Clomid, also known as clomiphene citrate, is a drug used to induce ovulation, which is the production of an egg in women over the age of 40. If you have fertility problems and are unable to get pregnant due to anovulation, which is a menstrual cycle in which ovulation does not occur, then Clomid could be a solution to consider. Consult your gynecologist to understand how to take the drug and evaluate if this type of therapy is suitable for your situation.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Preparing to Take Clomid for Infertility
Step 1. Get tested for infertility
Before taking Clomid, you need to be sure you really need it. As this is a prescription-only medicine, you must first go to your gynecologist or fertility specialist for a full examination. Infertility can have multiple causes, so it is important to determine the specific one to determine an effective treatment.
In all likelihood, your doctor will recommend tests for your partner as well
Step 2. Discuss your options with your gynecologist
If your doctor comes to the conclusion that your problem is anovulation and prescribes Clomid, then you need to consider the protocol to follow in these circumstances. In your specific case, different solutions could be considered, such as drugs that trigger ovulation. Furthermore, it could be envisaged the introduction of spermatozoa in a natural way through controlled intercourse or through artificial insemination; During this procedure, the doctor inserts the sperm into the uterus to make sure they are in the right place.
The gynecologist will also make several appointments for you to undergo an ultrasound and blood tests, in order to monitor the general health of your reproductive organs
Step 3. Contact your gynecologist on the first day of your period
Before proceeding with any treatment, you should call your doctor at the beginning of your period to make sure you are in good health. A phone call is usually enough.
- If you are not menstruating spontaneously, then your doctor may prescribe progesterone to induce them.
- It is vital that you call your gynecologist in advance, as they may decide to have an ultrasound scan to make sure there are no cysts before starting the course of treatment.
- It may be necessary to continue this process for the duration of the therapy, because one of the side effects of Clomid is the formation of cysts.
Part 2 of 3: Taking Clomid for Infertility
Step 1. Start therapy
Once your doctor has fully checked your health and determined that you are okay, he or she will start giving you the medicine. Typically it should be taken on the third or fifth day of the menstrual cycle and should be taken at the same time every day for five days. The starting dosage is very likely to be quite low, around 50 mg per day. This reduces the risk of cysts and multiple pregnancies.
- If you can't conceive, your gynecologist might increase your dose on the next cycle.
- Make sure you take Clomid for five consecutive days and never miss a dose. If you have trouble remembering this appointment, put a note somewhere where it is easily visible, or set a reminder on your cell phone to ring at the same time every day.
- If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, call your doctor. Do not take double the amount of the drug.
Step 2. Set up a schedule
There are many things to do when entering Clomid therapy for infertility. Since you may feel overwhelmed, you should create an agenda or calendar for the days you take the medicine and the different activities you need to do, the tests you have to undergo, and the cycles you need to stick to. Your doctor will provide you with all the information you need to organize your calendar. You will need to note your period, identifying the first day of the flow as "day 1".
Next, you will need to add the days on which you take Clomid, those on which you will have sexual intercourse, on which you will take ovulation stimulant drugs, the dates on which you will have artificial insemination, those on which to have blood tests and scheduled ultrasound scans
Step 3. Keep all appointments
Your gynecologist will most likely monitor you closely throughout your therapy to make sure your body is responding correctly to Clomid. To do this, he will check your estrogen levels or do an ultrasound to check that you are ovulating.
Alternatively, they may ask you to monitor the effects of therapy with a home ovulation detection kit and inform them of the results
Step 4. Learn about the drug's mechanisms of action
After your first cycle, you may be wondering what exactly Clomid is doing for you. In response to the hormonal changes induced by the medicine, follicles develop in the ovaries that contain the eggs. Typically one of them becomes dominant and its egg will reach maturity, that is, it will be ready to be released at the time of ovulation.
If your body does not react to the drug and the follicle does not develop properly, then the course of treatment is canceled and your doctor may prescribe a higher dosage for the following month as a result
Step 5. Monitor ovulation
Around the twelfth day of your period you should start controlling ovulation, the time you can get pregnant. It is a phase that occurs at different times in each woman, but in most cases it occurs around the sixteenth or seventeenth day of the cycle. For greater accuracy, however, the gynecologist will ask you to check her in several ways.
- Your doctor may ask you to take your temperature at the same time every morning. If this increases by about 0.9 ° C, then ovulation will take place in the next two days.
- Some gynecologists recommend the kit to predict ovulation. It is a device sold freely in pharmacies and resembles pregnancy tests which rely on the hormones present in urine. In this case, however, the stick controls the levels of a specific hormone, called luteinizing (LH). Your LH concentration is at its peak 24-48 hours before ovulation, and the days you are most fertile are the hormone surge days and the next two.
- Instead of these kits, your doctor may have an ultrasound scan to view any mature egg or make sure you are ovulating.
- You may be checked for progesterone levels approximately 14-18 days after starting therapy. An increase in the concentration of this hormone could indicate the occurrence of ovulation and the possibility of becoming pregnant.
Step 6. Stimulate ovulation
If your body cannot ovulate naturally or you do not want to wait for this to happen, then you can discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking stimulant drugs such as Ovitrelle. This is nothing more than a human chorionic gonadotropin which acts as the luteinizing hormone. The medicine releases the egg, thus triggers the phenomenon of ovulation.
- It is estimated that the egg will be released 24-48 hours after the injection.
- If the protocol you are following involves artificial insemination, then this will be scheduled 36 hours after the injection.
Step 7. On the days suggested by your doctor you must have sex
When you start treatment with Clomid, you have to use every possibility to get pregnant. This means that you must have sexual intercourse whenever your doctor recommends it, that is, when the date of ovulation approaches.
If you have taken a drug to trigger ovulation, then your gynecologist will tell you which days are best for intercourse and fertilizing the egg
Step 8. Make sure the treatment was successful
Once the Clomid therapy is finished, you need to check the results. It is hoped that during ovulation the egg was fertilized by sperm. If this has happened, the embryo will reach the uterus, where it will implant itself several days later.
- If you haven't had your period in the 15 days following the LH surge, then your doctor may ask you to take a pregnancy test.
- If you are pregnant, you should no longer take Clomid.
Step 9. Try again
If you didn't get positive results on the first try, don't lose hope. You can try again next month. If you are not pregnant, you should have your period 14-17 days after ovulation. The first flow day is "day 1" of the next cycle and the doctor will proceed with a second treatment.
- The gynecologist may increase the dosage of the drug or suggest another treatment.
- In general, more than six Clomid cycles are not recommended. If you do not get pregnant after 3 or 6 cycles, then discuss alternative solutions with your doctor.
Part 3 of 3: Learn about Clomid
Step 1. Study its mechanism of action
Clomid is classified as an ovulation stimulant and is used in women with fertility problems. It works by attaching itself to the estrogen receptors in the body and blocking them so that the body "thinks" that the level of estrogen is low. This stimulates the production of the hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing factor (GnRH), a hormone of the reproductive system that triggers an increased secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which in turn encourages the production of the egg.
FSH stimulates the development of follicles, the ovarian structures that contain eggs
Step 2. Learn to take it
Your gynecologist may prescribe Clomid for a few different reasons. For example, it is used to combat infertility caused by anovulation, that is, the inability of the body to produce mature eggs. Symptoms that could indicate this problem include missing periods or irregular periods.
- Clomid is also prescribed for a widespread condition called polycystic ovary syndrome, or ovarian polycystosis. This disease includes irregular menstrual cycles, hirsutism, acne and male-like baldness among its symptoms. It also causes the formation of cysts in the ovaries; it is treated with various drugs, but Clomid is the first-line therapy for the resulting infertility.
- Do not take the drug if you are pregnant. The gynecologist will usually give you a pregnancy test before prescribing it.
Step 3. Take the correct dosage
Your doctor will tell you which concentration is right for your situation. However, in most cases, the starting dose is 50 mg per day, to be taken by mouth for 5 days starting on the fifth day of menstrual flow. If this quantity does not induce ovulation, the gynecologist can increase the dosage to 100 mg per day, to be taken in the same way during the next cycle.
- Therapy can change from one cycle to another, especially if ovulation does not increase.
- Do not change the dosage by yourself. Always strictly follow the gynecologist's instructions regarding dosage.
Step 4. Recognize the side effects
There are some fairly common negative effects that accompany taking Clomid. Among the most common and mild are a general sense of heat, redness, stomach pain (including nausea and vomiting), breast pain, headache, abnormal vaginal bleeding, blurred vision and dizziness.
- This medicine can also cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome during or after each treatment. It is a serious but rare condition that involves the development of dangerous situations, such as the accumulation of fluids in the abdomen and chest. If you experience severe pain, swelling, gain weight rapidly, suffer from nausea and vomiting, run to the emergency room.
- If your vision problems are serious, your abdomen swells or you are short of breath, call your gynecologist right away.
Step 5. Understand the risks
Although Clomid aids ovulation, you need to be careful with this drug. It should not be taken for more than six cycles. If you've been taking it for six months and haven't gotten pregnant, then your doctor may recommend other solutions, such as hormone injections or IVF.
- Ovarian cysts can form due to over-stimulation of the ovaries. You must undergo ultrasound scans before starting another cycle with Clomid.
- Long-term use of clomiphene citrate, Clomid, could increase the risk of ovarian cancer, although some recent studies do not confirm this theory.
