Clomid works!

1st clomid cycle: Not bad. 33 days, ovulated on CD 18! I'm very happy with this!

My symptoms weren't too bad. While taking the pill I experienced dry mouth, breast sensitivity, and ovarian sensations (as mentioned in the Clomid blog entry). I took the pills at bedtime, and noticed that most of the symptoms occurred overnight or early morning. Stopping the pills caused the worst symptoms, but they faded away within a few days: hot flashes, nightmares, fatigue, dryness, and an itchy forehead :) (may or may not have been related to clomid).

Side note: many hormonal symptoms, generally, seem to happen late at night or early morning. Example- morning sickness (while it can last all day), is often in the morning, and you can have nausea at bedtime too. I wonder if hormonal activity occurs when we sleep. We already know that we produce growth hormone when we sleep, so why not other hormones? Something to think about, and a good reason to get plenty of sleep!

So, I took OPK's from CD 11 to CD 24. And I never got a true positive! Usually, I get a very clear positive for two days. This cycle, I get three days of "near" positives, CD 16, 17, and 18. Confusing! DH and I scrutinized the tests, it was very close, but the consensus was "negative." Also during these near positive days, I had the usual O (ovulation) symptoms: EWCM, a high energy/feel good day (usually occurs the day before I O, still testing this theory), and ovarian sensations. Additionally, with the clomid, I had significantly more ovarian sensations, I was significantly drier, so the EWCM wasn't as noticeable or even definite, my abdomen felt bloated and it felt like my ovaries were going to pop (guess that's the point, huh?).

There are three different kinds of OPK's pictured below: Egens freebies test strips are blue, early-pregnancy-tests.com test strip OPK's are green, and their mid-stream tests are the large white sticks. I definitely prefer early-pregnancy-tests.com OPK's because they are larger and easier to read. The control line is on the left, and the test line is on the right. If the test line is equal to or darker than the control, the OPK test is positive. Important note: do not use FMU for OPK's, you should take the test between 10AM-8PM, that way your LH (luteinizing hormone) levels have had a chance to rise for the day. All the lines have faded, and the test lines were darker when I took the test.

My doc had asked me to call them after I O. On CD 24, I finally called them confused. They told me the only way they could tell if I O'd was with a progesterone blood test. I learned the ideal time for this test is CD 21, but I had it done on CD 25. Progesterone is known as the "pregnancy hormone," it's what helps you maintain a pregnancy, and it's responsible for fatigue, and for your temperature rising after O. My results were "good," 18.2! I ovulated! And I think it was around CD18!


I had a lot of 2WW symptoms this cycle - must be the clomid. I normally feel "hot and dry" during this time, and need to drink more water. My CM dries up, I get more emotional, fatigued, enlarged bb's, I will get a very mild acne breakout, and around a week after O I sometimes feel ovarian sensations. Sometimes I get leg cramps, nausea and tender bb's. This cycle I also had dull headaches, stuffiness, a lot of leg cramps, bellybutton sensations 7-8 DPO (!), and wet CM. I've heard clomid makes you think you are pregnant, so I was on guard about all these promising symptoms. I even had light pink/brown spotting 12 DPO (!), that's when I started to get my hopes up! But it turned into brown spotting 14-15 DPO, and then I got AF. I've been pretty upset. HPT's at 13 and 15 DPO were negative. But my LP was 15 days long this cycle (YAY!), and the clomid shortened my cycle by a few days, from 36 to 33 days, yay!


Get this: the last 4 out of 5 O's have been on a Wednesday, or maybe the next day. Isn't that interesting? Makes me wonder if it is something about going to work or being more active that triggers an O, or maybe a delayed effect from weekend relaxation? Has anyone else noticed any interesting patterns?


Oh, the joys of working full-time, and trying to find time to get to the doctor's office, or even speak to them on the phone (can you sense the sarcasm?). I normally have a very busy schedule and my day is often booked out far in advance. I can run to the lab for bloodwork at lunch, but for doctor's visits, or who knows what else, I need more time. I feel like I've been lucky so far, but I haven't had too many appointments. Guess we'll have to see how everything goes.


The results for DH's semen analysis (SA) came back "normal." Yay! I wanted to know things like sperm count and motility, but the nurse who called me said there were "pages and pages of info." Maybe they don't tell you specific information unless you are working with a fertility clinic. I am relieved and happy that there are no known fertility issues with my husband. However, now I feel responsible for the "problem," and burdened by it. Great. It's me. But, then I try to comfort myself by thinking women are just more complicated than men.


Something has been nagging at me for months, even growing in me, pushing me to make a change in my diet, starting this cycle. I have been a vegetarian for the past 13 years. It has served me well, seemingly, in all areas of my life until now. So, drumroll for major announcement: I will no longer be vegetarian! I will be more accepting of meat, mostly just chicken, in order to meet my iron and protein needs, and perhaps eat less beans. Believing that soybeans have been detrimental to me, and knowing that peas are bad for fertility, has really got me suspicious about the rest of the bean group. I still have a sensitive stomach, so eating too much meat will still upset my stomach. And I understand that many vegetarian women become pregnant and have healthy babies, but, part of me wonders, maybe those women don't have the issues that I apparently do. It is a personal choice, something I'm wanting to try for awhile.


Facebook has been a great way to get and stay in touch with people, and I used to update my status regularly. But I can't update Facebook with anything ttc-related, due to obvious privacy issues. The most important thing in my life right now is trying to get pregnant, and it affects many of my feelings and actions. As a result, I have gradually stopped updating my status, because I don't feel like it is accurately reflecting how I really feel or what is really going on in my life, like I am not acknowledging my reality. And replacing that reality with superficialities feels misleading and disrespectful. Doing so has just felt more and more like a lie over the past year. Particularly as we began to have trouble ttc, and as we edge ever closer to our 1 year mark of ttc, and officially being labeled "infertile."


Also during this cycle, we bought a glider chair and glider ottoman! Babies R Us has the best selection, Target also has a bunch online, but we wanted to try out in person what we were purchasing. We love our Shermag! It will be used as a reading chair in our bedroom, and hopefully double in a nursery one day.


Whew, a lot happened this cycle! Next time I'll have to update sooner! Please subscribe or comment, thanks!

Clomid

I met with my obgyn again, because I was concerned about the 41 day cycles.
She was concerned about the late ovulation. She prescribed me clomid, to take one 50mg pill each day on CD 3-7, and to call her after I ovulate for a progesterone test. Clomid is a first-line fertility medication and the most prescribed. It induces ovulation, and as my doc said, "cleans everything up," so my cycles should be more normal. I am not taking Fertilaid this cycle, although she wasn't specifically against me taking it. Clomid can cause hot flashes, mood swings, dryness, and a more serious, OHSS, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. I have already noticed dry mouth, some breast sensitivity, and ovarian sensations on CD 5 and 6. I think I'll start doing OPK's on CD 11, as many women ovulate on clomid around CD 14-17. In my case, I'd be happy with anything between CD 18 to 22. And finally on the subject, my insurance did not cover the cost of clomid. The generic was relatively cheap, but still; not cool. And I have heard nasty rumors that insurance companies will deny coverage if a person has ever taken clomid, has anyone else heard that too?

In happier news, I also took one of the First Response Fertility Tests, and the results were "normal," which means I have a normal ovarian reserve and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). You take the test on CD 3 with FMU (first morning urine). It costs $25-$30, but that was worth the confidence boost!

So now you are finally caught up on our 7 month ttc journey. Today is January 1st, 2010! Happy New Year! This is my first cycle with clomid, I am on CD 6, and will be finishing up the clomid tomorrow. I hope that anyone reading this who is also trying to conceive will get their BFP (big fat positive) this cycle!

The new game plan

The new game plan:

• reduce soy as much as possible
• try to eat some more organic foods when possible
• start using OPK's to better monitor ovulation
• start taking "Fertilaid," which replaces my pre-natal and also has some herbal supplements in it to help regulate the cycle. I felt great on this stuff! I could tell it was working in some way, I noticed changes in CM (cervical mucus), amongst other changes.
• still use Fertility Awareness and target the 10 day fertile window

I felt empowered and more in control of our ttc.

These changes actually doubled my luteal phase length, from 8 days to 17 days!! But these changes also lengthened my cycle so they were now 41 day cycles. You win some, you lose some. And this pretty much brings us to the present day when I started this blog, you are almost all caught up on this journey, just one last thing...

The soy epiphany

In the wake of the chemical, I was determined to learn from it so it wouldn't happen again. My continued internet research lead me to my soy epiphany, and it was devastating. I had been a vegetarian and my primary source of protein was soy protein. Well, soy has phytoestrogens, and this can cause problems for ttc if you have too much soy. This is all still very controversial, there is a lot of different info out there, so do your research. To my horror, I realized that virtually all our processed foods contain some form of soy protein, soy lecithin, soybean oil, textured vegetable protein... From my pre-natal vitamins, to whole-grain cereals, to cookies, and just about anything else that comes in a package. I realized that it was impossible for us to eliminate soy, we could only reduce it. On a positive note, fermented soy, is the only safe soy to eat while ttc, I think. Fermented soy includes soy sauce, miso, and tempeh.
Here's info on soy:
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/
http://www.westonaprice.org/Myths-Truths-About-Soy.html
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14831.asp

Here is a really long article that was revolutionary to me, it puts it all together, soy, Omega 3's and Omega 6's. 1=31036">1=31036">http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100245164>1=31036

I further realized just how many hormone mimicking and affecting chemicals we are exposed to daily, and particularly through our diets. Think about the hormones in meats, eggs, and dairy products. Pesticides used on vegetables also mimic hormones, so organic is better. And BPA and water bottles, or any plastics for that reason, also mimic hormones... I will just say this was all very revolutionary for me.

Chemical pregnancy

Ok, I believe I had a chemical pregnancy because my period, aka AF (aunt flo), was late, I had pregnancy symptoms, and I had a faint positive pregnancy test. Remember everyone, a faint positive is still a positive. And I truly felt pregnant, different than I've felt any other month. Coincidentally, I had my annual obgyn appointment during this time, but it was too early to take a pregnancy test. My doc explained I needed to wait 14 days after ovulation to take a pregnancy test. Also, for the first time in my life I spotted after the Pap smear, which is another sign of pregnancy. So, I waited several more days and got my faint positive, just as the doctor had said. Several days later I got AF - the pregnancy didn't stick. It was disappointing, but it didn't really upset me that much because I knew chemical pregnancies were very common, it's just that most women don't know they are happening.

This is when I began to realize something was wrong, and not just chemical pregnancy wrong, but more than that. My cycles have always been around 36 days. This was the first time I figured out when I ovulated, and I ovulated on CD (cycle day) 28. I began to research this stuff on the internet, and learned that ovulation after CD20 is considered "late ovulation." I also learned that being vegetarian will give you longer cycles and make you ovulate later. Most distressing of all, I realized that my luteal phase was too short to sustain a pregnancy. The luteal phase is the part of a woman's cycle from ovulation until her next period. Anything 10 days or less is considered bad for ttc, ideally you want around 14 days. Mine was 8 days that cycle. There's even a term, "luteal phase defect."

Pre-ttc and the initial approaches

We were married about two years when we seriously began planning to have a baby. What an exciting time this was for me! I started reading up on the subject. I attended two pre-conception visits because I had to change doctors due to insurance. I have a generally healthy lifestyle; non-smoker, minimal drinker, lacto-ovo-pescetarian (meaning I do eat those things), and I made sure that I was exercising regularly.

We decided that we would officially start "trying" on our Mediterranean cruise we had planned for May 2009. So, in February 2009, I went off the birth control pill to get a sense of my cycles, and I started taking pre-natals daily. It is generally recommended to those who actually plan for a baby, to stop the pill 3 months in advance, and to be taking a multi-vitamin at least 3 months in advance. It is best if husband takes a multi-vitamin too.

1st approach:
My initial approach was a casual "let's see how it goes naturally" attitude. I was 32, and honestly believed we would be pregnant within several months. I didn't use OPKs (ovulation predictor kits), basal body temping, or even know when I was ovulating. We tried BD (baby dancing) every 3 days for several months, and honestly, that gets tiring and you don't feel like you are focusing on anything! I was pretty clueless and aimless. During this time I was trying to monitor my body symptoms to determine when I was ovulating. It has been very helpful to keep a small calendar to track my cycles, hormonal symptoms, and anything that could possibly relate to ttc, or affect baby, for example, if I got a cold or had x-rays at the dentist.

2nd approach:
After several months of this, I began trying to practice the Fertility Awareness method for natural family planning, except, I did not take my BBT (basal body temperature). Generally they encourage you to BD every other day during the 10-day fertile window. You can estimate your fertile window with an ovulation calculator . The first rule of ttc: Know when you ovulate!

Call it beginner's luck, but our first month doing this, not only could I determine when I ovulated based on body symptoms, but we also achieved a chemical pregnancy! I guess I was right, we were "pregnant" within three months!!