month it did and had zero implantation symptoms! 😊

Aaand, period arrived. So onward to letrozole 5mg round 3. At least we know this dose is doing something. Also I'm appreciating having a 27 day cycle rather than a 70-90 day cycle!

Thanks @Loz2467 !

Yes @TheDaydreamBelievers I've gone from 35-40 down to 27 days. Although the tee still feels like FOREVER!

4dpo here - fingers crossed for everyone this cycle!

*tww

Hi everyone!
Checking back in after taking some time of MN.

Currently CD12 and dose of letrozole was increased to 7.5mg this cycle because 5mg did nothing last cycle - ended up ovulating naturally on CD27 which isn't terrible for me (PCOS) but still felt like a loooong cycle and bit gutted when af eventually arrived.

Went for my ultrasound yesterday and it was mixed news. 1 dominant follicle measuring 15mm and they think I'll possibly ovulate over the weekend. BUT my endometrium was only 3.7mm thick 😔 they basically implied that it's unlikely I'll get pregnant with that.
They want me to have day 21 progesterone to confirm I'm ovulating on 7.5mg letrozole and then next cycle want to do more scan earlier and possibly give me oestrogen pre-ovulation to try and thickened my lining.
Small positives but it's so frustrating when one thing seems to work and then another issue is uncovered... 😞

@Loz365 I completely feel your frustrations but good it’s been picked up on and they can hopefully give you estrogen therapy next month? I’m on clomid days 2-6. Estrogen 7-11 then cyclogest 400mg from 2/3 dpo. I’m currently about 6 dpo and had a temp dip in my chart which isn’t a good sign for me so assuming I’m out this cycle. I didn’t have any scans so I’m intrigued how my lining was because I’ve had thin lining.

im so frustrated I’m on the waiting list for a laproscopy and I’ve been on it since January. They called me to say they had a cancellation next Friday but I’m on holiday :( feeling so bummed!!! I’m desperate to get this surgery and it just feels like my luck.

@TheDaydreamBelievers I'm in the same boat, I'm 15DPO and testing negative. The clinic have said I can stop oestrogen and cyclogest and wait for AF. I think it'll be a few days before I bleed, but I should be kicking off with cycle 2 of 5mg letrozole next week. Feeling a bit bummed out after doing the TWW solo, DH back from his business trip tomorrow. But working on bouncing back and got all my fingers crossed for us both!

And @Hopeislost too, thinking of you and sending lots of baby dust in your TWW 💖

@Loz365 it is such a rollercoster, hard to keep up emotionally with good news and bad news all mixed together 💐 it sounds like 7.5mg is working for you, I hope that's a big step in the right direction!
@Loz2467 and me were talking about timing of oestrogen supplementation as my lining can be thin too. I'm only prescribed oestrogen after ovulation (same time as cyclogest). I asked a nurse why they can't prescribe it before ovulation (like you both) and she said that can interfere with follicle development. I definitely want to avoid that but equally it seems logical that it would be best for the lining pre-ovulation 🤔 I'm going to try and get more info from a doctor soon xxx

Thanks @AprilMayAnne !

I had a look at the research on lining after being told that 5.4mm was too thin, and there are cases of women getting pregnant with a lining of 4mm! So while thicker would be better, it doesn't rule you out @Loz365 ! Plus if they scanned on day 11, you likely had a few days before ovulation for it to thicken up.

Hi all, I’m on CD8, took letrozole 5mg CD2-6, I got a positive OPK today but I’m still on my period, surely I can’t ovulate whilst still on my period?!

@KateC1988 nope! But LH is high when on period too (so is up during period, then drops, then highest just prior to ovulation). No need to test OPKs over period time.

@KateC1988 just re - reading. I guess CD8 it's possible your body is gearing up to ovulate but it's very early. Is this your first cycle at 5mg?

Thanks for your reply, it is my first cycle on 5mg letrozole. First cycle on letrozole at all. I got put on it for suspected pcos as my cycles are irregular, periods are long with lots of spotting and I have male pattern baldness. I’ll carry on doing LH tests and hopefully I’ll get another peak. I’ll DTD even though im on my period, but it’s hard not to feel like it’s a bit pointless whilst I’m still bleeding

Hiya, just wanted to say hello, just coming to the end of my 2ww of first letrozole cycle. AF due Tuesday. Did an early clear blue and got an evap I think as everything since has been negative. Love and luck to everyone xx

@KateC1988 My Clearblue opk leaflet tells you what day to start testing based on cycle length, so I presume you testing early is picking up a different LH surge.

@Dimples81 Sorry to hear about the evap. I don't use 'blue' tests any more as it just gets my hopes up. I use FRERs now because the cost stops me taking loads of tests! My testing day is Friday, but will probably cave before then!

BFN here. Hope everyone else is doing ok.

@Hopeislost so sorry to hear about your BFN. It really is so rotten after the big wait for test day. I hope you're doing okay 💐 will you keep testing until AF comes?

I'm now CD4, mid-course of Letrozole. The first two days of my period were soo heavy 🙈 but hoping it's a sign that the hormones helped improve my lining.

@Dimples81 the evap must have been so frustrating 💐 I use cheap Easy@home sticks or bust out FRERs for key test days. The general MN wisdom is that red dye tests are better that blue, and FRERs are the most sensitive. They've been shown to pick up hCG levels as low as 6.3, but are pretty £££

Hi everyone!
Thanks for all the feedback regarding endometrial thickness. I think the nurse panicked me with how blunt she was with saying how concerned she was.

Got my day 21 progesterone result today and it's 44! 🎉 the first time I've had bloods confirm ovulation and happy to see 7.5mg letrozole is working. I've started spotting today though so think AF is on the way 😔

Hi everyone! I was on hols so took a much needed break from TTC even though I was hit with a BFN and my period whilst away.

Trying to catch up with the thread. @AprilMayAnne that’s good news about your period and a good sign for your lining I’d say!

@Loz2467 glad you got your good progesterone read but sorry AF is potentially on the way. What DPO are you now?

Update for me. Just started my third round of clomid. Last month I had clomid, estrogen and progestone and it was the first month I haven’t had brown spotting in 13 months! So all this time I’ve been stressed thinking it was an infection in my lining it seems to be low prog. However I’m now worrying what’s causing the low prog thinking is it crappy eggs? Because the corpus luteum isn’t working long enough after ovulation. My spotting used to start 7 DPO. I was hoping that this progestone was the answer but it seems not. I likely produced 2 eggs this month and still didn’t get pregnant.

i had some day 21 bloods (ovulated day 14/15) and I had a progesterone of 140 which is good and obviously the highest I’ve had. But estrogen was high. So I need to check that with my fertility doctor as that was done with the GP

Im thinking to pay for the scans next month to see what my lining is doing and if it isn’t cooperating then knowing IVF is likely to be sooner rather than later. I never thought I had a lining issue and I’ve only ever had it measured after ovulation. Never before so I don’t know if it looks how it should but obviously the hyterscopy showed nothing - but that’s just a camera view and not checking thickness etc.

sorry for the long post.

@Loz2467 sorry to hear af turned up, especially on your holiday! But that's good about the spotting and that progesterone result is impressive!

I had the same concerns about my endometrial lining, the nurse this month basically said that it's too thin and she was 'concerned' and kept saying she 'wasn't happy with it' and I'd need oestrogen next cycle etc. All but convinced me I had no hope this month.
I'm currently 11DPO, my LP is usually 9 days so tentatively did a cheapie last night which I thought showed an evap line then got this this morning!! Obviously still really early but I've never had a positive test in 18 months of trying.

@Loz365 oh my goodness! Gentle congrats! That’s a great line so far. It really does show - and that was another thing I was worried about the scans and them saying there is things wrong with my lining then me feeling stressed and deflated TTC. You know what I mean? I had spotting with my 2 pregnancies. Just some implantation. I always know by 7dpo if I’m out or not. I’m currently cycle day number 6 and due to start the Estradiol tomorrow. Not sure to stick too 4mg like he advised or half it.

I can’t see much on google about estrogen being too high in luteal phase. I know it peaks mid luteal but mine was borderline with over the limit. I don’t wanna decrease my chances and I won’t get hold of my Dr till next week now. Xx

@Loz365 what did she say your lining measured? I’m worried just to add extra stress and worry. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about my high estrogen level mid luteal phase. I’m assuming you’d be concerned if it was off in the day 3 tests. I don’t know xx

@Loz2467 thank you! I'll be obsessively testing for the next few days 😂
I was so upset after my appointment, my lining was 3.7mm on CD11 but clearly it either got a bit thicker or it just goes to show you can get pregnant with a thinner lining! I'm trying to be sensible in case it doesn't work out but also so happy to finally see a positive result!!

I wouldn't worry too much about the oestrogen level. I would stick with what they told you to take and see, if I can get a bfp after being told I had no chance then you definitely can! And your spotting has stopped which is great!! I know it's so hard to stay positive but stick with it, crossing everything for you 💐