Hi all,

Just a few questions about Clomid before I go talk to my doctor about it. What kind of side effects are there physically? Will I see in increase of weight/acne trouble? My cousin was on it and she gained a lot of weight and her skin just went nuts, but she isn't sure if it was from the Clomid or from other factors. Can anyone shed some light on this? Also, I was curious how long doctors normally ask you to try to conceive without medical intervention before they go ahead and prescribe you something like Clomid. I have been on Metformin since I was 14 (currently 23). Two ultrasounds ago they found multiple cysts in both ovaries with the largest one being 6cm in diameter (eek!) but in my most recent one they found that the cysts were still there but had shrunk substantially. Can anyone give me any guidance on conceiving?

First of all, are you charting your temps to track your ovulation and luteal phase? If not, I highly HIGHLY recommend the book by Toni Weschler, Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

I am finishing my first cycle of Clomid. I have not heard of weight gain or acne (that seems like the PCOS itself), but anything is possible. If you have cysts already it can increase your chances for OHSS (over stimulated ovaries- not fun!) Other symptoms are moodiness, cramping, blurred vision, etc.. I didn't have terrible symptoms while on it, but after ovulation I have been in some pain. That will subside when I start my next cycle (or get pregnant).

Now, I have been ttc since mid October. That isn't very long, but I was on birth control for 6 years and before that I had terrible cycles. I began charting right away, so when things weren't looking good after almost 3 months my doctor put me on Clomid immediately. In her words, "you weren't normal before and were not going to wait around for that to happen".

So it can really vary how long a doctor will ask you to wait before intervention. I think you have a documented history of issues that any doctor will see as an obstacle in ttc, so they may intervene earlier than the standard 1 year.

Junebug summarized things very well. Most doctors will want you to try for a year before doing anything - but there obviously is some variance in that.

For me I found clomid made me pretty emotional & I had TERRIBLE night sweats.

You should wait a year before going to the dr. Also read the Toni book about the correct time to have sex is.

I don't remember weight gain on Clomid but I do remember having bad symptoms like headaches pmsing but of course it's worth it (it didn't work for me). The 3-5 day pill that gives all month long! hehe You can also only take clomid for 6 months at a time safely.

You must think you only have something like a 30% chance of pregnancy every month if you're doing it right so you do need to give it time before thinking you're infertile.

also you should chart/temp etc. When I went in I had a few years of charts with me lol. The ob could go through it and see what exactly was going on.

Just to clarify on the one year wait- I asked my doctor that very thing and she said that is recommended for healthy couples with regular cycles and without any issues such as PCOS. Of course, some docs hold their ground and make you wait, but if you are not having a period it's likely that you aren't ovulating and you would just be wasting time. I'm so glad my doctor agreed that something was wrong and I did need some intervention.

And absolutely does charting help with figuring out if you do need help.

Wow - Thanks for all the info ladies! I'm just trying to get a head start on things because my sister, three of my first cousins, and I all have PCOS. I don't know the extent of mine but I do know that I have had physical cysts since I was 13 (some people present the symptoms without ever growing cysts) and have been treated and monitored since then. Two of said cousins and my older sister had a horrible time trying to conceive and my sister still hasn't. I just want to be ahead of the game so the frustration is not as bad. I realize there will still be some frustration, but if I arm myself with this knowledge maybe I'll succeed a little earlier

hi after multiple miscarriages where it was basically a chemical pregnancy i couldnt conceive for over a year , i was then diagnosed with pcos and put on clomid 50ml in jan 2010.
First cycle i caught and i am now 6 wks 2 days with a little bean bouncing around...

clomid made me very spaced out, i didnt put weight on i lost and the emotions where all over the place, sometimes i had some black outs but nothing huge...

Congrats touchmytoes!