Need help! Doc wanted to put me on clomid.

[Jodie]

Here goes...

I haven't ovulated since Sep. My first anovulatory cycle was really long and took progesterone from the doc to get things started, it worked. Next cycle still no O, but started beeding on my own around time I would expect a period. This bleeding was really light. That brings me to this cycle, I'm on day 30 with no O in sight waiting for some sort of AF.
Went to the ob/gyn and he wants to try me on clomid! I just really want to know why my body has stopped ovulating, and would really like some tests done so I can treat the underlying cause of my anovulation. Why doesn't the doctor do a blood test at least? I refused the clomid for now and told him I really want to know what is casuing this.
He said whatever it is, the treatment would be the same.:

I need some help, my questions are...
Is that true? Should I take the clomid? Should I wait a little while longer to see if my body rights its self? Should I see a different ob/gyn or an RE maybe?

I'm just so frustrated and worried.
Any advice would be welcome. TIA

[EnviroBecca]

See a dr. who takes you seriously and is really interested in what is going on. It's just NOT true that Clomid is good for whatever ails you! For instance, not to scare you, but IF you stopped O'ing due to an ovarian tumor, then Clomid wouldn't coax an egg out of there and might even make things worse by promoting rapid growth.

At minimum, you should have some bloodwork and an ultrasound, to make sure that all your organs are okay and none of your hormones are bizzarrely high or low.

If everything checks out okay, I'd recommend at least 3-4 months of healthy low-stress lifestyle, plenty of lovemaking, and charting or otherwise keeping an eye on things. If your cycle hasn't returned to normal after that, THEN you can worry.

Sounds like you're pretty sure you were ovulating before Sept.? That does make anovulatory cycles more worrisome, because they're unusual for you, but it may be that you're just having a temporary lapse because of some change in your life, maybe even the stress of TTC! Try to be calm and patient while also insisting on as much INFORMATION (not drugs) as you can get.

Good luck!

[Jodie]

Thank you for responding, what you said makes a lot of since.
I have pretty much come to the same conclusion. I'll just have to find another doctor. I'm also going to try and reduce some stress and relax more often.
It means a lot to me that you took the time to repond.
Thank You.

[AdinaL]

A someone who is going on Clomid next cycle....a good doc won't just put you on it without doing tests. For example - I had a cholesterol, a testosterone, a prolactin, a DHEA-S all done before he will tell me if it is okay. He also did an ultrasound. A tumor can be made worse by Clomid. And if you have PCOS - they will want to add another thing to help with that before giving you Clomid.

So I say find another doc. (Which is what is sounds like you have already decided )

[ma_Donna]

My case might be a little different. Last April I first went to the RE and had all the bloodwork done. Although I didn't O until cd36!!! my progesterone 7 days later showed a good O.

The next cycle I got pg and unfortunately had a m/c.

I did my first round of Clomid in January... she didn't do any other tests on me, I think becuase of my previous bloodwork and my m/c showed my tubes were open, etc.

Anyway, i was very hesitant to go to Clomid, but after almost a year and a half of TTC I was so sick of those long cycles!! They had normalized a bit after the m/c and I would O on cd19/20 but then in Dec didn't O until cd28... I was just done with all the waiting.

Along w/ the Clomid I had an u/s on cd15 to look at lining thickness and follicle size. At that time they found a suspected polyp... wouldn't have found it w/o the u/s and I'm fine that i didn't have the u/s at the beginning of the cycle.

So... this IS a very personal decision on when you're ready to try it. It was a REALLY big deal to me. Fortunately my s/e consisted of a little heartburn, some minor hot flashes and just one big beautiful follicle. Also, fortunately for us we were successful on the first cycle.

Also... since I've already got a long post... I would definitely have an u/s before O to check things out. In my case I hadn't started my LH surge by cd14 so we did the u/s and trigger. That was a good route, also an u/s when you start your LH surge if it's before cd14 to make sure follicle size and lining are OK. They also measured ovaries, all follicles (I had one dominant and 3 smaller) and anything else they can see on u/s.

I REALLY hope that my experience helps.
Good luck and babydust
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

[Jodie]

Envirobecca, AdinaL,and ma_donna thanks for your support!

I do plan on finding another doctor and getting some blood work and an ultrasound done. Until then I'm taking herbs and plan on not focusing so much on TTC and focusing more on my health. I've been getting sick a lot lately and I'm 40lbs heavier than I "should be". So hopfully I can lose a little weight and get back to my "hardly ever sick" self.
Working in the infant room of a daycare and being surrounded by pregnant women does make it hard not to focus on TTC, but I'm trying. I do get to rock a baby everyday, this gives me a lot of joy.

ma_donna~ I'm glad clomid worked for you,congratulations.
AdinaL~ I hope your plans work out for you to.